Expanded Soundtrack Releases

Posted: 8/27/13 at 4:19pm

What are some movie musicals that you wish would have expanded soundtrack albums released?

Many soundtrack albums have never been expanded past their original 50 minute LP releases, leaving loads of glorious underscoring and portions of actual songs available only on the DVD. Not to mention unused material that has never been released in any form.

Topping my list would be:

Flower Drum Song (1961)
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Star! (196
Hello Dolly (1969)
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/27/13 at 4:20pm

~ sweet charity is the first one that comes to mind for me.

~ they left off the rich man's frug!!

~ they shortened many of the other musical numbers

~ and they chose not to include some underscoring that was used in the film





Updated On: 8/27/13 at 04:20 PM

Posted: 8/27/13 at 4:31pm

I totally forgot about "Sweet Charity" and the missing "Rich Man's Frug!" Especially since it's one of the most well known complete recordings of the number. That album also left off the Main Title music and the Entr'acte if I recall correctly.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/28/13 at 9:32pm

SWEET CHARITY has got to be one of the most disappointing soundtrack albums Decca ever released. The CD only brings out the sonic shortcomings of the LP release, which is a shame because the film itself sounds terrific. Almost every selection is edited for the recording and the CD reflects only the 40-minute length of the original LP.
Decca's soundtrack for FLOWER DRUM SONG reflects the original LP release as well, but the original sonics of the Decca LP release sounded brilliant (as opposed to the later, muddy MCA LP pressings), and I wouldn't change a thing about that CD.
To be fair, it has to be remembered that sound frequencies for commercial recordings at the time had to be modified from the capabilities of 35mm film recording. It's only since the dawn of digital transferring that comparable home listening (and viewing) has been possible.

Updated On: 8/28/13 at 09:32 PM

Posted: 8/28/13 at 10:25pm

I agree that the Decca FLOWER DRUM SONG sounds fantastic, but I wish they would do a release with some of the extra dance music from the film, as well as some of the underscoring.

I was watching THE MUSIC MAN on TCM just now and realized that there's a decent amount of dance music missing from the LP version of that as well. I've also always thought that the sound quality was a little harsh on the current CD release.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 8/28/13 at 11:38pm

When Decca announced the CD release of FLOWER DRUM SONG, I wrote asking if it would be possible to include extra dance music (the "Sunday" ballet in particular) and to put the song in the order they are heard in the film. They replied saying that they could only issue what was on the original LP. Universal owns the film and the music tracks. (An expanded CD would be possible but very expensive to produce, with payments to musicians and re-use fees)

The sound quality of the Lp is very good but I always noticed the pitch was slightly pushed up as if the master tape for the album was running just a little fast.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 2:17am

Many of the more recent "expanded" soundtrack releases are somewhat fraudulent in that they don't always go back to the original studio sessions. For instance, the more recent Angel releases of OKLAHOMA!, CAROUSEL and THE KING AND I are really sonic mash-ups of the original commercial soundtrack masters and elements lifted off LD or DVD releases of the films themselves (where the studio underscoring sessions are unavailable). This is especially true of OKLAHOMA!, which lifted it's dance music off the finalized Todd-AO print (where all the musical nips and tucks were done), as opposed to the more musically uncompromised CinemaScope general release print.
This, of course, does not involve the "24 Karat Gold" CDs included in the anniversary LD releases of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and THE KING AND I. Those CDs were produced by 20th Century Fox directly.

Updated On: 8/29/13 at 02:17 AM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 12:08pm

I found the SOUND OD MUSIC gold disc in a used CD store and picked it up. More complete and much better sound than the RCA Victor commercial issues. It is too bad Fox would not allow the producers of the expanded soundtrack releases of the 3 R & H films to have access to the music masters. When I listen to the Rhino CD issues of the classic M-G-M musicals - huge improvements over the old M-G-M Records albums - I see the possibilities. But Angel/EMI spent a lot of money to get those "expanded editions" released and they are not likely going to do them again. Sad. You can hear a noticeable change in audio quality when the tracks change from the studio sessions used for the original albums to the portions dubbed from film prints. Very disconcerting.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 12:15pm

"Topping my list would be:

Flower Drum Song (1961)
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Star! (196
Hello Dolly (1969)
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)"

Didn't Fox issue a CD of STAR! that included more music from the film?

Years ago when GRAND HOTEL THE MUSICAL was playing at the Martin Beck I met a young man who worked their as the stage doorman and he was obsessed with the movie STAR and trying to get a restored version issued on Laser Disc. He eventually succeeded and soon after the CD came out...I believe he is thanked in the credits..his name was T.J. Edwards. I used to write/call him a lot but over the years as we have both moved (a LOT) we have lost contact. He was a wonderful source of information. I even did a phone interview with him for my radio program.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 12:41pm

Yes- STAR! was released in the same Fox series that presented STORMY WEATHER, THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS, THE ROBE, etc. I don't recall any additional material beyond the LP release.

[LALALand]

Posted: 8/29/13 at 1:03pm

frontrowcentre2 - i worked with TJ at Paramount. He was a great source of information. Lots of stories about Star. I see him occasionally around Hollywood. Very nice guy.

Posted: 8/29/13 at 3:30pm

The CD rlease of STAR! featured one additional track, "Forbidden Fruit" sung by Daniel Massey as Noel Coward. It was originally intended for the LP release and it is mentioned in the liner notes, but got left off for one reason or another. There was also an extra verse of the title song that was not used in the film.

The rest of the songs were identical to their LP versions, with extensive portions of "The Physician," "Limehouse Blues" and "The Saga Of Jenny" still unreleased.