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A Guide to the JW & Boston Pops Discography


Bespin

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Hi,

Without making a real Top 10, I wonder which are your favourite "JW & Boston Pops" albums?

There are few sources which review and comment these albums on the web, so what would be for example, your suggestion for anybody who would want to begin a basic collection?

After a quick search on the John Williams Discography Wiki, here are I think all the Boston Pops albums recorded with John Williams:

Studio Albums

Boston Pops: Pops in Space

Boston Pops: Pops on the March

Boston Pops: That's Entertainment

Boston Pops: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Boston Pops: Aisle Seat – Great Fim Music

Boston Pops: Pops Around The World – Digital Overtures

Boston Pops: Out of this World

Boston Pops: On Stage

Boston Pops: Peter and the Wolf/Nutcracker Suite

Boston Pops: Swing Swing Swing

Boston Pops: America, The Dream Goes On

Boston Pops: Pops in Love

Boston Pops: Bernstein by Boston

Boston Pops: Holst – The Planets

Boston Pops: Digital Jukebox

Boston Pops: Pops Britannia

Boston Pops: Salute to Hollywood

Boston Pops: Music of the Night

Boston Pops: Pops a la Russe

Boston Pops: Pops by George – The Music Of Gershwin

Boston Pops: I Love A Parade

Boston Pops: The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration

Boston Pops: Joy To The World

Boston Pops: The Green Album

Boston Pops: Night and Day – Celebrate Sinatra

Boston Pops: Unforgettable

Boston Pops: Music For Stage And Screen

Boston Pops: Swing

Boston Pops: Williams on Williams – Classic Spielberg Scores

Boston Pops: Summon the Heroes

Singles

John Williams Conducting The Boston Pops

Boston Pops: Oboe Concerto (w Keisuke Wakao)

Compilations

Boston Pops: By Request – The Best of John Williams and the Boston Pops

Boston Pops: Star Wars - The Best Of Space Music

The Very Best Of The Boston Pops

Boston Pops: Kids Stuff – An Afternoon at the Movies

Boston Pops: Movies

Boston Pops: Over the Rainbow

Boston Pops: Pops Stoppers

Boston Pops: Space-Taculars

Boston Pops: Space and Time

Boston Pops: Salute Gene Kelly, Fred Astair, Judy Garland

Boston Pops: Salute To America

Boston Pops: From Sousa to Spielberg

The Very Best of John Williams and the Boston Pops (4-CD Set)

Boston Pops: John Williams Conducts Music from the Star Wars Saga

Boston Pops: American Classics

John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra: A Collection (Japan)

Boston Pops: Encore! (2-CD Set)

20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of John Williams & The Boston Pops

Collaborations and performances as Guest star (only original albums)

Jessye Norman: With a Song in My Heart
Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age (w Itzhak Perlman)
Video albums (DVD)
Broadway's Best at Pops (Arthur Fiedler, John Williams and Keith Lockhart/Boston Pops)
Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration (K. Lockhart, J. Williams, S. Asbury, A. Nelsons, etc./Boston Pops, Tanglewood Music Center O, Boston SO)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams_discography

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A few thoughts...

You should know that the Nutcracker/Peter and the Wolf disc received no less than five different releases using different narrators.

By Request isn't exactly a compilation, or at least not as the ones listed after it. Williams recorded with the Boston Pops a number of tracks for that release, and the remaining were taken from previous releases. That happened in at least one other release (Pops Britannia used a track recorded and released on a previous album).

The collaboration section is misleading if you ask me. I can understand the inclusion of the Cinema Serenade 2, but the three other are just compilations on material recorded by the orchestra with both Fiedler (in the 70's when the orchestra recorded with Decca and Deutsch Gramophone) and Williams (from his Philips recordings).

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My favorites are Pops in Space, Out of This World, Spielberg/Williams and Williams on Williams. By Request is like the Queen Greatest Hits of John Williams. It's an old standby in nearly every sense of the word. I consider it the ultimate introductory Williams album and I dare you to not go full circle with it.

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Favorites:

By Request (my first jw cassette and my first ever CD )

Aisle Seat (my fav recording of chariots and of course Yes, Girogrio)

Spielberg/Williams collaboration

Pops in Space (first time ever hearing a Williams CD, my bro had it and he had awesome speakers)

Joy to the World - I love the first track of all the Xmas songs.

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I must agree with your choices, "By Request" is effectively maybe the best compilation to discover John Williams!

There is also this one, a more recent CD that maybe looks without interrest, but it offers a really good listening experience.

51VDFPQSQCL._SX300_.jpg

1 Main Title (Star Wars)

2 Princess Leia

3 March (Raiders of The Lost Ark)

4 March (Superman)

5 Love Theme (Superman)

6 Theme (Jaws)

7 March (1941)

8 March (Midway)

9 Adventures on Earth

10 Flying Theme

11 Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Suite

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The compilation "Boston Pops: From Sousa to Spielberg" is pretty cool too.

That's the type of compilation you look at the track names and say : what's that? What a strange selection... it's really anything!

But you know, it's very effective... and refreshing when you're tired of hearing the same songs again and again!

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That was the only source for the suite.

There was one boot of Jane Eyre, before the Silva Screen re-issue of the score from 1999, that included the original LP program plus the suite from the Boston Pops recording and the scherzo recorded by Gerhardt and the Nationla Philharmonic. They wronlgy labeled it as alternates, when they were actually concert arrangements...

Anyway, the way to get them is, if you ask me, through the Philips released Boston Pops album, and never through the bootleg.

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Me, like many of us it appears, enjoyed "By Request" as a nice little John Williams Starter Album. I bought "Jurassic Park" when if first came out, but before I began spending money on other score CDs I bought this compilation. That cemented my fascination.

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That was the only source for the suite.

There was one boot of Jane Eyre, before the Silva Screen re-issue of the score from 1999, that included the original LP program plus the suite from the Boston Pops recording and the scherzo recorded by Gerhardt and the Nationla Philharmonic. They wronlgy labeled it as alternates, when they were actually concert arrangements...

Anyway, the way to get them is, if you ask me, through the Philips released Boston Pops album, and never through the bootleg.

Miguel, I would never advocate buying boots, but thanks for putting me right.

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At the time that the boot came out, I would guess that it was not lossless.

This is interesting: boots are often the only way to obtain your fave complete JW (or anyone else's) score, yet they are illegal in a lot of countries, and are definitely frowned upon by the composers themselves.

The composers must know that boots trade hands for a lot of money, yet the complete score is rarely released. On top of all that, people also want all the "session" stuff.

I praise bands that now offer "immersion" box-sets. I only wish that composers would do the same.

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A Remastered John Williams & The Boston Pops Integral BoxSet would be very well apreciated amongs the fans I guess!

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A Remastered John Williams & The Boston Pops Integral BoxSet would be very well apreciated amongs the fans I guess!

Absolutely. I never set out to get all JW/Pops albums, as I'm primarily a completist of his compositions, but something like that I'd definitely check out. I'd get everything at once.

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Without a real integral, just an Anthology of all his compositions played by him and the Boston Pops would be great too!

Is my list complete?

Boston Pops: John Williams plays John Williams - The Anthology

- Superman: March (from Pops in Space)
- Superman: Love Theme (from Pops in Space)
- TESB: The Asteroid Field (from Pops in Space)
- TESB: Yoda's Theme (from Pops in Space)
- TESB: The Imperial March (from Pops in Space)
- Star Wars: Main Theme (from Pops in Space)
- Star Wars: Princess Leia (from Pops in Space)
- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Suite (from Pops in Space)

- Midway (from Pops on the March)

- The Cowboys Overture (from Digital Overtures)

- E.T.: The Flying Theme (from Aisle Seat)

- Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Raiders Of The Lost Ark March (from Aisle Seat)

- Yes, Giorgio: If we were in love (from Aisle Seat)

- E.T.: Adventures On Earth (from Out of this World)

- ROTJ: Parade Of The Ewoks (from Out of this World)

- ROTJ: Luke & Leia (from Out of this World)

- ROTJ: Jabba The Hutt (from Out of this World)
- ROTJ: The Forest Battle (from Out of this World)

- 1941: Swing, Swing, Swing (from Swing, Swing, Swing)

- America, The Dream Goes On (from America, The Dream Goes On)

- Olympic Fanfare and Theme (from By Request)

- Liberty Fanfare (from By Request)

- 1941: March (from By Request)

- Jaws: Theme (from By Request)

- Mission Theme: Theme For NBC News (from By Request)

- Jane Eyre: At Lowood (from Pops Britannia)
- Jane Eyre: To Thornfield (from Pops Britannia)
- Jane Eyre: The Return (from Pops Britannia)

- Witches of Eastwick: Balloon Sequence (from Salute to Hollywood)

- Witches of Eastwick: Devil's Dance (from Salute to Hollywood)

- Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Raiders March (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Always: Theme (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- E. T.: Adventures On Earth (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Sugarland Express: Theme (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Jaws: Theme (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Jaws: Out To Sea / The Shark Cage Fugue (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Empire Of The Sun: Exsultate Justi (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom: Parade Of The Slave Children (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- E. T.: Over The Moon (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- 1941: March (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Empire Of The Sun: Cadillac Of The Skies (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade: Scherzo For Motorcycle And Orchestra (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Excerpts (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Midway March (from I Love a Parade)

- Pops on the March (from I Love a Parade)

- Home Alone: Somewhere in My Memory (from Joy to the World)
- Home Alone: Holiday Flight (from Joy to the World)

- Home Alone: Star of Bethlehem (from Joy to the World)

- Born on the Fourth of July: Suite (from Music from Stage and Screen)

- The Reivers (from Music from Stage and Screen)

- E. T.: Flying (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Jurassic Park:Theme (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Schindler's List: Remembrances (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: Flight To Neverland (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- 1941: The Battle For Hollywood (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: Smee's Plan (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Jaws: The Barrel Chase (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Jurassic Park: My Friend, The Brachiosaurus (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Empire Of The Sun: Jim's New Life (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: The Dialogue (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: The Lost Boys' Ballet (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Schindler's List: Theme (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Basket Chase (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: The Face Of Pan (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: The Banquet (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Summon the Heroes (from Summon the Heroes)

- Bugler's Dream and Olympic Fanfare Medley (from Summon the Heroes)
- The Olympic Spirit (from Summon the Heroes)

- Oboe Concerto (w Keisuke Wakao)

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Going through memory, that should be about it.

Though "The Cowboys Overture" comes from an earlier album: "Pops Around The World: Digital Overtures" (from 1981, if I'm not mistaken).

Right, I will correct that!

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Going through memory, that should be about it.

Though "The Cowboys Overture" comes from an earlier album: "Pops Around The World: Digital Overtures" (from 1981, if I'm not mistaken).

Was the "The Cowboys" overture re-recorded for "By Request", or is it the same recording?

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Just added "Jaws: Theme", that first came out on "By Request" I think, no?

EDIT : Added "1941: March" too.

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To be honnest, I never heard the two Christmas JW albums recorded with the BPO.

I was so concentrated in collecting the other CD that contains JW compositions... that I missed the fact that "Joy to the World" contains three Home Alone tracks!

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This is my favorite Boston-Pops-Christmas-Album.

And it contains the Williams Track "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" from Home Alone 2.

Nice try, but that's not a John William album!

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This is my favorite Boston-Pops-Christmas-Album.

And it contains the Williams Track "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" from Home Alone 2.

Nice try, but that's not a John William album!

Stempel never said it was a Williams album.

It is indeed a great album, and I should also recommend the later Keith Lockhart conducted, Boston Pops CD "Sleight Ride" on BSO Classics. No Williams composed music on that one though. And they have just released a live Christmas recording, which I still need to check out.

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Here's my proposal for a boxset :)

John Williams Plays John Williams - A Boston Pops Anthology

CD 1 - Pops in Space (59:22)

- Star Wars: Main Theme (from Pops in Space)
- Star Wars: Princess Leia (from Pops in Space)

- TESB: The Asteroid Field (from Pops in Space)
- TESB: Yoda's Theme (from Pops in Space)
- TESB: The Imperial March (from Pops in Space)

- ROTJ: Parade Of The Ewoks (from Out of this World)

- ROTJ: Luke & Leia (from Out of this World)

- ROTJ: Jabba The Hutt (from Out of this World)
- ROTJ: The Forest Battle (from Out of this World)

- E.T.: The Flying Theme (from Aisle Seat)

- E.T.: Adventures On Earth (from Out of this World)
- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Suite (from Pops in Space)

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CD 2 - Music and other adventures (49:20)

- Olympic Fanfare and Theme (from By Request)

- The Cowboys Overture (from Digital Overtures)

- Yes, Giorgio: If we were in love (from Aisle Seat)
- Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Raiders Of The Lost Ark March (from Aisle Seat)
- Superman: March (from Pops in Space)
- Superman: Love Theme (from Pops in Space)

- Jaws: Theme (from By Request)

- Midway (from Pops on the March)

- 1941: March (from By Request)

- 1941: Swing, Swing, Swing (from Swing, Swing, Swing)

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CD 3 - Time and Memory (64:27)

- Jane Eyre: At Lowood (from Pops Britannia)
- Jane Eyre: To Thornfield (from Pops Britannia)
- Jane Eyre: The Return (from Pops Britannia)

- Witches of Eastwick: Balloon Sequence (from Salute to Hollywood)

- Witches of Eastwick: Devil's Dance (from Salute to Hollywood)

- Born on the Fourth of July: Suite (from Music from Stage and Screen)

- Home Alone: Somewhere in My Memory (from Joy to the World)
- Home Alone: Holiday Flight (from Joy to the World)

- Home Alone: Star of Bethlehem (from Joy to the World)
- The Reivers (from Music from Stage and Screen)

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CD 4 - America's Composer (54:55)

- Summon the Heroes (from Summon the Heroes)

- Bugler's Dream and Olympic Fanfare Medley (from Summon the Heroes)

- Pops on the March (from I Love a Parade)

- Midway March (from I Love a Parade)

- America, The Dream Goes On (from America, The Dream Goes On)

- Mission Theme: Theme For NBC News (from By Request)

- Liberty Fanfare (from By Request)
- The Olympic Spirit (from Summon the Heroes)

- Oboe Concerto (w Keisuke Wakao)

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CD 5 - The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration, vol. 1 (69:16)

- Sugarland Express: Theme (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Jaws: Theme (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Jaws: Out To Sea / The Shark Cage Fugue (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Jaws: The Barrel Chase (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: The Dialogue (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Excerpts (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- 1941: March (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- 1941: The Battle For Hollywood (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Raiders March (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Basket Chase (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- E. T.: Flying (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- E. T.: Over The Moon (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- E. T.: Adventures On Earth (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom: Parade Of The Slave Children (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

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CD 6 - The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration, vol. 2 (65:35)
- Empire Of The Sun: Jim's New Life (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Empire Of The Sun: Cadillac Of The Skies (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Empire Of The Sun: Exsultate Justi (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade: Scherzo For Motorcycle And Orchestra (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)

- Always: Theme (from The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration)
- Hook: Flight To Neverland (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: The Lost Boys' Ballet (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: The Face Of Pan (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Hook: Smee's Plan (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Hook: The Banquet (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Jurassic Park:Theme (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Jurassic Park: My Friend, The Brachiosaurus (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)
- Schindler's List: Theme (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

- Schindler's List: Remembrances (from Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores)

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Not bad, though I still enjoy better the albums as originally released. Maybe because I've grown on some those...

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But it's fun to realize that combining the two Spielberg CDs, we now have several Suites.

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Flight to Neverland from Hook by John Williams on GroovesharkThe Lost Boys Ballet From "Hook" by John Williams on GroovesharkHook: The Face of Pan by Boston Pops Orchestra on GroovesharkHook: Smee's Plan by Boston Pops Orchestra on GroovesharkThe Banquet Scene From "Hook" by John Williams on Grooveshark
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If memory serves that one wasn't very well received upon it's original release. But I do love it... one of the CD that spends a lot of time on the player over Christmas season :)

I love it because it's Christmas music beautifully played with that JW connection. John magically making magical music even better.

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If memory serves that one wasn't very well received upon it's original release. But I do love it... one of the CD that spends a lot of time on the player over Christmas season :)

I love it because it's Christmas music beautifully played with that JW connection. John magically making magical music even better.

Indeed! I can't really recall what was the problem back in the early 80's, but to me this is just a perfect Christmas album!

Does any-one know the recording details from the "Inside The Mothership" sequence from the "Sp. Ed. CE3K"?

Was it the Boston Pops (my guess is "yes" as it ended up on "PIS")?

A few years ago, in an interview while in Tanglewood, Williams was asked about it, and confirmed that some music was recorded in Boston, but I don't think there was any sort of confirmation as if it was the music included in the suite present on "Pops in Space". I'll try to check the interview.

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I've realized that back in 1995, when I compiled the both of them into tapes :P

Sounds familiar ;)

A few years ago, in an interview while in Tanglewood, Williams was asked about it, and confirmed that some music was recorded in Boston, but I don't think there was any sort of confirmation as if it was the music included in the suite present on "Pops in Space". I'll try to check the interview.

Please do.

Although I'm pretty sure they're different recordings.

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I own a couple of JW/BP albums like everyone else in this room, but I never set out to get them all. It's interesting to see all this charting. I just wanted to say 'great work' on that.

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I own a couple of JW/BP albums like everyone else in this room, but I never set out to get them all. It's interesting to see all this charting. I just wanted to say 'great work' on that.

:beerchug:

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I've realized that back in 1995, when I compiled the both of them into tapes :P

Sounds familiar ;)

A few years ago, in an interview while in Tanglewood, Williams was asked about it, and confirmed that some music was recorded in Boston, but I don't think there was any sort of confirmation as if it was the music included in the suite present on "Pops in Space". I'll try to check the interview.

Please do.

Although I'm pretty sure they're different recordings.

Yes, I also always assumed they are different recordings. I'll be back home tomorrow and will try to check the interview.

I own a couple of JW/BP albums like everyone else in this room, but I never set out to get them all. It's interesting to see all this charting. I just wanted to say 'great work' on that.

I own them all... it took me some time, mostly due to the multi language releases of Peter and the Wolf. But eventually got them all :)

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I own them all. But not the multi language releases of Peter and the Wolf. Only the German version with Stefan Remmler.

I bought my first JW/BP-Album in 1982 (Aisle Seat- Great Film Music).

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No. I'm just saying that I never read anywhere a fully confirmation that the music on the suite, as as released on "Pops in Space", was the one used on the 1980 release of the film.

Miguel, while I would normally bow to your - VERY - extensive knowledge of all things JW, I am prepared to say that I think that the recording on "PIS", is also the recording heard in the film. This is just a hunch, you understand, but it's a hunch borne out of listening to both the film version, and the "PIS" version for the last 33+ years. To these ears, they are one and the same.

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I saw others threads on internet talking about that.

It seems the finale heard in the original 1977 movie was a montage of several parts of music that was not very representative of what Williams wrote.

When the Special Edition came out in 1980 (with a new sequence that shows the interior of the Mothership, at the end of the movie), John Williams recorded another version of the finale... with the BPO.

Possibly the first (and only?) soundtrack recording of the BPO.

So It would be the version found on "Pops in Space" (1980).

When the movie was reissued in 1998 (third cut, known as The Director's cut), the original final sequence was reintegrated in the movie. On the new soundtrack that was released (Arista, 1998), the last part of the final cue (The End Titles) seems to be a new recording specially done for the Director's Cut. At the end of this version, there is a beautiful and more elaborated rappel of "When You Wish Upon A Star". There is no such thing in previous versions (original soundtrack and BPO version).

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