INTRADA Announces:
THE BLUE MAX
Composed and Conducted by JERRY GOLDSMITH
INTRADA Special Collection Volume 120
Jerry Goldsmith's score to the 1966 20th Century Fox film The Blue Max is considered by many to be one of his greatest scores. Its enduring popularity has resulted in three separate LP releases and two different CD releases. Each presented different material from different source elements, with varying results in sound quality and assembly. On some releases, audio processing addressed tape hiss but severely limited the dynamic range. On still others, choices of takes or positioning of edits resulted in an uneven listening experience. And none of them actually featured the complete score. Now, all of that has been addressed.
Intrada is proud to present the definitive release of The Blue Max, presented for the first time from both the original session mixes made at Shepperton Studios in London and the multi-track mixes made at 20th Century Fox. Intrada has assembled the complete score for the first time, selecting the appropriate takes for each track assembly and offering the best possible stereo image from master elements now approaching nearly five decades of age.
Making its premiere album appearance is “The Balloon,” a brief but important musical sequence introducing the main theme in the score proper. It’s heard in the film when Bruno Stachel takes off on his first combat assignment to shoot down an observation balloon. Goldsmith also wrote and recorded special “exit” music for the initial roadshow presentations of the film and it debuts here as well. Also making its fully-assembled debut on CD is the complete “Love Theme” as originally designed and recorded by the composer for the initial 1966 soundtrack album. This unique version of the melody, written by Goldsmith with a special melodic extension and played on piano, was specially recorded in a small room with close mikes. In addition, Goldsmith designed the solo piano to grow out of and later melt into a separate orchestral intro and coda. That complete assembly finally appears here just as it did back in 1966, now presented from the multi-track masters. The album also features several assemblies originally designed by Goldsmith that were lost along the way as the album was reissued.
Directed by John Guillermin, The Blue Max tells the story of Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), a viciously ambitious, up-from-the-trenches young aviator whose amoral quest for glory (and its ultimate symbol, the Pour le Mérite military order, aka “The Blue Max”) is repeatedly contrasted unfavorably with the ideals of the more honorable dying-breed aristocrats who surround him. James Mason plays a crafty general who attempts to make a morale-boosting man-of-the-people star out of Stachel and Ursula Andress is the Count General’s easy but glamorous wife. The film's highlights are its many flying and aerial combat sequences, and as The Blue Max soars in its flying sequences, Jerry Goldsmith’s magically ascending and powerful score flies along side, elevating the entire experience to thrilling new heights.
This release is limited to 2500 units.
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 120
Retail Price: $19.99
AVAILABLE 1/19/2010
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.6482/.f
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