[Tom_Servo]

This is a topic on which I could chat about endlessly! For almost 10 years, I’ve been in the habit of not only creating custom shorter albums of lengthy scores but also using Garage Band to edit and create suites. I have close to 160 custom albums, many of them are “highlights” albums, gathered by genre, by franchise or by composer. This goes beyond playlists in iTunes as I will edit the metadata on tracks and on the files created in Garage band so these custom albums are listed in the Music on my iPhone alongside officially released albums. For example, I have a multi-volume “Fantasy & Science Fiction” series of “albums”, delineated by decade, some decades having multiple volumes. My custom albums never exceed CD length, 75 minutes max, so they could be burned onto disc as well and enjoyed.

As I’ve mentioned in FSM threads, in the last few years when putting together shorter versions of lengthy scores for my own listening pleasure, I place myself at the time of when the movie was released and set my limits by the media format, re-use fees, marketing demands, composer’s other albums, etc, inherent in that time. For example, my custom “LP” of Goldsmith’s THE CHALLENGE is 45 minutes as in 1982 that would have been close to the max of an LP length. And tracks are sequenced so each “side” of the LP has its own ebb and flow and a banger track ending Side 1 so that you want to flip over the LP or cassette to keep listen. My favorite examples of this type of OST are FIRST BLOOD and OUTLAND LP’s. See below for my example:

The Challenge (Custom Album Edit) – 45 min

Side A
Main Title
The Wrong Sword (Alternate Take)
Half An Equal
The Traitor
“Let’s Talk”
No Defense

Side B
“Can’t We Do It?”
Over The Top / Fish Market
“Stay With Me”
Surprise Visitor / Forced Entry
“As You Wish” / End Title