Days Of Thunder Score Release - La La Land Records Limited Edition - Hans Zimmer

If any of you can remember the Hans Zimmer of the late 80s, early 90s, then you will surely recognise his score for the Tony Scott racing action masterpiece from 1990.

Starring Tom Cruise, and from the Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson team, this was a great movie with those distinctive visuals that only Tony Scott could deliver.

Apparently, Days Of Thunder was most likely going to be a third team up between Tony Scott and Harold Faltermeyer (having already done Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop 2), but by this time, Faltermeyer was moving out of Hollywood and back to Germany.

It would have been interesting to have seen what Faltermeyer would have done with the score, with most likely a similar type to the Top Gun music he created, along with some memorable theme songs.

Nevertheless, Hans Zimmer, fresh from Rain Main and Black Rain was the man given the task of scoring the visuals on this movie, and he delivered everything perfectly.

Frenetic, energetic, and plenty of action cues, this is a worthy score from the early Zimmer period of scoring.
This was when Zimmer was at his best, pulsating synthesizers, orchestra hits, wild guitars and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure.

This score is one of the blueprints for the next decade or so of scores during the 1990s, although some may argue Mark Mancina is the one who did just as much (Bad Boys, Speed).

The title track "Last Note Of Freedom" is a great song, written by Hans Zimmer and Billy Idol of all people and performed by David Coverdale (Whitesnaker lead singer).  This is a great track, starting off slow, and eventually ending in a fast guitar driven finish, much like the movie itself, mirroring the frenetic action of the Daytona racing.

The entire score has been available as an unreleased bootleg for a number of years now, but La La Land have finally released it in official format which is better late than never.

Most of the score is present apart from maybe 1 or 2 cues which if I recall correctly are during the racing scenes. The bootleg score usually has 24 or 26 tracks if I recall correctly.

http://www.hans-zimmer.com/index.php?rub=disco&id=22

This release does include however, some alternate takes and some extra tracks which fill up the CD.

Here is the full release information from La La Land Records.

La-La Land Records and Paramount Pictures present the world premiere release of acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer's (BLACK RAIN, THELMA & LOUISE, THE DARK KNIGHT, MAN OF STEEL) full-throttle original score to the 1990 racing drama feature DAYS OF THUNDER, starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall, and directed by Tony Scott. After waiting decades, film music enthusiasts have finally been rewarded with a worthy release of this Zimmer classic. Clocking in at over 70 minutes, this CD absolutely roars with the kind of blistering dramatic action scoring that vividly demonstrates how Zimmer became one of filmdom's most important contemporary composers. Rounding out the music presentation are some notable bonus tracks and the song "The Last Note of Freedom," performed by David Cloverdale. Produced by Dan Goldwasser and mastered by Doug Schwartz, this special limited release of 3000 Units was supervised by the film's producer, Jerry Bruckheimer and star Tom Cruise. The sleek art design is by Dan Goldwasser, with exclusive, in-depth liner notes by film music writer Tim Greiving, which include feature comments from Bruckheimer and Cruise. This release is dedicated to the late Tony Scott.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Days of Thunder (Main Title) 3:08
2. Rowdy Drives/Who Is This Driver? 2:06
3. Let Me Drive/Cole Drives Rowdy's Car 2:26
4. Car Building 2:05
5. Darlington - Cole Wins 4:47
6. You're Home/Daytona Race/The Crash 3:29
7. The Hospital 2:20
8. Wheelchair Race 0:37
9. Rental Car Race* 3:50
10. Claire Arrives at Her Apartment 1:55
11. Physical Kiss 1:05
12. Cole Blows His Engine 1:10
13. Wheeler/Cole Smashes 2:25
14. Cole at the Laundry/Cole Agrees to Drive Rowdy's Car 2:11
15. Cole and Harry Fight/Harry Talks to Car 2:52
16. Cole in Truck/Pre-Race 3:52
17. The Last Race 10:20
18. "The Last Note of Freedom" 4:57 performed by David Coverdale 
    
    BONUS TRACKS
19. The Hospital (alternate) 2:21
20. Wheelchair Race (alternate) 0:38
21. Claire Arrives at Her Apartment (alternate ending) 1:53
22. Cole Blows His Engine (alternate) 1:12
23. Pre-Race (alternate mix) 2:25
24. Days of Thunder (Main Title) (rock arrangement) 4:59 
    
    TOTAL ALBUM TIME 71:14 

This release is limited to 3000, and you can get your copy direct here:

http://lalalandrecords.com/DaysOfThunder.html

You can also get this release from a number of other online stores also.

Tangerine Dream - Thief Soundtrack Score Re-Release from Perseverance Records

If you love your Tangerine Dream music, then you can get your hands on a remastered version of the Thief Soundtrack Score from Perseverance Records in November 2013.

It is available from here:

http://www.fortytwotradingco.com/thief-deluxe-edition/

Some info here shows its the first release featuring both "Confrontation" and "Beach Scene" for the first time.

The first 50 CDs will signed by Chris Franke and Craig Safan. 

Thief was Michael Mann’s directorial debut. The film featured James Caan as a professional safecracker who agrees to do a job for the mafia. Many consider this film to be James Caan’s best role to date. Also starring Tuesday Weld, James Belushi, Willie Nelson, Dennis Farina and a number of professional thieves as well as police in supporting roles, the film is now a classic of the 1980s.

Scored by Tangerine Dream, it has become one of their signature film scores. Multiple versions of the score have been released over the years. Our release contains both Confrontation and Beach Scene, depending on what previous version of the LP or CD was sold, either of which were left off of previous reissues. In our opinion, this is one of the best electronic scores of the 1980s, and we are happy to bring it back with a limited edition run of 4,000 units. Many missed out on the last reissue, so we are happy to be offering this with the proper track list.

Release Notes:

• Terrific masters provided by Warner Music.
• Extensive liner notes by James Anthony Phillips.
• 9 track release that includes both Beach Scene and Confrontation. This corrects the errors on previous releases where both tracks were never on the same release. Usually it was a release with Confrontation and no Beach Scene or vice versa. Wounded Bird even had issues where the CD was pressed with a different version of the album (either Beach Scene was included or there was a version with Igneous missing).
• Only 4,000 copies will be manufactured. We will not make any more after we reach that total.
• We used the original Elektra LP cover art. We added an additional music credit for Craig Safan’s track, Confrontation.
• As we always state—our deal for this album lasts for a specific period of years. With the market shifting dramatically to digital, it is highly doubtful another label would reissue this recording. Grab it while you can.

Dumb & Dumber To Score - Todd Rundgren or Empire of the Sun?

After 20 Years, they are finally doing a sequel to Dumb & Dumber, the early 1990's comedy classic starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

The Todd Rundgren score for the original surfaced a few years ago on youtube, with some classic themes in there.  He made quite effective use of his own song "can we still be friends" which he redid as part of the musical score, updating it and melding perfectly with the rest of the score.

Empire of the Sun are a unique band with a unique sound, so it may be possible that they will bring something equally as good as Todd Rundgren did all those years back.

Let's hope they do something great. Dumb & Dumber's music was very distinct, so hopefully Empire of the Sun can do something as good.

Normally, fan requests for sequels are never met, but in this instance, it seems they felt the time was right. 1994 and now 2014, time sure does fly.

Teen Wolf T Shirts - Get Yourself a Stiles T Shirt and don't be a Dicknose

If you love your Teen Wolf (The REAL 1985 one, not the disgraceful modern MTV garbage!) and want to emulate the hero of the movie Stiles, then you must get one of his infamous T Shirts.

The "What are you looking at dicknose" T shirt is a legendary part of motion picture history.

You can get these from a few places online, but only a few have the correct font and lettering done exactly as the original.

This one here from Amazon is a dead on accurate version.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teen-Wolf-shirt-looking-dicknose/dp/B00A3QZOA2

Other Stiles T shirts to look out for include "Life Sucks Then You Die", and "Obnoxious The Movie", along with the hand drawn "Teen Wolf" t shirt that he sells in the movie.  These can be found on ebay amongst other places usually.

Beverly Hills Cop Returns, but now on TV and without Harold Faltermeyer

After almost 19 Years, there is another installment of Beverly Hills Cop, except this time it will be on TV, rather than the big screen.

This is expected to be a continuation of the movie series with Brandon T Jackson as Aaron Foley, the obligatory son of Axel Foley.

Unfortunately, there is no Harold Faltermeyer involved with this, so nobody knows what type of music we will get with this pilot episode.

What people don't realise is that without Harold Faltermeyer's music, Beverly Hills Cop loses a great deal of its success.

Faltermeyer's electro synth work is catchy, memorable and simply evokes a fever of action and comedy like no other.

There seems to be no music for tv shows as in the days of Miami Vice with Jan Hammer and movies like Harold Faltermeyer, so it remains to be seen whether this new continuation will be a flop or simply another nail in the coffin of a vastly underused character.

Axel Foley should have had many more adventures, it seems like this next one may bring more, but who knows what will happen.

Black Rain - 2 CD Limited Edition Set - La La Land Records Review

So after about 23 years, it was La La Land Records who finally released Hans Zimmer's superb score for Ridley Scott's Black Rain.

This is one of Zimmer's finest scores, and one of his earliest efforts, and still considered one of his best.  The sound quality on this release is pristine, and has been very well mastered. Considering the only other sources for the score have been lower quality bootlegs, its fantastic to finally hear all the individual instruments so clearly.

Shirley Walker's orchestrations combined with Zimmer's synth work is pulsating, and laid the groundwork for most of his mid 90s efforts.

While Harold Faltermeyer seemingly left Hollywood at the start of the 90s, it seems Zimmer took over the role as the main guy for synth heavy scores.

This release contains the full complete score unaltered, and also includes additional versions of cues, including the movie version of the title song by Gregg Allman. All in all, this is a great buy and well worth it.

You may remember that this score contains a theme which was eventually reused for Zimmer's Batman Begins. The original version here is still superior, retaining the same strong percussion and urgent theme desired by the movies tokyo visuals and cinematography.

Definitely a great addition to any soundtrack score collection.  La La Land always deliver great quality releases, and seemed to have listened to many fan requests for these classic scores.
 

TRACK LISTING:
DISC 1

1. Sato Pt. 1/One-Way Glass (6:34)
   
2. Osaka/Phony Cops** (1:46)
   
3. You Gonna Be Nice?*/Sato Pt. 2** (5:21)
   
4. Sato Watching/Circling Motorbikes (1:59)
   
5. Sugai's Photo/Sato Pt. 3 (3:58)
   
6. Sato Pt. 4 (2:05)
   
7. Charlie Loses His Head** (8:22)
   
8. Sequins (2:42)
   
9. Masa's Reprimand / Sugai Pt. 1 (5:33)
   
10. The Steel Mill (2:45)
    
11. Steel Mill Chase/Airplane/Escape***(6:18)
    
12. Sugai Pt. 2 (8:50)
    
13. Arrival of Oyabuns/Sato's Arrival/Meeting (7:55)
    
14. Bikes**/Fight**/Nick and Masa** (9:29)
    TOTAL DISC TIME: 74:09
    
    DISC 2
    ORIGINAL EMI ALBUM

1. Livin' on the Edge of the Night -Iggy Pop (3:38)
   
2. The Way You Do the Things You Do -UB 40 (3:15)
   
3. Back to Life (Jam on the Groove Mix) -Soul II Soul (5:07)
   
4. Laserman -Ryuichi Sakamoto(4:48)
   
5. Singing in the Shower -Les Rita Mitsouko and Sparks (4:22)
   
6. I'll Be Holding On -Gregg Allman (5:38)
   BLACK RAIN SUITE
   
7. Sato (4:45)
   
8. Charlie Loses His Head***(7:03)
   
9. Sugai (6:55)
   
10. Nick and Masa***(2:52)
    
    BONUS TRACKS
11. Airplane Muzak (source) -Shirley Walker (2:05)
    
12. Charlie Loses His Head Pt. 1 (alternate percussion) (2:32)
    
13. Charlie Loses His Head Pt. 2
          (alternate with koto and oboe) (2:47)
    
14. Masa's Reprimand***(alternate) (1:49)
    
15. Bikes / Fight (alternate) (3:18)
    
16. Bikes (percussion only) (1:35)
    
17. Charlie Loses His Head (monks wild) (2:12)
    
18. I'll Be Holding On (main title version) -Gregg Allman (2:36)
    TOTAL DISC TIME: 67:48
    TOTAL ALBUM TIME: 141:57
    * not used in film
    ** contains material unused in film
    ***contains instrumental melody of "I'll Be Holding On"

You can get your copy direct from La La Land here:

http://www.lalalandrecords.com/BlackRain.html

Don Peake - Knight Rider scores still available

If you love your Knight Rider, then you can still get Don Peake's complete episode scores for his work on Knight Rider.

Released on Hitchcock Records, there are 3 volumes available, which come with complete scores for several of the most popular episodes.

These are high quality and are a great mix of orchestral and synthesizer themes. I have all three and they are well worth it, and even managed to get one personally signed by Mr Don Peake himself.


Volume 1

Vol.1 is the original 2004 Knight Con Limited Edition from composer Don Peake (re-packaged).
Main Title written by Stu Phillips and Glenn Larson, not included in this volume.
HMR-9101 Now Shipping.
Episodes
1. Let It Be Me  (5Q's)
2. Scent Of Roses  (8 Q's)
3. White Bird  (6 Q's)
4. Junk Yard Dog  (14 Q's)
5. Halloween Knight  (10 Q's)
6. Mouth Of The Snake  (13 Q's)
(Running time 70+ minutes)
This pressed CD is licensed by NBC/Universal

http://www.hitchcock-media.com/soundtracks/knight-rider-best-of-don-peake-vol-1/prod_20.html

Volume 2

Vol.2 is a brand new Original Television Soundtrack from composer Don Peake
HMR-9104 Now Shipping.
Episodes
1. Knight Rider Theme (a rockin' new treatment)
Main Title written by Stu Phillips and Glenn Larson.
2. Topaz (12 Q's)
3. Hearts of Stone (14 Q's)
4. Bonus Songs (4 Tracks)
(Running time 47+ minutes)
This pressed CD is licensed by NBC/Universal

http://www.hitchcock-media.com/soundtracks/knight-rider-best-of-don-peake-vol-2/prod_53.html

Volume 3

Vol. 3 is a re-issue of a short lived unauthorized 2000 release on Hi-Tech Records.
It contains 65 tracks or scene Q's by composer Don Peake.
Main Title written by Stu Phillips and Glenn Larson, not included in this volume.
HMR-9105 Now Shipping.
Episodes
1. Knight of The Chameleon
2. Lost Knight
3. K.I.T.T. vs K.A.R.R.
4. Knight In Retreat
This pressed CD is licensed by NBC/Universal.

http://www.hitchcock-media.com/soundtracks/knight-rider-best-of-don-peake-vol-3/prod_54.html

Hans Zimmer's Black Rain Score to be released by La La Land Records

Good news for 80s soundtrack score collectors. La La Land Records will be releasing the full expanded score for Hans Zimmer's Black Rain sometime in 2012 or 2013.

Ridley Scott's Japan based cop thriller was an explosive action movie featuring a fantastic oriental based synthesized and heavy percussion score, along with orchestrations by Shirley Walker.

Until now, a bootleg has been the only way to hear this score, so this should be a good quality release.

Those with good ears will also recognise that Zimmer based his Batman theme on one of his Black Rain themes, with the theme virtually identical. Zimmer is not one to waste a great track, and reused it in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

La La Land Records Release STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE: LIMITED EDITION (3-CD SET)

La-La Land Records, Sony Music Entertainment and Paramount Pictures boldly go where no soundtrack reissue has gone before with a deluxe 3-CD set of 1979's STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith.

You can find it here: http://www.lalalandrecords.com/STM.html

The first big screen voyage of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock was a high budget and ambitious undertaking that introduced Goldsmith's famous and enduring Star Trek march (later used as the main theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation) as the cornerstone of an epic science fiction musical odyssey. Like the film's refit starship Enterprise, La-La Land's lavish presentation presents the score anew: fully restored, remixed and mastered from the first generation multi-track masters by Bruce Botnick, the original album co-producer and Goldsmith's long time scoring engineer.

"To put together the score the decision was to go back to the original Analogue 16-track 2-inch 30 i.p.s. masters," Botnick explains. "John Davis at Precision Audiosonics baked each of the 37 rolls in a convection oven at 110 degrees for eight hours so that they were playable, then rolled out a marvelous 3M 56 IsoLoop 16-track machine with brand new heads. The tapes were resolved at 60Hz to maintain the original orchestral pitch and sync. The Analogue-to-Digital transfer was done from the 16-track through the latest Black Lion A/D convertors and recorded to Pro Tools X at 192kHz 24-bit."

This 3-CD set presents the score for the 1979 theatrical release (filling disc 1 and part of disc 2) and also premieres the legendary early "rejected" cues that Goldsmith recorded prior to composing his famous main theme. The 1979 album program (much of which is performed and edited differently as compared to the film) completes disc 2, with disc 3 offering additional alternates (including those heard on the previous Sony expanded release) along with a wealth of bonus material. Among the highlights are a collection of early takes of the "Main Title" (including extensive stage chatter), isolated segments featuring Craig Huxley's famous "blaster beam" and assorted synthesizer excerpts, the domestic CD debut of Bob James' disco cover version of Goldsmith's theme and Shaun Cassidy's vocal version of the love theme, "A Star Beyond Time."

Reissue co-producer Mike Matessino (who handled restoration and editorial efforts) collaborates with Jeff Bond on the thoroughly researched album notes which feature interview excerpts by Goldsmith, Botnick and performers Huxley and David Newman. The clamshell packaging and 40-page full color booklet are designed by Jim Titus. This special release was produced by Bruce Botnick and Mike Matessino, produced for Sony Music Entertainment by Didier C. Deutsch, mixed and mastered by Bruce Botnick, and restored, edited and assembled by Mike Matessino.

"It has been an honor to be able to work with the original recordings of this music and to document its production," Matessino says. "This is one of the greatest scores of all time and everyone involved took the responsibility very seriously and happily devoted months to see it come together. The clarity and quality we now have is truly amazing. Thanks to the efforts of La-La Land Records, Sony Music and Paramount Pictures, the end product is an embarrassment of riches and a 'must-have' for every film music and Star Trek collection."

TRACK LISTING:
DISC 1
THE FILM SCORE
1 Overture 1:43
2 Main Title/Klingon Battle 7:01
3 Total Logic 3:54
4 Floating Office 1:08
5 The Enterprise 6:02
6 Malfunction 1:30
7 Goodbye Klingon/Goodbye Epsilon Nine/Pre-Launch 2:10
8 Leaving Drydock 3:32
9 TV Theme/Warp Point Eight :50
10 No Goodbyes :53
11 Spock's Arrival 2:03
12 TV Theme/Warp Point Nine 1:49
13 Meet V'Ger  3:06
14 The Cloud 5:05
15 V'Ger Flyover 5:01
16 The Force Field  5:07
17 Micro Exam  1:13
18 Games/Spock Walk 9:51
19 System Inoperative  2:03
20 Hidden Information 3:58
21 Inner Workings 4:04
(Disc 1 72:06)

DISC 2
THE FILM SCORE (cont'd)
1 V'Ger Speaks 4:04
2 The Meld/A Good Start 5:37
3 End Title 3:16
THE UNUSED EARLY SCORE
4 The Enterprise [early version] 6:05
5 Leaving Drydock [early version] 2:39
6 No Goodbyes [early version] :55
7 Spock's Arrival [early version] 2:00
8 Micro Exam [early version] 1:15
9 Games [early version] 3:49
10 Inner Workings [early version] 4:43

THE 1979 ALBUM
11 Main Title/Klingon Battle 6:50
12 Leaving Drydock 3:29
13 The Cloud 5:00
14 The Enterprise 5:59
15 Ilia's Theme 3:00
16 Vejur Flyover  4:56
17 The Meld  3:15
18 Spock Walk 4:17
19 End Title 3:16
(Disc 2 74:31)

DISC 3
     
ALTERNATES
1 Overture [long version] 2:50
2 Main Title [alternate take] 1:44
3 Total Logic [alternate take] 3:49
4 Malfunction [early take]  1:28
5 Goodbye Klingon [alternate take] :35
6 No Goodbyes [alternate take] :53
7 Spock's Arrival [alternate take] 2:01
8 The Force Field [alternate take] 5:04
9 Micro Exam [alternate take] 1:14
10 Games [early synthesizer version] 3:48
11 Games [alternate take] 3:48
12 Inner Workings [alternate take] 4:05
13 V'Ger Speaks [alternate take] 4:03
14 The Meld [film version] 3:16
15 A Good Start [discrete] 2:27
16 Main Title [album take] 1:44
ADDITIONALMUSIC
17 Main Title [first raw takes] 7:21
18 The Force Field/ The Cloud [excerpts] 2:33
19 Beams and Synthesizer for V'Ger  4:04
20 Beams and Synthesizer for Ilia  :59
21 Synthesizer for Main Theme  1:44
22 Main Theme From Star Trek: The Motion Picture [Bob James] 5:24
23 A Star Beyond Time [Shaun Cassidy] 2:43
24 Ilia's Theme [alternate] 3:33
25 Theme From Star Trek: The Motion Picture [concert edit] 3:25

(Disc 3 74:37)

Total 3CD Time: 3:41:13