Intrada Soundtrack Forum

I bought this CD when it was first announced. Man, did it sound TERRIFIC! I played it many times when I first got it, then put it in my Herrmann section. I played it on occasion for the next few years.
Then, one day back in 2018, I listened to it again.... something was wrong. About halfway throught the CD, there was a pulsating scratchy noise. I couldn't figure out what it was, so I took it out of the left side of my player, and put it in the RIGHT side of the player... same thing. I then tried it in my computer CD player... same thing.
I put it back on the shelf. Last year I tried playing it again, but by that time the pulsating scratchy noise had infected the ENTIRE CD. All together, I have tried playing it on 7 different players, and it's always the same, so the problem is with the CD. The CD looks ABSOLUTELY PERFECT... no blemishes, no pinholes, no dirt or dust on the surface, no signs of "bronzing" at all.
I e-mailed Doug about it, and he nicely said that I was basically shit out of luck(MY words, NOT HIS!)
I'm assuming that MY copy is the ONLY ONE IN EXISTENCE that has had this happen to it... or AM I? I have well over a THOUSAND CDs, and THIS is the ONLY ONE that has developed this problem.
Since I never received any responses to my Willow thread, I suspect the same here, but figured I would "put it out there" and see if any of you have this release and had the same problem arise.

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I-love-Goldsmith, yes-I-do...
I-love-Ber-nard-Herr-mann-too! EVERYBODY SING!!!

This occasionally happens to a CD due to some problem with oxidation that takes place over time on the reflective surface which the laser reads . This seems to be a very intermittant problem that usually starts on the outer (or last tracks) and proceeds to effect the whole CD over time. It's what my friend Dana Wilcox refers to as the "dreaded helicopters." Sometimes, if you catch it early on, when only the final two tracks seem to be affected one can still rip the the CD to a hard drive as the computer can read the Data better than the actual playback code. By the time it has progressed to playback in general it's too late.


In my long gone days of Audio/Visual production I experienced library CDs developing this problem after only five years or so. It's all very random but irritating nonetheless. Perhaps you can find a film music friend that still has a playable (and rip-
able) disk. Good luck.

It DEFINITELY sounds like helicopter rotors.
This really makes me leery about ordering anymore Intrada CDs. I can't plunk down 20+ dollars on releases that are going to go bad on me. No telling how many more of my Intrada releases are going to go bad, and once again I'll be shit out of luck.
Why couldn't this have happened to my copy of Sebastian(YUCK!)?

_________________
I-love-Goldsmith, yes-I-do...
I-love-Ber-nard-Herr-mann-too! EVERYBODY SING!!!

Only practical advice to offer is to rip a backup copy to hard drive as soon as you receive your discs. Never rely entirely on the quality control of pressing plants in today's media environment.

Now Playing: Sebastian

YUCK!

_________________
I-love-Goldsmith, yes-I-do...
I-love-Ber-nard-Herr-mann-too! EVERYBODY SING!!!

I wouldn't write off Intrada as a music source as I have had only one instance over the last 25+ years of this happening in the second disk of a two disk set and Jeff Johnson of Intrada managed to find me a loose copy laying around the shop. The advice of doing an immediate rip for backup upon receiving the disk is good advice if you're at all nervous about this in the future.

Terry Cloth, you may end the year with my condolences. NORTH BY NORTHWEST is my most favorite Herrmann score, and one reason why that's also my favorite Hitchcock feature -- so I know how you feel. However, it would be a mistake to decide to avoid buying Intrada discs in the future over this event. What happened to your copy is clearly a manufacturing issue at the plant, and nothing within reach of Intrada's quality control; it could have occurred with any random disc sold by any label. Personally, I have found that "helicopter audio" issue with burned CD-Rs after years, more often than with pressed commercial discs. Alas, out of a 1,000-disc collection built over years you might come across that condition again -- not that it will be any more welcome the next time.

By the way, I hadn't played my own copy of this disc in a long time, though the first and last cues on mine just played with no problem. But another copy of the Intrada release will turn up for you. In the meantime, enjoy everything else of yours that still plays flawlessly. And try to have a happy New Year's Eve regardless! Surely you have much else for which to be grateful.