I recently had a chance to have a look at this UP CD now available from Intrada Records, and am pretty impressed with it. It’s nicely packaged, with a nice, thick full-color booklet inside the CD. Inside the booklet are many pages of full-color artwork (not stills from the movie, but more like sketches and initial drawings of the various characters), with short paragraphs on all of the characters, from Muntz to Kevin to Dog (for instance, on the page devoted to Carl, there are three different sketches of him, and a pagagraph talking about his personality and back story). There are pages with pictures of Michael and Pete Docter, comments by both of them (see below), and pages that list the tracks, the names of the orchestra musicians, and the mixing/recording/music staff as well. There’s also a note saying “In Memory of Larry Corbett” (who was Michael’s principal cellist for many years, and passed away suddenly between the various session dates). Counting the covers, the booklet is 24 pages, full color. Basically, the CD was done with class – which is nice to see. Remember, this won the Oscar for Best Score that year. For those who liked Up and its score, this very nicely-done limited pressing CD is definitely worth the $20.
Here are the notes from Pete Docter:
[i]What can you say about Michael Giacchino that hasn’t been said before? Yes, Michael is “relaxed,” he’s a movie star, he’s a television celebrity, he’s a nightclub sensation, he’s a social issue and, of course, he’s one of the world’s most successful recording artists. All in all, he’s an entertainment phenomenon the likes of whom emerge only a half-dozen times or so in the course of a century. Oh wait – that’s Dean Martin. Well, Michael Giacchino is relaxed too. And he’s a darned good film music composer. In fact, you know what? I’d hire him to write film music over Dean Martin any day. One, becaues Dean Martin doesn’t write film music, and two, because he’s dead. So Michael has it over Dean Martin 100%.
Granted, there are other people who write film music that aren’t dead. So why was Michael Giacchino perfect for this job? UP is nothing if not eclectic. It demands a lot as it switches from a nostalgic memory, to a trio of goofball tagalongs, to an action adventure.
As we listed the litany of skills we were looking for in a composer, a music agent told us, “Sounds like you need three composers!”
Of course, we got Michael Giacchino, who single-handedly wrote everything we needed and tied it all together beautifully. His action music is exciting, his comedy funny without trying, and his nostalgia makes me cry every time. His approach is character based, and the music became as important as the characters themselves. It was as if he had somehow reached out into the sky and grabbed the soundtrack for our film, as if it has always existed out there, waiting for our movie to come along.
Working with Michael was a real privilege and this soundtrack is Michael at his best. I know every director says that, but this time it’s true! Listen and see if you don’t agree with me.[/i]
Pete Docter, April 2009
Here are the notes from Michael Giacchino:
[i]I was introduced to the story of UP when I was finishing the sound mix on Ratatouille. Here I was, in the final stages of my work on that film, being told another great Pixar story. I knew that I HAD to do this film – I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I actually landed the gig, and began to watch the film in its storyboard phase.
Not more than a few minutes into the movie, I was wondering how on earth I was going to express in music the emotions I was feeling. These were real characters, with struggles and joys we could all relate to – it was so overwhelming that I actually thought it would be an impossible creative mountain to climb.
Fortunately, what helped me in the process of getting it all down on paper were my colleagues, who were not only colleagues, but friends – creative, thoughtful, supportive and super-talented friends like Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and Jonas Rivera.
Together we went on a wonderful adventure bringing this music to your theaters – and now to your newfangled record players!
I hope you enjoy what was for me the epitome of the famed Charles Muntz slogan: “ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!”[/i]
Michael Giacchino, April 2011
I think I heard the same thing about the Toy Story 3 soundtrack, tho I’m not certain