Description
The definitive edition of David Shire’s score to the beloved 1985 adventure RETURN TO OZ, hand-signed by the composer!
Intrada Records presents the complete, remastered score from RETURN TO OZ on a deluxe 2-CD set—full of breathtaking, never-before-released music (including alternate takes, bonus cues, and the original 1985 album presentation).
In-store signing coming in May. Pre-ordered CDs will begin shipping shortly after the event!
Due to a high number of lost and delayed First Class orders, International orders now ship via speedy and secure Priority Mail. Our system doesn’t currently allow automatically combined shipping, but we’re happy to refund overpayment for multiple CDs ordered.
All orders subject to availability.
The year 1985 was an extremely rich source of brilliant film scores. One of the most significant was David Shire’s score to the 1985 Walt Disney film Return to OZ. Starring Fairuza Balk in the role of Dorothy and a host of new friends, the events take place after the story portrayed in The Wizard of OZ,with her Aunt and Uncle believing Dorothy is delusional in her belief in OZ, sending her for psychological therapy before she is whisked back to OZ where she needs to save it from the gnome king.
OZ was the first fantasy film for both Director Walter Murch and the composer. Armed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Shire composed and recorded a stunning magnum opus, rich in themes and motifs, color and beauty, suspense and terror, action and even some ragtime for good measure. In addition to several smaller motifs, Shire wrote a total of nine major themes representing the different characters in the film. He tied most of his themes into some instrumental or stylistic antecedent in American music, because he saw the story as Dorothy’s dream. Much of his score is derived from what he imagined Dorothy’s experience would be as a girl growing up in America during the turn of the twentieth century.
The complete score on this album is nearly twice the amount of music heard on the original soundtrack (which is presented in its Shire-curated purity on disc 2), edited and mastered from two-track digital stereo mixes derived from the 2″ elements stored in pristine condition in the Walt Disney Pictures vaults. It expands upon the original 1985 soundtrack album in numerous ways, including many previously unreleased cues and edits within various tracks as well as the inclusion of various “sweeteners” (xylophone, triangle, timpani, harp) that were not included in the album mixes. In fact, many of those LP mixes differed in substantial ways and in some cases became wholly new versions distinct from their film counterparts.
Just in time for the film’s 30th anniversary, this restoration of one of the finest film scores is now available.
CD 1
01. Opening Sequence** (With Sweeteners) (3:10)
02. Finding The Key* (0:45)
03. The Ride To Dr. Worley’s** (2:13)
04. Ozma In Reflection* (0:55)
05. Upstairs At Dr. Worley’s**+ (4:47)
06. The Headphones*/Flight In The Storm (3:43)
07. Oz/The Ruined House** (5:11)
08. The Deserted City**+ (3:56)
09. Tik Tok+* (Revised) (3:10)
10. The Hall Of Heads** (3:01)
11. Jack Pumpkinhead** (3:20)
12. Here’s What We Have To Do* (2:05)
13. Mombi’s Awake* (3:45)
14. Flight Of The Gump* (Revised #1) (4:23)
15. Mombi’s Mandolin #2*/Wheelers Pursue*/Crash Landing* (3:28)
16. Where Are We Anyway?*/Yes, Your Majesty*/Into The Nome King’s Lair* (3:31)
17. Don’t Cry/Where’s Dorothy?* (1:41)
18. We Accept* (0:50)
19. Wrong Guess++* (0:24)
20. Farewell To Pumpkinhead*/Tunnel Charge #1*/Tunnel Charge #2* (1:46)
21. Ruby Slippers Colloquy** (3:34)
22. The Ornament Room** (2:32)
23. You’re All That’s Left* (0:41)
24. One Guess Left*/But Not For Much Longer*/
Stop**+/Nome Chase+/Final Chaos And Restoration**+/
Triumphal March (11:01)
CD 1 Total Time: 74:35
CD 2
01. Cheering Bridge/Goodbye** (4:52)
02. Just A Reflection/End Credits (5:56)
Total Score Time: 84:23
The Extras (Alternate Cues)
03. Tik Tok++** (Original) (3:05)
04. Mombi’s Mandolin #1* (From Stereo Stems) (0:57)
05. Flight Of The Gump (Mix 2) (3:58)
06. Flight Of The Gump (Revised #2)++ (4:00)
07. We Accept* (Film Assembly) (1:39)
08. Triumphal March* (End Credits – Part 2) (0:41)
09. The Return To Oz – Rag March++ (2:46)
Total Extras Time: 17:17
Original 1985 Soundtrack Album
10. Dorothy Remembers/Home/The Ride To Dr. Worley’s (4:22)
11. Ozma/The Flight In The Storm (3:56)
12. Oz/The Ruined House (4:54)
13. The Deserted City/The Wheelers/Tik Tok (4:58)
14. Mombi’s Hall Of Heads (2:47)
15. Jack Pumpkinhead (2:49)
16. The Flight Of The Gump (4:00)
17. Dorothy And The Nome King/The Ornament Room (4:27)
18. The Defeat Of The Nome King/The Restoration (6:11)
19. The Mirror (2:34)
20. Finale And End Credits (Theme From Return To Oz) (4:30)
21. The Return To Oz Rag March (2:46)
Total 1985 Album Time: 48:32
CD 2 Total Time: 76:54
*Previously Unreleased
**Includes Music Previously Unreleased
+Contains Music Not Featured in Film
++Not Featured In Film
