Total Recall, what a funny movie, what a brilliant score. It has long been said that Total Recall is Jerry Goldsmith’s Magnum Opus when it comes to action scores. I would tend to agree with that assumption. It’s so complex that it’s hard to swallow for people used to simpler scores. Yet at the same time it’s highly melodious… and there are indeed people who say that it isn’t, that Jerry only included one theme and perhaps some small motifs he only uses once and never again. Those people seem to be deaf: there’s a Main Title that’s used often, there’s a fully developed action theme, there’s a highly distinctive motif (musically describing confusion and mystery) and several other smaller motifs. And all of it is packaged in a way that the whole almost works like a symphony, one of Mahler proportions. Jerry famously said "More notes than a Bruckner-symphony!" He was proud of this score and in the subsequent decade it went on to define how actions scores would sound like. Despite its brilliance and despite Jerry knowing what he had done he was exhausted, this very score caused him to seek out other, more pleasant assignments for the next 4-5 years, scores many of his fans hate with a vengeance. Yet they only deal with far less mysterious or horrific themes, many of them concentrate on human everyday drama of some sort.
Curiously, Total Recall has never sounded that good. Reverb has always been problematic, sounding tacked on (which is exactly what it was). Even more difficult was the fact that the score lacked bass and sonority, it was sounding thin and brittle, almost metallic. I have long held the belief that Jerry instructed the several engineers recording his scores to tweak the sound to what Jerry felt was helping the movie. Something like Star Trek: First Contact sounds a little muffled, or "dark" and a little "mechanic" (which fits the inclusion of the Borg). The thin sound of Total Recall was obviously seen to be helpful. Yet within the movie itself it’s sounding much less crisp, almost muffled and pretty bassy (compared to the sound on CD). But believe it or not, for years I have ignored its sound. Perhaps because I thought the sound is not supposed to be touched? The diverse engineers employed for the respective mastering jobs (in 2000 and 2015) seem to think the same, they never altered the frequency response. The first remaster from Var�se (in fact their first Deluxe Edition ever) didn’t change the sound at all, it just made the score louder. The second remaster 15 years later was not only remastered, it was also remixed – both by the very same engineer who recorded the score in London: Bruce Botnick. Or so it is claimed. Because some pieces haven’t been remixed. And again, the frequency response wasn’t altered, it sounds as thin as before. I have to wonder… Botnick can’t think that this sound is pleasant to listen to. But then, maybe "pleasantness" wasn’t an intention. Anyway, Botnick’s mastering is sloppy, I have the feeling that the additional tracks on the second CD of the Quartet release aren’t mastered at all. For example, their gain fluctuates wildly, one piece is soft, the next is a lot louder. In addition, something I call the "Intrada-effect" is happening on the first CD: some soft piece is very loud while the next piece that contains loud and soft parts is softer with the effect that soft parts (that were loud in the piece before) are now a lot softer.
<hr>
That has all been solved with this Edition. I corrected the amount of bass, it now sounds a lot warmer. But not too warm! After all, the brittle sound helped the perception of "speed". I constantly asked myself the question "How much is too much?" and I think I’ve arrived at a good compromise. I also corrected the several gain misadjustments and properly mastered all the additional tracks. And finally, I was able to make the stage seem less cluttered, sounding more like a whole, like an orchestra playing in unison. For one, I’m happy with the sound. Please don’t expect modern amount of bass, this is not Batman Begins. BUT: there will still be people who won’t like this sound. To those who won’t like it I say that they should listen to the Quartet Edition instead, the content is almost the same with the addition of the original album cut (which I’ve erased).
Compared to my usual boring jobs, the covers are something very different. I created 14 pretty distinct cover and I like them enough that I’m a little bit proud. Someone else seemed to think so too: Heidl decided to feature them on his site. And I’m quite as surprised as you probably are right now. For that reason, I haven’t included the covers within the archives below (you’ll just find Folder.jpg’s in 900×900). Just hop over to Heidl’s site, read the accompanying text and download the HiRes variants -> here (https://hqcovers.net/2018/09/05/total-recall-the-deluxe-edition-by-jerry-goldsmith/) 🙂
So please, have fun! 🙂
Tracklist:
01. The Dream
02. First Meeting
03. Secret Agent
04. The Implant
05. Who Am I?
06. The Aftermath
07. Old Times Sake
08. Clever Girl
09. The Johnny Cab
10. Howdy Stranger / The Nose Job
11. The Spaceport
12. A New Face
13. The Mountain
14. Identification
15. Lies
16. Where Am I?
17. Swallow It
18. The Big Jump
19. Without Air
20. Remembering
21. The Mutant
22. The Massacre
23. Friends?
24. The Treatment
25. The Reactor / The Hologram
26. The End of A Dream
27. A New Life
28. End Credits
29. The Dream (Original Version)
30. The Implant (Alternate Opening)
31. Clever Girl (Original Munich Performance)
32. W. A. Mozart – Divertimento In D (Source)
33. Bruno Louchouarn – Rubble City (Source)
34. Bruno Louchouarn – Mutant Dancing (Source)
35. Bruno Louchouarn – Running Out Of Air (Source)
36. Rekall Commercial (Source)
37. Environmental (Source)
38. ESPN (Source)
39. Saturn (Source)
40. Mars (Source)
41. Rekall (Background – Source)
42. Botco (Source)
43. North West (Source)
44. Rekall Commercial (Alternate – Source)
To War or not to War
Yes, this is still a Loudness War release. I’m sick of catering to just one crowd: Audiophiles. I cannot ignore other people who simply don’t care about sound. I may not like that… but hey, who am I to be so high and mighty? Mastering is making compromises. The compromise is that something should play well anywhere. And if that means that it’s as loud as possible, so be it. I became aware of it when someone wrote to me in private that he never hears a difference to the official versions, only that my Editions are softer. Meaning that people don’t know that if something is softer it probably has more dynamic range. They may have heard about the Loudness War but only because other people mentioned it. The fact is that other people have better things to do than to bother themselves with things not important to them. That’s how it should be, you know. For that reason I will from now on offer two versions: an Audiophile Version and a Loudness War version. The latter will encompass lossless and lossy releases, the former only lossless. The difference between them is bit depth, samplerate and brickwall limiting. The Audiophile version lacks it, the Loudness War version is limited. I have to say, even the sound of the Loudness War version is pretty good (I have the good stuff… erm, tools).
Which version should you take?
Simple: have you ever heard the expression Loudness War? No? Then take exactly that version, either FLAC or MP3. You don’t really care about sound but you want something a little different, a little more modern? The same. If you can’t stand something that’s dynamically limited or if you believe in the superiority of HiRes, take the Audiophile version. Easy, no?
<hr>
Audiophile FLAC (24/48):
https://www.mirrored.to/files/6JC77LEZ/ThreeTits.part1.rar_links
https://www.mirrored.to/files/S9OKA01U/ThreeTits.part2.rar_links
Loudness War FLAC & MP3:
https://www.mirrored.to/files/1ELJ2J1F/TwoTits.part1.rar_links
https://www.mirrored.to/files/16PZQXCP/TwoTits.part2.rar_links
Password for all: Consider_dat_a_divorce!
Sonic, your presentations on here are reaching frightening heights… First the Indiana Jones thread and now this. Please stop making is us all look like puny mortals.
Sonic, your presentations on here are reaching frightening heights… First the Indiana Jones thread and now this. Please stop making is us all look like puny mortals.
????
You’re not mortal, you’re a God.
https://78.media.tumblr.com/5054efd48ecc2aee15b628fd949134f0/tumblr_inline_oo41sdzFhp1s4r3s0_400.gif
Hehehe 😉
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What am I doing??
Fun aside, why is this presentation good? I just took the logo from one of the covers, glow and all. Simple enough. The rest is just formatting. And looks who’s talking… you formated my rambling text beautifully. So shut up, you featured the covers on your blog. So I’m supposed to be humble, not you 🙂
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/P-Y2vfjai_Fw33-zy2YKF3EEsZAkRyzaua2LS325A3J1EMIvyN7SUKM1wCkWdWQQ8 k6Vq5kBaA2np-S82x9f8RZcl5iyoiEAzd9-AwclwcWp3w3sQRAHenRfSl7Cm12hWHy2LkHt42W4uLrm7t7b2k lPmA7eFTrBFyWocoMldqO9sFrNqRmchE3zbFS1raiWL2JMzl3c s8xpwxx6S8urYrQoDsFLZl4=w500-h270-nc
Thank you big time!
Now i hope you didn�t include Crossfades from one track to the other.
Last Time i heard your old "Tron: Legacy" Deluxe Edition, and these crossfades are just a bad idea.
I had to edit all the tracks again in Adobe Audition because i want to have standalone tracks.
Now…. WHAT COVER DO I USE!? :ashine:
I’m curious to listen your Deluxe edition since I’m quite happy with de Varese and Quartet editions.
But you kind of failed me in the text blurb department though. I prefer the days of yore where you’d write down half a book :laugh:
Indeed a mystery.
———- Post added at 11:34 AM ———- Previous post was at 11:32 AM ———-
Thank you! Probably my favorite Goldsmith score along with Supergirl, The Mummy, Mulan, Chinatown, The Shadow and First Blood.
Two of them from your list will be re-released soon. And maybe I’ll release my own Deluxe Edition for a third one 😉
———- Post added at 11:35 AM ———- Previous post was at 11:34 AM ———-
Thank you very much I was actually a Theatre usher when this film came out and just Loved the score, but was always so unhappy with the original CD release and even the Deluxe Edition because they always left off the END CREDITS! Only had to what so many years for Quartet Records to release it. Now if this could be applied to a certain 1979 car driven action film score that would be awesome! Looking forward to listening to this Thank again and have a Great Week!
You know, I actually pondered deleting the End Credits. Because, for the most part, they just consist of edited material. But there is in fact a transition Jerry recorded specifically for the End Credits. So I left the piece alone and included it.
———- Post added at 11:36 AM ———- Previous post was at 11:35 AM ———-
I’m running out of free space again. :laugh:
There are stores which sell a certain thingy called harddrives. Or – if you’re mobile – flash media 😉
———- Post added at 11:37 AM ———- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ———-
Thank you. I love this score.
Now i hope you didn�t include Crossfades from one track to the other.
Last Time i heard your old "Tron: Legacy" Deluxe Edition, and these crossfades are just a bad idea.
I had to edit all the tracks again in Adobe Audition because i want to have standalone tracks.
Ah, you know me, I just love crossfades (if they make sense musically). But you can rejoice, I didn’t do them here.
———- Post added at 11:38 AM ———- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ———-
THAT. WAS. AMAZING!
But you kind of failed me in the text blurb department though. I prefer the days of yore where you’d write down half a book :laugh:
Oh please no! I just write a bunch of hot air, no one wants to read that.
Very good job!
Thank you for this. My favourite Jerry Goldsmith score.
I’ve always loved this film as well, over the top, but still a lot of fun, and the special effects still hold up to this day. 🙂
Also…
See you at dah pahty, Richtah!
Thank you for this. My favourite Jerry Goldsmith score.
Yes, one of his best!
———- Post added at 12:02 AM ———- Previous post was at 12:02 AM ———-
The amount of bass added is just right. Good stuff. Also the best mastering of the score available to date.
Really? I’m glad, thanks a lot.
———- Post added at 12:04 AM ———- Previous post was at 12:02 AM ———-
Stunning superb Sonic, a work of art as always, many thanks indeed 🙂
Not art, just proper mastering 🙂
———- Post added at 12:05 AM ———- Previous post was at 12:04 AM ———-
Thank You so much for this awesome edition, it sounds so much better than the previous versions.
I’ve always loved this film as well, over the top, but still a lot of fun, and the special effects still hold up to this day. 🙂
I’d hoped that it would be better. But the special effects still hold up?
https://78.media.tumblr.com/a85cbff626e3c98b2e5748ca56d9e2b9/tumblr_n6czrreTBZ1rp0vkjo1_500.gif
Are you sure? 😉
———- Post added at 12:14 AM ———- Previous post was at 12:05 AM ———-
Thanks!
Also…
See you at dah pahty, Richtah!
Givv dos people aaaaayir!
Will…most of the effects at least, lol.
Scott
Will get you a Rep when it resets its self
Will get you a Rep when it resets its self
My rep is full anyway so ignore giving it.
———- Post added at 11:24 AM ———- Previous post was at 11:22 AM ———-
"Three tits? Awesome!" Thanks, as ever, for the two different mixes. "Loudness war" is so much easier to listen to while in the car, without having to ride that volume dial like a jockey with a scrotal hernia.
Completely correct 🙂 And no one wants a scrotal hernia. Yuck 😀
I’d say, out of all composers you tackled, Goldsmith’s masters are the best ones.
You think so? I view this differently. There are some where I think that what I did works and others where it doesn’t. And I really like something like Prince Of Persia, I think it’s a succesful mastering job. On the other hand, maybe I’m more careful with Goldsmith. Probably caused by the fact that I’ve been listening to him the longest and knew from the beginning that there are things that bug me.
I Love this score!
Well I disagree.
Imho the Deluxe Editions for James Newton Howard still stand out from the crowd (of an ridiculously amazing sounding back catalogue of works) for me.
They were the very first Deluxe Editions I’ve downloaded from Sonic, back then when I didn’t know him personally and still was admiring him like a fangirl would admire a rockstar from another planet.
And I still hold them close to my heart, especially the Shyamalan-collaborations. I’m still listening to the Deluxe Editions of SIGNS and LADY IN THE WATER on regular basis. The whole presentation was top notch (just like they are nowadays) and it felt like a genuine, official soundtrack album to me. And it sounded so god-damn perfect!
Whoever’s still listening to the original albums is reeeallly missing out.
…but the Indiana Jones collection is incredible too 🙂
…
(and The Force Awakens…. if only we could get a sequel to that…….. hmmmmmm)
Hm. Among those are my oldest Editions… and I only still listen to some of them. King Kong, Maleficent or Salt. But the rest? I try to listen to them and think "Meh, I did it badly."
They were the very first Deluxe Editions I’ve downloaded from Sonic, back then when I didn’t know him personally and still was admiring him like a fangirl would admire a rockstar from another planet.
And I still hold them close to my heart, especially the Shyamalan-collaborations. I’m still listening to the Deluxe Editions of SIGNS and LADY IN THE WATER on regular basis. The whole presentation was top notch (just like they are nowadays) and it felt like a genuine, official soundtrack album to me. And it sounded so god-damn perfect!
Oooops, I forgot all about Signs & LITW! 😀
(and The Force Awakens…. if only we could get a sequel to that…….. hmmmmmm)
Yes, yes, yes. It will come. But first something else. Something I dread to do but will finish anyway.
I can’t stop listening to the Prince of Persia, C’mon now, Destiny, are you kidding me?.. simply amazing.
I am a bit of an ignorant on what is it exactly that you do, are these mastered from the original recordings? they are amazing, I really like what you do here, I made a separate file named "audiophile" just for your work, I only have 3 of them, but I hope the collection grows with time.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. It was also pretty much my problem as well.
Can’t say anything about PoP, cause I didn’t listen to it yet. And I’m not talking about personal preferences for composers per se, only that I noticed improvements the most in the Goldsmith’s works.
(and the password is hilarious… :))
I am a bit of an ignorant on what is it exactly that you do, are these mastered from the original recordings? they are amazing, I really like what you do here, I made a separate file named "audiophile" just for your work, I only have 3 of them, but I hope the collection grows with time.
My goal for these releases of mine is simple: I want to create a version of a particular score that’s able to hold its own against official releases. To achieve that, I use every source I can find (if the quality isn’t too bad). I want to create something that you can listen to from beginning to end, something that plays like an album. At the same time I want it to be chronologically ordered and with the best sound possible (considering the material). Since I’m a mastering engineer I know how to achieve the latter. I just want people to be able to listen to it anywhere with every device imagineable, whether it’s a smartphone, bluetooth speaker, surround system, car radio, etc. Sessions in their pure form are not ideally suited for listening; they have many short tracks, including pieces that are only part of a planned bigger piece. In addition, their sound most often does not work for anything else but listening at home. Anywhere else? Tedious. So of utmost importance are musical flow and good sonic compatibility. My releases aren’t for (wannabe) professors of music who want to analyze every second, they are for people who simply want to enjoy the music. I also don’t need to represent the music as it was used within the movie. I regard the music as written for the film and the music as released on any medium (without the movie) as two seperate entities. Without the movie, the score has to stand on its own two feet, it needs to speak for itself. And if I can, I will help to achieve that. So I sometimes erase small parts in order to help musical flow. But since I’m not very good at that, I sometimes collaborate with Fink (http://forums.ffshrine.org/member.php?u=112417) who enjoys performing microedits (and who’s very good at it) in order to tighten the musical narrative. That’s it in a nutshell.
Prince Of Persia was mastered using the sessions. But I also added 5 pieces from the soundtrack release, they either contained material that was missing on the sessions or the material was combined in a unique way.
Total Recall was mastered using the Quartet Release from 2015. So strictly speaking, Total Recall is a "re-master" whereas Prince Of Persia was for the most part a master (because the sessions weren’t mastered at all before I touched them).
———- Post added at 01:11 PM ———- Previous post was at 12:44 PM ———-
And I’m not talking about personal preferences for composers per se, only that I noticed improvements the most in the Goldsmith’s works.
Because you listen to lots of Goldsmith, too? That’s what Heidl said, he listens to JNH so he noticed how often I’ve worked on his scores.
Prince Of Persia was mastered using the sessions. But I also added 5 pieces from the soundtrack release, they either contained material that was missing on the sessions or the material was combined in a unique way.
Total Recall was mastered using the Quartet Release from 2015. So strictly speaking, Total Recall is a "re-master" whereas Prince Of Persia was for the most part a master (because the sessions weren’t mastered at all before I touched them).[COLOR="Silver"]
Thank you for the explanation and your hard work.
Those are good headphones. And thank you, I had hoped that I didn’t exaggerate 🙂 Phew.
the funniest name for a new score presentation
Many thanks
Many thanks Sonic!
Many thanks Sonic!
Listened Audiophile. Sounds MUCH better than original Varese CD. Superb job! Thank you very much.
Really?? I hoped that it would be better. Thank you 🙂
———- Post added at 12:57 AM ———- Previous post was at 12:56 AM ———-
"THE DELUXED DELUXE EDITION"
the funniest name for a new score presentation
Many thanks
Actually… I couldn’t think of anything else 🙁
thanks a lot …
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