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As a workable product, this Varèse set was completely different from any other, though it did inspire similar sets from FSM in coming years. When it originally sold from the label's web site, it cost nearly $140 (including shipping). It sold out within two weeks, and on the secondary market, its value immediately escalated past $200 and fetched prices upwards of $300 by the end of the 2000's. But is it really worth that much? There is a distinct reason why only 1,500 of these sets were produced; the market aim for it was very, very narrow. Even within the film music collecting crowd, only a few of the most avid Goldsmith enthusiasts will likely have the money or need to seek this set. As a visual and aural product, it is unquestionably outstanding. The 64-page booklet maintains the label's highest standards of their other Club releases and the sound quality has been mastered with great attention to detail on the older material (and even a more recent entry like The Vanishing). Everything about this product is spectacular, and it's no wonder that speculators bought multiple copies and left them sealed as an investment. The endeavor is very obviously a labor of love for executive producer Robert Townson and everyone at Varèse. A spirited debate ensued, however, about the viability of the set. If someone only wanted Fate is the Hunter and nothing else, then that person would pay extraordinary sums for just four cues from that one score. The same applied to the 14 minutes from Alien. Frankly, those collectors were simply screwed since the product was meant to be a complete package. Additionally, the set sold out so quickly (and thus marked up astronomically) that there was no chance for reviews of the product before the sell-out date. It was announced on the 10th of February, sold out by the end of that month, and shipped in late March, leaving the less Internet-capable collectors, or those who wanted to read reviews about it, with only very expensive reseller options. A logical argument at the time stated that the desired music would have been much more attainable by avid but less wealthy Goldsmith collectors had it been offered in three limited 2-CD sets for $44.99 each (or perhaps some other arrangement). As it was, too many of the sets sat unopened with people who bought several of them as investments. There are those, of course, who think that spending $150 on any set of CDs is absurd, and to an extent, those people have a good argument. At what point does a tribute simply lose all of its practicality? If you already have most, if not all of the Goldsmith music you want, then there's really no point in trying to locate a copy of this set. Many of the new attractions it contained in 2004 have been released in full since. Only if you love and value Goldsmith's career as much as the folks at Varèse do, however, should you consider acquiring it so many years later.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.26 (in 128 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.28 (in 153,708 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

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