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JW: “So when scoring Attack Of The Clones, I realized that Star Wars never had a love theme before. And now, Across The Stars is the first love theme to appear in the Star Wars Universe. Narrator: “It wasn't.”

JW: And so you know, when Anne-Sophie asked me to write something for her, I really thought that she would be a woman that I could say no to. Narrator: She wasn't

I managed to isolate the choral overlay that was used in the "The Capture (Alternate)" (which is the same edit as the OST track): GO.mp3 This overlay is used in several tracks: "The Ship Remembers", "The Capture Of Cinqué", "The Crossing". I wonder if there are official lyrics for this?

Get Back, but make it JW. I'd lose my $#@&.

JW: So I played Steven the Jaws theme on piano with two fingers, and went *ba dum, ba dum* Spielberg: I thought he was kidding! Narrator: He wasn't

Why does pitch-corrected John Williams sound like @BLUMENKOHL?

It looks like we'll need to do pitch corrections on the documentary when it is released!

Sure I am but a couple more cues wouldn’t hurt. In this age of digital downloads wouldn’t be hard. Think Simon knows there’s def demand for more.

For context, here's the article Bespin is referencing, by John Mauceri. This is pretty much all material covered in Mauceri's 2022 book The War on Music, which I read and enjoyed last Summer. https://airmail.news/issues/2023-1-21/the-view-from-here

Yeah, because they're all dead.

My ideal documentary would be exclusively about pre-JAWS Williams, but I realize that is for the specially interested, so I take whatever I can get. I doubt this documentary -- whatever form it takes, or whoever makes it -- will provide us hardcore Williams fans with much new information, but hopefully with some new footage, or some stretches of sheer observation. That will be the takeaway here, since Spielberg is (sadly) not directing it (and hence I don't think we should be expecting a documentary on the level of Tornatore's ENNIO: THE MAESTRO).

Great post, @BrotherSoundand it captures a lot of how I felt as I listened through the score a few times now. Wow, that's nuts. I had no idea! Is this the first Williams expansion to include tracked music? It makes sense why it's there, but I can't think of another example like that off the top of my head. ----------------- Some of my thoughts as I listened to the score. I've listened to it 4 times so far. Twice on headphones, twice sitting in front of speakers. What I found interesting is that on my first listen, I enjoyed the Adams theme and the Americana writing far more than I did the various treatments of Cinque's theme or the other tranquil theme. But during the 2nd or 3rd, things shifted for me and I became more connected to Cinque's theme, and from then on it's been popping into my head and I'll start humming it randomly. I like how the choirs in some cases are used as overlays, and that is a cool and versatile idea; recording choir bits separately and then having freedom to overlay, fade them in/ out during different cues. I really love the children's choir in The Capture. In July 4, 1839, something about the harmonic language around 2:10-2:25 or so and the angular string part, reminds me of something else. Possibly the intro cue after the Main Title in TPM oddly enough. Maybe it's in the same mode or using similar harmonies/ chords...I didn't take the time to analyze it. Steering East has one of my favorite moments of Cinque's theme, on solo English horn. Starting around the 1 minute mark into The Capture, I love the raspy low brass part that repeats for a while, and when the children's choir comes in, something about it is really moving, beautiful to me. The Ship Remembers has some great woodwind writing in the first 3rd of this track, and in Visiting Adams, I love the horn solo and then hearing the Adams theme on flute. I like the use of dual harps in the last minute of Tale of the Lion's Tooth (easier to hear in headphones). One of the top highlights of the score for me is Discovering the Bible. I love Cinque's theme on solo flute, then hearing the English horn take over, then a beautiful cello part, and then solo horn. I like the warmth of the Dry Your Tears theme in Adams' Summation, and then the winds/horns on the theme in The Verdict. I've always loved the section from 0:40-1:00 of The Long Road Ahead and Tim Morrison's playing (of course). This is a great release and it has been fun to get to know this score more. The OST didn't really get played a lot for me, and most of what I recalled was Dry Your Tears, Afrika and The Long Road Ahead, so it felt like an almost completely new score for me. I will add some thoughts about the Additional Music later....

I wish more of this score would get released… a couple juicy bonus cues would be nice. Come on Simon!

JW: I'm retiring from film scoring. Narrator: He isn't.

Steven Spielberg: Yeah I got a better composer who could do this instead Narrator: He didn't

I don't understand how the world got trained to hold their phone vertically when filming video

Amistad. My first listen of the expanded album. I never quite realised how much music was missing from the original album. While the Americana material isn't quite my favourite (it's fine), I always loved the more subdued percussive and vocal portions of the score. And there's quite a lot of that on this new album. It's interesting listening to this score in the context of Williams' larger body of work. Not only his other 1997 scores, with which Amistad shares quite a few similarities, but also stuff anticipating Memoirs of a Geisha (oddly) and Lincoln. I have to say it is quite a revelation to discover the whole second half of the score which creates a more intricate, if more introspective, listening experience. Karol

I just saw the movie a third time in 3D and I noticed this as well! The movie is just amazing. I’ve now seen it three times and it’s just as captivating each time. Even if I know exactly what happens, the final hour is just so intense. Payakan remains the best character of 2022 and Franglen nailed his theme! My friend who I saw the movie with saw the movie for the first time and it was fun seeing his reaction and being visibly blown away after the movie ended. The cinema was pretty full and just like at my first 2 viewings in December, the audience clapped when the end credits started. I noticed some new things in the score and there’s sadly so much great music missing from the OSTs. The variation of Destruction of Hometree in the scene where the first village is burned is so good and should definitively have been on the OST, maybe at the end of the tulkun hunt cue, replacing the re recorded tracking. There’s quite some action music missing as well as many RDA cues. I also think that most of the Horner music is re arranged or at the very least re recorded, except in a few moments, like the flute cue where they arrive in the cave after the train attack. The moment when the big RDA ship crashes is so well scored. Franglen arranging the RDA theme for choir while the ship lifts into the air and then crashes is so cinematic. Cameron really chose the right composer for these Avatar sequels! I saw that his Spotify listener count crossed 10 million a few weeks ago which is really impressive and he really deserves all the praise for his work!

all_in_fun.mov

Narrator: “He wouldn’t.”

Came back from my annual and these two were waiting for me (Amistad was missing from my initial BF delivery): Karol

Do... make it good Don't... fuck it up.

Black Sunday recreates the film credits in a bonus track, an edit of some cues from the finale. CE3K again recreates the film credits as a bonus track, which replace the ending with an edit of other cues. Superman recreates the film swap of the Main Title and again credits as bonus tracks.

DG could have done more.

The truth of this observation points to the overall absurdity of the ESPN video.

JW: "When producing the albums, I only micro edit out the most boring and least interesting parts of a cue". Narrator: "He doesn't".

No it's from Amazon, choose other sellers.

Do: show JW working on Schindler's List, writing it and recording it with Itzhak Pearlman and the orchestra. Don't: the same tired "but they're all dead" anecdote from Schindler's List for the upteenth time.

JW: “After he had shown me the first cut of Schindler’s List, I said to Steven, 'You need a better composer than I am for this film.” Narrator: “He didn’t.”

Just seen it a 4th time and was listening to the score specifically. I heard a lovely choral, maybe solo voice multiplied, of the Family theme as Jake is giving himself up to Quaritch before Payakan's boss moment. It's not on the score. Also I focused on the lovely call-backs to Horner's material. Gorgeous moments where there are beautifully long and sweeping statements of the love theme (I see you). Especially as the film opens, then with Jake's date night with Neytiri, then Tuk, Tsireya and Kiri riding the Ilu underwater, and finally Kiri bonding with the Spirit Tree. Also a great reprisal of Jake's theme at the end, which isn't on the score, when he says "a son for a son" and he is hugging Spider. There is a nod to Jake's theme at 2:15 here - But it isn't what's in the film - What's in the film is a Jake's theme statement that mirrors the statement from Horner as Jake sends the humans home heard at 9:50 here -

On that note, they should let Ke Huy Quan introduce and narrate it. Why? Because his revival came too late for Indy 5 Everyone loves him and he’s not an obvious choice. He has had a theme written for him. He loves film music. (He told me so and his favorite score is Morricone’s Cinema Paradisio.)

Another Instagram reel, showing some parts not heard before: 10000000_521723326725509_8042354972702817529_n_1.mp4

It’s the ultimate “What If?” Scenario. Another artist’s interpretation of the material is absolutely fascinating.

I'd tell a better joke But they're all dead

Eat tea

John Williams, Please Come Home "The long awaited in-depth analysis of the John Williams fan favorite score, John Goldfarb!"

A little random thought, but I love how the Lightstorm Entertainment logo was scored with Kiri's theme.

While Bouzerau doesn’t elicit an outright loathing from me, I can appreciate that his docs are surface level and lack artistry associated with a real deep dive. But honestly, I never expected that. Even if it were under Spielberg. This isn’t intended for Us. It’s for the masses and casuals. I can say I’ve always appreciated Bouzerau docs often being the first to show outtakes or deleted material. His E.T. Book is decent. I guess I’m more looking forward to his access to rarities than his style. But really anyone could provide that if given the access to footage. Would I prefer to hear how Williams replaced Legrand on Man Who Loved Cat Dancing’s troubled production instead of the Schindler anecdote? You bet. But there exists no world in any multiverse where that would happen. I was cautiously optimistic even with Spielberg’s vague and cagey response to the interviewer. It’s easy to hope for more, considering Morricone’s doc, but (unpopular opinion) Spielberg is a little weird when it comes to choices and priorities. I can’t help but be a little resentful that he doesn’t take the reins and do it right. He owes a lot of his career to Williams.

I think we largely agree on this, a kind of "death of the author"-like approach where it's fine to let the audience interpret things if they exist to be interpreted, but Doug doesn't. During the One Ring streams I asked him, and he was very clear that he only cares about representing Howard's intentions as faithfully as possible. Of course, I appreciate this approach too. I'm OK with discussing and subscribing to all sorts of theories, but don't want to spread misinformation about what is or isn't "canon" information. That said, neither Howard nor Doug are infallible either. Howard has admitted to forgetting so many things that he's said (tbf probably jokingly) that Doug is a better expert on the scores than himself, and Doug has conveyed incomplete, incorrect or contradictory info at times too.

I don't care one way or the other about the soundtrack producing bit. For me, it's rather the superficial treatment in the various Williams-related featurettes.

Laurent Bouzereau is many things. One thing he is not is Steven Spielberg.

EDIT: Guys, I've just stumbled across the goldmine that is Anna Netrebko's Instagram. These are by far the longest clips yet. Enjoy! 307283632_1263627530855250_5466483508045496409_n.mp4 304DF1FD32B5FF21A95B882C44C0DDAA_video_dashinit.mp4 3543B34DB024924DCBEC20ACBFE79387_video_dashinit.mp4 It's a 720p encode from a clip that was also 720p. Not sure if there is any noticeable extra compression loss, but here's a screenshot from the original file:

It's like having alternate cues in a score, but written by a different composer, and for every cue, no less!

Honestly, I think I'd have no issue in watching JW working for hours and saying stuff like "Ok people, that was good but let's do 4M1 one more time, this time only bars 23 to the end!" for the nth time.

The action scoring is just getting better for me with every listen. Like this piece for example - It has a very catchy, rhythmic repeating phrase on strings that drives the piece, with accompanying percussion, and then it'll just explode into the most glorious heroic version of the Family Theme at 1:50. And we even get another couple of Family Theme variations later at 2:37 in a defeated way, and finally again at 3:08 as it tries to hold on, but the full theme can't make it. Brilliant musical storytelling.

I’m so baffled as to how anyone can hear the end to this cue and think that Franglen’s music is the same old anodyne, ostinato-driven, derivative mediocrity that plagues so many modern film scores. This, to my ears at least, is thrilling scoring of a very high level. It perhaps doesn’t ascend to the absolute heights of the great action scores, but very few do. It’s certainly a good deal better than most, if not all, action music currently being written.

Mike already added an alternate, a film/album edit that includes tracking from another cue, and wild takes into the main program, it's not as JW wrote it down on paper. He's alsooften limited by having to keep some album tracks, he can't join cues which were obviously written to be joined together, or in the case if Always he kept a lot of nonchrono edits or tracks which had different versions of the same cue joined together.

Thank goodness the guitar source and Prisoners’ Song made it, though!

Yeah, The Verdict really should have made the OST, especially when there was plenty of room. I’m also fond of Discovering The Bible, though I can understand its exclusion given its similarity to the Cinqué’s Theme concert arrangement. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m especially looking forward to an expansion of The Patriot. There are several absolute highlights that didn’t make the OST, like The North Star. And like Amistad, it has a fair amount of music that was composed but dropped from the film.