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Over the years, we have been asked many questions about John Scott, his CDs and other topics. Here are his own unedited responses to some of those questions. Also view John Scott's Column
Where can I get a copy of THE FINAL COUNTDOWN? If you are desperate I have copies in LP form. LPs are now beginning to be sought after so don't laugh. JOS will be bringing out their own extended version on CD hopefully in the summer. Up to now there has only been a pirated bootleg on the market. If you should see this version going at an outrageous price don't forget that JOS will soon have a legitimate version available with extra material.
At the moment this CD is out of print. It was one of the first CD's we manufactured. If you are desperate you might write Keiko in London - 2 Queen's Gate Place Mews, London SW7 5BQ. We are now able to do a better job and will soon have it out with new artwork and a booklet which will talk about the music and the film.
There will soon be a CD of this film score. I have been told by the Disney lawyers that there is nothing to stop me recording and releasing this score. They have also told me that they might not allow me to use their artwork or title. I will overcome this one way or another. There are plans for issuing the INSEMINOID soundtrack together with other electronic soundtracks from John Scott. The reason for this release is that it is popular with the SCI-Fl fraternity and is always being requested at HORROR and SCI-Fl conventions.
Both these titles are out of stock but we will be going into a second printing and they will be available soon. I also plan to issue a FAVORITE FILM THEMES II.
AMAZON I & II are out of stock in the USA, there are still some in London - write to Keiko, 2 Queen's Gate Place Mews, London SW7 5BQ. I had plans to release these two scores as a 2 CD set but have been advised that dealers do not like purchasing 2 CD sets unless they are 2 for the price of 1. I'm not sure.
At this moment we are reconstructing the score and plan to record it shortly. The original soundtrack was mono and very badly recorded I am proud of this score and as it was my first feature film commission I want it to be good and I want it out on CD as soon as possible. A new CD will soon be available with extra music including THE EGYPTIAN BACCHANAL which was overlooked on the first CD. The next CD will have new artwork and packaging.
JOS CD's are not yet available in normal record shops. They are available through specialized sources such as SCREEN ARCHIVES in Washington DC. (Fax: (202) 328 0745). STAR in New Holland PA Phone 717-656-0121). INTRADA in San Francisco (Fax: 415-776-2666). FOOTLIGHT RECORDS in New York (Fax: 212-673-1496) BELGIUM FILM SOCIETY in Belgium (Fax: 32-15-43-36-10). Randy and I are also trying to come up with a way of ordering from the web site or internet.
At the moment this is not possible but we hope that we can make this facility available shortly.
The question of promo CD's is very difficult. Although we are not a profit making organization we would like to be. We press 1,000 CD's of each title with the hopes of selling them. POLYGRAM reckon they need to sell 8,000 to break even, after 8,000 they pay royalties to their artists but not until; this is the general rule. We are considering giving promos in the form of CD rom without booklets. The booklets are expensive to manufacture. If we sent promos to every reviewer and every radio station we would not have any to sell and therefore would not be able to carry out our operation. We are happy to run at a loss because we know that a lot of good people appreciate it and that is our reward. At the same time we do not wish to bankrupt ourselves. We need every little bit of support we can get. I certainly do know about the web site and appreciate all the tremendous work and ingenuity that Randy has put into it. I am riddled with guilt that, up to now, I have made no contribution and I intend doing my best to make amends. My only excuse for not having contributed is that I find writing music an all consuming full time job. I work 18 hours a day regularly when writing a score for a film and my own "serious compositions" outside film I find even more difficult. Nevertheless I have discussed trying to write a monthly letter for the web site so...LOOK OUT. I started off with the old ATARI computer and NOTATOR LOGIC software. ATARI went out of business which was a terrible shame because it was so simple and user friendly. For the past 6 years I have been using a MACINTOSH computer and LOGIC software made by EMAGIC. I have no keyboard technique so I write with a mouse straight onto a music score I also work with pencil and paper and then go to the computer. I enjoy the part box system and the fact that one can get a full score and orchestral parts generated up to professional standard. The main drawback for me is the amount that one is able to see on the monitor. I like to see the whole score in front of me. I also use PROTOOLS software by DIGIDESIGN for editing music which has been already recorded. A lot of my friends, professional arrangers, copyists and students are using MACINTOSH and OVERTURE software. I think that one of the leading music writing software is going to be SIBELIUS. This software was written for a dedicated computer made by ACORN and has been used throughout England and Europe by all the leading music publishers and serious composers. It has recently been rewritten for PC and will soon be available for MAC users 1ike myself. I am pretty sure that I will be going over to SIBELIUS when it is available. it is supposed to be the most comprehensive and user friendly system. There are now software and hardware packages which can offer intuitive harmony, much like the electronic keyboards with arpeggiators and selection of rhythm and chord accompaniments. I'm afraid I cannot recommend any sampler only because I do not have experience I can say that people who use samplers successfully understand the instrument they are trying to reproduce, i.e. how the performer might breath or how a string player might bow a phrase. A great book on developing musicality, reading music and eventual composition is HINDEMITH'S INTRODUCTION TO ELEMENTARY MUSICIANSHIP. It is a very logical teaching method. If you get through this book you will be able to sight read music. Another great book I Can recommend is PISTON'S ORCHESTRATION which gives one a good knowledge of all the instruments of the symphony orchestra their ranges, peculiarities, fingering, harmonic series etc. If you want to know about rock and roll don't bother with either of these books. On the one hand I am flattered that anyone might think that my music is worth bootlegging. On the other hand, someone has broken into my house and stolen my property. It is not all that different to stealing cars or jewelry. The people who buy stolen cars or jewelry would quite often be horrified if they knew the property had been stolen. I sympathize with the avid soundtrack collector who thinks he is being cheated out of some wonderful scores because the big film companies will not be realistic about licensing scores for CD. Sometimes the reuse fee due to musicians makes the issue of CD's financially impossible. I tried to obtain rights for a CD release of KING KONG LIVES from Dino DeLaurentis. It was impossible. I was then planning to rerecord the score at great expense and issue a CD. I would have been allowed to do this although it would be disastrous as a business venture. The people that issued that CD actually did me and the film music collector a favor. GREYSTOKE, the latest bootleg, really hurts me. This one purports to be issued for the composers own personal use in exploiting his work (therefore avoiding licensing for sale) but I know nothing about the manufacture of this CD. They have used my name to steal From Warner Brothers and they have stolen music that I have paid dearly to license for JOS together with other music recorded for JOS at my own expense.
John Scott composed the music for the closing credits and it is entitled GREYSTOKE: END TITLES also it is an extension of RETURN TO THE JUNGLE composed by John Scott.
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