Les Mis movie soundtrack?

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 4:32pm

Anyone heard anything about a release date for the soundtrack? None of the CD release sites I go to have it listed yet...

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 4:47pm

Nothing yet, but a question I have is are they going to re-record studio versions for the album or take the film's live singing and put it on disc?

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 4:50pm

I HOPE they take the live singing - we don't really need another studio album!

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 5:05pm

I'm hoping for a live disk as well! It'd be stupid to waste the time and money on recording it, when they can just use the film instead.

People will notice the difference.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 5:44pm

i'm sure they'll use the movie's actual soundtrack. Getting all of those celebrities into a studio would cost an obscene amount of money.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 7:30pm

^lol. They wouldn't need to be in the same studio at the same time.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 7:33pm

They misguidedly did that with Evita, and it annoyed the pants outta me, even if I was mostly relieved that Madge's stale vocal performance on the recording wasn't entirely (for the most part) used on the actual film and many bits were done either live or re-recorded.

Updated On: 10/28/12 at 07:33 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 9:20pm

^ Pity no one thought to discard her stale performance on film.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 9:39pm

You can't discard those dead eyes, no matter how much they demand an unwarranted Oscar. It's, unfortunately, the one thing that I remember most about the film. How I thought she was "pretty good" back then, I'll never know. But I was generally a drone those days.

Updated On: 10/28/12 at 09:39 PM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 10/28/12 at 11:18pm

Soundtrack albums (taken directly from film tracks) are problematic. For starters to avoid sounding too distant and reverberant in movie theatres, the sound is recorded very flat (with little reverberation) - the albums sound brittle and boxy.

One fix tried in the 1960s was to add reverb to the albums. This only made them sound hollow.

Another approach was to re-record the scores for the albums (Capitol did this with OKLAHOMA!, CAROUSEL and THE KING AND I.) This gave the best quality sound but was expensive and nit-picky collectors whined that the performances on the albums were not exactly the same as heard in the films.

By the 1970s, multi-track recording meant that different mixes could be prepared for album release and use on the actual film soundtrack.

The recent trend to having singers in musicals sing live on the set re-opens old wounds: In the case of LES MIZ, the singers are filming to a piano track with a full orchestra added later. Obviously a soundtrack album puled from the finished film will have all the noise of movement (footsteps) and sound effects mixed in. That may or may not make for a pleasant listening experience. Re-recording the score from scratch woudl prove very expensive, and although the film is hitting theatres at Christmastime and is expected to be one of this season's big hits, will that translate to CD sales especially when fans already have so many other recordings crowding the shelves. Do we need every scrap of the underscoring preserved on CD? Perhaps a single CD of the key songs would be a welcome alternative. (I don't really think we need another multi-disc set. If you want the full thing get the DVD/Blue Ray when it comes out.)

[My Oh My]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 12:35am

On the question of whether or not we need yet another 2 disc set: of course we do. XD

Les Mis typically doesn't all fit into 2 discs, so I think a 2nd 3 disc set (after the Complete Symphonic Recording) of the score in English is in order, hehe.

All fanaticism aside, I see what you mean, but maybe the reason Cammack held off on issuing an official audio recording of the 25th anniversary concert was because he intends to release a soundtrack of the film. At least I hope so.

[TheatreKid3]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 12:57am

Well, he did release a recording of the 25th Anniversary touring production so I don't know if that is really applicable.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 2:10am

Check out Amazon and see the chorus of complaints from people who bought the UK tour cast CD thinking it was the 25th anniversary concert they saw on television. Cammack is usually responsive to the public and their needs and thought maybe he thought having a 25th concert CD was a bit much after issuing the tour CD, and he'd rather invest in one for the film instead; conjecture, of course.

[westcoast_wannabe]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 5:33am

How complete is the tour cast CD? Ever since I read the movie script I've been listening to Les Mis rather obsessively and debating whether or not I should buy it. I want to listen to a new recording because listening to new recordings allow me to hear and appreciate new aspects of shows I know really well. I'll definitely be buying the soundtrack as soon as its available so I can only justify buying the 25th tour cast recording if its a complete representation of the show with the cuts that made runtime under 3hrs. That way I can compare it to the Complete Symphonic Recording and hear what's been cut.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 6:47am

I've listened to that CD only once and not all the way through, so I'm not the one to ask. But as far as I know, it isn't quite so much a representation of the show after the Broadway early 2000s cuts and more a representation of the 25th anniversary revisions, which judging by the response so far, I'm sure you'll find it new and refreshing. As far as the cast, it solves the problem for many of this show's many, but unevenly cast productions that spawned official recordings. I see where the unevenness is as far as individual recorded casts and I also find myself plucking members from other casts and wishing they were in this or that recording instead. The 25th anniversary UK tour CD seems to gel much better in terms of cast for many.

Definitely get it if you enjoy listening to a different take on familiar material for the sake of it, but if your primary objective is to get something that accurately reflects the Broadway cuts, then a look elsewhere. I'd suggest a Broadway boot from that era since I doubt you'd have any luck scoring a pro-level recording of the show with exactly those cuts.

[westcoast_wannabe]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 9:07am

I didn't realize more cuts had been made to the score since the broadway cuts. I had lost interest in the show in the late 90s and now with all the excitement for the movie I'm rediscovering how much I live it.

Maybe you don't know My Oh My but hopefully someone else can answer:
Is the 25th anniversary recording a complete representation of how the show is now performed or is it more along the lines of the OLCR and the OBCR where the bulk of it is there but bits of the recitative are missing?

Keeping this on topic so I'm not thread jacking too much...
I hope the eventual soundtrack is complete.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 11:26am

I don't know the answer to your question, but if you want to hear the tour cast recording, you can search for it on that site.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 11:58am

"or is it more along the lines of the OLCR and the OBCR where the bulk of it is there but bits of the recitative are missing?"

This. What you hear on the recording is not exactly what you heard onstage. If you like good casts, however, specifically good Valjean's (and John Owen-Jones is, arguably, one of the best) then it's a great recording to go for.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 12:35pm

No, the 25th anniversary recording is the full show. Furthermore, it reflects well the recent set of revisions and updates made to the show.

There were only two minor changes I can think of off hand. But, as far as I am concerned, this is a live recording of the complete show.

There were two big improvements (as far as I'm concerned) between the symphonic recording and the 25th anniversary one. The major complaint regarding the 25th anniversary recording was that you didn't get the feeling of chemistry between the actors. This is because the symphonic recording was done is several different locations with everything being edited together in the end. For the 25th anniversary recording it was a recording of a performance of the show and everyone was there on stage together, so there was no issue with chemistry between the actors.

I also feel that the sound quality on the live 25th anniversary recording was much better. I felt that the sound quality on the symphonic recording sounds a little dated in terms of technology. But, that is just me.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 12:52pm

I am hoping for a deluxe, no-cuts made release of the movie soundtrack/cast recording, but I have not heard any official word.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 12:55pm

"No, the 25th anniversary recording is the full show."

This is not true, there are cuts.

[Plexsis]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 1:05pm

I'm pretty sure Eponine's Errand is missing from the 25th anniversary tour recording.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 2:06pm

I am aware that there were some cuts on the 25th anniversary album. However, I am also aware that there were cuts/alterations made to the show between it turning 25 and when the show was recorded for the symphonic recording.

Was Eponine's Errand a scene that was altered/truncated as part of the recent tinkering of the show by the creative team?

And Clap Yo Hands, you're right that there are some cuts made to the 25th anniversary recording. However, it is more complete than either the Broadway cast album or the London cast album.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 2:14pm

^I really wish they would have made a complete version of the 25th anniversary tour cast recording available for download on itunes or something. The cuts are few and minor, but it still bothers me a little when I'm listening. I can understand having to make a few cuts if the whole show simply won't fit on two discs, even though I'm pretty sure the full version as it stands now would fit, but it just makes no sense why they made any cuts at all. Obviously the whole show was recorded. It's not like they were in a studio and decided not to record some stuff to save time and money. A complete version should have been on itunes with bonus tracks or something like Cameron did for Betty Blue Eyes.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/29/12 at 2:40pm

Cats,

I know that there has been tinkering with the show here and there over the years. But, Cats, correct me if I am wrong but isn't the 25th anniversary version of the show the most up to date in terms of cuts/edits ect?

If it is, I think that the reason for the minor cuts here and there during the 25th anniversary recording were purely economical. I do recall that the symphonic recording was on three discs, with the third disc being relatively short. My guess is that CamMac did some minor cuts here and there, that way he wouldn't have had to throw in a short third CD?

I am not saying I know for sure, but that's the only think that I can think of that would make sense as to why the newest recording is on two discs.