Varèse Sarabande is a specialty imprint of Craft Recordings, and is one of the world's most prolific producers of motion picture and television soundtrack recordings. While originally established in 1972 as an avant garde classical music label, it has since found a successful niche specializing in the release of film scores, original soundtrack recordings, and original cast recordings. Varèse Sarabande has been a division of Concord Music and Craft Recordings since 2018, and they've managed to increase the appeal of their broad range of offerings to fans and collectors alike with expanded deluxe and limited-edition CD, digital download, and especially LP releases, which are often pressed in exotic colored vinyl versions.
Their schedule of currently available and upcoming new releases for mid-to-late 2024 includes a number of deluxe LP editions, with all of them available in really cool colored-vinyl variants. Those include Dave Grusin's jazz-inflected score for Neil Simon's 1976 mystery/comedy Murder By Death; David Newman's score for Joss Whedon's cult classic sci-fi film Serenity; Michael Giacchino's score for J.J. Abrams' 2009 space romp Star Trek Into Darkness; Hans Zimmer's Grammy-nominated score for 1989's Academy Award-winning Driving Miss Daisy; and Don Davis' score for 1999's highest-grossing motion picture, the Wachowski's mind bending The Matrix. Dual-LP sets and digital downloads of the four remaining titles in the slate of releases were sent to me for review, including Danny Elfman's original soundtrack for Guillermo del Toro's 2008 take on the graphic novel Hellboy II: The Golden Army; Randy Newman's 1998 original score for Gary Ross' Pleasantville; Clint Mansell's manic and propulsive original soundtrack for the 2005 adaptation of the sci-fi video game Doom; and Jerry Goldsmith's chilling soundtrack for Steven Spielberg's 1999's supernatural thriller The Haunting. All can be ordered (or pre-ordered, depending on the title) directly from Varèse Sarabande's website HERE, but can also be found at a variety of online sellers, as well as brick and mortar locations, including your favorite independent record store.
Danny Elfman, Hellboy II: The Golden Army Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition). (2) 140 Gram Translucent Red and Blue LPs. $40 MSRP
Hellboy II: The Golden Army was the sequel to the original Hellboy, and as sequels go, it's a truly superior movie, perhaps even bettering the original with improved CGI action sequences—it's definitely a visually stunning watch. Ron Perlman and Selma Blair reprise their roles to perfection, and the movie's mix of intense action and comic relief blend to make for an exceptionally entertaining motion picture. Danny Elfman's music adds infinitely to the movie's flow, much of which is dominated by propulsively dynamic musical sequences that will challenge your system with massive orchestral transients and incredibly deep subterranean bass. That said, there's a variety of interesting and eclectic moods in the music; for example, the first few tracks, from the "Introduction," "Hellboy II - Main Theme," and "Enter Mr. Wink," work to build the level of intensity. "Auction House" sets a sinister tone of mystery and intrigue, then "Hallway Cruise" sets a very authentic 1950's jazzy tone with a vibraphone and theremin accompaniment. Soon after, the track "Domestic Fight" enters with tapping cymbals and handclaps, along with a horn section, vibraphone, and flute; it sets a full blown post-bop inflection that offers much needed relief from the otherwise bombastic music sequences. Danny Elfman is truly a genius, and is able to seamlessly shift moods on the fly, making this quirkily entertaining album an amazingly satisfying listen.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition) is strictly limited to 500 LP copies worldwide, and it's such a cool package, once the word gets out, they'll likely get snapped up immediately. The pair of colored vinyl LPs—one of them translucent red, one of them translucent blue—are exceptionally beautiful, and the pressings from Memphis Record Pressing were as close to perfection as you can get. The graphically stylish printed inner sleeves feature an extended essay on Danny Elfman's music and how it relates to the movie from journalist Daniel Schweiger (he's written the liner notes for many of Elfman's soundtracks)—the excellent essay flows across all four inner sleeve panels, and offers a truly fascinating read. Trust me, don't sit on this one too long—get that credit card out ASAP! The music is also being made available as a Deluxe Edition 2-CD set that can be ordered HERE, and the CD-quality download files I was supplied with also sounded incredible—I can't recommend this album highly enough!
Randy Newman, Pleasantville: Original Motion Picture Score (Deluxe Edition). (2) 140 Gram Red, White, and Blue Colorblast Swirl LPs. $40 MSRP
I saw the movie Pleasantville in the theater at the time of its original release, and I've seen it numerous times since. It's built around an incredibly interesting premise, where a brother and sister get injected into an alternate dimension television show called Pleasantville, where everyone and everything seems scripted from episodes of 1950's shows like Father Knows Best. Of course, the well-meaning but headstrong siblings end up turning Pleasantville on end, and mayhem ensues. Randy Newman does a really great job of blending period-appropriate themes with really dreamy sequences, and Pleasantville: Original Motion Picture Score (Deluxe Edition) provides a truly entertaining listening experience. Much of the music has a very jazzy feel, but many of Newman's compositions seem almost classically inspired; I could hear echoes of Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber throughout. This compelling set makes for an entertaining and often cerebral listen.
Pleasantville: Original Motion Picture Score (Deluxe Edition) arrived on a pair of translucent red, white, and blue colorblast swirl LPs. They not only look cool simply holding them, but are nearly mesmerizing to watch as they spin on the turntable! And hey, if you can pull yourself away from staring at the spinning LPs, the pressings from MRP were perfect in every regard, with noiseless surfaces and silent grooves. The package features a new cover illustration by artist Sim Sim, and the interior of the gatefold jacket features an excellent essay from arts journalist and film music historian Tim Greiving. The interior spread also features a graphically stylish layout that resembles an old antique photo album, with stylized Polaroids of all the main characters. While the LPs were far beyond superb, the album has also been released on compact disc, and the digital files were excellent in their own right; the CD can be ordered HERE. Highly recommended.
Clint Mansell, Doom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition). (2) 140 Gram Orange and Green Smoke Doomguy LPs. $40 MSRP
Clint Mansell's music for Doom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition) differs the most from the other Varèse Sarabande releases in this series—listening to it is almost like hearing a great instrumental Nine Inch Nails record! The album combines unbelievably deep bass, heart-pounding drums, and searing electric guitars that often sound more like air raid sirens—all layered between a myriad of synths that continuously propel the action in a headstrong direction. And a ghostly choir often appears from out of nowhere, giving many of the tracks an almost gothic feel. The movie was based on the Doom video game, and yeah—I definitely hear the concept in many of the album's twenty-plus tracks—this album could be the most drivingly propulsive video game soundtrack ever! But when the pace does slow a bit—for example on tracks like "Sibling Rivalry," leading into the first part and main theme of "The Lab"—it takes on a very ominous and sinister character. Clint Mansell flips the musical moods on a dime here, but the eclectic nature of the music makes Doom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack essential listening.
The album package is graphically stylish, with vividly intense cover and interior illustrations from celebrated Dutch artist Micha Huigen. There's a folded-down poster inside one of the sleeves that replicates his cover art, inside and out—it's a very nice touch. The pair of translucent smoke LPs—one orange, and the other green—match the color scheme of the album art, and are not only cool looking but also quite elegant. MRP's pressings were perfection incarnate, and playback was very quiet with no appreciable groove or surface noise. Doom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition) is also available as a 2-CD set, and can be ordered HERE—the digital files I received easily matched the sound quality of the excellent LPs. Very highly recommended!
Jerry Goldsmith, The Haunting Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition). (2) 140 Gram Black, Gold, and Gray Swirled LPs. $40 MSRP
1999's The Haunting was a star-studded remake, with Steven Spielberg directing in what was originally planned as a collaboration with Stephen King. In an effort to take the film to the next emotional level, Spielberg enlisted Jerry Goldsmith to compose and conduct the film's often thrilling and suspenseful soundtrack. Goldsmith's music consistently builds to a slow burn, alternating between ominously themed tracks like "Afraid" and the minor-key, but pastorally themed "A Place For Everything." Which rapidly transitions into a sense of impending dread; "Hill House," "First Look," and "In The Dark" build on that sensation. Then "Carousel" lightens the mood with a mostly cheerful carnival ride, but "The Yellow Light" again elevates the suspense. Goldsmith continues this pattern throughout most of the album's runtime, with only occasional instances of sheer terror—like in "What Do You Want/Return To The Carousel,"—but hey, that's Hollywood, where the actual intensity of most horror movies only actually lasts a few brief seconds. The terror reaches a crescendo in "Terror In Bed/Nell's Room," where Goldsmith's expertly arranged strings shriek while the tympani absolutely pounds. Goldsmith's brilliant score for The Haunting Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition) makes for a viscerally gripping listen.
The album jacket features new artwork from illustrator Sina Grace, and the interior spread contains a stylish montage of stills from the film. Author, editor, and journalist Jeff Bond wrote the informative liner notes for this release, which offers something of a primer on Jerry Goldsmith's approach to composing for motion pictures. The pair of LPs from MRP were exceptionally quiet during playback, and the pair of translucent black, gold, and gray swirled LPs were very beautiful to hold, and especially so to watch spinning on the turntable. The Haunting Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Deluxe Edition) is also available as a digital download that can be ordered HERE; the digital files I received were every bit the match for the outstanding LPs. Highly recommended.
Varèse Sarabande's Surprisingly Eclectic Range of Soundtracks and Scores Were Immensely Enjoyable!
I go to movie theaters regularly, watch a lot of films on my big-screen TV at home, and I've always been one to get sucked more deeply into the action by a really good soundtrack or score. And I usually always hang around to see the end credits, but mostly more to hear the music for the end titles than for the possibility of seeing a last-minute Easter egg or teaser. And while you typically get to hear a lot of great music throughout most films, so much of the score inevitabley gets left on the cutting room floor. You really need releases like these from Varèse Sarabande to restore them to their original length, allowing you to get (and hear!) the entire picture. All of the composer's music definitely needs to be heard!
The colored vinyl LPs were all uniformly gorgeous, and the album jackets featured really cool artwork, with some of the packages including posters or inserts that add to their overall impression of goodness. The Hellboy II package is a gold foil-stamped, super-limited release that's bound to show up on Discogs for crazy-ridiculous prices as soon as it hits the street! The LPs were perfection incarnate, with beautifully glossy surfaces, and the sound quality of these albums were exemplary, to say the least! Playback in my all-analog system was powerfully dynamic, and albums like Hellboy II and Doom often presented subterranean bass that really gave my subs a workout. The digital downloads are also exceptionally well done—if you don't have access to LP playback, the digital files were really superb. They played across my digital source system with impressively dynamic sound, providing an illusion of reality that rivaled that of a large movie theater.
I can't recommend these new soundtrack and score deluxe editions from Varèse Sarabande highly enough! Thanks to Jacob Mask and everyone at Craft Recordings and Varèse Sarabande for the opportunity and continued excellence of their releases.
Craft Recordings
Varèse Sarabande
All images courtesy of Craft Recordings.
