Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch - Blade Runner 2049 - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Poor printing, poor sound, a lot of pops and cracks.. 21€ wasted. Avoid!

I listened to this back-to-back tonight with the 180 gram vinyl 2018 reissue of original blade runner soundtrack. What a wonderful way to spend an early summer evening. Each album is good in its own way - but here are some comments (sometimes comparing with the original movie Vangelis soundtrack vinyl)1) Sound quality.... My copy does NOT have fingerprints or signs of dirt/mishandling from a new-purchased copy. Looks clean right out of the packaging. I washed each vinyl with spin-clean record cleaning wash, carefully, just to prep for the ideal listening experience. Out of the 2 vinyls, 4 sides total, there were 3 instances where the lower-volume gradient intros did have some light crackle, i.e. instead of listening to the growing pure drone of a synth there are some 'fireplace crackle' vinyl artifacts audible when first putting the cartridge to the vinyl on 3 sides. Well for whatever reason when I gave the vinyl a light sweep with a carbon fiber brush, on the 2nd play this crackle, which mind you is probably a tolerable amount for many, was probably decreased by 40% or so. No longer as irritating. And it's only in the first minute or so, i.e. very outer edges of the vinyl. For the rest of each vinyl surface crackle was almost nonexistent, i.e. about what you would expect from a good clean new well-manufactured vinyl record. Thus I have to report that this is not vinyl that has every sound come at you, regardless of dynamics (i.e. especially quiet parts), out of the blackest of empty silences with no surface noise whatsoever. I wish it was so. This is a paradox of vinyl altogether (i.e. sounds better than lossy digital formats, but does bear some artifacts). 2. Music quality.....Original Blade Runner soundtrack has much more emphasis on crime-noir themes in a sci-fi setting. Suitable for a focus on Deckard as someone who is a detective who is intrigued by a dame and is in pursuit of something where outside forces are powerful and pushing back. The Vangelis stuff works well because it's like a futuristic jazz sax at times, at other times has a piano section that you imagine in a dusty, whiskey filled bar - goes with the loney detective seeking occasional respite in a rough world. Some of this carries over to Blade Runner 2049 of course, but in the case of 2049 there is more of a ongoing focus (I think) of the protagonist being puzzled/affected/haunted by his own (implanted) memories and shifting sense of identity/affinity. I'm sure others who study these movies may disagree but I'm just offering an interpretation here, and I'll just throw out the tentative suggestion that Deckard throws himself outside into the world more, whereas K is much more "in his own head" from even the very start of the movie. So, the newer 2049 sound track has more atmospheric surges and swells, like the things K is trying to sort out in his own head, and the piano theme here is comparatively much more sparse (just about the only non-synth melodic element). Bottom line - there are overlaps between the two soundtracks but also differences in thematic emphasis. So, the newer soundtrack suits the more recent film. Also as a 2018 listener I just think Vangelis is great for reedy synth pads and textures that by now are presets on so many hardware synths today. The newer soundtrack seems to have more processed sounds for more modern times, i.e. the otherworldly pads and droning sounds and other textures are the next evolution. Timbre/distortion etc is pushed more in the newer soundtrack as part of the sonic construction.3. Coherence of presentation.....I wish the pop song did not exist at the end of side 4. It doesn't fit the mood of the soundtrack but I guess it's nice like an alarm clock to remind you to get up and take the cartridge off the vinyl. It's basically the 'end credits ' song that gets you to rustle about, gather your things, and leave the movie theater. But out of a whole long soundtrack you get no elvis or adele etc for all the rest of the vinyl, which is nice. 4. Packaging.....I wish the packaging of the vinyl for Blade Runner 2049 was more epic - gatefold, etc. But it's good enough just because it represents what is basically the movie poster on the front cover. I'm sticking the vinyl in some mobile fidelity sleeves then sticking the cardboard outer sleeve in some protective mylar with backing - it will look nice that way.Final review, then, subjective score:Quality of soundtrack: 8.5/10. It's unique, it's great, it takes me places. I will re-listen often.Quality of pressing 7/10. Not the disaster people make it out to be. But I do recommend cleaning the vinyl. I don't know why there is the 'intro of vinyl/right at beginning' crackle. Quality of packaging 5/10 - averageListened to using ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge. Playing music back on Adam A8X monitors + sub

Edit - this is meant to be a review of the 180 gram vinyl issue 2 x LP, not this particular edition . I posed in the wrong place

Ok so a lot of you might be interested in this, I got my copy and cleaned it with a Smart Matrix Pro and played it to find it wasn't too bad, more surface noise and distortion than I would be happy with but hey its vinyl.Anyway after playing the entire album I decided to clean it again for the second time...........and now listening to it my copy is NEAR PERFECT with basically no surface noise or distortion whatsoever and sounds amazing.

Same here. I cleaned my copy with disco-antistat and it plays and looks perfect.

It is the UK/EU release bought through Juno around two months ago. However I must stress that for me it needed a proper clean with a vacuum cleaner, a simple wipe does nothing.

Hi, was this the EU/GZ version? I am desperate to get a copy of this where the second disc plays without a ton of noise, especially on side D. I know the song at the end isn't great but I hate constant clicks on fade outs and every copy I have heard seems to have this...?

I gave my copy a VPI clean after a quick listen, and can report a strong resonant sound.Very deep & atmospheric. There is minimal surface noise, but given that a lot of the material sits literally on the noise floor it's acceptable.There are occasional background pops & ticks. But I have not heard anything that disrupted my enjoyment of the music.

This feels like a cheap cashgrab. 4 licensed songs are entirely missing, (but they are still credited on the inlay) the presentation is lacking, the inlays are presented with scaled up screenshots... I am not going to miss this one in my collection....It really lacks love and care, it's treated like a mere merchandise product

Yet they are on every single other release and the copyright for this song is on the inlay - seriously your comment is very subjective and misses the point.They could have packed them on an additional smaller 7inch to not "ruin the flow"The vinyl release costs more than the CD version and simply offers less and the overall quality is not good at all.

The licences song on the vinyl would totally ruin the flow when listening. It's obvious they just wanted Zimmer´s music on there. Waste of wax if they included the licensed song if you ask me.

Adding to the chorus. My first copy was so bad I sent an email to GZ, which of course they did not answer but it made me feel better. Their pressing standards are a disgrace. I do not understand how brand new records can be scratched between coming off the press and going into sleeves. I don't understand how bits of black vinyl pellets make it all the way into the sleeve with the records. I don't understand how clicks and pops from faulty stampers make it past the test press stage and I especially don't understand why people at the GZ can't put records into sleeves without bending and creasing the inner sleeve so that there are ugly creases across the artwork. I have bought 3 copies and cobbled together a *playable* version, which still has clicks and pops in all the wrong places but I can't be bothered to try and get anything better. The quality of the pressing is disgusting, frankly.An update after hearing 5 copies of this album. Generally the first disc seems ok but the second one (sides C&D) are dreadful: there are often hard pops between tracks 1 and 2 on side C and I have found that on 4 copies the closing moments of the final track on side D are marred by constant clicks. An absolutely awful pressing and all copies seem to have handling bends and creases to the inner sleeves.

LP One (Side A and B) is bad....C and D is better but not really good. After cleaning, I can say "Its a bad pressing"...don't buy. I think that music have big quiet moment...its better to listen in FLAC...Its not a soundtrack for vinyl...Its my opinion.

Mine isn't warped and plays ok. The LPs are dirty and need cleaning right after purchase. The sleeve and innersleeves are of poor quality and it should have been put in a gatefold. All in all not a perfect edition but not horrible either. Great music :)

Not a gatefold (with poor printing quality on what was printed), records dusty and dirty out of the sleeve. At least I love the soundtrack enough to say this is a worthwhile purchase.

I got this in yesterday and it sounds like garbage. I can't tell if the thing is just super dirty or if there are physical blemishes on the record. Anyone have any luck getting this thing to sound any better. I'm highly disappointed in this record.

Mine sounds like recorded infront of a fireplace - both discs dusty and the person who operated the shrinking/package machine not only fucked up the jacket, the innersleeves too...another great product, another happy customer!

Brand new, arrived on the day of release--and it's got fingerprints and dust on it. And it's warped. Both discs. Unfortunate. Poor quality control. Both discs are noisy, as well. Not the terrible pop-click noise, just a general-but-apparent surface noise. It's not a huge deal, but I'm still wondering why people can't press quiet, flat records every time. In this day and age. On top of that, if there was ever a soundtrack that deserved a gorgeous gatefold, it's Blade Runner 2049, but this is just a double-disk sleeve. All in all, disappointing. Of course, this is how they get ya to keep buying these flawed things--I'm not returning it. I'll still listen to it and love it for the great film score that it is. Don't let the bastards grind you down.EDIT: After a good cleaning, the surface noise diminished some. For all its faults, this pressing sounds decent, actually. Not amazing, but decent.

me too after cleaning Its better...I bought other pressing in "waxwork record" is it's even worse as pressing.I have the impression that LPs are getting worse after leaving the factory, especially US pressing (clik, pop, noise...) The only and better is "Music on Vinyl". I love it...good pressing, great work.

This is the 150g version. Just if anyone is wondering

This is a very poorly thought out and delivered package. The lack of a gate-fold, choice of artwork and overall filthiness of the wax and I was very underwhelmed overall. The music and the movie deserved more from its soundtrack.I expected more care.

Don't think it sounds too bad on my system. Not spectacular, but with my Rel sub there is plenty of low end synth thump where required. The music is solid, if a little slavish to the Vangelis score for Blade Runner. Typical GZ Media pressing. Filthy as all hell and apparently handled by people whose hands are made of butter.

What can you say about this soundtrack? It seems to have its followers, but by-and-large its a complete turkey in comparison to the original score, which was about 25% of the film to start with. It cuts its own path partly, but a lot of elements are very reminiscent of the Vangellis score. This vinyl cut then, not a lot of effort gone into the sound here. Its very very low volume stuff, you will need to crank it high to get anything out of it. From the looks of it it was pressed as GZVINYL, and has absolutely no cutting engineer inscriptions whatsoever, leading to the only conclusion it is a direct from digital file transfer to vinyl by a machine. If this score still stands up in future years, then I'd put money on a 10th anniversary edition re-release, hopefully cut by someone with talent, like Kevin Gray or Chris Bellman, who can bring out the sound a lot more. Hardcore fans and collectors only here I would say for this release.

Pretty sure this entry is just a copy and paste of the CD as the matrix numbers don't make sense at allThis one is more accuratehttps://www.discogs.com/Hans-Zimmer-Benjamin-Wallfisch-Blade-Runner-2049-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/11282029

This is a very poorly thought out and delivered package. The lack of a gate-fold, choice of artwork and overall filthiness of the wax and I was very underwhelmed overall. The music and the movie deserved more from its soundtrack.

is this for the 180 gram? I preordered that from the official site.

Yes that's it. Thanks it's on here now and listed.

Do you mean this one?• Limited Edition 2-Disc Vinyl Set• Individually numbered• Only 2,500 copies of this edition exist!• 180 Gram High Fidelity Vinyl for audiophiles• Includes digital album download insert• Vinyl only track list as listed below• Ships on or around December 15, 2017

Currently being sold her for more than retail - which is £19.99 - it's not limited... try going AFK, get some fresh air and save a few quid.