Intrada Soundtrack Forum

INTRADA Announces:



ELMER BERNSTEIN: THE AVA COLLECTION
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 262

In 1961 a group of individuals spearheaded by Fred Astaire (including Jackie Mills, Thomas Wolf and Elmer Bernstein) formed the AVA record label, and in its brief four years focused primarily on the film music of Elmer Bernstein. The most famous of these were To Kill a Mockingbird and Walk on the Wild Side. Each album was meticulously recorded in superb three-channel stereo using top Hollywood and West Coast symphony musicians, jazz, performers and soloists. In addition to using his original scores with their expert orchestrations by Leo Shuken and Jack Hayes, the composer employed top arrangers like Shorty Rogers and conducted each of the albums himself. All the records were relatively brief, with running times of 24 to 33 minutes.

A variety of reissues have appeared over the years, yet none of these were sourced from the first generation 1/2" three track masters. The first to appear during the LP era were To Kill a Mockingbird and Walk on the Wild Side—both from Citadel Records. These LP releases were, in fact, transferred from vinyl, with generous noise-reduction circuitry dampening the surface noise—along with much of the orchestral nuance and fidelity. The subsequent CDs from the Japanese SLC label followed suit by using the same sub-standard master sources. The audiophile CD label Mobile Fidelity reissued Movie and TV Themes, and while the CD was subtitled an “original master recording,” it was actually presented in mono. The Mainstream label also reissued some of the catalog on CD, sometimes padding the short releases with mostly unrelated material, but still presenting the albums either in mono or from second-generation stereo tapes. Mainstream also deleted some tracks, such as on their truncated To Kill a Mockingbird and Baby the Rain Must Fall releases. In spite of all those decades of reissue activity, not one of these legendary albums has ever been sourced from its original three-channel masters. Until now.

A two-decades-long search by Intrada has yielded every one of those precious rolls of tape (including the source for Intrada's earlier release of the complete Carpetbaggers) —intact and in pristine condition, with every vibrant audio channel present and every cue Bernstein recorded playing back in some of the most stunning audio quality of the sixties. This 3-CD set presents two albums per CD, in a musically balanced order. It is a treat to be able to preserve and present to a whole new generation of listeners this incredible set of recordings made half a century ago.

INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 262
Retail Price: $29.99
Available February 21
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.8567/.f

This is yet another shining example of surprise element discoveries still being made. It's fantastic to see all of these done perfectly in one neat package, and for a most agreeable price.

I am stunned by the quality of the audio samples relative to the Mainstream albums that I have.

Absolutely ace.

Roger, can you comment on the packaging design? I'm assuming this was the release you had in mind when conducting that recent poll on jewel case styles.

So on this splendid new release,
Was the pairing of
BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL
&
CARETAKERS
a coincidence or a choice to repeat the previous pairing by Mainstream Records?

By the way, I have already received a handful of emails asking what are the specific differences between the old releases and our new ones. We mentioned the differences inside the booklet but for people who desire immediate info, and hopefully without seeming too harsh towards the previous versions, here are the differences:

1) In one phrase: Ours sound better.

2) In more detail: though all six of the original Ava & Choreo LPs from the sixties were issued in stereo, with literally amazing performances and dynamic recordings of the sessions themselves, the pressings were generally quite noisy. This made the numerous LP reissues and subsequent CD versions feel welcome - until every one of them proved problematic. Yes. Every one.

The LP reissues for To Kill A Mockingbird and Walk On The Wild Side on Varese's spinoff label Citadel were taken from actual vinyl copies themselves since the masters were lost. Heavy noise reduction circuitry was applied and the dynamics became muddy with the entire upper range being lost in favor of reducing the vinyl surface noise. Later, the Movie And TV Themes album came out on CD from the audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, using the "original masters" - but those turned out instead to be dubs of the mono tapes. Over the years, several other labels presented their own CD versions of the albums, including the Japanese SLC label and Mainstream. Some of these versions had unrelated material added to them AND all sadly were still presented from either vinyl copies or lower quality multi-generation tape elements. The Caretakers, for instance, literally sounded like something being played over the telephone with virtually no dynamic range at all. Ditto Walk On The Wild Side. What's even crazier, some of these - including To Kill And Mockingbird and Baby The Rain Must Fall - were actually missing tracks. And some of them were STILL only in mono. It all added up to a messy four decades of listening where only the old original Ava LPs themselves were properly done.

So, in a nut shell, not ONE of the previous reissues either on LP or CD has ever had the complete albums drawn from the actual stereo album session masters. Now fast forward some five decades later and we finally unearth the "stuff dreams are made of" for Bernstein fans.

If you are happy with the lower quality of any of the previous versions, I can only say I hope you enjoy them. But if you have an interest in any or all of these six albums presented from those priceless original recording session masters, I would most humbly suggest you go for one of these new sets. Either way, one must admit this is precious music!
--Doug

It's hard to resist commenting on this project after dreaming for some 25 years that it could one day be a reality and now seeing the dream realized.

But resistance is futile.

For anyone curious, though To Kill A Mockingbird - surely Bernstein's most beloved score - has been recorded several times, in my humble opinion NO version has ever captured the sheer essence and sensitivity of the score like this original Ava version. The other versions just felt "too heavy", especially in the strings. Other differences: this close-miked performance allows you to actually hear the bowing of the cellos, the clarity of the harp, the balance needed between the orchestra and that all-important accordion that isn't intended to be a solo instrument but a delicately nuanced color within the harmonies.

And in a really, I suppose "anal" critique, I must admit the trombones in octaves - a sound even the composer described as an important device that represented what the children fear or do not understand - can only be really appreciated when you can actually hear the distinct sound of the instruments playing in octaves. And this recording remains the only one that gets it right. The two trombonists know when to play loud, when to play soft and when to disappear entirely.

I suppose having many of the same players from the actual soundtrack sessions probably makes a big difference. But this most important of all beautiful film scores really sounds best when the music can be heard from the inside out, so to speak, where you can actually hear the clarinet solo playing distinctly in the center while the muted brass play behind it, or when Bernstein divides his cellos into three parts to build entire chords, or where those powerful orchestral tuttis during the attack sequence are frighteningly intense and not just loud.

Am I too focused on the transparent orchestrations of this score? Or of the details that only Bernstein & Ava really nailed? Maybe. 25 years of digging in the earth will do that to you.
--Doug

This is cool beyond reason!

I have waited years for these superb Bernstein scores on Ava to re-appear with near demo sound. I for one am thrilled to have these once again with outstanding sound on CD.

_________________
Robert M Eastman

Cool collection!
Will grab it as soon as I could.

Your's decision about adding more samples is also good (for those, who never saw movies or not familiar with that period in Bernstein's legacy).
But if you add all 6 covers in 600*600 (not just 1 gif.) - this will be absolutely perfect release .

_________________
My wish-list at this moment: any Barry score, PSYСHO, SPY HARD.
Not much, really?

While I do have some of these recordings on LP, I actually own none of them on any previous CD release and will be very happy to add them to my CD collection in better sound quality.