New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Concord
Music Group is proud to introduce the Original
Soundtrack Classics series, a limited-edition line of vinyl reissues, each designed with both the music lover and the film buff in mind. To kick off the series, three scores from the Fantasy Records archives will be reissued on
September 11, 2015 in deluxe, 180-gram vinyl LP box sets: Amadeus, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Though Amadeus was a widely acclaimed hit film, taking home eight statues at the Academy Awards (including Best Picture), the overwhelming success of the classical soundtrack was a surprise hit when it was released in 1984. The score, which received a GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Album, astonished music executives worldwide as it jumped up the Billboard album charts — matching record sales of some of the biggest popstars of the day, and becoming one of the most popular classical releases of all time. This Original
Soundtrack Classics box set will mark the first time that the entire score is available on vinyl, in one collection. The three discs are each housed in their own unique sleeves, featuring new artwork. Completing the package is a 23" x 36" theatrical poster and a 16-page booklet, complete with new liner notes by the score's esteemed conductor, Sir Neville Marriner, plus original liner notes by music historian Grover Sales, detailed information on each track, an annotated plotline and stills from the film.
Next in the collection is the Academy and GRAMMY Award-nominated score from the 1975 hit film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Composed by prolific producer and musician Jack Nitzsche (Phil Spector, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young), the soundtrack has long been praised for its edgy and effective nature (including the eerie instrumental use of a saw in the opening and closing themes). Inside the Original
Soundtrack Classics box, fans will uncover the LP in a reproduction of its 1975 gatefold jacket. Accompanying the score is a 24" x 36" poster which was included in the original packaging; two collectible pin-back buttons ("Beware Big Nurse" and "McMurphy Rules"); as well as a 16-page booklet containing rarely seen stills from the film, insightful notes by director Miloš Forman and an essay on Nitzsche by documentarian Kristian St. Clair.
Completing the initial set of Original
Soundtrack Classics reissues is the timeless score to the 1978 animated feature J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, from Academy Award-winning composer Leonard Rosenman (East of Eden,
Rebel Without a Cause, Barry Lyndon). This highly collectible, 2-LP box set is filled with a wealth of ephemera, and will be a must-have for fans of the landmark film.
The album is housed in a reproduction of the soundtrack's original gatefold jacket, and includes a 24" x 36" alternate theatrical poster, featuring Gandalf, as well as a lobby car — both reproduced from 1978 marketing materials. Also in the box is a map of Middle-Earth, as well as a production cel and a sticker — all reproductions of items previously available only to Tolkien
Fanclub members in the 1970s and '80s. A 16-page booklet rounds out the collection, featuring stills from the animation and behind-the-scenes photos, all contextualized with liner notes by Tolkien Enterprises' Laurie Battle, plus a new Rosenman appreciation by Jon Burlingame, the nation's leading writer on the subject of music for films and television.
Music historian and box set producer Bill Belmont also offers a backstage look at the making of the film.
Additional titles will be announced in 2016 from the Original
Soundtrack Classics line.
