One of James Horner's Best? Battle Beyond the Stars! 

For the sake of clarity and to address questions and thoughts that have arisen on the internet, this release does not use Auto-Tune, Melodyne, MIDI, sample libraries, or AI to alter the pitch of individual notes. That's all. But if you'd like a sermon, keep reading and try not to doze off! Zzzzz... Since the late 1940s, when magnetic tape became commercially viable, artists in almost every music genre have used editing to create their desired performance. Some of our favourite scores-especially those from John Williams-are perfected through (sometimes intense and masterful) editing. It is reasonable to think that if James Horner had more time with his orchestra, he would have achieved an improved performance. It is also reasonable to believe that with more time at the splicing block, he would have gone substantially further than any perfunctory editing. The dollars and the clock were both against him. What was done for Intrada’s Disc 1 is certainly more precise than what was feasible in the analog domain of 1980. We were able to intercut with other takes-where they existed and the performance was satisfactory. We were also able to selectively use individual trumpet and horn statements from within the same take or other takes-again, where satisfactory. It's worth mentioning that the latter, more extreme, editing activity is not unique to this release. It has been undertaken more often than we think. Bad notes hidden under dialogue and effects, early entrances, and recording anomalies have required help for soundtrack albums. And no one seems to have noticed or, thankfully, complained. Is it historical revisionism? I guess that’s up to your individual viewpoint. Regarding Battle, I believe the work was done with good taste to address the most egregious issues and to connect listeners, both old and new, to this great, great score. The OST on Disc 2 is the same performance and mix made for Rhino Records’ album in 1980. No one is taking that away. All of this does raise the question: when AI becomes capable of seamlessly replacing a trumpet section, should it? Too many words? Probably, but there’s no dog in this.

Blaster Beam: 1 LOVE IT I'll be ordering this when it comes back in stock at Intrada!

I first bought the LP of BBTS over forty years ago. I'd just discovered this new composer after his amazing Star Trek II score. About six weeks after buying that score I found this. I knew the film from a couple of years earlier but didn't realise it too was scored by James Horner. Yes I could hear the budget limitations on this album. But I could tell this was written by an incredibly gifted composer. And I had to collect everything released by him from then onwards (boy did Krull knock my socks off in 83!) Horner soon rose to the top tiers of favorite film composers along with Williams and Goldsmith. Thank you Chris for this fun and informative video. The young teenage version of me would have eaten it up. And yes, thank you for weaving your digital magic on this exciting expanded new release! It's a decades long dream come true to finally have it!

It would be absolute gold to make that studio chatter available somehow as a supplementary piece!

Imperfect performances still have their charm for some of us less critical film music historians. I prefer recordings presented as they are, obviously flubbed notes and all. Whether it is players struggling to perform a masterful Goldsmith score or hearing frequent chatter in a Kamen recording, the compositions usually still shine through.

Krull is better❤