Busy times in the real world, but we’re back with news of some exciting recent and future release that will make you very happy (and of course make a dent in your wallets too…)  Recent weeks have seen the labels churn out a varied selection of titles and the majors certainly have some corkers up their sleeves for the next few.

La La Land seem continually to have something interesting to offer and their recent releases of Nelson Riddle’s original score for 1960’s Batman The Movie and Marc Shaiman’s brilliant 1994 political comedy score Speechless will no doubt have piqued your interest, not to mention their two Silvestri releases: Dutch and the expanded Eraser.  The label comes up trumps once again with their next batch of titles as they have unveiled a two-disc presentation of David Arnold’s stunning 1996 score for Independence Day  Boasting seventy minutes of unreleased music, the album is sure to sell out; as is the first ever complete release of John Williams’ The Poseidon Adventure.  Yes, that’s right, another Williams classic for the collection and all in glorious stereo you’ll be excited to hear.  A fair portion of the score was of course made available some time ago by Film Score Monthly, sharing a disc with selections from Williams’ The Paper Chase.  This new release will please fans though, finally given the treatment it deserves.

FSM themselves have once again delved into the Paramount vaults and will release a double selection by the late, great, Michael Small.  His 1970s scores offer some of his best work and his effort for the gripping Marathon Man headlines a set shared with his earlier score for The Parallax View.  Classics both, so don’t miss them.

Varese Sarabande released Marcelo Zarvos’ Brooklyn’s Finest at the end of March, alongside John Powell’s How To Train Your Dragon, and the coming few weeks will see a further volume of music from Lost and the first season disc for Giacchino’s Fringe (a title the Oscar-winning composer shares with composers Chris Tilton and Chad Seiter).  British composer Ed Shearmur’s Mother and Child finds its way to CD, as does the hotly anticipated Robin Hood by Marc Streitenfeld.  I’m certainly looking forward to hearing what the blossoming composer has done for Ridley Scott’s new take on the classic story.

The smaller labels continue to release fine work and top of the list was Perseverance’s album of David Newman’s highly listenable 1994 score for The Runestones.  1200 copies were made available, so if they’re still available be sure to nab a copy!  BSX follows fine titles of music by Lee Holdridge (Winterhawk), Austin Wintory (Grace) and Brian May (Return to Eden) with a pair of nerve shivering releases. 

First up is Dennis McCarthy’s 1998 thriller score Letters from a Killer (which starred the late Patrick Swayze) and then John Beal’s 1984 mini-classic Terror in the Aisles.

Next we look to MovieScore Media, whose release of Fernando Velazquez’ Shiver continues the label’s fine tradition of must-hear horror scores, while Kritzerland’s disc of Fred Katz’ 1960 score for Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors will please fans of the cult film that played a part in launching the career of Jack Nicholson.  Oh and there’s a new label in town it seems – Quartet Records – who recently released Maurice Jarre’s 1987 score for Total Blackout and Michel Legrand’s The Happy Ending.

Sticking with the late Jarre, Tadlow Records follow up their delightful double set of Lion of the Desert and The Messenger with his spectacular score for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. The two-disc set presents every note of the original score as performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, including fifty minutes of previously unreleased material.  The score is a standout in the composer’s filmography as it featured a gamut of inspired instrumentation, including six pianos, three ondes martenot, digeridoo and a wealth of percussion – over a hundred performers in all.  The stunning album is released on May 25^th – one not to be missed for sure!

Michael Beek