[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'230841\' date=\'Nov 18 2009, 06:34 PM\'][quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'230834\' date=\'Nov 18 2009, 03:18 PM\']
WOW! Are those tracks clean or what?? Plus this full version doesn't repeat the first 'verse'. This is yet another early Christmas Gift for all of us on TVPMM.
What I can't understand is why they edited the theme in the late '70s in the first place. I know that sometimes shows will use slightly different music cues to spice things up a bit, but the edit did nothing for it. It just repeated one section and took out another. On the GSN CD you can even hear where the edit is. I don't get it.
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In some of the many episodes I have in my collection, there seemed to be at least 2 "edited" versions of the closing theme -- the one where the first verse is repeated and the piccolo part deleted, and another version in which they extend the keyboard solo a bit.
Now that I think about it more, were the "edited" versions of the theme just heard on the syndicated/nighttime version of the show? I don't seem to recall hearing the edits in the few daytime versions that I have.
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***Sorry for not addressing this matter sooner...though it has taken nearly a month to respond to this, those who know me well are aware of the less-than-timely way I seem to handle correspondence these days...in fact, this one might qualify as "swift" in comparison to other emails and messages I've eventually completed...buuuuut anyway...***
While doing research for this reply, I found that there may be more random edits out there than I (or probably most others) was aware of. When reviewing episodes currently available on Hulu, I discovered at least two episodes in which the first verse was repeated while the piccolo part remained intact. And there is also the piccolo-free edit that appeared on the GSN CD that differed from the choppy on-air edit many hardcore fans were aware of. Let me clear up the mystery regarding at least ONE of the edits that are now out there.
During the production of GSN's second CD of game show themes, I was working as closely as possible with the project guy at Varese. For those of us "fans" who were providing any sort of input into this volume, it was agreed that we wanted this CD to include as much rare hard-to-find material as possible. Of course, that made finding source material difficult at best and even when locating source material, finding it in good enough condition to use on a commercial recording. Eventually, the Varese rep thought he had obtained all the needed material and sent a CD of the material for me to review. Good thing he did as there were several mystery tracks misidentified as well-known titles. Also, a couple of tracks that were supplied were much shorter versions than we had hoped for so I requested he approach the source he obtained them from and try to get the longer versions instead (he was only somewhat successful).
My greatest input, however, came into play with themes we'd received with multiple cues (generally opening and closing themes), such as "Let's Make A Deal" and "Split Second". Rather than just use one cue out of the assortment we received, I did my best to provide time cues/edit points in an effort to combine as many of the openings and closings as possible into one continuous track. For the most part, my instructions were followed but there were a couple of instances where he combined them at different points, resulting in at least one track that makes my hair stand on end every time I hear it.
ANYWAY, it was during this process that I had to make a decision about our copy of "The Hollywood Squares". At that time, the only version that anyone had unearthed was the one heard mostly in the later syndie episodes that included the notorious missing piccolo edit. Since most people were probably not aware of that edit, I feared that including the track "as-is" would sound like something had gone wrong during the production of the CD, leading to confused and potentially angry customers. It was agreed that I would create a cleaner edit that would remove any sudden skips and flow from start to finish as smoothly as possible. The end result is what eventually was used on the final release. While it wasn't perfect, I felt it was about as good as we do, removing the phantom jump while retaining the overall integrity of the original theme.
If you'd like to hear what the source material sounded like prior to my input, the curator of the amazing TVPMM has added it to his site as "Hollywood Squares - 1970 - Closing Theme - Long B". Enjoy!
Jake
