"Doesn't it give you kind of a shudder of electricity through you to be in the same room with me?"
"Donner's original film managed to completely encapsulate the Superman mythos and I think that inspired John Williams to score the movie the same way. He struck a perfect combination of contemporary Americana with 19th century European musical sounds… Copland and Sousa meets Wagner and Strauss, I tend to think of it, and so the result is immediately suggestive of the entire concept of Superman, not just the actual movie. He scored the myth, not just the film."
- Mike Matessino
This is my fourth take on this material. So why Superman again?
My original assembly of this material was made back in 2006, though nobody but jailnurse heard it. Sourced from the Rhino Superman, the Japanese Warner CD of Superman II and Superman III, the Superman Returns soundtrack album, a recording of the title march from Superman IV: The Quest for Peace culled and edited from the (then current) DVD edition and an unmentionable source for the complete Superman II score. As can be imagined, in addition to having a pretty narrow selection of music from these five films, the overall sound quality was abysmal.
That changed with the release of the Blue Box from Film Score Monthly, which presented the scores from the four Christopher Reeve Superman movies in complete and remastered form (along with Ron Jones' exciting music for the 1988 Ruby-Spears animated series). Along with a lossless copy of a promo of the complete Superman Returns score, I set out to make the Ultimate Superman mix. Shortly after completing the resulting disc, Man of Steel: The Last Son of Krypton, I had heard that Bryan Singer was going ahead with a sequel to Superman Returns titled The Man of Steel.
I opened up the master (all the files were still on my computer) and stripped out all of the material from Superman Returns so that I could concentrate on the Reeve films and make a separate compilation dedicated to John Ottman's contribution to Singer's revitalization of the franchise. Unfortunately, in taking out Ottman's music, I left myself with a few holes that I had to plug as best as possible. The final version of that disc, and the one that has been my "official" Superman compilation since was titled You'll Believe a Man Can Fly, and while a decent overview of the music for the franchise, it dramatically sags in its latter half because I wasn't structuring the album like a record, but filling in a bunch of "good parts."
As it turned out, Singer will not be making another Superman movie, and so John Ottman's contribution kind of got orphaned. His dignified treatment of Superman's personal life was a major addition to the Superman ouevre, and helped balance out the more cartoonish elements of the compilation. I therefore decided a few weeks ago that I really wanted to fix what was wrong with my Superman mix, especially in light of what I felt was a raging success with my Basil Poledouris Conan compilation Let Me Tell You of the Days of High Adventure, which is similar for myself in terms of my personal connection to the music.
I could have gone back to the original Man of Steel (the master was still on my hard drive), but I have completely changed how my mixes are prepared since I created You'll Believe a Man Can Fly. Some of the things that took me hours to do on the original project only took a few minutes this time around. On the other hand, I also have gotten more ambitious with what I can accomplish through editing and mixing, and so I was finally able to accomplish certain tasks - Track 2 in particular - that I had always wanted to but were unable to do with the limitations I had in the past. This is one of the most complicated projects I have ever attempted, and even some of the edits that were relatively seamless on the original versions of this disc have been smoothed over on this edition. I could also take advantage of a somewhat longer running time, giving each piece more room to breathe.
While this is a completely new project, it does have a history, and the first portion of the album - which deals with the mythology of Superman - is very similar to the previous incarnations. The second portion of the album (the disc can be divided neatly into a "Side One" and "Side Two," but that was not my intention this time around) contains most of the divergences in order to flow more smoothly, including a "romance" suite, a more threatening version of Williams' Villain march and a fresh version of my title march chimera from Superman II. The most important difference between this disc and all previous versions is that, rather than get fragmented toward the end of the album, this one has a specific climax and denouement before the finale, which, it turns out, is vitally important for a Superman compilation.
This disc, like You'll Believe a Man Can Fly, is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Courage.
24 Tracks • 83:27
- PRELUDE AND MAIN TITLE MARCH 5:17
(Superman - J. Williams) - THE PLANET KRYPTON 1:05
(Superman Returns • Superman - J. Williams/J. Ottman) - TWILIGHT OF KRYPTON 4:43
(Superman - J. Williams) - SMALLVILLE 1:51
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - J. Williams/A. Courage) - LEAVING HOME 4:33
(Superman - J. Williams) - YOU’RE NOT ONE OF THEM 1:31
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman) - THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE 9:11
(Superman - J. Williams) - NORTH, MISS TESCHMACHER, NORTH! 1:05
(Superman II -K. Thorne/J. Williams) - DYING WISH 2:04
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman) - THE BIG RESCUE 4:57
(Superman - J. Williams) - THE STREETS OF METROPOLIS 3:41
(Superman III - K. Thorne/J. Williams) - I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH SUPERMAN 4:20
(Superman - J. Williams) - LANA LANG 1:51
(Superman III - G. Moroder/K. Thorne) - DISARMAMENT 5:38
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - A. Courage/J. Williams) - KNEEL BEFORE ZOD 5:30
(Superman II - K. Thorne/J. Williams) - HOW COULD YOU LEAVE US? 5:40
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman/J. Williams) - NUCLEAR ENCOUNTER 5:16
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - A. Courage/J. Williams) - SUPER RESCUES 1:08
(Superman - J. Williams) - SUPERMAN FLIES OFF 1:27
(Superman II - K. Thorne/J. Williams) - KRYPTONITE CONTINENT 3:09
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman/J. Williams) - VICTORY 1:34
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - A. Courage/J. Williams) - FLYING WITH SUPERMAN 1:17
(Superman III - K. Thorne/J. Williams) - LITTLE SECRETS 1:01
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman/J. Williams) - MAIN TITLE MARCH REPRISE 5:24
(Superman II - J. Williams/K. Thorne)
SUPERMAN (1978)
Music Composed and Conducted by JOHN WILLIAMS
Orchestrated by HERBERT W. SPENCER, ARTHUR MORTON and ANGELA MORLEY
Performed by the LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Engineered by ERIC TOMLINSON Assisted by ALAN SNELLING
Recorded at ANVIL STUDIOS, Denham, Buck, England
SUPERMAN II (1981) and SUPERMAN III (1983)
Music Composed, Orchestrated and Conducted by KEN THORNE
Incorporating Material Composed by JOHN WILLIAMS
"Lana's Theme" from SUPERMAN III Composed by GIORGIO MORODER
Engineered by JOHN RICHARDS Assisted by TIM PENNINGTON and JAMES ABRAMSON
Recorded at THE MUSIC CENTRE (CTS STUDIOS), Wembley, Middlesex, England
SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)
Superman and Original Themes Composed by JOHN WILLIAMS
Adapted and Conducted by ALEXANDER COURAGE
Orchestrated by FRANK BARBER and HARRY ROBERTS
German Sessions
Performed by the GRAUNKE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Engineered by PETER KRAMPER
Recorded at BAVARIA MUSIK STUDIOS, Munich, Germany
English Sessions
Performed by NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF LONDON
Engineered by DICK LEWZEY Assisted by STEVE PRICE and JONATHAN RUTTLEY
Recorded at CTS STUDIOS, Wembley, England
SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006)
Music Composed by JOHN OTTMAN
Incorporating Themes Composed by JOHN WILLIAMS
Orchestra Conducted by DAMON INTRABARTOLO
Orchestrated by DAMON INTRABARTOLO, RICK GIOVINAZZO, KEVIN KLIESZCH,
FRANK MACCHIA, JOHN OTTMAN, LIOR ROSNER,
JEFFREY SCHINDLER and JOHN ASTHON THOMAS
Engineered by CASEY STONE
Orchestra Recorded at TODD AO SCORING, Los Angeles, California
Choir Recorded at THE EASTWOOD STAGE, WARNER BROTHERS, Los Angeles, California
- PRELUDE AND MAIN TITLE MARCH 5:17
(Superman - J. Williams)
The kick off of this album was a given. The opening of Superman is one of my favorite title sequences, firmly planting the movie in the grand Hollywood tradition, and the march itself a legitimate overture for the rest of the film. Rather than use the familiar fanfare opening (originally written for the Warner Brothers shield), I instead opted to go with the "Prelude" as it appears in the film. This is the film edit of the main title, though without the pitch shift and of course the phrases dropped in the film mix for timing are intact here. I described this moment in the film, the music and its personal significance after my viewing of the film at the Ziegfeld. On the my initial take on this mix, I had to accomplish this editorially, but this track was one of the bonus cues in the Blue Box. - THE PLANET KRYPTON 1:05
(Superman Returns • Superman - J. Williams/J. Ottman)
In Superman, after the rousing title sequence, the camera pushes through space towards a red sun, and the planet Krypton is revealed. This is accompanied by a noble eight note fanfare that would become almost as iconic as the elements of the Superman march itself. My original intention was to use "Krypton Destroyed" from Superman Returns because it incorporated a choir, but I found once I had the cue that the horns (which are my favorite part) disappear towards the latter portion of the track to make way in the film for Marlon Brando's soliloquy. All previous versions of this mix used Williams' recording from Superman, but what is presented here is a combination of Ottman's basic track with the Williams' recording of the horn calls to fill in. Aside from transitional moments, this is the only case where music from two films were combined in a single track. - TWILIGHT OF KRYPTON 4:43
(Superman - J. Williams)
This piece is comprised of material from "The Destruction of Krypton" and "Star Ship Escapes" (A.K.A. "The Kryptonquake"). Otherworldy textures featuring glockenspiel and choir (which ties this track to the last one) are heard as Lara (Susannah York) and Jor-El (Marlon Brando) discuss the future of their son; a new five-note 'crystal' motif introduced as Jor-El explains to his wife that their son will never be alone, even on Earth. This motif will become very significant,scoring Superman's relationship to his home planet; in Thorne's Superman II score, a variation will be adapted to represent the three Kryptonian villains (track 15). A very moving sequence is then heard as Jor-El bids farewell to his son, Kal-El (Lee Quigley); a burst of the Superman fanfare plays over the craft breaking free of the doomed world. As the planet meets its inevitable doom, Williams introduces a new twelve note 'personal' motif built from elements of the fanfare and bridge portions of the march that he will revisit in a completely different context (track 12) and that Thorne (tracks 19 and 22) and Ottman (track 20) would both use in their respective scores. - SMALLVILLE 1:51
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - J. Williams/A. Courage)
Kal-El is rocketed to Earth, where he grows up in rural Kansas. The track is a combination of "Back in Time" and "Pow!," which in which Courage adapted "Jonathan's Death" from Superman to evoke Clark's hometown as he visits his family's old farm. The music is more nostalgic in Courage's arrangement than in the scene from the original film, in which Superman's adopted father (Glenn Ford) suffers from a fatal heart attack. This theme is actually more characteristic of Williams' work before Jaws on such films as The Cowboys, The Reivers and Conrack, and fits perfectly with the images of pure Americana from that film, and it allowed me to briefly introduce the theme before "Leaving Home." While the basis for this track is the same as it was for the previous editions, this is an expanded edit, allowing for a smoother transition into… - LEAVING HOME 4:33
(Superman - J. Williams)
The eerie 'crystal' motif is heard once again as Clark (Jeff East) is drawn to a mysterious green crystal originally seen being placed in Kal-El's ship by Jor-El. This then leads to a full statement of the Kent family theme as he reveals to his adopted mother Martha (Phyllis Thaxter) that he must leave, and so ends the "Americana" portion of Williams' score. The final crescendo has always had some distortion on it that has thankfully been minimized by the remastering job done on the Blue Box. - YOU’RE NOT ONE OF THEM 1:31
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman)
One of Ottman's most haunting compositions is his "personal" theme for Superman (Brandon Routh) that sets aside all of the pomp and glory of the march and concentrating instead on the more intimate aspects of the character. The Superman we see in Superman Returns has to come to terms with the consequences of his choices, and Ottman's yearning theme represents his maturity. This cue is heard in the film as Superman (Brandon Routh) eavesdrops on Lois (Kate Bosworth) and Richard (James Marsden). The loss of this track was one of the biggest problems with the You'll Believe a Man Can Fly edition, where I replaced it with "Mother's Advice" from Superman II, which while thematically appropriate, was too similar to analogous passages in "Twilight of Krypton" (track 3 on this compilation), and sounded a bit redundant. While this cue doesn't exactly fit into the "narrative" of the opening of this disc, it illustrates an essential aspect of Superman's character, and I always felt that it worked quite well here. - THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE 9:11
(Superman - J. Williams)
A questing motif leads to quiet statements of the Krypton fanfare as Clark heads north for reasons even he does not fully understand. The 'heritage' motif is heard as he removes the green crystal from the bag and, to an orchestral and choral crescendo he hurls it into the snow, where jagged brass and an atonal sequence score the actual construction of the Fortress itself, which is completed to a proud statement of the Krypton fanfare. Clark enters the building and so begins a beautiful sequence as a hologram of his father reveals himself and explains who Clark is and where he came from. This segment is based on the Krypton material and is scored for electronics and strings. This is a rather long track, but it plays out in its entirety as I believe it to be one of the most arresting pieces of film music I've ever heard (it also appeared almost complete on my Vistas compilation). The cue closes with a bold statement of the Superman fanfare as he is seen in his classic costume for the first time. - NORTH, MISS TESCHMACHER, NORTH! 1:05
(Superman II -K. Thorne/J. Williams)
Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) and Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) track down the Fortress whereupon Lex discovers the existence of General Zod (Terrance Stamp) and his followers Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O'Halloran). The wintry adaptation of the "March of the Villains" theme heard in "Lex and Miss Teschmacher To Fortress" and "Lex Plans Partnership" forms the bulk of the track (the former appeared on the original Superman II album, but not the latter). While the content is mostly the same, this is a new edit of this track; the title comes from Lex's indelible encouragement to Miss Teschmacher to mush. "I am mushing!" - DYING WISH 2:04
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman)
We continue to follow the nefarious dealings of Superman's nemesis; a distant music-box melody accompanies the death of wealthy matron Gertrude Vanderworth (television Lois Lane Noelle Niell) as she signs her entire fortune over to Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). This piece, which was not included on the original album, was apparently originally supposed to be musically self-contained, but Ottman found he liked the strident fanfare for Lex removing his wig ("You can keep that") and adapted it to become the motif for the arch-criminal. - THE BIG RESCUE 4:57
(Superman - J. Williams)
The original Superman album was a masterful presentation of that score. While there were some alterations made, it was a generous set (2 LPs worth) and wasn't overly shuffled about. However, the omission of this cue was a major disappointment. This is, after all, one of the most iconic moments in the film, and ties into the mythic aspects of the Superman character. Harsh horn calls and prime Williams action writing (similar to that heard in The Empire Strikes Back) and fragments of "Can You Read My Mind" are heard as the helicopter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is riding in is disabled and balances precariously on the edge of the Daily Planet building (slightly abridged for this album). The "danger" motif heard here would form the basis for much of Thorne's action music in the second and third films. The ostinato and fanfare theme play as Clark changes into Superman to rescue her, leading to a humorous moment in which Lois falls (with the music no longer playing to the danger she's in) as she is captured by a strange man in a blue costume. "Don't worry, Miss, I've got you." "You've got me… who's got you!?!" The helicopter then falls off the side of the building; Superman captures it to the first appearance in the score proper of the primary Superman theme, which is only ever heard in accompaniment to the full costumed Superman figure. This is followed by one of the most rousing presentations of the fanfare theme. The track title comes from its appearance on the Rhino release, which I find more poetic than "Helicopter Sequence" and also fits in with the "mythology" aspect of the disc, as this is, after all, Superman's reveal to the world. - THE STREETS OF METROPOLIS 3:41
(Superman III - K. Thorne/J. Williams)
The titles of Superman III play out over a comedic sequence of urban chaos to Thorne's Dukas-inspired title cue. There is a moment in the film when Superman appears where Thorne re-arranged the appearance of the primary Superman theme from "Helicopter Sequence" (heard in the previous track as "The Big Rescue") which has been edited out here. I found this cut actually works to the track's advantage, as it is now more of a self-contained piece. This piece of music has been on every incarnation of this mix thus far, although I came close to replacing it this time around with "Montage." I ended up sticking with this piece because it serves as a nice interlude with a fresh voice between a rousing adventure cue and the romantic mini-suite that is to follow, which is kicked off with… - I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH SUPERMAN 4:20
(Superman - J. Williams)
"You will believe a man can fly" was the tagline of Superman: The Movie,and it is this sequence, filled with the sense of freedom unfettered flight would offer, that serves both to sell that idea, and also to show what is the most successful yet cheapest date in cinema history (Supes doesn't spend a dime on Lois). The twelve note 'personal' motif heard towards the conclusion of track 3 is heard as Superman heads towards Lois' apartment for an interview; this is from "The Penthouse," and segues into the opening of "The Flying Sequence." Variations of the "Can You Read My Mind" theme accompany Superman enticing Lois to come flying with him, and they take off to a rapturous setting of the theme. This is an extended musical sequence in the film that leads into another movement with vocals by Margot Kidder; this portion of the cue has been edited out (the complete track - sans vocals - appears on my Flight compilation). I was able to shorten the cue by incorporating the alternate "I Can Fly" insert segment for the Statue of Liberty flyby. The track name is derived from the title of Lois' resulting article. - LANA LANG 1:51
(Superman III - G. Moroder/K. Thorne)
While the score for Superman III was composed and adapted by Ken Thorne, the Salkinds also hired Giorgio Moroder to write original songs for the film, who wrote an instrumental "Love Theme" associated with Clark's high school crush Lana (played as an adult by Annette O'Toole) that was performed by Helen St. John on the soundtrack album. Thorne incorporated this theme into the score, and his tender orchestral arrangement is quite pretty. It appears very rarely in the score, and this brief track is actually comprised of three separate cues from the film, "Lana and Clark in Cornfield," "Lana and Clark on Telephone" and "Clark Gives Lana Diamond Ring." This track didn't appear on the initial Man of Steel disc; I created it for You'll Believe a Man Can Fly, but there was no question in my mind that I would use it again this time around, where it forms the second part of the "romance" mini-suite. - DISARMAMENT 5:38
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - A. Courage/J. Williams)
The romance mini-suite comes to a close with Williams' theme for Lacy (Mariel Hemingway) heard in "For Real" as she evidences an interest in Clark. This suite, which has appeared on both previous editions of this disc, continues on to encompass much of the major thematic material from Superman IV and showcases Courage's talent for layering themes atop one another. The forbidding "The Class" represents a class of schoolchildren realizing of what nuclear war might cost, and concludes with the theme for Jeremy's (Damian McLawhorn). Noble developments of the B Superman theme are heard as Big Blue addresses the "United Nations" and pledges to rid the world of all nuclear weapons, and with his speech concluding in an arresting confluence of the Fanfare, the A theme, Lacy's theme, "Can You Read My Mind" and Jeremy's theme. "Net Man" commences with another statement of the B theme, with Courage's own 'Soviet' motif is heard leading up to a triumphant statement of the A Superman theme, which (in a slightly different mix than previously heard) I dovetailed into the conclusion of the Superman IV end title. - KNEEL BEFORE ZOD 5:30
(Superman II - K. Thorne/J. Williams)
This suite of music from Superman II acts as the flip side to the celestial Krypton music from the early portion of the album. While consisting mostly of the same primary thematic material, it is here twisted and evil, as befits the Kryptonian villains. Thorne's forbidding fanfare for the villains from "President Kneels Before Zod" (heard as the villainous Kryptonians enter the Oval Office) opens this track, which then segues to (the redone version of) their trial ("Villains in Zone"), which features a sour arrangement (with the final note trailing off) of the crystal motif and percussion. Thorne's adaptation of an unused portion of the trial scene from Superman as Non prevents a moon lander from taking off. A burst of an aggressive variation of the Krypton fanfare associated with Zod is heard from "East Huston Battle." The action then returns to "President Kneels Before Zod" for the darkest moment in the franchise as Zod realizes the man supplicating himself (Tony Sibbald) is not, in fact, the President (E. G. Marshall); "No one who leads so many could kneel so quickly." With the world's governments literally brought to their knees, "Clark Returns to Fortress" a desperate variation on the material introduced in track 7 as Clark realizes that in giving up his powers he has placed all of Earth in fell danger. "You couldn't know." "They knew," he responds gravely, "They tried to tell me. I just didn't listen." This is one of the few cases where I feel that if had Williams actually scored Superman II, his approach would probably not have been terribly different from Thorne's. Whilst the title of this suite is the same as one I had on both previous version of the compilation, I actually dropped most of the material from the "Kneel Before Zod" suite (save "Superman Flies Off," track 19) and applied that name to this newly mixed version of the suite that had previously been titled "Trio of Traitors." - HOW COULD YOU LEAVE US? 5:40
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman/J. Williams)
Lois sneaks up to the roof of the Daily Planet for a cigarette, where Superman meets her to explain where he had been for the past five years. The Krypton fanfare leads into a sequence that mixes Ottman's "personal" theme for Superman with some very loose variations on "Can You Read My Mind," leading to a gorgeous statement of that theme for strings. The sequence hearkens back to the one from the first film (track 11), only it is much more introspective and adult in tone, and is a good example of how Ottman wove the familiar Superman themes into the fabric of his original material, reflecting Lois' sense of betrayal as well as Superman's yearning. - NUCLEAR ENCOUNTER 5:16
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - A. Courage/J. Williams)
Despite the title and content, this suite, which outlines Superman's first run-in with Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) a super-powered antagonist created by Lex in order to "Destroy Superman" and open up the arms market once more is a very different edit from its namesake on the previous editions. I chose to drop the Superman cue "Crime of the Century" which featured the villain theme and instead incorporate some of Courage's variations from Superman IV, which have a more threatening tone to them, combining elements from "First Nuclear Man" and "Sunstroke." "Confrontation" features several playful but menacing settings of the Villain theme, which gradually leads into progressively more intense versions of the Williams' Nuclear Man theme, until it breaks out into full-on action mode in "Tornado" which also features a stressed version of the fanfare. - SUPER RESCUES 1:08
(Superman - J. Williams)
The fanfare theme returns for this brief but rousing Air Force One rescue in Superman, excerpted from "Super Rescues." The engines on the airplane begin to fail but the craft is saved by Superman. The co-pilot looks out the window and can't quite believe what he's seeing, and when asked, he tells the pilot, "Fly. Just fly. We've got... something. I ain't saying what it is, just... trust me." Thorne would adapt this piece for the Eiffel Tower rescue in Superman II. - SUPERMAN FLIES OFF 1:27
(Superman II - K. Thorne/J. Williams)
This brief cue announces the beginning of the endgame for this album with a desperate version of Williams' personal theme for Superman, dark variations on the theme Williams introduced in the "Prelude" (track 1) and downtrodden variations on the fanfare and Williams' cue "Trajectory Malfunction." This was on all previous version of a Superman mix (in quite dire sound on my very first 2006 assembly) as part of the suite "Kneel Before Zod," the remainder of which has been dropped (as previously mentioned, track 15 consists of material formerly covered by the suite "Trio of Traitors"). It is heard in the film as Superman flees the three Kryptonian super villains (actually luring them away from the vulnerable population of Metropolis), and is among the few Thorne cues still heard in the Donner cut. - KRYPTONITE CONTINENT 3:09
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman/J. Williams)
The Lex motif gets a serious workout in the dire "Not Like the Train Set," in which he begins building his crystal continent (laced with Kryptonite) with the central six notes are built up with arpeggios. The suite then proceeds to "Saving the World" for an authoritative statement of Lex's theme. Williams' original 'personal' motif leads to the trademark ostinato, over which we hear Lex's theme played out in full (a rather nifty device, that) before engaging a supercharged rendition of the fanfare. - VICTORY 1:34
(Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - A. Courage/J. Williams)
This is a major addition to this compilation is an excerpt from "Goodbye Nuke" which serves as a climax to the action. While I had previously had "Superman Triumphs Over Villains" from Superman II as the action finale for my Superman compilations, it just didn't really have the oomph that was needed for a mix of this scale. The Nuclear man theme is played against the fanfare theme as Superman bests Lex's creation, whose bsession with Lacy accounts for the brief appearance of her theme before leading to a triumphant statements of both the A and fanfare themes. - FLYING WITH SUPERMAN 1:17
(Superman III - K. Thorne/J. Williams)
Thorne used Williams' personal theme for Superman extensively in the second film's score, and here he builds a it into beguiling interlude, gorgeously orchestrated for strings, woodwinds and bells. The original title for this track was "Gus Flying With Superman," shortened for simplicity. - LITTLE SECRETS 1:01
(Superman Returns - J. Ottman/J. Williams)
Lois drops her bag and Clark helps her, thus realizing that she is going upstairs to smoke (track 16). Fragments of the fanfare theme and pretty snippets of "Can You Read My Mind" are heard as he watches her go up the elevator with his X-ray vision. This is a very short but sweet moment, perfectly capturing his longing. I love this cue and was always planning to include it, but it wasn't until I started assembling the album that I realized that it would be perfect as a penultimate track, representing the "holding pattern" between Superman and Lois Lane. - MAIN TITLE MARCH REPRISE 5:24
(Superman II - J. Williams/K. Thorne)
The closing track is a combination of the main title and the finale of Superman II; it opens with an edit of "Happy Lois Back to Normal" and "Superman Replaces Stars and Stripes" to emphasize the 'personal' theme, but when the march begins, it segues to the main title march. In creating the edit of this piece for the original Man of Steel disc, I inadvertently found that Thorne's direction is so precise that I could actually fit entire sequences from the end title over the analogous sections of the main title. While the tempo and key was the same, the orchestration is different - the main title is brassier while the end credits have more winds and strings - so they blended together quite well. This is a brand new edit of this piece, which expands the orchestration of a few more areas but streamlines the whole (the second repetition of the fanfare theme in the march proper, right before the "Can You Read My Mind" segment, has been edited out) and adds Williams' intro to the return of the A theme after the second quote of "Can You Read My Mind." Once again, the album concludes with the last blaze of brass along with the additional 'bumpety bump' that Thorne added to the Superman march for the end title of Superman II and III. This "chimera," as glenniebun called it, allowed me to retain the energy of Thorne's recording but still have a thunderous exit for the album.
