lunes, 17 de diciembre de 2018

The Shining (1st part) (Unreleased “Deluxe” Edition).



In 2010,  coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the premiere of Stanley Kubrick's film "The Shining", an attempt was made to release a commemorative edition of the soundtrack that had not been reissued since the early eighties, let alone in a "deluxe" edition, where all the cuts that in one way or another were used by the director in the film, some excluded by space and others by rights, were included,  publishing a double disc in 1980 was discouraged given the nature of the content of the work, many of them adapted classic pieces and other old, old songs.

Unfortunately, with the director already deceased in March 1999, the project to carry out a special edition of soundtrack and the film, could not materialize, having no heirs of Kubrick an absolute control. As for the collector's edition on DVD, where for the first time all the different versions were going to appear together, including the so-called "Director's cut", with the alternative end of Wendy and Danny recovering in the hospital, of which only keeps a copy in Stanley Kubrick's archives, because he destroyed all.

And you will ask, why?.., the reason was another movie:"Friday the 13th", premiered a few days before in the United States, on May 9, 1980, whose end was very similar to the one proposed by Kubrick, which made that the director removed the few copies that were in its pre-release phase and was eliminated this ending "for life" and to make sure that it was never seen or added to a future copy, it ended up with all the copies, except one .

Be that as it may, the DVD edition was going to be something similar to what had already happened with other cult films like: "Close encounters of the third kind" by Steven Spielberg or the legendary "Blade Runner" by Ridley Scott.

The version that I bring, is the first part of a trilogy that will continue with another album with the unreleased remixes made for the film and finally a third with the original soundtrack discarded at the last moment by the director. Well, this one that I show you first, is a reconstruction, based on original documentation and research of how that special edition would be in a double CD or LP.

In the first one, the original soundtrack of 1980 is compiled, remastered; and in the second cd all those cuts that were left out, some for space, since publishing a double Lp, as I said, would have been in its day too reckless.

CD 1. (Original 1980 version).(46:25)

1. The Shining.(Main Title). (Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind).(2:55)
2. Rocky Mountains. (Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind).(1:47)
3. Lontano. (György Ligeti).(10:10)
4. Music for strings, percussion & celesta. (Bela Bartok).(8:09)
5. Utrenja - Ewangelina.(Excerpt). (Krysztof Penderecki).(3:36)
6. The awakening of Jacob. (Krysztof Penderecki).(7:31)
7. De natura sonoris nº2. (Krysztof Penderecki).(9:05)
8. Home. (P.Van Steeden/H.Clarkson & J.Clarkson).(3:10)

In the 2nd disc, dedicated to the additional material, it includes two songs by composers Wendy Carlos and Raquel Elkind: "clockworks" bloody elevators "- until recently unpublished on CD, whose music, Stanley Kubrick excluded from the film to use it as part of the "famous trailer", where a spring of blood springs from inside lifts; also in this edition in English, since it differs from the Spanish, it appears: "Nocturnal Valse Triste", not included in the film but  if in the documentary about "The Shining".

CD 2. (Additional material):(33:55)

1. Clockworks (bloody elevators). (Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind).(2:21)
2. De natura sonoris nº1. (Krysztof Penderecki).(7:22)
3. Masquerade. (Jack Hylton).(3:12)
4. It´s all forgotten now. (Ray Noble).(3:19)
5. Utrenja - Kanon/Paschy. (Krysztof Penderecki).(0:58)
6. Polymorphia. (Krysztof Penderecki).(11:48)
7. Midnight the stars and You. (Ray Noble).(3:27)
8. Nocturnal Valse Triste. (Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind).(1:25) 

The soundtrack itself, despite being very successful, is somewhat sordid, dark and at times it becomes stressful and it is not advisable to listen to it alone and less at night because it causes its effects on the unconscious, bit.ly/80SKSh and you can see things in the dark where there are none or if you relax a lot until you give a trip of those astral, because it contains many low, almost unnoticeable records that go deep inside. Don´t forget that part of the soundtrack used in the "Shining" is based on another one of equal tendency: "The exorcist" ..., you are warned.

Finally say that the artwork includes the original photo to back cover that was later censored for being declared of "extreme violence", changed by the other,but we know, as the plan to re-edit this classic: it was unreleased and forgotten until now.  
Enjoy if you can, although I doubt it, this stormy and tormenting music of one of the horror classics .., I will tell you that compared to the remixes that I will bring you later it falls short.