I met a number of warm and interesting people in L.A. and one thing struck me was, and I wasn't surprised, that there's an abundance of passionate people there who live and breathe film. I felt incredibly comfortable in the company of such scholars, and one of them was Michael Matessino.

Michael Matessino (nicknamed "the soundtrack guy" in L.A.) has numerous credits to his ubiquitous name, not only has he been involved with DVD projects (Star Trek: The Motion Picture), he has an impressive array of soundtrack producing credits, too, including the 1997 Star Wars Special Editions, Home Alone 2, Alien, Goodbye Mr Chips, Poltergeist and many, many more.

I kept in touch with Michael for many years, and it was no surprise that I found him to be hospital, gracious and friendly in person as on the phone and in emails. Mike punctured his schedule so he could hang around with me: We toured the Warner Bros. lot and he accompanied me to various places, and generally being helpful, because L.A. is a never-ending labyrinth. We always chose my rental car because, as Mike pointed out, "it's nicer", but I'm not sure he was so complimentary on my driving.
On our trip Doug's place, Mike was armed with some Superman music, "Ah, should make the journey pleasant", thought I. Of course, it's Superman, nothing is ever straightforward for the blue boy: the infernal CD player wouldn't play the CDs. Just as well, because driving on the wrong side of the road requires a lot of concentration. I think Mike regretted his decision to be a passenger in my car. I remember the bug-eyed cries of "STOP!", "Watch out!" and "BRAKE!!!" I think the old-boy had a bruised forehead (I became proficient in emergency-braking in record time) by the time we reached Doug's place.

Taken at Warner Bros. music. Mike showing me the Superman score [Oct 2006].

Doug Schwartz is a smart fella. He walks the walk, and I say that because he really just wants to get on with the job. He doesn't want to explain what he's doing, he just does it. He's reserved but tenacious. I have a number of CDs he's mastered and I always feel that I'm listening to something that has the master's approval. Every CD-case which houses his work should adorn an approval stick: Mastered by Doug.

I can't speak in musicological terms but only how it affects me emotionally. Music unleashes my imagination: it creates scenes in my head and it imbues it with an emotional lightening. I don't necessarily marry the musical cue with the intended scene, I like the music to divorce it and partner a new adventure. For instance, if I'm listening to "Helicopter Rescue" from Superman, I'm not reliving that moment -- I attach the music to my own Superman film, the one that buzzes in my head. I think film scores are a beacon for visuals.

The samples I heard were absolutely stunning and, after the listening session, the hairs on the back of my neck refused to sleep. This is what I remember hearing at Mulholland Music

Superman The Movie:
It's never sounded this good on CD. The harsh low ends of the sound spectrum are gone. It sounded much warmer to my ears.

Dome Opens - ALTERNATE [Disc 2 - track 13]
Used in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut as the villains' theme. In the film (Superman The Movie), the chosen cue works better because it's suspenseful and almost underplays the ghostly imaginary on screen. The alternate is spectacular, it scores the Phantom Zone sequence as a spectacle, deliciously over-the-top and forceful. The cyclonic, swirling strings have this pending doomsday edge to it. This cue could be my favourite Superman music, it's that amazing. I was floored by it.

The Mugger - ALTERNATE [Disc 3 - track 14]
Something very familiar about this cue, oh yes, Ken adapted it for the Paris sequence [Superman II]. It's the tension music. The difference between the film and alternate version is that the latter scores the seriousness of the situation, whilst the chosen cue is bias towards the comical.

Superman II:
Mention Ken Thorne's music in 'II' and you get the derivative statement, "High school marching band". Over the years, I've warmed to Ken's work, once I stopped comparing it to Williams' original. It's easy to dismiss it as inferior, but listening to it in this ideal environment, Ken's work stands out as a competent adaptation. My appreciation has magnified since I heard the samples on Doug's two juggernauts. It's mixed terribly in the film, but on CD it's much fuller and warmer. The mixing is beautifully done bringing out nuances buried in the film mix. Can't wait to read the fan reactions to this one; hopefully the "high school" statement will be banished to the phantom zone for all eternity. We sampled snippets from various cues.

Superman III:
If my eyes were opened by Ken's Superman II adaptation, I was transfixed 'Ludovico style' by this one. First, I got to hear some Grand Canyon music; it was punchy, energetic, relentless and pulsating; it builds up to a sensory overload. Again, buried in the film mix, but thankfully revived on CD for the first time. You can tell that Ken was having a ball on this one, not restricted by just Williams's themes, the composer shows us what he can write and boy it IS something else.

Montage [disc 4 - track 4]
We sampled music from the sequence where the computers go haywire, whilst Gus attempts a connection to the Vulcan satellite. It rings of classical composers - it has this wonderful waltz melody and it reminded of György Ligeti, plus it wouldn't be out of place in Kubrick's 2001. It's fun and larger than life, and it could become a fan favourite.

Superman IV:
This one is going to be a revelation, maybe the biggest and the most surprising 2 CDs in the collection. It sounds like it was recorded yesterday. I sampled three tracks written by John Williams:

The Nuclear Man theme [disc 6 - track 1]
I don't think this theme sounds great in the film. I never thought it was a competent Williams cue. Forget what you've heard in the film, this music is a knock-out. I could make out the synths. Great to hear all that detail the composer infuses into the score.

Lacy's theme [Disc 5 - track 5]
This was my favourite of the three; it exudes this jazzy, '60s classy aura. Very sexy and sultry. It harkens back to the 1960s Johnny Williams sound.

Jeremy's theme [Disc 5 - track 7]
Insignificant in the film [theatrical cut]. It's another surprise on CD; reminds me of Hook.

That's all I sampled. I was astounded by the sheer quality of the mixes that anymore would have been sensory overload.

What I think drives these projects are the passion and commitment to do what is best for the given project. I see the fiscal limitations as a plus point, because it requires them to be clever and somehow circumvent the boundaries imposed upon them. These guys are best in the business because they are clever and understand exactly what the fans want. These guys are rabid fans, for instance, I was reading November's FSM online magazine -- Mike wrote a wonderful tribute to Jerry Goldsmith discussing his recollections of meeting him whilst prepping Star Trek: The Director's Edition and helping out with a film music concert, where the maestro put Mike in charge of making sure Star Trek sounded "right", and this quote made me smile: "I remember mentally playing that moment back a few times... Jerry Goldsmith was putting me in charge of how his music sounds? Inside I was giddy, but professionally, it was rather practical: Jerry was simply aware of my intimate familiarity with the original recording, having worked with it for The Director’s Edition, and he knew this could benefit the live performance because of the complexity of the composition." I think that's Mike in a nutshell, a passionate geek inside but a consummate professional on the outside.

Unfortunately I never met Lukas Kendall: I wanted to thank him for his work on the Bond scores and his tireless devotion to producing these great CDs on the FSM label.

Perhaps Mike should drive next time...? ;)

I'd like to thank Doug Schwarz for allowing us to sample the music at Mulholland, and Lukas Kendall and Michael Matessino for their splendid work. I know it's been a long journey so please sit back and enjoy the reaction.