Starting in 1978, Varèse Sarabande released both classical works and motion picture soundtracks on vinyl (LP) using the same label numbering series (VC or VX bteing the prefix). Some of these titles would later see a CD release in the 47000 series or later by the label or be reissued by other soundtrack labels including Intrada Records, Kritzerland Records, Citadel Records and more.[1][2]
VC-81081 Holdridge Conducts Holdridge - Lee Holdridge, Los Angeles String Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra (The very first dbx produced title by the label classical work by the composer which would later be released on CD and features the debut of Lalo Schifrin's "Love Theme" from the 1973 film, Hit!)
Beginning in 1979, Varèse Sarabande changed their TV and soundtracks to their own individual lettering prefix with the letters STV to separate them from their classical releases and avoid confusion. Many of these titles originally issued by the label have seen a CD release (refer to the 47000 series and the CD Club release lists below) by the label itself or through other labels over the last few decades which include Intrada Records, Citadel Records, Kritzerland Records and more.
The CD and LP counterparts were both made for most titles between 1984 and 1990, when LPs starting to be on the way out in favor of the new media-friendly format that would also hold more music unlike LPs which only run up to 45 minutes. Many of these titles were also available in cassette form, designated by CTV prefix unlike the CD and LP prefixes to distinguish the three formats. The label would make a deal with MCA Distributing in 1987 as part of a feverish raid by record companies to buy up other smaller, independent record labels thanks to the booming economy of that period when the stock market was high that also included labels like A&M Records, Island, and eventually, GRP Records in later years.[3] The label would completely thrive and grow to great lengths after the MCA deal and would enjoy a lot of success with the soundtracks and eventually Broadway divisions throughout the 1990s and well into 2020.
Georges Delerue's A Little Romance, would go on to win the 1979 Best Original Score at the 1980 Oscar ceremony thanks to a very aggressive campaign by the label and the advice of future producer Bruce Kimmel, in which LPs of the soundtracks were sent to the Academy voters that year earning them a unique honor in the process.
STV-81151 Night of the Living Dead - Spencer Moore / various artists (LP features library music from the classic 1968 horror film. Released on both green and red vinyl)[4]
STV-81152 Halloween II - John Carpenter, Alan Howarth
STV-81163 Slapstick (Of Another Kind) - Morton Stevens, Michel Legrand (This was the first soundtrack to release both the used and rejected scores for a particular film which was very unusual at the time. Stevens was featured in the film and put on side A and Legrand's rejected score was on side B)[5]
STV-81231 Supergirl - Jerry Goldsmith (Notable for being released without the synthesizer overdubs that were featured in the score, along with a track name that is actually a slate number "9M3" which is for a particular reel and scene for the film)
STV-81232 The Flamingo Kid - various artists (Interesting curiosity in which Motown Records released the soundtrack featuring more songs than this LP)[7][8]
STV-81287 Roman Polanski's Pirates - Philippe Sarde (The LP features less music than its CD counterpart. Please see 47000 series of CD for information)
STV-81291 Deadly Friend - Charles Bernstein (This is not the orchestral score recorded with the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, but the synthesizer demos of the score. These were released due to the high reuse fees of the American Federation of Musicians for reuse on soundtrack releases at the time. The complete orchestral score would be released by Perseverance Records in 2007 and Varèse Sarabande reissued it in 2016 in The Little Box of Horrors limited edition collection)[9][10][11]
STV-81302 King Kong Lives - John Scott (Planned, confirmed but sold to MCA Records in late 1986 as confirmed by the official catalog number appearing in dead wax on MCA Records LP and is scratched out but is legible.)
STV-81331 The Penitent - Alex North (Assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Tapes were lost/misplaced. Never released. Please see CD 47299 below for further information)
Starting in the late 1970s, the label wanted to distinguish its digital LP releases from their standard edition LPs featuring a unique codex starting with either 1000 or 704 for their later issues. Most of these applied to their earlier classical releases but the label then tried to focus on their digital soundtrack recordings which were becoming standard during the mid-1980s. This series did not last until mid-1988 when the label officially joined MCA to distribute and release their soundtracks and future Broadway, jazz and vocal albums.
Also amongst this series was the DBX Recording Technology Showcase Series,[12][13] which was the label's attempt in conjunction with the new technology of LPs played on a specialized no noise system making the music louder sonically with the dbx encoded LPs. Chalfont, Varèse's LP offshoot was amongst the group of record labels involved along with themselves personally. Their forte into this technology produced the album, Beyond the Sound Barrier: The Spectacular Sound of Digital DBX Discs, a compilation of digitally recorded tracks from the albums Digital Space by Morton Gould and Boy With Goldfish and Lazarus and His Beloved (Symphonic Suite from the Opera) by Lee Holdridge.
The soundtrack titles also corresponded in sequence to their CD releases also starting with the identical number or a different number than previously assigned. which were very scarce in production, unlike the LPs which were more widely available. However, a few of these LPs did not have a CD counterpart and some were cancelled, possibly due to the poor performances of the film theatrically. Examples of these are Bad Dreams and Dead Heat in which CD counterparts were announced and then cancelled just relegating them to LP and cassette releases only. Since these vinyl albums were not released with a suffix (i.e. STV, VSD, etc.) unlike the original classical releases (VCDM), VCDM has been added to avoid confusion between the 704 series CD as Varèse Sarabande Digital LP.
VCDM-1000.10 Gould: Latin-American Symphonette - Morton Gould, the London Symphony Orchestra
VCDM-1000.40 Withrow: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 / Lazarus and His Beloved (Symphonic Suite from the Opera) - Lee Holdridge conductor, the London Symphony Orchestra
VCDM 704.120 John Williams: Flute and Violin Concerto - Leonard Slatkin conductor, London Symphony Orchestra. (Mark Peskanov, violin soloist & Peter Lloyd, flute soloist)
VCDM-704.300 Star Trek: Volume Two - George Duning / Alexander Courage / Jerry Fielding / Fred Steiner (re-recording) (Fred Steiner conductor, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
VCDM-704.370 Pee-wee's Big Adventure / Back to School - Danny Elfman / John Coleman conductor (re-recording) (Recorded in London)
VCDM-704.380 The Sea Hawk - Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Varujan Kojian conductor
After the label completed its deal with MCA Distributing, they continued to produce LPs of their soundtracks despite the fact that sales of vinyl were plummeting due to the successful emergence of the CD format which allowed for a more sonic experience as well as putting on more music on a CD more so than LP that could only hold approximately 45 minutes and barely more.
The label reassigned the number of their LPs to try and match their CD counterparts under the prefix of VSD (Varèse Sarabande Disc). The LPs were simply assigned (VS and followed by the catalog number). All LPs featured the exact same artwork as the CDs as well as musical content. However, not all of the CD releases had an LP counterpart which was largely due to reissues from other record labels such as Arista Records, MCA, Sony and others which were not produced by the label. Their releases concentrated on everything they produced and released by them which included hit films such as Die Hard 2, Total Recall, Back to the Future Part III, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Ghost, which is one of the label's all-time best selling albums.
The final LPs produced by the label were in late 1991 when the label switched strictly to CDs and cassettes only. The thrilling action score, Ricochet composed by Academy Award nominee Alan Silvestri and featuring the hit title song by famed rapper Ice-T of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was the final LP release on the label.
Varèse Sarabande first began producing compact discs roughly around 1983, almost at the very beginning of the dawn of the compact disc which also included labels such as GRP Records, Telarc, Mobile Fidelity and Polydor. Their initial releases in this series are often held in high regard by collectors, especially those without a barcode which all discs were printed and produced in Japan by the Japan Victor Company (JVC).[14] These discs feature exceptional sound quality and in particular, the classical releases feature exceptional artwork which have made these titles extremely valuable.[15][16] The first few years saw their first run of CDs pressed in Japan for US market by JVC beginning with 47201 which is the best selling Star Wars Trilogy CD until 47275 with Peggy Sue Got Married and then the label switched over to Laser Video for its releases starting with Tai-Pan (VCD-47274) in late 1986 until its final distributed release for that company with No Way Out (VCD-47301) in 1987.[17] After that, the label's releases were exclusively pressed by JVC America.[18]
This series was supervised and started by Tom Null, who supervised the classical releases along with the soundtracks with co-producer Chris Kuchler and then Richard Kraft came on board around 1986 and co-ran the label with Null until the end of 1988 to ease the label's transition after they reached a deal with MCA Distributing in 1987 which didn't take full effect until mid-1988.[3] Null would remain with the label until 1993 where he would eventually reactivate Citadel Records, which was formerly a subsidiary of the label for a period of time reissued many of Varèse's LP and out of print Varèse CDs.[19] Under new producer Robert Townson, who had released three titles during this period which included his first ever release as producer, The Final Conflict in 1986 under his label, Masters Film Music from Canada along with Lionheart, a little-seen adventure film which was released by the label in two separate volumes of music in 1987. Townson would take over and oversee the label in early 1989 after Kraft's departure.
This series was notorious for many catalog number gaps especially during late 1986 and the entirety of 1987, which many speculate were titles that were released as LP and cassette during this period. One such title, King Kong Lives was actually produced by the label but acquired by MCA Records in late 1986 as the film was figured to be a big holiday release late that year and was released through them instead.[20] Some titles that were released theatrically during this period, did receive a CD counterpart to go along with the LP and cassette formats (i.e. Aliens, The Fly, Link, Enemy Mine, etc.) and others would either slated to be released as a CD and were cancelled would be reissued later on by the label through the Varèse Sarabande Club or in some cases as part of the regular catalog (i.e. Vamp, Firewalker, 52 Pick-Up,[21]F/X, etc.).
Townson with the help of Kraft and Null would go on to start a Limited Edition Club of mail order only releases that would finally come to fruition during the spring of 1989 after being promoted in late 1987 and throughout 1988 after long delays.[22] The club was intended for titles for new or older scores for past films that were released that did not receive a soundtrack release or a score album while the film was released theatrically and would later include many titles from the many gaps in their CD discography decades later. Townson's label, Masters Film Music, would get the first releases which included reissues which consisted of Obsession, Bernard Herrmann Concert Suites an elaborate four-disc reissue set of the original Decca LPs featuring stunning artwork and was a full-fledged production and Jerry Goldsmith Suites and Themes, the first live concert performance on CD by the famed Oscar winning composer which also featured equally stunning artwork as the other releases by the late Bob Peak. The official club titles started by Kraft and Null would soon be released not long after with Cherry 2000[23] by the late Basil Poledouris, which at one point was the most valuable soundtrack on the market, going for as much as $2500 at a hotly contested auction. Null would leave Varèse in 1993 and start his own label Citadel Records and reissued a lot of Varèse's older out-of-print soundtrack LPs, as well as some of the classical releases he released during his time with the label. Also during this period, Varese reached an agreement with Columbia House under the Columbia Record Club to release a handful classical releases that included Scheherazade, The Four Seasons and Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 amongst others. The album covers had different color fonts and on the back insert and CD had the Columbia Record Club moniker "CRC on it to distinguish itself from the original Varese produced editions.
The very last title produced by the label for this run, The Serpent and the Rainbow (VCD-47362) was one of the rarest titles in this series due to its low print run of an estimated 400 copies. This title was probably caught under the label's transition with MCA Distributing and was barely released throughout the country. For this reason, this title was very valuable for a long period of time and was recently reissued as part of Varèse's Little Box of Horrors 12-CD collection in 2016 in an LP replica styled slipcase featuring the same artwork as the original CD. This also goes for the label's strange handling of reissues of Phantasm, Liquid Sky and Dawn of the Dead which also were supposed to be released during or after the MCA transition and received very limited runs and also became collectors items as a result of this.
VSD-47105 Phantasm - Fred Myrow / Malcolm Seagrave (planned for a US release; a small limited number of CDs were released in Europe)
VCD-47106 Dawn of the Dead - Goblin (planned for a US release a small limited number of CDs were released)
VCD-47204 The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams / Charles Gerhardt conductor National Philharmonic Orchestra (reissued as VSD-5353)
VCD-47205 North by Northwest - Bernard Herrmann / Laurie Johnson conducts, the London Studio Orchestra (First pressing of CD was a digital recording which is stated on the booklet as a "digital recording". However, later pressings utilized the analog tape sources due to problems with the original digital recording. The digital recording notation was deleted from all future pressings)
VCD-47212 The Four Seasons - Antonio Vivaldi / Patrick Gleeson (synthesizers) (First "digital to digital" recording of a digital synthesizer without microphones from 1980. Omits the first movement of "Winter" without explanation) (One of a handful of titles licensed to Columbia Record Club. The album cover features the title under a black font lettering instead of the regular Varese edition which is orange and red.)
VCD-47218 Supergirl - Jerry Goldsmith (Features the orchestral score only without the synthesizer overdubs. Later issued by Silva Screen Records with the overdubs)
VCD-47240 Star Trek: Volume Two - George Duning / Alexander Courage / Jerry Fielding / Fred Steiner (re-recording) (Fred Steiner conductor, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
VCD-47241 The Black Cauldron - Elmer Bernstein (re-recording) the Utah Symphony Orchestra
VCD-47242 The Final Conflict - Jerry Goldsmith (First official release of "Masters Film Music" label which would be associated with Varèse Sarabande starting in 1986)
VCD-47254 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - Bernard Herrmann / Elmer Bernstein conductor (Reissue of Bernstein's LP from 1975 under his "Film Music Collection" limited edition LP banner)
VCD-47266 Poltergeist II: The Other Side - Jerry Goldsmith (Colosseum Europe release with CDs pressed by JVC Japan in the early days and later in Europe. Produced and released in US by Intrada Records)
VCD-47283 Crocodile Dundee - Peter Best (Original first pressing features an error in the insert which lists "26 tracks" instead of 12 tracks which became the US release. Soundtrack was issued in Europe by Silva Screen Records with 26 tracks)
VCD-47301 No Way Out - Maurice Jarre (The very last "Laser Video" pressed CD before JVC America took over and pressed CDs for the label starting from this point)
VCD-47304 The Sea Hawk - Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Varujan Kojian conductor
VCD-47362 The Serpent and the Rainbow[27] - Brad Fiedel (One of the first titles released under Varèse Sarabande's new distribution deal with MCA. The small run of the CD was released (about 400 copies exist) and erroneously adds a track that is not on any of the CD, LP and cassette releases. This mistake was later corrected in its reissue contained in The Little Box of Horrors box set in 2016. A definitive release was just released in March 2021. Please see Varèse Club section below)[28]
This batch of a dozen titles between the 47000 series and the new mainline series starting from 5200 to 7500 series which started right after this after Varèse's newly minted distribution deal with MCA (aka UNI later on Universal Music Group (UMG)) in late 1987 which the label finally instituted a barcode system which included this series of titles which had a limited press run of over 500 copies or more during the label's transition with MCA into their distribution cycle. This numbering system stems from their digital LP series of titles featuring a few soundtracks (i.e. Suspect) and also could be seen as 470 rearranged as 704. These titles featured specific lettering and package design not unlike the 47000 series and this lettering and package design would run until the first batch of the 5200 series, which would later reinstitute the font lettering they used during the 47000 series permanently until 1999.
This series features a few cancellations including one rumored title of Dead Heat by Ernest Troost and one confirmed but announced title, Bad Dreams[29] in which collectors were willing to pay top prices for until the label revealed and confirmed its cancellation when they finally released it on CD as part of their LP to CD Subscription Series that ran from June 2015 to May 2016.[30]
VCD-70446 Mozart: Symphony No. 31 & 36 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Enrique Batiz conductor (Released through Columbia House CD Club. CD label and back insert cites "CRC" initials. Possible exclusive release through them)
VCD-70446 Sherlock Holmes - Patrick Gowers (This is the correct intended catalog number for this release but was delayed and later released as VSD-5221 but all discs contain this catalog number on the label side because it was never corrected since the disc was manufactured in France by MPO along with the preceding title, White Mischief. Originally released in Europe by That's Entertainment Records (TER) and licensed to the US with the disc was manufactured in France by MPO with Varèse Sarabande's labeling on the CD)
VCD-70447 White Mischief - George Fenton (Originally released in Europe by That's Entertainment Records (TER) and licensed to the US with the disc was manufactured in France by MPO with Varèse Sarabande's labeling on the label side)
VCD-70452 Two Moon Junction - Jonathan Elias (Released on LP and announced on CD but ultimately cancelled without explanation. Released in 1994 as VSD-5518)
VCD-70453 Lady In White - Frank LaLoggia (Released on LP and announced on CD but ultimately cancelled without explanation. Released by East West Records in Europe in 1997 and expanded by Intrada Records around 2018)
VCD-70456 Bad Dreams - Jay Ferguson (announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Finally released as part of Varèse Sarabande's LP-to-CD Subscription Series)
VCD-70457 Dead Heat - Ernest Troost (announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Available on LP and cassette only)
When Varèse Sarabande began its partnership with MCA Distribution in 1988, the benefits of this deal were nationwide availability of Varèse Sarabande CDs, LPs and cassettes. The label adopted the MCA catalog numbering system with the prefix VSD (which stood for Varèse Sarabande Disc and VSC for Varèse Sarabande cassette) and a subsequent number to denote multiple-disc sets (VSD2, VSD3, etc.) or a video release (VSV) if any as that was required for all labels in the MCA distribution system. When the MCA and PolyGram families merged in 1999, which created Universal Music, the newly merged company used PolyGram's catalog-numbering system, which used the main six digits of the UPC barcode (numbers 5 through 10 in the standard 12-number UPC set) as the basis for the catalog number and since the original MCA numbering was already based on part of the UPC number (specifically digits 7 through 10), the number sequence was not changed. This run starting from VSD-5200 ended during the 7500 series as Concord Records assumed control of the company during the middle of 2018 and started a new numbering system as a result. Catalogue numbers without a title are usually assigned to a release that is not ready to be officially announced by the label. In some cases, older unassigned numbers are the result of a production delay, but usually it is because they have been canceled. For collectors, the curiosity of knowing what a number has been assigned to is part of the demand for a complete discography.
Also as Varèse Sarabande grew, it branched into other musical venues and imprints including Varèse Spotlight, which focused on original cast recordings;[31] Varèse Jazz,[32] which focused on jazz interpretations featuring the Trotter Trio and others; Varèse Vintage, which re-issued all genres of oldies;[33] Water Music, which specialized in electronica; Fuel 2000, which focused on popular music;[34] and Wildcat, which focused on rock recordings. All divisions share the same catalog numbering system, but only the Varèse Sarabande, Spotlight, and Vintage imprints share the same number sequence. There have also been some soundtracks released as digital download titles that are not currently on CD at the moment.
Colosseum Records, which is featured here as well on this listing, was the label's international division located in Nuremberg, Germany, which released all US soundtrack releases as well as European films that were able to release under their banner. Like the US versions of these soundtracks, the German pressings featured the same artwork, but instead of the black JVC design on the label side, they feature a silver label side with the JVC design in red. The artwork also featured "LC" which stood for a Colosseum version. The label released titles that were only available through imports that were not released here and many of those titles featured numbers to what were cancelled releases to movies here in the US. (i.e. John Carpenter's Greatest Hits VSD-5336 / Dutch VSD-5336 US, Evil Dead VSD-5362 / Rock-a-Doodle VSD-5362 US). They also released titles for US films that did not receive a US equivalent which included Dust Devil by Simon Boswell, The Evil Dead by Joseph LoDuca, Goodbye Bafana by Dario Marianelli and a few more. They also kept in print many of the out of print 47000 and 70400 series titles for a long period of time which included D.O.A., Poltergeist III, Cocoon: The Return, John Carpenter's The Fog, The Thief of Baghdad / The Jungle Book, and Lionheart: Volumes 1 & 2. The label would later close in 2015 and Varèse does not have a European distributor at the moment.[35]
Robert Townson, who produced his first title which was The Final Conflict aka Omen III under his Masters Film Music label in conjunction with the label in 1986, took over in early 1989 and oversaw the label's growth into one of the greatest soundtrack labels in the world with a yearly output of approximately 50 titles from newly released films, restorations and reissues from other labels which started with reissues of Sony LP titles (i.e. The Chase, The Lion in Winter, The Guns of Navarone, etc.) in 1989, then reissuing many titles from the MCA catalog (i.e. MacArthur, Ghost Story, Dracula, etc.) starting in 1990 which lasted until 2001 along with Arista Records (i.e. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Taxi Driver, The Fury, etc.), the Decca catalog (i.e. The Robe, Airport, Anastasia, etc.), Bay Cities in 1997 (i.e. 1941, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, etc.) and reissues from their LP catalog that appeared as regular releases (i.e. Lifeforce, The Manhattan Project, Videodrome, etc.) and as Soundtrack Club releases (i.e. F/X: The Deluxe Edition, Eye of the Needle, Last Embrace, Vamp, Silver Bullet, etc.). He also created a re-recording program which brought new audiences to older soundtrack recordings from composers who he had worked with personally on the label which included John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Alan Silvestri, Stu Phillips and James Horner (i.e. Midway, Body Heat, To Kill a Mockingbird, Patton, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, etc.) as well as produce new and complete re-recording of scores by Golden Age composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman and Miklós Rózsa (i.e. Psycho, Vertigo, Sunset Boulevard, etc.). The first and, more importantly, his first re-recording of a film score was a historic event in that it was for Alex North's rejected score for Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey which the famed director completely threw out. Conducting the event was North's best friend and Oscar-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith with his favorite orchestra, the National Philharmonic of London with North's wife, Abby present during the recording. Before this event took place, no one outside of North or Goldsmith had heard this seemingly lost score until North's passing in late 1991 and this project came to light. His most important release was Spartacus by his favorite composer Alex North whom he was finally able to release his epic score (his personal all-time favorite) in 2010 to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary with an elaborate six-CD set. Coming in a close second and surprisingly one of the best-selling soundtracks of all-time in 1990 was the Oscar winning film, Ghost, which featured a score by Oscar winner Maurice Jarre and more importantly, the hit song "Unchained Melody" sung by the Righteous Brothers which Alex North co-wrote and was featured in North's full orchestral composition in the film. The album sold over one million copies.[24] Townson left the label in late 2018 after Concord Music bought the label to concentrate on live concerts throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Bruce Kimmel, who was asked to be a part of the label[36] when it started in 1978 which was intended to be solely for classical music and reissues of older Golden Age soundtracks that were really successful, released two soundtracks to films he had personally worked on The First Nudie Musical and Stages, joined the label in 1993 after a successful run at the then defunct Bay Cities soundtrack label and much like Robert Townson for soundtracks, he was given the full responsibility of the Broadway Musical, Spotlight and Jazz imprints of the label. These divisions were dedicated to releasing or reissuing soundtracks to musicals that were performing on and off Broadway, which was a huge success for the label throughout the 1990s as they dominated the marketplace with stellar releases with many being best sellers and featured favorable reviews. Kimmel also showcased performers from these shows on the Varèse Spotlight[31] banner which included the late Michelle Nicastro, Christiane Noll, Judy Kaye, Paige O'Hara, Mary Cleere Haran, Liz Callaway and many others. Kimmel also produced a few compilations dedicated to film music as well such as the Ennio Morricone jazz ensemble album Once Upon a Time in Cinema, Toonful and its sequel, Toonful Too dedicated to popular Disney songs performed by Nicastro, and also dedicated himself to jazz as well with the label's Varèse Jazz imprint that featured wonderful recordings by the Terry Trotter Trio producing albums inspired by movies, artists and Broadway shows by Stephen Sondheim. These include The Star Wars Album, The Michel Legrand Album, Follies, Passion... in Jazz and many others. He also produced two of accomplished jazz pianist Fred Hersch's albums for the label I Never Told You: Fred Hersch Plays the Music of Johnny Mandel and a popular collaboration between Hersch and jazz singer Janis Siegel entitled Slow Hot Wind. Sadly, his divisions were closed down by 2001 by the label as the company was no longer interested in producing or releasing Broadway or jazz releases at that point in time. He would leave to work with Fynsworth Alley, a label dedicated to Broadway and off-Broadway theater shows as well as vocals just as they had been doing at Varèse Sarabande in 2000, which ended abruptly in late 2001 as he and the label had completely different visions.[37] Kimmel would later form his own label, Kritzerland Records which is dedicated to movie soundtracks, musicals and some jazz albums in the late 2000s.[38]
The biggest curiosity of this series is the aborted release of the score album to that 1993 Bound By Honor which was originally titled Blood In Blood Out. This soundtrack which was publicly announced at the time of the films' release, and abruptly cancelled because of Disney's last-minute decision to change the films' title due to a test screening that led to violence along with the turmoil going on in Los Angeles at time. The label was about part way through the run (an unspecified number of these CDs were produced) when the change was made. Proving it would be too costly to reprint and produce another run of CDs under the films' new title, the CD was never officially released despite its announcements in the film, the film's advertising and subsequent video releases along with the song laden soundtrack album released by Hollywood Records at the same time. This was an officially produced album that was never released but a number of copies of it have surfaced around Hollywood insiders and throughout the soundtrack community and has been dubbed The Caine Mutiny of soundtrack CDs due to its rarity. This title has recently appeared on eBay as a counterfeit (bootleg) which features the same contents. However, the disc itself was not officially pressed by JVC America as the official Varese release and the inner ring features more silver in the center which is not on the original JVC pressing. The artwork is a color copy of the original with the exception of the lettering on the bottom in reference to the VSD-5396 catalog number which the font is incorrect on the booklet and it also omits liner notes by the films' writer Jimmy Santiago Baca and the films' director Taylor Hackford which is featured inside the booklet. The original release also featured a butterfly silver foiled holographic sticker on the jewel case like all Varese Sarabande titles as well as all Universal Music Group distributed titles during this period of time.[39][40]
The very last "official" title released under the old Varese numerical system that had started in mid to late 1988 was Jeff Beal's score to the Rob Reiner film "Shock And Awe".
VSD-5221 Sherlock Holmes - Patrick Gowers (Originally intended to be released as VCD-704446 and the first press run of this title was pressed under this number co-assigned with Mozart symphonies 31 & 36 which was also released under this number in this series. Later pressings of this disc have the updated and corrected number on the disc itself as VSD-5221)
VSD-5241 Georges Delerue: The London Sessions: Volume One - Georges Delerue (re-recording with some original tracks. Georges Delerue conductor. Frank Fitzpatrick additional conductor. Featuring Carl Anderson and Eileen Clark, vocals. Recorded in May 1989)
VSD-5242 Franz Waxman: Legends of Hollywood: Volume 1 - Franz Waxman / Richard Mills conducts
VSD-5245 Georges Delerue: The London Sessions: Volume Two - Georges Delerue (re-recording with some original tracks. Georges Delerue conductor. Frank Fitzpatrick additional conductor. Recorded in May 1989. Features non re-recorded suite for An Almost Perfect Affair)
VSD-5247 Shocker - William Goldstein (score album) (The film's box office failure prevented a planned wide release by MCA distribution and made it an instant collectable. The back insert of the CD in later pressings has the MCA distribution information erased with a black Sharpie as evidence of this)
VSD-5256 Georges Delerue: The London Sessions: Volume Three - Georges Delerue (re-recording with some original tracks. Georges Delerue conductor. Frank Fitzpatrick additional conductor. Features non recorded suites for True Confessions Recorded in May 1989)
VSD-5257 Franz Waxman: Legends of Hollywood: Volume 2 - Franz Waxman / Richard Mills conducts
VSD-5279 Taxi Driver - Bernard Herrmann / Dave Blume (Half of the album is part of the late Herrmann's original score as featured in the film. The other is jazz arrangements of Herrmann's themes from the film conducted by Dave Blume. This is a straight reissue of the original Arista Records LP)
VSD-5281 The Omen - Jerry Goldsmith (Reissue of Academy Award winning score featuring content as the Fox Records LP from 1976)
VSD-5282 The Final Conflict - Jerry Goldsmith (Reissue of the original Masters Film Music 1986 release through the label VCD-47242 featuring the same contents)
VSD2-5319 Seville Film Music Concerts - Maurice Jarre / José Nieto (Live concert that took place in Seville, Spain, in 1989 featuring film themes from both composers)
VSD-5354 K2 - Hans Zimmer (This soundtrack is for the European version of the film that is longer with the US version featuring a replacement score by Chaz Jankel not featured here. The CD features two covers. The US edition features a painting by Matthew Joseph Peak and the European edition features the original film poster and stills from the film for its artwork. Coincidentally, the first pressing of this disc in the US has the European poster art and later repressed with Peak's artwork)[46][47]
VSD 5357 Bed & Breakfast - David Shire (This release looks like a regular Varèse Sarabande release with a brown spine, logo and the inner ring of the CD contains an assigned VSD number which is 5357. A production issue arose as two titles were assigned the same number and this title was released with XCD-1008 as part of their Colossal Records series. May have been assigned the number first and Death In Venice may have been intended to be VSD-5358 but the pressing error caused the change for this title)[48]
VSD-5395 Dust Devil - Simon Boswell (Colosseum only release) (Some releases of the CD omit the track titles on the back insert)
VSD-5396 Blood In Blood Out (Bound by Honor) - Bill Conti (A full run of this soundtrack was pressed and some copies have leaked into the marketplace. Legal issues arose after Disney changed the film's title and the run was withdrawn after it had been prepared for release)[50]
VSD-5638 On the Waterfront: On Broadway (1995 cast recording) - David Amram
VSD-5639 Jazz Goes to Hollywood: The Sixties - various artists / Fred Karlin conducts
VSD-5640 Toonful, Too - Michelle Nicastro
VSD-5641 Voyages: The Film Music Journeys of Alan Silvestri - Alan Silvestri (Featuring the debut of music from Romancing the Stone which was unreleased at the time)
VSD-5650 Lost Civilizations - Joe Delia (This was music for the ten hour NBC Series which was announced, assigned catalog number and then cancelled. Released as an agency promotional CD for the composer)
VSD-5651 Picture Bride - Cliff Eidelman (Rejected score for 1995 film featuring artwork by Matthew Joseph Peak)
VSD-5752 Romeo & Juliet: Shakespearian Classics from Stage and Screen - Cliff Eidelman conducts, Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Features an original composition The Tempest composed and conducted by Eidelman exclusive to this album)
VSD-5753 The Alien Trilogy - Jerry Goldsmith / James Horner / Elliot Goldenthal - Cliff Eidelman conducts
VSD-5754 To Kill a Mockingbird - Elmer Bernstein conducts, (re-recording with Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
VSD-5755 Last Man Standing - Elmer Bernstein (Rejected score for 1996 film starring Bruce Willis featuring artwork by Matthew Joseph Peak)[51]
VSD-5764 Hollywood '96 - various artists / Joel McNeely conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
VSD-5765 Psycho - Bernard Herrmann / Joel McNeely conducts (re-recording)
VSD-5766 The Batman Trilogy - Danny Elfman / Elliot Goldenthal / Neal Hefti / Joel McNeely conducts (Original first pressing of CD featured original painted artwork by Matthew Joseph Peak which was retained for the European releases. The later US pressings featured a different cover that was a little more generic)
VSD-5816 Out of Africa - John Barry / Joel McNeely conducts
VSD-5817 Torn Curtain (rejected score) - Bernard Herrmann / Joel McNeely conducts (Debut of complete rejected score from 1966 Alfred Hitchcock film performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
VSD-5861 Terminator 2: Judgment Day - The Special Edition - Brad Fiedel (This was a special European release that features no additional material housed in a silver slipcase)
VSD-5871 Frontiers - Jerry Goldsmith (This was an album re-recording that featured music from all science fiction films composed by Goldsmith and performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
VSD-5909 The Singing Cowboy: Chapter Two - Gene Autry
VSD-5910 Gene Autry and His Little Darlin' Mary Lee - Gene Autry & Mary Lee
VSD-5911 Somewhere in Time - John Barry / John Debney conducts (Re-recording of the complete score to popular 1980 film with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
VSD-5937 Music from the Golden Age: Classic 20th Century Fox Films - various artists (Compilation of themes from 20th Century Fox scores that the label would eventually release as both regular releases, re-recordings and as part of the Varèse Club)
VSD-5943 Titanic: The Classic Film Scores of James Horner - James Horner / John Debney conductor (This album is a mixture of previously released or re-recorded material previously released from the label of music by James Horner with the exception of a newly re-recorded Titanic suite only available on this album conducted by John Debney)
VSD-5997 The Very Best of Johnny Tillotson - Johnny Tillotson
VSD-5998 Superman: The Ultimate Collection - various artists / Randy Miller conducts (re-recording) (Compilation of themes for the DC Comics superhero from the radio shows to the films)
VSD-5999 As Thousands Cheer (1999 original cast recording) - Irving Berlin
VSD-6159 The Best of TV Quiz & Game Show Themes - various artists
VSD-6160 Rebecca - Franz Waxman / Joel McNeely conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
VSD-6161 The Last of the Mohicans - Trevor Jones / Randy Edelman / Joel McNeely conducts (re-recording) the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
VSD-6162 The 3 Worlds of Gulliver - Bernard Herrmann / Joel McNeely conducts (re-recording) the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
VSD-6163 The Ultimate Star Trek - various artists / Jerry Goldsmith, Cliff Eidelman & Frederic Talgorn conduct (re-recording) the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
VSD-6492 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Trevor Jones (Issued in the US via Varèse Sarabande website exclusively. Colosseum Records wide release in Europe)
VSD-6493 Then: Totally Oldies: Volume Six: The Seventies - various artists
VSD-6494 The Very Best of Charley Pride (1987–1989) - Charley Pride
VSD-6495 The Very Best of the Newbeats - the Newbeats
VSD-6516 The Rundown - Harry Gregson-Williams (Welcome to the Jungle is the European title for the film. The Colosseum release features different artwork)
VSD-6617 The Cutting Edge: The Deluxe Edition - Patrick Williams / various artists (Reissue of Rykodisc release which includes the premiere release of original score that was not included on original CD release)
VSD-6618 Carrie - Pino Donaggio (Reissue of Rykodisc release)
VSD-6726 True Grit: The Classic Westerns of John Wayne - Elmer Bernstein (complete single disc reissue of both Best of John Wayne Westerns: Volumes 1 & 2 from 47000 series)
VSD-7001 It's Complicated - Hans Zimmer & Heitor Pereira (Announced and immediately cancelled by Zimmer due to the brevity of the score (17 minutes). Released digitally through Back Lot Music)[54]
VSD-7035 The Special Relationship - Alexandre Desplat (assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Released as part of the Limited Edition series)
VSD-7509 Jasmine - Shie Rozow (Limited to 300 copies and also included and intended to start a "Signature Series" which included autographed booklets with each CD. It is the only title in that series which has been cancelled)
The label was acquired by Concord Music in 2018 and abandoned the PolyGram/Universal numbering system. A new series was started as a result of Concord's UPC prefix. The rest of the UPC does not necessarily match the catalogue number of the release, and all have the VSD prefix regardless of which format it was released on. All LP versions released have not been included and should be in a separate section. This list concentrates on the CD portion and not digital releases.
VSD-00036 The West Wing - W.G."Snuffy" Walden (This is a single disc release of the original limited edition two-disc version released in 2016 featuring score highlights from the set.)
VSD-00110 The Goonies - Dave Grusin (Regular public release of popular score minus the bonus tracks contained in original 2010 Varèse Club 25th-anniversary release)
VSD-00247 Army of Darkness - Joseph LoDuca, Danny Elfman ("March of the Dead" theme) (Reissue of 1993 album VSD-5411 as a limited edition of 1500 exclusively sold by the label)
VSD-00256 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - Joel McNeely / John Williams ("Star Wars" theme) (Reissue of 1996 album VSDE-5700 as a limited edition of 1500 copies exclusively sold by the label and does not contain the CD-ROM content of the original release that had a featurette on the recording of the music in Glasgow, Scotland)
VSD-00259 Dracula 2000 - Marco Beltrami (Reissue of album that originally premiered in The Little Box of Horrors box set in 2016 as an individual limited edition of 1500 exclusively sold by the label)
VSD-00401 Scream: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks (Scream /Scream 2 /Scream 3 /Scream 4) - Marco Beltrami (This is a 6 CD box set features the complete and expanded soundtracks to the first four films of the horror franchise. Limited to Only 1800 Copies and sold exclusively through the Varese Sarabande website. This is also available on Vinyl as a 4 LP set)
VSD-00482 Scream (aka. Scream 5) - Brian Tyler (This score was also released digitally and on Vinyl. The CD is only Limited to 1800 Copies and sold exclusively through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD-0500 Firestarter - Tangerine Dream (Newly mastered version of original 1984 soundtrack by popular group. The CD is limited to 1500 Copies and sold exclusively through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD-0542 Three O'Clock High - Tangerine Dream / Sylvester Levay (Newly mastered version of original 1987 soundtrack for the film's 35th Anniversary. The CD is limited to 1500 Copies)
VSD-TBD Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music - Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer & Various Artists
VSD-TBD Scream VI - Brian Tyler / Sven Falconer
VSD-TBD Little Richard: I Am Everything - Little Richard / Tamar-Kali Brown
In the aftermath of Varèse Sarabande's new association with the MCA Distribution Corp., the long advertised CD Club finally debuted in March 1989 as mail order exclusives after a series of production problems. Those who mailed contact information to the label, as advertised in many Varèse Sarabande CD inlay cards, received a yearly flyer announcing the limited edition discs. This first incarnation of the club ran from 1989 to 1992 and clearly took advantage of the MCA partnership as several of the titles came directly from their vault. This was also helped Varèse Sarabande to reissue scores from older films as well as release soundtracks to theatrical releases that were not successful or a soundtrack was unavailable at that time for release. They were also able to release particular titles from their own LP catalog that were not available as regular mainstream releases at that point in time for logistical reasons. All releases were hand numbered and limited to runs of 1000, 1200, 1500 or 2500 and sold for $19.98 each. The assigned catalog numbers correspond to the month and year of release with the volume number following the decimal. All first-generation club titles were produced by Robert Townson and Tom Null.[22]
In their mail order flyer, the original group of composers that were slated to appear in the original series of club releases included Jerry Goldsmith, Alex North, James Horner, Bill Conti, Georges Delerue, Miklos Rosza, Elmer Bernstein and Basil Poledouris amongst others. The label did release soundtracks by these composers and sometimes, more than one at time. However, Conti's and Delerue's titles, without any definitive explanation, were never released at that time and it is assumed that the Conti title may possibly have been The Karate Kid[57][58] and the Delerue title may have been Joe Versus the Volcano.[59][60] Both titles were eventually released as part of the reactivated version of the club after 2001.
For a long time, Cherry 2000 was the most sought after title along with the withdrawn Blood In Blood Out cancelled release in which at an auction that took place in late 1997, two overzealous bidders got into a heated bidding war for this title at an auction with the winner winning the CD for the amount of $2500 which is still the most that a CD has ever gone for. This title has been reissued several times since that auction and greatly expanded.[61][62][63]
Two special budget releases appeared in 1992 for the final club year with the following two albums selling for the midline price of $10.98 apiece more as an experiment to see if titles from the club would sell at this price. These sold out instantly and were the last of this batch of the club ever to be featured at this price point. Later on Jagged Edge would be reissued as a part of the relaunched club under the Varèse Encore banner with new artwork and at the price of $15.98 which also sold out at the same 1000 copy run of its original release from 1992.
After an over nine-year hiatus, the Varèse Club officially returned after it was announced in 1998 by the label with no progress being made for almost three years until it was reactivated in November 2001, thanks to a change in re-use fee policies involving the American Federation of Musicians (AFM),[64] more cooperative studio licensing and the internet boom of the late 1990s that helped with sales for all the record labels. The reactivation was in light of Film Score Monthly's success in marketing limited edition scores from the archives of major studios that started with Twentieth Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and expanding to Warner Bros., Turner Entertainment, Paramount Pictures and more recently, Universal Pictures that has finally opened their vaults. Other labels such as Intrada Records, Percepto Records, Citadel Records and Prometheus Records also began their own limited edition series starting in 1999, which put Varèse in a very strong position to make good on their 1998 announcement.[22]
This time, the club would release titles at a quarterly interval with as many as four releases per batch and as low as one (i.e. Spartacus: Deluxe Edition, The List of Adrian Messenger). Their record for an announced batch is six titles which happened in December 2013. Unlike the original series, this version of the club also featured more box sets (i.e. Jerry Goldsmith at Fox, Bernard Herrmann at Fox, The Karate Kid, North and South, etc.), deluxe editions of previously released catalog titles greatly expanded from their commercial releases, live concert recordings that were featured in a CD/DVD hybrid (i.e. Alien: A Biomechanical Symphony, Fimucité Closing Night Gala) and a celebration set dedicated to the films of 1985 called At the Movies 1985 which came in a gatefold LP styled packaging featuring six CDs in LP reproduction slipcases. A new numbering system was devised consisting of the month then year followed by the limited edition number of copies.[22] The label has since reduced their output of club releases that had started with four then lowering it two or three titles at a time and three batches per year instead of four which they had done as recently as 2013.
This series also featured a popular staple to the club called the Encore Series, which were reissues of out-of-print catalog titles from the label's very beginning. This part of the club gave fans the opportunity to acquire these long out-of-print titles which also included some original Varèse Sarabande Club titles from the original series at the price of $15.98 with the run limited to 1000 copies only. Amongst the titles that were reissued they included Jagged Edge, Vibes, Eye of the Needle, The Boy Who Could Fly and the very last produced encore title, Raggedy Man by Jerry Goldsmith which was amongst the final releases by producer Robert Townson for the label.[65]
The first three releases of the reactivated club announced in November 2001 were Heartbeeps by John Williams (which was originally intended to be a part of the original club as part of the Masters Film Music Series), Project X by the late James Horner and a reissue of one of the LP catalog releases of Marie Ward [de] by Elmer Bernstein.[66]
VCL 0703-1021 Varèse Sarabande 25th Anniversary Collection: Volume Two - various artists (This four-disc set was the follow-up to the regular commercial release commemorating the label's 25th anniversary featuring more music from their vast soundtrack library and was only sold through the website as an unnumbered limited edition that only lasted until the end of 2003. It would be brought back years later for the 30th anniversary also an unnumbered limited edition for a short time in 2008 again lasting until the end of that year)
VCL 0204-1028 Jerry Goldsmith at 20th Century Fox - Jerry Goldsmith (Limited edition six-disc box set commemorating Goldsmith's period at the famed movie studio featuring previously released music and unreleased music)
VCL 0804-1029 The Great Escape: The Deluxe Edition - Elmer Bernstein
VCL 0706-1052 An Unfinished Life (rejected score) / 14 Unfinished Lives for Solo Piano - Christopher Young (Unused score composed by Young for the 2005 film of the same name. Also features a piano suite of themes used and unused for the film in fourteen movements performed on solo piano)
VCL 0307-1059 The Karate Kid Box (The Karate Kid / The Karate Kid Part II / The Karate Kid Part III / The Next Karate Kid) - Bill Conti (Premiere release of all four score from the Karate Kid films in an elaborate box which would be reissued as individual titles by the label with the exception of The Next Karate Kid. The first three scores have also been reissued and remastered by La-La Land Records)
VCL 0307-1061 Author! Author! - Dave Grusin / Author! Author! (rejected score) - Johnny Mandel (CD features both the replacement score by Grusin used in the 1982 film as well as the unused score by Mandel for the film that was based on The Four Seasons)
VCL 1107-1068 Neighbors - Bill Conti / Neighbors (1981) (rejected score) - Tom Scott (CD features both the replacement score by Conti used in the 1981 film as well as the rejected score by jazz saxophonist Tom Scott which was in a suspenseful mode)
VCL 0208-1072 North and South - Bill Conti (Elaborate four-disc set containing almost five hours of music of the ten composed for landmark 1985 ABC mini-series which comes housed in a blue colored slipcase)
VCL 0908-1082 North and South: Book II - Bill Conti (Elaborate four-disc set containing almost four hours of music for the 1994 sequel to the landmark 1985 ABC mini-series which is housed in a red colored slipcase)
VCL 0410-1108 Star Trek: The Deluxe Edition - Michael Giacchino (Expanded two-disc release of the popular 2009 edition in an oversized digibook with booklet)
VCL 0610-1109 Spartacus - Alex North (Elaborate six-disc set and a DVD of interviews with composers such as John Williams, Christopher Young and others as well as a detailed booklet and comes housed in a slipcase hard box with original artwork which was a limited edition of 5000 copies to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary)
VCL 1011-1125 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: Volume Two - Bernard Herrmann
VCL 1011-1126 Mimic: The Deluxe Edition - Marco Beltrami
VCL 1011-1127 The Karate Kid Part II - Bill Conti
VCL 1211-1128 Bernard Herrmann at 20th Century Fox - Bernard Herrmann (Elaborate fourteen-disc box set featuring all of Herrmann's work at the famed studio in complete form)
VCL 0512-1129 Chinatown - Jerry Goldsmith (Reissue of 1995 Varèse Sarabande release)
VCL 1114-1153 For Whom the Bell Tolls - Victor Young (Reissue of original Stanyan Records release)
VCL 1114-1154 Fedora (Varèse Encore) - Miklós Rózsa (Does not contain The Crisis Guitar Suite from the original Varèse Club release from 1989)
VCL 0615-1155 Back in Time ... 1985 at the Movies - David Newman conductor / various artists (Elaborate six-CD set housed in an oversized LP jacket with discs housed in individual cardboard slipcases. Includes The Goonies by Dave Grusin / 1985 at Varèse Sarabande / The Songs / The Back to the Future Trilogy (re-recording) - John Debney, conductor / Out of Africa (re-recording) - Joel McNeely, conductor)
VCL 0516-1168 Starship Troopers: The Deluxe Edition - Basil Poledouris
VCL 0516-1169 Volcano: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri
VCL 0516-1170 Spartacus: The Complete Album Masters - Alex North (Single disc edition of score in stereo sound that was featured in six-disc Spartacus: 50th Anniversary release. It came with a cardboard slipcase housing the standard jewel case)
VCL 0516-1171 Zelly and Me (Varèse Encore) - Pino Donaggio
VCL 0916-1172 Hellboy: The Deluxe Edition - Marco Beltrami
VCL 0916-1173 RoboCop 3: The Deluxe Edition - Basil Poledouris
VCL 0916-1174 Jagged Edge (Varèse Encore) - John Barry
VCL 1016-1175 The Omen: 40th Anniversary Edition - Jerry Goldsmith
VCL 1016-1176 Scream 2: The Deluxe Edition - Marco Beltrami
VCL 1216-1177 Star Trek Beyond: The Deluxe Edition - Michael Giacchino
VCL 0618-1184 The Cowboys: The Deluxe Edition - John Williams
VCL 0618-1185 Small Soldiers: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith
VCL 0618-1186 Georges Delerue: The Complete London Sessions - Georges Delerue (Condensed two-disc reissue of original three-volume releases from 1990 to 1992 recorded in London that eliminated original soundtrack recordings featured in those volumes)
VCL 0618-1187 Heathers (Varèse Encore) - David Newman
VCL 1018-1188 Dracula: The Deluxe Edition - John Williams
VCL 1018-1189 On Deadly Ground: The Deluxe Edition - Basil Poledouris
VCL 1018-1190 A Show of Force (Varèse Encore) - Georges Delerue
VCL 0219 1191 RoboCop 2: The Deluxe Edition - Leonard Rosenman
VCL 0219-1192 Dreamcatcher: The Deluxe Edition - James Newton Howard (Individual two-disc reissue of score contained in the Stephen King Collection limited edition set contents are identical with no additional music added to this release)
VCL 0219-1193 Raggedy Man (Varèse Encore) - Jerry Goldsmith (The last official club release by producer Robert Townson)
VCL 0919-1194 Star Trek: The Deluxe Edition - Michael Giacchino (Reissue of 2010 digipak two-disc set, no additional music included)
VCL 0919-1195 Air Force One: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith / Joel McNeely
VCL 0919-1196 Rooster Cogburn: The Deluxe Edition - Laurence Rosenthal
VCL 1115-1197 The Stand: The Deluxe Edition - W. G. Snuffy Walden (Individual two-disc reissue of score contained in the Stephen King Collection limited edition set contents are identical with no additional music added to this release)
VCL 1115-1198 U.S. Marshals: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith
VCL 1120-1207 Looney Tunes: Back in Action: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith / John Debney & Cameron Patrick (additional music) (Notable for being the very final Jerry Goldsmith recorded and released by the label due to illness. He would die in August 2004. Also, due to his illness, Debney was brought in to finish the film when Goldsmith could not and his contributions are now available)
VCL 1120-1208 Babe: The Deluxe Edition - Nigel Westlake (Debut of complete score without dialog or songs originally featured on the original 1995 Varèse release)
VCL 0321-1210 The Serpent and the Rainbow: The Deluxe Edition - Brad Fiedel / Babatunde Olatunji (The complete definitive release of this once rare soundtrack in the label's history featuring the partially used score by Olatunji which was never released until now with the rest going unused)
VCL 0521-1211 Lionheart: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith (Complete edition of soundtrack from the 1987 film which adds two more tracks that have never been released. Was delayed because errors in the artwork caused the label to reprint all artwork for June/July 2021 official release)
VCL 0521-1212 Knowing: The Deluxe Edition - Marco Beltrami
VCL 0621-1213 Paycheck: The Delxue Edition - John Powell
VCL 0621-1214 The Matrix: The Complete Edition - Don Davis (The definitive edition of 1999 score featuring the missing music from the 2008 Varese Deluxe Edition on two discs to coincide with the vinyl release of soundtrack for Record Store Day)
VCL 0621-1214 The Matrix: The Complete Edition (SCAD Edition) - Don Davis (The definitive edition of 1999 score featuring the missing music from the 2008 Varese Deluxe Edition on two discs to coincide with the vinyl release of soundtrack for Record Store Day. This second version of the soundtrack is a Super Audio CD which can only be played in SACD players to hear the score's full audio capabilities in 5.1 surround sound. This CD also plays in standard CD players as well as computer drives and Blu Ray players and is priced at $39.98)[67]
VCL 0821-1216 Love Field: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith/Bill Payne (Jazz Source tracks)
VCL 0821-1217 Dante's Peak: The Delxue Edition - John Frizzell/James Newton Howard (Despite the billing, Howard wrote or co-wrote with Frizell many of the tracks)
VCL 1021-1218 The Crow: The Deluxe Edition - Graeme Revell (Features Revell’s end title song, “It Can’t Rain All the Time,” performed by Jane Siberry)
VCL 1221-1219 Elf: The Deluxe Edition - John Debney
VCL 1221-1220 Blue Velvet: The Deluxe Edition - Angelo Badalamenti/Various (Definitive edition of original score and soundtrack extended program of previously unreleased film cues, alternates and outtakes entitled “Lumberton Firewood.”)
VCL 0322-1221 Iron Giant: The Deluxe Edition - Michael Kamen
VCL 0322-1222 How To Train Your Dragon 2: The Deluxe Edition - John Powell
VCL 0422-1223 Mimic: The Deluxe Edition - Marco Beltrami (Reissue of score featuring the Film Version of the Main Title not featured on previous releases)
VCL 0622-1226 The Bourne Identity: The Tumscent Edition - John Powell
VCL 0622-1227 Presumed Innocent: The Deluxe Edition - John Williams
VCL 1122-1228 Death Becomes Her: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri
VCL 1122-1229 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri
VCL 1122-1230 L.A.Confidential: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith
VCL 0223-1231 The Time Machine: The Deluxe Edition - Klaus Badelt
VCL 0723-1234 City Hall: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith (This title will repressed by the label due to mastering issues. A new disc replacement will be sent to everyone who ordered the disc directly by the label.)
VCL 0723-1236 Mouse Hunt: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri
VCL 0823-1232 April Fools Day: The Deluxe Edition - Charles Bernstein (This is the premiere release of the original orchestrial music contained in the film as well as the original 1986 album which is all of the synthesizer work that was the basis for that album along with bonus material)
VCL 0823-1233 Blood Simple: The Deluxe Edition - Carter Burwell
VCL 1123-1234 Pleasantville: The Deluxe Edition - Randy Newman
VCL 1123-1235 Serenity: The Deluxe Edition - David Newman
VCL 0224-1237 How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World The Deluxe Edition - John Powell
VCL 0224-1238 Hellboy 2: The Golden Army The Deluxe Edition - Danny Elfman
VSD-00198 The Big Fix - Bill Conti (This was assigned a non-sequential number not following in line with the other current club releases. It is also possible that this title was meant to be VCL-1203 but probably erroroniously given VSD-00198 which would normally be a regular release from the label)
The Limited Edition Series was created in 2009 as an offshoot of the Varèse Sarabande CD Club with one major difference. The Limited Edition Series concentrates more on soundtrack titles for films that either have gone direct to digital, DVD or Blu-ray as well as some theatrical titles that received a very brief run, mini-series and television series such as Lost or Hemlock Grove. The majority of titles under this banner are limited to 1000 copies and look like the standard regular Varèse Sarabande mainstream releases with a small brown part containing the label's logo and white with their familiar lettering. Lost: The Last Episodes has the distinction of being the only title of more than 1000 copies produced with 5000 in this series. The label on occasion offered signed autographed booklets of these releases when available.[68]
VLE-4203 Jesse Stone: Stone Cold - Jeff Beal (Features musical selections from four Jesse Stone films based on the novels by Robert B. Parker starring Tom Selleck that were released. Later released in comprehensive two-CD standard release featuring more music from the series of films)
VLE-4207 Lost: The Final Episodes - Michael Giacchino (This two-CD set contains the complete scores to the shows' final two episodes that were truncated in the Lost Season Six standard release that featured highlights from the final season)
VLE-9201 Xena: Warrior Princess: 20th Anniversary Anthology - Joseph LoDuca (Housed in a leather styled digibook with the Xena television series logo in gold embossed lettering and also came with a picture banner celebrating the show's anniversary. The first orders came with personally inscribed banners. The CDs feature the same contents as the individual releases previously released by the label)
The LP to CD Subscription Series is another part of the label that was created and began in June 2015, which released titles from their past LP catalog that could be transferred from vinyl records to CDs for a fee of $10.00 per title per month plus $4.50 for shipping costs (automatically billed to a credit card) for 12 months finally ending in May 2016. This originally caused problems because many collectors did not want all of the titles that were being offered. The label then relented in the middle of the run and then offered the titles for sale individually for the same amount as the regular subscription. This started with Enola Gay by Maurice Jarre. Many chose to complete the run of twelve titles, not wanting to miss out on the titles being offered randomly and others chose to stop at some point.[69]
Each title was strictly limited for that particular month of release and would go out of print after that month passed. The label did not go back and reissue any the past titles that fans had missed. All the titles were announced randomly and not in the order of the number assigned to them. Each title was housed in reproduction LP style jacket cardboard slipcases with all original artwork and lettering from their LP counterpart intact along with a disclaimer stating if the title came from a vinyl source in small print in which most cases were LP transfers because of missing master tapes in the Varèse Sarabande vaults. A few titles did come from master tapes that were available including Invitation au voyage.
The first title issued was April Fool's Day by Charles Bernstein (VLE-9200-02, June 2015) which came housed in a mini LP-style maroon carrying case with the Varèse Sarabande logo embossed in gold foil lettering and room to store all subsequent future LP to CD titles in the series. Magnificent Obsession was the final release of the subscription set released in May 2016. Fans wanted the series to go on, but the label did not want to continue it and there are no plans to bring it back.
The list reflects the assigned catalog number for each title and not the order in which the titles were released during the subscription.
VLE 9200-01 A Minor Miracle - Rick Patterson
VLE 9200-02 April Fool's Day - Charles Bernstein (First official subscription release of the series that came with the LP to CD carrying case in maroon with a gold embossed version of the label's logo from the 1980s on the front issued by the label to store all future CD releases of the series)
VLE 9200-06 Bad Dreams - Jay Ferguson (This title was originally announced as part of the 704 series of releases in 1988 makes its official release debut here after years of speculation of its official existence on CD in which the label finally confirmed that the title was cancelled and never released at all in 1988 except for LP and cassette. The source of this release is on original LP master which was the only source available for release)
This version of the list reflects the release month for each title that was sent randomly by the label and not the catalog number in which the titles were assigned for the subscription.
June 2015 April Fool's Day - Charles Bernstein
July 2015 Invitation au voyage - Gabriel Yared
August 2015 Let's Get Harry - Brad Fiedel
September 2015 Blind Date (1984) - Stanley Myers / John Kongos (songs)
October 2015 Enola Gay - Maurice Jarre
November 2015 Sister, Sister - Richard Einhorn
December 2015 The Whistle Blower - John Scott
January 2016 Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy - John Scott
This was a short lived series that started in late 2016 which the label created as the label attempted to listen to soundtrack fans and hear which titles from their catalog or another label's catalog they would like to see released. The label mined companies such as Paramount, MGM and Universal for titles. The series did premiere the score from two popular television series, "The West Wing" and "21 Jump Street" which was in demand by many fans while, it also premiered the debut of the original scores to the classic Neil Simon films "Barefoot In The Park" and "The Odd Couple".
The series ended in early 2018 after Concord officially took over the label and revamped the Varese catalog. The first official release was Lalo Schifrin's score for "Boulevard Nights" which was released on Warner Bros. Records in 1978 and featuring a song from Grammy Winning jazz guitarist George Benson.
VLE-9204 Revenge of the Ninja: Enhanced Edition - Robert J. Walsh (Reisssue and reimagining of the original soundtrack by the composer from the original 1983 Varese Sarabande LP release)
VLE-9209 Down Twisted - Eric Allaman & Reinhard Scheuregger (as Berlin Game) (Reissue of 1987 LP release from the label from the STV series)
VLE-9211 The West Wing - W.G. "Snuffy" Walden (Two disc set featuring music from the series' ten seasons later reissued as a single disc edition in 2019 as VSD-00036)
This label imprint founded by Robert Townson in Canada with a record store and a few partners, first appeared with the original release of The Final Conflict[71] in 1986 after agreeing to a distribution deal after securing the rights to release the soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith through Twentieth Century Fox. The sales of the album were an immediate success for both labels. Then the following year the soundtrack to Lionheart,[72] was released in two separate albums with the cooperation of the composer and forming a positive relationship with Goldsmith that would help Townson and the label move forward in its eventual success.
The label then became a full-fledged series of CDs when the club launched in 1989 and was also a part of the reactivated club in 2001 with the designation of the Special Release Series (SRS). These albums were licensed through A&M Canada and Decca International as Townson had secured the rights to reissue Goldsmith's The Boys From Brazil, Roy Budd's The Wild Geese, Goldsmith's live concert series with the London Philharmonia entitled Suites and Themes[73] and Bernard Herrmann's Obsession, which was one of his two final film scores before his death in 1975.[74] These were the first set of club CDs that were released and sold in unison with Varèse Sarabande CD Club releases. These, unlike the second generation of club volumes, did not change its numbering system when the club resumed production in 2001. This series also includes the first box set Varèse Sarabande ever produced Bernard Herrmann: The Concert Suites, which was an audiophile set of Decca re-recordings conducted by the composer[75] and two extremely short soundtracks at 20 minutes each in both Under the Volcano[76] which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1984 for its composer Alex North and Those Secrets by Oscar nominee Thomas Newman[77] dubbed as "mini-classics". The Final Conflict and Lionheart are not part of this series since they were released as commercial regular releases by the label and NOT included in this section.
There were two confirmed cancellations of titles from the original set of releases which were Lilies of the Field and John Williams' Heartbeeps. No explanation to their cancellation has ever been stated, but Heartbeeps would be the first title to be released as part of the reactivated Varèse Sarabande Club in 2001 after three years of rumors and speculation that this title would be the one the label would reactivate the Soundtrack Club with after its announcement in 1998.[22]
This part of the club is now deactivated and there are no current plans to revive it or release any future titles under this banner.
SRS 2005 – SRS 2008 Bernard Herrmann Concert Suites (Elaborate four-CD box set release of 1970s Decca audiophile albums recorded by the late composer in London featuring a well produced booklet and lavish artwork by the late artist Bob Peak in both paper insert and an outer slipcase to hold the clamshell cases. All titles and contents of this set are listed below)
SRS 2005 The Concert Suites Volume 1: The Early Classics - Bernard Herrmann
SRS 2006 The Concert Suites Volume 2: Science Fiction - Bernard Herrmann
SRS 2007 The Concert Suites Volume 3: Alfred Hitchcock - Bernard Herrmann
SRS 2008 The Concert Suites Volume 4: The Fantasy Films - Bernard Herrmann
SRS 2012 Heartbeeps - John Williams (Planned, but cancelled – was the first title released in under the reactivated club as well as being the first long-rumored titles in announced in 1998 but finally released in 2001)
This series was unveiled in December 2016 which was similar to the Varèse Encore Series which was designed to reissue out-of-print titles from the commercial catalog from the beginning to the present. These featured new artwork and liner notes for each release which was limited to only 500 copies which is half the run of the Encore Series which was only 1000. Each disc was priced at $15.98 apiece and look similar to the standard releases with the distinct 500 prefix as part of the catalog number and a beautiful logo on the artwork featured.
The series looks to be dormant and unsuccessful as Concord has other plans for the label which include releasing new, older scores and expansions of their vast catalog.[78]
This was an offshoot of the label created by Tom Null, which was meant to be dedicated towards classical releases during the early 1980s after the label had begun to be known for its very successful soundtrack releases. While it did concentrate on classical releases, it did attempt two soundtrack releases as a test which were the re-recordings of The Adventures of Robin Hood and Kings Row, both by Erich Wolfgang Korngold originally issued by the label on CD and LP. The prefix for the LPs started with AD and their CDs with ACD.
This label did not last long. It did try the newly minted CD format in 1984 with just a handful of releases and soon after was deactivated. A lot of the classical titles released on LP were then reissued as part of Varèse's 47000 CD series with the same contents and artwork.
ACD-85701 Liszt: Symphony No. 2 "Dante" - Varujan Kojian, Utah Symphony Orchestra (Originally released by Varèse Sarabande on CD as VCD-47207. This releases is exactly the same as that release with the exception of the Andante logo replacing the Varèse logo)
ACD-85705 American Composers: Barber: Capricorn Concerto Op. 21 & Essay for Orchestra No. 1 Op. 12 / Copland: Music for Radio ("Saga of the Prairies" or "Prairie Journal") & An Outdoor Overture / Ives: Overture from the Third Orchestral Set - Keith Clark, Pacific Symphony Orchestra (Originally released by Varèse Sarabande on CD as VCD-47211. This releases is exactly the same as that release with the exception of the Andante logo replacing the Varèse logo)
ACD-85706 The Adventures of Robin Hood - Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Varujan Kojian, the Utah Symphony Orchestra (Originally released by Varèse Sarabande on CD as VCD-47202. This releases is exactly the same as that release with the exception of the Andante logo replacing the Varèse logo)
ACD-85707 Kings Row - Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Charles Gerhardt, the National Philharmonic Orchestra (Originally released by Varèse Sarabande on CD as VCD-47203. This releases is exactly the same as that release with the exception of the Andante logo replacing the Varèse logo)
This peculiar offshoot of Varèse Sarabande with a name inspired by their German counterpart, Colosseum Schallplatten, which was a short-lived (1989–1992) series that made available scores that were either vanity titles from television mini-series (i.e. Till We Meet Again, The Phantom of the Opera) or titles to lower-profile films (i.e. A Show of Force, Eve of Destruction). The lettering is similar to the regular Varèse Sarabande soundtrack releases with a major difference in both the logo and the spine which contained different colors (i.e. blue, green, purple, etc.) as well as the lettering as opposed to the regular Varèse Sarabande titles which had brown spines and white lettering as well as containing the catalog number (i.e. VSD-5200).[79] The titles on this subsidiary were paid for by the label itself and not by the composers as it had been rumored to have been which was confirmed by the label's executive producer Robert Townson when he was running the label.
The only title in this series, Bed and Breakfast looks like the standard Varèse Sarabande regular releases due to an error in the number sequence.
XCD-1001 Tiger Warsaw - Ernest Troost (released on LP only, planned for a CD release but cancelled)
XCD-1008 Bed & Breakfast - David Shire (Technically this title was to be part of Varèse Sarabande's regular run of mainstream titles.) An error occurred during pressing as the title was assigned the catalog no. VSD-5357 (see above) as Death in Venice was also assigned this number which may have been intended as VSD-5358. Rather than cancel the run, the label reassigned it to this series)[48]
This series was intended for titles to smaller films, mostly direct to video or digital films that were not considered as part of the standard Varese regular catalog releases. The CD's were sold only through the Varese Saraabande website which debuted in November 2017 for a low price which featured an autographed booklet signed by the composer of the soundtrack included with the standard non-signed one in very limited runs of 300 CD's or more. This series was immediately cancelled after their initial and only CD, Jasmine by Shie Rozow did not sell at all.
This series is no longer active and no future CDs forthcoming.
This section is dedicated to Varèse Sarabande titles that have been exclusively released as digital releases via various online websites including iTunes, Amazon and Tidal. Varèse first dabbled into this field in 2003 with their release of Trevor Jones' action score to the Alan Moore adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen[80] which met with a bad reception due to collectors wanting an actual physical CD and not a download. A similar situation occurred a year later with the score to the remake of Man on Fire[81] starring Oscar winner Denzel Washington, which was only released only as a digital release with nearly 80 minutes of music and later in the summer of 2004, a physical CD of that score was announced and released due to high demand. However, it was released as a condensed version with the digital release having more music.
In later years, the label released titles as digital only due to the soundtracks' running times or lack of commercial sales. These were often titles to smaller films in the independent market with some studio films being released only in this fashion as well as direct to video or straight Blu-ray or streamed movie titles or television series. Some titles such as The Limehouse Golem, Jasmine and The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature have been the only titles thus far to be released as physical CD albeit in very limited quantities of up to 500 copies. A few titles, such as Erased, Drive Hard, Evidence and Imogene (Girl Most Likely) have appeared on Amazon as part of an on demand CDR series in conjunction with labels such as Sony Classical and WaterTower Music which have also appeared in this manner. Numbers in this series are totally random and do not go according to release date. They might also coincide with potential physical release numbers assigned from the main series (5200–7500) from announced releases that were later cancelled as physical CDs (e.g. Maggie, Jane Got a Gun, etc.).
The label's website also announces these digital only releases along with upcoming CDs and LPs in their upcoming releases.[82]
The label made a return to vinyl with reissues of some of their older albums on CD (Rudy, Star Wars Trilogy, Blade etc.) to capitalize on the current craze with the format. The label has reissued many titles as special editions in colored or unique vinyl along with new artwork in some cases to distinguish itself from their original LP issues or CDs. Many of these LPs were available through the website or through stores such as Barnes & Noble, Mondo and Fire Records as exclusives and many were released to promote Record Store Day. Many releases were limited to between 1000 and 3000 copies. Some titles are exclusive to the Varèse Sarabande website.
VSD 030206114355 Nemesis (green thalaron vinyl) - Jerry Goldsmith (Two-LP gatefold green thalaron colored vinyl set exclusive only available through Varèse Sarabande's website limited only to 750 copies)
VSD 030206320015 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (10 inch vinyl WWII "V-Disc") - Steven Price (Record Store Day 2015 exclusive. Limited to 1000 copies. This 10" vinyl album is packaged in a die-cut slipcase, designed to match an authentic WWII "V-Disc", the recordings sent to international bases for armed forces airplay to entertain the troops. Includes nine cues from the acclaimed score, including versions of two tracks exclusive to this vinyl edition. Package includes a download card for digital tracks)
VSD 030206754858 Road House ("Double Deuce" neon blue vinyl) - Jeff Healey Band / various artists (Barnes & Noble exclusive edition. Limited to 1000 copies)
VSD 030206714814 Game of Thrones: Season 2 - Ramin Djawadi (Two-LP set that was initially sold exclusively through Barnes & Noble, but then later made available through other retailers)
VSD 030206728613 Whiplash - Justin Hurwitz / various artists (Released for Record Store Day 2015)
VSD 030206728613 Whiplash (clear vinyl) - Justin Hurwitz / various artists (Newbury Comics exclusive. Limited to 500 copies)
VSD 030206728613 Whiplash (red vinyl) - Justin Hurwitz / various artists (CCVinyl.com exclusive. Limited to 1000 copies)
VSD 030206731415 Orange Is the New Black (orange vinyl) - Gwendolyn Sanford, Brandon Jay, Scott Doherty (Record Store Day 2015 release. Limited to 2200 copies)
VSD 030206731514 Keep On Keepin' On - Dave Grusin / Clark Terry / Quincy Jones (Two-LP vinyl set. The first 200 copies included a postcard sized replica of the film poster autographed by Quincy Jones)
VSD 888072073760 Fritz the Cat (picture disc) - Ed Bogas & Ray Shanklin / various artists (Record Store Day Black Friday 2018 - Limited to 2500 copies)
VSD 888072073869 Vertigo (60th anniversary vinyl) - Bernard Herrmann (Remastered from the original analog tapes pressed at RTI (Record Technology) on to 180 gm vinyl, and slipped into a classic tip-on jacket from Stoughton Press)
VSD 888072077584 Krypton (orange / yellow galaxy color vinyl) - Pinar Toprak (Record Store Day 2019 exclusive. Limited edition of 1350 copies)
VSD 888072082144 I Know What You Did Last Summer (red vinyl) - various artists (Two-LP Record Store Day 2019 release. Limited to 1350 copies)
VSD 888072088382 Star Trek - Michael Giacchino (Record Store Day 2019 release. Limited to 2000 copies)
VSD 888072089860 The Goonies (gold vinyl) - Dave Grusin (Two-LP vinyl set. Limited to 750 hand-numbered copies only available through the Varèse Sarabande website)
VSD 888072089013 Gremlins 2: The New Batch - Jerry Goldsmith (Two-LP set only available at Varèse Sarabande's website limited to 750 copies. This is the deluxe edition released as part of the Varèse Club)
VSD 888072122918 John Wick - Tyler Bates & Joel J. Richard / various artists (Two-LP gatefold vinyl set with added bonus track Marilyn Manson's "Killing Strangers", not available on the CD or digital releases)
VSD 888072122987 John Wick: Chapter 2 - Tyler Bates & Joel J. Richard / various artists (Two-LP gatefold vinyl set)
VSD 888072173040 Xena Warrior Princess: Lyre, Lyre, Hearts On Fire (picture disc vinyl) - Joseph LoDuca / various artists
VSD 888072181400 The Running Man: Deluxe Edition - Harold Faltermeyer (Features the same contents as the Varèse Club CD as a two-LP gatefold package features original artwork created by Florian Mihr and includes images from the film and extensive liner notes by Daniel Schweiger on the inner sleeves)
VSD 888072195509 Game of Thrones (White Walker vinyl) - Ramin Djawadi (Two-LP vinyl limited edition released in Europe)
VSD 888072204898 Elf (picture disc) - John Debney (Only available through Walmart as an exclusive vinyl LP)
VSD 888072240445 The Empire Strikes Back - John Williams / Charles Gerhardt cond. (Reissue of Suite conducted by Gerhardt on Chalfont Records in 1980 and later released on CD by the label as 47204 & 5353. LP is the contents as the original LP and subsequent CD releases)
VSD 888072369948 Amadeus: Deluxe Vinyl Box Set - various artists (Special box set features the 180-gram three vinyl album, a theatrical poster and a 16-page booklet, complete with new liner notes by the film's conductor, Sir Neville Marriner, plus original liner notes by Grover Sales, a story overview and detailed information on each track)
VSD 888072234550 The Sound Of Music - Julie Andrews / Various (LP reissue of classic 1965 film of the original soundtrack album)
VSD 888072265783 The Crow: The Deluxe Edition - Graeme Revell (This 2 LP set features the complete score by Revell and includes the song "It Can't Rain All The Time" performed by Jane Siberry)
VSD 888072266926 Scream: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks - Marco Beltrami (Four LP set of scores from all four original Scream films previously issued on CD by the label.)
VSD 888072414006 The Bourne Identity - John Powell (This is the LP issue of the 2002 release of the soundtrack and not the Varese Club Deluxe Edition)
VSD 888072419001 The Iron Giant: The Deluxe Edition - Michael Kamen (black vinyl) (Two-LP remastered release of soundtrack previously released as part of the Varese CD Club.)
VSD 888072417915 Scream (2022)- Brian Tyler (clear red and smoke vinyl) (Release of score also released on CD of Tyler's score on specialized vinyl. Limited to only 300 copies sold exclusively through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 888072417922 Scream (2022) - Brian Tyler (Release of score also released on CD on standard black vinyl)
VSD 888072409385 The Matrix: The Complete Edition (black vinyl) - Don Davis (Three-LP release June 12, 2021. This features the same contents as the Varèse Club CD release expanded to 44 tracks, and housed in a new art design. Also included are classic film stills and an exclusive new interview with composer Don Davis)
VSD 888072426429 The Omen - Jerry Goldsmith (red-black splatter) (LP reissue of original 1976 album of Academy Award Winning soundtrack)
VSD 888072428041 Firestarter - Tangerine Dream (fuego orange vinyl) (Reissue of 1984 soundtrack on special colored vinyl. Limited to only 1500 Copies sold exclusively through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 888072448025 The Iron Giant: The Deluxe Edition - Michael Kamen (green vinyl) (Two-LP remastered release of soundtrack previously released as part of the Varese CD Club. This Green Vinyl version is sold exclusively through the Varese site)
VSD 888072540187 Little Richard: I Am Everything - Little Richard
VSD 888072532410 Murder By Death - Dave Grusin
VSD 00065 Mortal Kombat (25th Anniversary) - George S. Clinton (Record Store Day exclusive release September 26, 2020, limited edition of 1500 copies)
VSD 00199 The Matrix (picture disc vinyl) - Don Davis (This vinyl features the same contents as the red pill / blue pill colored vinyl)
VSD 00206 Hackers (25th Anniversary) - Simon Boswell / various artists (Record Store Day exclusive release September 26, 2020, limited edition of 2500 copies)
VSD 00354 Mission Impossible 3 - Michael Giacchino (Limited Edition 2 LP Red With Black Smoke [Rabbit's Foot] Vinyl)
VSD 00388 Blue Velvet - Angelo Badalamenti (Record Store Day, 2 LP Blue Marbleized, Gatefold Vinyl)
VSD 00407 Scream Soundtracks (1 -4 Collection) - Marco Beltrami (LP Box set Red With Black Smoke, LP, Album, RE, Red With Black Smoke, LP, Album, RE, Red With Black Smoke, LP, Album, RE, Red With Black Smoke. Available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 00463 The Cowboys - John Williams (Limited Edition 2 LP Gold Vinyl)
VSD 00466 Mimic - Marco Beltrami (Record Store Day, Limited Edition Green Vinyl)
VSD 00470 The Matrix: The Complete Edition - Don Davis (Limited Edition 3 LP set)
VSD 00474 Big Night - Various Artists (Record Store Day, Limited Edition Clear Vinyl)
VSD 00492 The Iron Giant - Michael Kamen (Limited Edition 2 LP Vinyl set of The CD Deluxe Edition)
VSD 00502 Death Becomes Her: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri (Record Store Day Limited Edition, Purple Vinyl. Available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 00514 Blood Simple: The Deluxe Edition - Carter Burwell (Record Store Day, Limited Edition Red with Black Smoke [Killer Crimson] Vinyl. Only available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 00541 Three O'Clock High - Tangerine Dream / Sylvester Levay / Jim Walker (Limited Edition Blue Vinyl. Only Available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 00548 How To Train Your Dragon 2 - John Powell (Record Store Day, Limited Edition 2 LP, Red Translucent With Multicolor Splatter Vinyl)
VSD 00666 Lost Season One - Michael Giacchino
VSD 00669 Lost Season One - Michael Giacchino (2 LP Limited Edition Blue Translucent w/ Black And Blue Smoke Vinyl [Oceanic Black Smoke Marble] Only Available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 00672 Murder By Death - Dave Grusin (Limited Edition - Clear LP. Only Available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 00689 Scream 6 - Brian Tyler & Sven Falconer (Limited Edition 2 LP Set. Green Marble [Stab Green] Only Available through the Varese Sarabande website)
VSD 030206729856 Penny Dreadful - Abel Korzenowski
VSD 00000 The Matrix (glitter-infused green vinyl) - Don Davis (Record Store Day exclusive three-LP release June 12, 2021. This features the same contents as the Varèse Club CD release expanded to 44 tracks, and housed in a new art design. Also included are classic film stills and an exclusive new interview with composer Don Davis)
VSD 00000 The Goonies (35th Anniversary) (picture disc vinyl) - Dave Grusin (Record Store Day exclusive June 12, 2021. The special release features the album cover on side A and the infamous One-Eyed Willie on side B. The track listing to this abbreviated single-disc version of the original score was personally selected and assembled by Grusin himself)
VSD 00000 Village of the Damned: Deluxe Edition (orange haze vinyl) - John Carpenter & Dave Davies (Record Store Day exclusive June 12, 2021. This two-LP vinyl features the same content as the recent Varèse Club CD release. The album includes all-new original art direction with new notes and classic film stills)
VSD 00000 Shrek (20th Anniversary) (green vinyl) - Harry Gregson-Williams & John Powell (Record Store Day exclusive June 12, 2021. Limited to 1000 copies)
VSD 00000 The Iron Giant (picture disc vinyl) - Michael Kamen (Record Store Day exclusive July 17, 2021)
VSD 00000 Ghosts of Mars (20th Anniversary) (Red Planet color vinyl) - John Carpenter (Record Store Day exclusive July 17, 2021. Limited to 1000 copies)
VSD 00000 Aliens: 35th Anniversary (acid-blood yellow-green vinyl) - James Horner (Record Store Day exclusive July 17, 2021. Limited to 1000 copies)
VSD 00000 Death Becomes Her: The Deluxe Edition - Alan Silvestri (purple vinyl) (Expanded release of Silvestri's 1992 score which will also be released as part of the Varese CD Club. This is a Black Friday Record Store Day release for November 2022)
VSD 00000 Mimic - Marco Beltrami (green vinyl) (This is a Black Friday Record Store Day release for November 2022)
VSD 00000 The Cowboys: The Deluxe Edition - John Williams (gold vinyl) (2 LP reissue of original Varese Club CD title. This is a Black Friday Record Store Day release for November 2022)
VSD 00000 Three O'Clock High - Tangerine Dream / Sylvester Levay (Additional Music) (Standard Black Vinyl)
VSD 00000 Three O'Clock High - Tangerine Dream / Sylvester Levay (Additional Music) (Limited Edition Blue Vinyl Edition)
MOND-035 The Iron Giant - Michael Kamen (Two-LP remastered release by Mondo 2019 with metal slipcase)
MOND-125 Speed Racer (white with red racing stripe vinyl) - Michael Giacchino (Two-LP exclusive set released through Mondo. Remastered edition. Limited to 1000 copies)
FROST003LP Blue Velvet (blue & blue split vinyl) - Angelo Badalamenti / various artists (Limited edition release through Fire Records)
This newly announced Vinyl Club is the spinoff of the original Varese CD Club featuring special edition soundtracks for the vinyl format for this special collection catered to audiophiles of the format. The first title to be announced is Basil Poledouris' classic score to that 1997 film, "Starship Troopers" directed by Poledouris' friend, Paul Verhoven and was part of the original Varese CD Club years ago. This release and like many upcoming titles will feature specialized artwork and LP variants from standard to special limited collectors editions like Starship Troopers's Blood and Bug Juice edition. All these titles will only be available through the Varese Sarabande website and no membership is needed to buy the titles much like the CD Club.
Like all record labels, Varèse has had their fair share of cancelled albums that were planned, announced to the public and for some reason, such as legal issues or the films' failure at the box office, the recording is not published. There are other cases such as Elmer Bernstein's The Good Son and Brian Reitzell's 30 Days of Night in which the label announced a release only for another label to release it.
Many have what are considered "phantom" numbers during the early days of the label meaning that they were planned and given a catalog number and then be cancelled. Many of these "cancellations" are listed in the CD catalog throughout the 47000, 704, 5200, and 6000 series of releases as well as the Varèse Sarabande Club and Masters Film Music series. Many were announced at publications such as Film Score Monthly[90] and the Muze music database which provided information for CD releases in record stores. And eventually websites such as Amazon also offer the same information as part of their pre-orders.
This list below corresponds to titles that were planned and announced by the label but were never fulfilled. Some pertain to legal publishing and copyright conflicts and others due to uncooperative studios, production companies and lost orchestral sketches, deteriorated, lost or misplaced recording session tapes. While the ones listed within the catalog do have an official number, others do not and will be labeled as VSDC-0000 (Varèse Sarabande disc cancellation) and year of announcement (1998, 2000, etc.).
AND NO, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace IS definitely NOT one of them! That would be Warner Bros. Records!
SRS 2012 Heartbeeps - John Williams (Planned, but cancelled – was the first title released for the reactivated club as well as being the first of the long-rumored titles announced in 1998 but released in 2001)
XCD-1001 Tiger Warsaw - Ernest Troost (Released on LP, planned for a CD release but cancelled)
VCD-47299 The Penitent - Alex North (Planned, assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Tapes are presumed lost)
VCD-70452 Two Moon Junction - Jonathan Elias (Released on LP and announced on CD but ultimately cancelled without explanation. Released in 1994 as VSD-5518)
VCD-70453 Lady In White - Frank LaLoggia (Released on LP and announced on CD but ultimately cancelled without explanation. Released by East West Records in 1997 and expanded by Intrada Records around 2018)
VCD-70456 Bad Dreams - Jay Ferguson (Announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Finally released as part of Varèse Sarabande's LP-to-CD Subscription Series)
VCD-70457 Dead Heat - Ernest Troost (Announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Available on LP)
VCD-704?? "Predator / Die Hard" - Alan Silvestri / Michael Kamen (Announced with a pending catalog number and cancelled. The label had planned a double feature disc of both popular scores for an album containing approx. 15 Minute suites of both scores that would've been recorded in Europe had the film scores been recorded there. Ultimately, Twentieth Century-Fox (now part of Disney) decided to record the scores in Los Angeles and the title was scrapped. Around 1993, Fox Film Scores had a similar idea and planned a release utilizing the music recorded at the Los Angeles recording sessions for both scores. However, it would've been approx. 45 Minutes of Predator and 30 Minutes of Die Hard on one disc. This release was also cancelled. Varese Sarabande would ultimately release both scores individually as part of the revival of their CD Club in 2002 (Die Hard) and 2003 (Predator) respectively)
VCDM-704.440 Pass The Ammo - Carter Burwell (Planned for release, assigned a catalog number and cancelled)
VSD-5336 Dutch - Alan Silvestri / various artists (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Silvestri's score would be released by La-La Land Records in 2010.)
VSD-5362 Rock-a-Doodle - Robert Folk / T.J. Kuenster (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Released in Germany by the Good Music Label. Newly released in complete from by Quartet Records in association With Movie Score Media Records)
VSD-5387 Whispers in the Dark - Thomas Newman (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Later released by Intrada Records in 2012)
VSD-5458 The Good Son - Elmer Bernstein (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Subsequently, released by Fox Movie Scores)
VSD-5650 Lost Civilizations - Joe Delia (This was music for the ten hour NBC Series which was announced, assigned catalog number and then cancelled. Released as an agency promotional CD for the composer)
VSD-5745 Alaska - Reg Powell (Planned, assigned a catalog number and cancelled)
VSD-6016 Analyze This - Howard Shore / various artists (Announced, assigned catalog number and canceled)
VSD-6126 Wonder Boys - Christopher Young (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. A promo was produced and released for Oscar consideration)
VSD-6203 Legend: The Deluxe Edition - Jerry Goldsmith (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Reissued by Silva Screen Records in 2002. Eventually expanded by Music Box Records in cooperation with Silva Screen Records in 2021.)
VSD-6320 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - John Debney (assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled)
VSD-6352 Dinotopia - Trevor Jones (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Released on CMP Records)
VSD-6751 Idlewild - John Debney (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. FYC promo exists)
VSD-6822 Lucky You - Christopher Young (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Composer promo featuring more music than planned for a regular public release was released soon after)
VSD-6858 30 Days of Night - Brian Reitzell (Announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled. Released by Ipac Recordings in 2007)
VSD-7035 The Special Relationship - Alexandre Desplat (Assigned a number, planned for release and cancelled. Released as part of the Limited Edition series. in 2010. Please see above)
VSD-7161 High Ground - Chris Bacon (announced, assigned catalog number and cancelled. Digital release only)
VSD-7208 No Place on Earth - John Piscitello (announced, assigned catalog number and cancelled. Digital release only)
VSD-7323 The Newsroom - Thomas Newman / John Beal (Announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled)
VSD-7344 Jane Got a Gun - Lisa Gerrard / Marcello De Francisci (Announced, assigned a catalog number and cancelled)
VSD-7360 Maggie - David Wingo (Digital download release, CD was planned but cancelled)
VSDC-1986 King Kong Lives - John Scott, the Graunke Symphony Orchestra (Planned as a 47000 title, the label made a deal with MCA Records to sell the release rights to them and the soundtrack was then released through them since MCA felt the movie would be a hit at the box office during Christmastime 1986. Richard Kraft and Tom Null are credited as executive producers on the album, which is the give away that the label produced this title first. MCA Records also planned this as a CD release but that never materialized due to the film's box office failure. The LP catalog number is STV 81302 which is scratched off the LP itself as proof of being a Varese title.)[91]
VSDC-1997 The Relic - John Debney (Planned as a regular release as a late 5700 numbered title originally planned for a 1996 late summer release until the studio (Paramount Pictures) delayed the film until January 1997)
VSDC-1997/1998 The Great Escape - Elmer Bernstein (re-recording) the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Re-recording of score conducted by Bernstein which was recorded in 1997 and produced by Robert Townson which was eventually sold to RCA/Victor and released in 1999)[92]
VSDC-1997/1998 The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein (re-recording) the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Re-recording of famed score conducted by Bernstein which was recorded in 1997 and produced by Robert Townson which was eventually sold to RCA/Victor and released in 1999)[93]
VSDC-1998 The Die Hard Trilogy - Michael Kamen, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Planned compilation re-recording featuring suites from all three Die Hard films, was announced in 1998 and then subsequently cancelled soon after)
VSDC-1998 Franz Waxman: Legends of Hollywood: Volume Five - Franz Waxman, Richard Mills conductor. Queensland Orchestra (Announced in 1998 as another re-recording addition to their previously released four volumes of music for the legendary composer. Due to be recorded in late 1998, early 1999, this never materialized and nothing was heard of the project)
VSDC-1999 Bernard Herrmann at 20th Century Fox - Bernard Herrmann (Originally planned as a two-disc set of titles devoted to the Golden Age composer but this was cancelled and rethought as separate individual three-disc volumes featuring suites from various scores released during 1999 in this variation. In 2011, the label released a more comprehensive 14-disc limited edition box set featuring the material on the three volumes in complete form through the Varèse Club and was limited to 1000 copies)
VSDC-1999 Jerry Goldsmith at 20th Century Fox - Jerry Goldsmith (Originally planned as a two-disc set of titles devoted to the Oscar winning composer but this was cancelled. In 2004, the label released a more comprehensive six-disc limited edition box set the Varèse Club on Goldsmith's birthday (February 10, 2004) and was limited to 1500 copies that featured three discs of unreleased material in suites and almost complete scores due to the sources available at the time of release)
VSDC-1998 Godzilla - Akira Ifukube, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Planned re-recording to coincide with the release of the 1998 Sony film was cancelled due to legal rights with the Toho film company in retaining the material to re-record the music)
VSDC-2000 Highlander - Michael Kamen, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Planned re-recording of popular in-demand score under the baton of Kamen, was in the planning stages until it was put on hold due to the composer's failing health and never materialized)
VSDC-2001 Antitrust - Don Davis (Planned to be released in early 2001, but cancelled due to the films' box office failure. An agency promo of the score for the composer exists)
VSDC-2001 3000 Miles To Graceland - George S. Clinton (Planned and cancelled after the films' box office failure. A promo of the score for the composer exists)