MainTitle

As one of the tracks that was earmarked as 'damaged' (or sonically challenged) on the previous release, you'll be happy to know that all tracks in this edition sound the best they ever have.
 
It's a great cue and in a sense a satisfying conclusion to the aftermath of the events in the story.  

As I was fortunate to have had a hand in this release I must say that it was a wonderful achievement that Mike M. was able to convince the maestro to include the various source cues that are featured on this definitive version of the soundtrack. 
 
Even though its probably considered frivolous, I absolutely adore the low-key jazzy lounge music cue "The Promenade Room" which begins in the scene as the Fire Chief comes in to explain to builder Duncan that everyone has to be evacuated. The sequence culminates with a shot of guests dancing and in particular as the music becomes louder, shows the Lisolette and Harlee characters played by Jennifer Jones and Fred Astaire, participating in this bit of pre-disaster fun. 
 
There's just something about this catchy gem that I always appreciated and (after multiple viewings over the years which I have hummed incessantly) was always disappointed it never featured on the original LP or subsequent release, knowing full well it was an original tune by John Williams. 
 
I believe that the source music material adds so much to the overall score.  I hope you all get to enjoy these too. 

Yes the original John Conrad Berkey artwork is certainly iconic but I must admit the new artwork for the CD cover does grow on you after a while.  It makes it stand out even more and for the uninitiated it was designed by poster artist Tom Jung utilizing the 1976 theatrical re-release poster.
 
Some have commented that it doesn't look like Steve McQueen but it does, it just isn't that good a representation of him. 
 
Not crazy about the way they kept the title design all on one line, albeit aesthetically I can see why they did, to keep it balanced. However, the title design was iconic too and seeing it modified is a little jarring at first.
 
I wonder if any of you have seen this alternate Berkey art before? I think the one that was used was the better one but this one is quite striking, I think.  

So much of the Earthquake score is already semi-source music in style so I don't miss any excluded actual source pieces on the Disaster Movies box (or Superman for that matter). Williams doesn't usually like to have them released and I can entirely see that from the composer's point of view. Sure from the completist point of view I certainly can understand how it galls when they leave those pieces off a release but quite frankly apart from a very few, I personally rarely listen to those anyway. Perhaps one day all these preserved but not released source music pieces are finally presented in some form or another to those who miss them.

Nah, I had those actual scores from the Blue Box and the S:TM source music is bad and doesn’t fit with the score, so I passed.

MM leaves the dumb jangly filler source music off of his releases as a personal favor to me.  I told him to stick the Superman ones where the sun don't shine, so he did.

I guess Mike knew that JW wouldn't have wanted it released.

I finally, a bit late perhaps, had time to sit down with The Towering Inferno. Early this Saturday morning, with a cigar in hand, the sun rising and my headphones on tight, I sat down on the balcony and pressed play.
 
I guess this is the “crown jewel” of The Disaster Box and it doesn’t disappoint. The composition is the epitome of disaster music. Each cue paints a vivid picture of wreckage and unfortunate events.
 
I am not an avid fan of “action music” - those kind of busy cues rarely make it into my regular rotation when I listen to John Williams or any other composer. So a lot of these tracks - though expertly crafted - I am unlikely to return to.
 
Nonetheless, there’s an abundance of good music on here. For example, I really like the suspense build-up in “The Solution”. But it is the quieter moments that I find the most appealing and most likely will put into regular rotation.
 
The main theme pops up frequently throughout the score giving the score a clear identity but the arrangements differ enough not to make it to monotonous. The last three cues, “Waking Up”, “Finale” and “An Architect’s Dream/End Cast” is as good as an outro to a movie as John has ever written.
 
In the score I was particularly taken in by the cue “Harlee Dressing” that had so many “Williams-isms” in its arrangement that I almost had to double check that I wasn’t mistakenly listening to a more recent soundtrack! That track is a clear prototype of techniques that Williams would infuse in to almost every big-budget soundtrack that he would write from the late seventies and onwards. It is amazing to listen to!
 
The source cues are all a joy to listen to. It’s Johnny Williams all the way, baby! Jazzy, melodic and breezy... to hear what a musical mind like Williams comes up when composing easy listening jazz is mind blowing and I find this part of the release to be absolutely essential.
 
I was quite surprised buy how heavy on the jazz the OST was compared to the original film score, which makes it an interesting listen - if albeit a bit jarring. Look out for “Susan And Doug” which is a jazzy underscore piece, but isn’t in the source tracks section of this 2 CD set!
 
On the whole, the music to The Towering Inferno is an entertaining listen and a cool album to own. Lots of gems to come back to again and again, each with its own distinct flavour. Both CDs sound great and sits nicely in the collection of JW’s earlier works.

As I was fortunate to have had a hand in this release I must say that it was a wonderful achievement that Mike M. was able to convince the maestro to include the various source cues that are featured on this definitive version of the soundtrack. 
 
Even though its probably considered frivolous, I absolutely adore the low-key jazzy lounge music cue "The Promenade Room" which begins in the scene as the Fire Chief comes in to explain to builder Duncan that everyone has to be evacuated. The sequence culminates with a shot of guests dancing and in particular as the music becomes louder, shows the Lisolette and Harlee characters played by Jennifer Jones and Fred Astaire, participating in this bit of pre-disaster fun. 
 
There's just something about this catchy gem that I always appreciated and (after multiple viewings over the years which I have hummed incessantly) was always disappointed it never featured on the original LP or subsequent release, knowing full well it was an original tune by John Williams. 
 
I believe that the source music material adds so much to the overall score.  I hope you all get to enjoy these too. 

Thankfully this new edition of Inferno has six additional pieces of source music included. The FSM release only had the song and the Morning After instrumental. 

"Not even missed"? "Not even missed"??!!
You person, you! You young whippersnapper!
There it is then: THE TOWERING INFERNO is not complete.
Richard...for the win  

I am. Listening to it now.
 
 
I don't know, but it got worse in the past few years. Probably the reason why Screen Archives charges $ 48,- plus shipping for orders to The Netherlands if we want to track it and to receive a new copy if it gets lost in the mail.

Perhaps JT has already been tapped to redo a new cover for "The Swarm" seeing as LLL were going to initially release it as part of their Black Friday batch last November?   In any event MV has announced that LLL will release a new definitive version of that particular score some time this year. One would expect stellar audio restoration work too if the great Mike Matessino was also involved in this project.  Looking forward to a new edition of this Jerry Goldsmith gem. 

I got an unexpected update today. My copy is finally in the hands of the Dutch postal service. Now I only need to know when they are going to deliver it.

To think that wonderful Fortress of Solitude music lay buried in a vault for 40 years. Its wonderful music. Full of wonder. As is the first few minutes of the Prelude before the main title. Enchanting. This is one of my top 5 favourite scores from the master. Pure gold. 

I don't think a lot of you have any idea of what's involved in creating artwork that will stand out.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with the fonts utilized in this digital cover for TTI (in my humble opinion of course). To each their own. I personally believe that Jim Titus did a fantastic  job with this. He's one of the best graphic designers going around today and it's no wonder he is highly sought after by the various boutique record labels. I once again congratulate JT on a job well done!

Tracks on JW OST albums that are 100% recorded just for the album:
 
Checkmate
The entire album  Diamond Head
The entire album How To Steal A Million
The entire album Not With My Wife, You Don't!
The entire album Penelope
The entire album other than the title song Fitzwilly
The entire album Earthquake
The entire album Jaws
The entire album The Missouri Breaks
The entire album Star Wars
Princess Leia's Theme The Fury
The entire album Superman - The Movie
March of the Villains Love Theme from Superman, though this also plays in its entirety in the end credits of the film after the End Credits cue The Empire Strikes Back
The Imperial March Yoda's Theme E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Abandoned And Pursued E.T. And Me E.T.'s Halloween Flying Over The Moon Monsignor
The Meeting In Sicily At The Forum Return of the Jedi
Luke And Leia Parade Of The Ewoks Lapti Nek (Jabba's Palace Band) The Forest Battle The River
Growing Up The Pony Ride Love Theme from The River The Ancestral Home, though this ended up getting used in the final film From Farm to Factory Young Friends Farewell Home Alone
Star Of Bethlehem (Orchestral Version) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - this special version of the song specifically recorded for the album (the 2015 La-La Land edition premiered the actual film cue version) Home Alone 2
Somewhere in My Memory Star of Bethlehem Christmas Star Schindler's List
Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter ’41) Amistad
Cinque’s Theme The Phantom Menace
Anakin's Theme, though this also plays in the end credits of the film after the End Credits cue Angela's Ashes
Angela’s Prayer Plenty Of Fish And Chips In Heaven The Lanes Of Limerick Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Prologue (see more information about the Children's Suite below) Fluffy's Harp (see more information about the Children's Suite below) Attack of the Clones
Across The Stars Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Fawkes The Phoenix The Chamber of Secrets Dobby The House Elf Revenge of the Sith
Battle of the Heroes Memoirs of a Geisha
The Chairman's Waltz Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Raiders March (new recording of 1980 arrangement) Call Of The Crystal The Adventures of Mutt Lincoln
The People's House With Malice Toward None Elegy With Malice Toward None (Piano Solo) The Book Thief
Max and Liesel The Force Awakens
Rey's Theme The March of the Resistance Scherzo For X-Wings The BFG
Overture The Last Jedi
The Rebellion is Reborn The Rise of Skywalker
The Rise of Skywalker Anthem of Evil (possibly - no confirmation yet)  

 
 
Tracks on JW OST albums that combine film cues with album-only recordings :
 
The Return of the Jedi
Han Solo Returns (At The Court Of Jabba The Hutt) is in actuality a portion of the film cue 3M2 The Big Thaw [0:00-2:47] combined with a portion of the album-only concert arrangement Jabba The Hutt [2:47-end].  The actual full recording of Jabba The Hutt remains unreleased to this day Ewok Celebration and Finale is in actuality the album-only recording Ewok Celebration [0:00-1:56] & the film cue End Credits [1:56-end] Home Alone
Home Alone Main Title ("Somewhere In My Memory") is in actuality the film cues 1M2 Home Alone (Main Theme) [0:00-1:04] & 2M2 Banished to the Attic [1:04-1:32] & the album-only recording Somewhere in My Memory (Album Intro) [1:32-2:31] & the film cue 11M4B End Title Part II [2:31-end].  The 2015 La-La Land expansion finally presented just Somewhere in My Memory (Album Intro) & 11M4B End Title Part II together without the 1M2 & 2M2 bits as Somewhere In My Memory, disc 1 track 1. Jurassic Park
Theme From Jurassic Park is in actuality the album-only 3M2 Record Intro & the film cue 3M2 The Dinosaurs & the album-only 3M2 Wompi Ending Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Diagon Alley and The Gringotts Vault is really a portion of Children's Suite track Diagon Alley & the film cue 2M4 Diagon Alley Hogwarts Forever! and The Moving Stairs is really the film cue 4M5 The Moving Stairs & Children's Suite track Hogwarts Forever Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
A Window To The Past is in actuality a unique recorder solo & portions of the film cues 7M12 End Credits & 4M3+4 New Woods Walk and Birds Flight & 7M2 Insert A.I. Artificial Intelligence
The Search For The Blue Fairy is in actuality a portion of 7M1+2 (Vocal Version) Finding The Blue Fairy [0:00-2:28] & a portion of Theme #2 CD version [2:28-end] Catch Me If You Can
The Float is as combination of the album-only 7M4 Front Extension with the film cue 7M4 Frank and Carl with the album-only 7M4 End Extension Recollections (The Father's Theme) is possibly also a film cue with album extensions? Memoirs of a Geisha
The Journey to the Hanamachi is in actuality a portion of 1M1 Alt The Opening [0:00-1:58] & an album-only recording called Theme [1:58-end] War Horse
Learning The Call seems to combine a portion of 1M7 Learning the Call [0:00-0:43] with album-only material [0:43-1:56] with a portion of 1M8 Whistling Montage [1:56-2:28] with more album-only material [2:28-end] Lincoln
The Southern Delegation and the Dream combines the film cues 3M18 The Southern Delegation Arrives [0:00-2:06] and 7M51 Lincoln Responds To Southern V.P. [2:06-3:05] with the album-only cue Prayer (Strings) [3:05-end] The BFG
Dream Jars is in actuality a series of album-only flute pieces and some of 4M37 Flute Sweeteners [0:00-2:18] followed by a most of the film cue 2M18 Dream Jars [2:18-end]
The Post
Mother and Daughter seems to combine the film cue (as heard on the FYC album) with unique album-only material afterward The Presses Roll seems to combine the film cue (as heard on the FYC album, though the ending of Setting The Type is tracked over the end there) with unique album-only material afterward  
 
Notes on other OST tracks that look like concert arrangements, or got published for concert performance, etc... but are actually 100% film cues:
 
Star Wars
Main Title is in actuality 1M2 Main Title & 12M2 End Titles Superman - The Movie
Theme From Superman (Main Title) is in actuality 1M1 Main Title & End Title 1941
The March From 1941 is an edit of 14M2 End Credits Swing, Swing, Swing is a film cue, 7M4 Swing, Swing, Swing Finale is 14M2 End Credits without edits The Empire Strikes Back
Han Solo and the Princess is a film cue, 5M4/6M1 Solo And The Princess Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is 12M2 End Credits Part 2 Marion's Theme is in actuality two film cues, 10M4 En Bateau & 4M2 To Cairo The Raiders March is an edit of 12M2 End Credits Part 2 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Short Round's Theme is a film cue, 3M3/4M1 The Elephant Ride SpaceCamp
SpaceCamp is the end credits The Witches of Eastwick
The Dance of the Witches &  End Credits (The Dance of the Witches Reprise) are both identical presentations of End Credits Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Scherzo For Motorcycle And Orchestra is the film cue 7M2 Keeping Up With The Joneses is the film cue 9M2 Schindler's List
Theme From Schindler's List is in actuality 20M3 Placing The Stones Remembrances is in actuality 20M4 Alt End Credits Remembrances (With Itzhak Perlman) is in actuality 20M4 End Credits Theme From Schindler's List (Reprise) is in actuality 20M4 Piano & 20M4 Extension Sleepers
Hell's Kitchen is actually the end credits (8M5 New Hell's Kitchen) Rosewood
Rosewood is in actuality 1M1 Rosewood & End Credit The Lost World
The Lost World is The Lost World (End Credits) Finale & Jurassic Park Theme is a portion of 14m2 The Saving Dart & a new recording of a concert arrangement from the first movie (not recorded during that film's sessions) Saving Private Ryan
Hymm To The Fallen & Hymm To The Fallen (Reprise) are identical presentations of 17M2 Hymm To The Fallen The Phantom Menace
Duel of the Fates is actually 7M3 End Credits Angela's Ashes
Theme From Angela's Ashes and track Angela's Ashes Reprise are identical presentation of the end credits The Patriot
The Patriot is End Credits with the ending missing The Patriot Reprise is End Credits with the ending intact A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Abandoned in the Woods is in actuality Opening End Credits Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry's Wondrous World is 9M3 End Credits Part 1 Hedwig's Theme is 9M3 End Credits Part 2 Minority Report
Minority Report is in actuality 8M2 End Credits Sean's Theme is in actuality 8M1 Alt Piano Version A New Beginning is a repeat of the second half of 8M2 End Credits, with a loop inserted. The Terminal
The Tale Of Viktor Navorski is in actuality End Credits Jazz Autographs is in actuality End Credits Part II  "Destiny"... "Canneloni"... and the Tale of Viktor Navorski (Reprise) is in actuality 7M4 Destiny... Cannaloni & a repeat of End Credits (edited) A Happy Navorski Ending! is a portion of 5M4 Amelia (already heard in OST track 2) & End Credits Tango Ending (unique to this track) Indiana Jones and the Kindgom of the Crystal Skull
Irina's Theme is really just portions of 1M4NR Irina Spalko & 3M28 Russians Reappear & 7M56 End Credit  The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is in actuality Tinker-Tin Rev (the third Main Title cue attempted) Snowy's Theme is in actuality Snowy's End Title The Secret of the Scrolls is in actuality a bunch of film cues edited together The Adventure Continues is in actuality Dueling End Title Lincoln
Freedom's Call is actually 7M60 Hymm Version [0:00-4:46] followed by 7M52v3 Lincoln's Battlefield Visit [4:46-5:55] and the final chord of 4M30v2 The Telegraph Office [5:55-end], which incidentally is also heard at the end of OST track 2.      
 
These scores are confirmed to have nothing recorded specifically for album use
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Jaws 2 Dracula Empire of the Sun Always Stanley & Iris Hook Far and Away War of the Worlds  
 
 
Not yet factored into this list / I've never analyzed these albums at all:
Cinderella Liberty The Eiger Sanction Images The Towering Inferno The Accidental Tourist Born on the Fourth of July Presumed Innocent JFK Sabrina Nixon Seven Years in Tibet Stepmom Munich  
 
The rest of the film scores JW composed had no OST album, so everything released when the specialty labels got to them was recorded for film use (as far as we know).

Ive always loved Poseidon. It was probably the first score (pre Jaws) were I instantly latched onto the main theme without conscously knowing It was written by that Williams guy.
It was so disappointing finding out there was never a soundtrack album available. To this day Ive always been fascinated what pieces Williams would have included if an album would have been produced at the time. There was certainly some great material there. A wonderful title theme, stirring set pieces, a rousing end credits piece. There was also the hit song from Maureen Mcgovern as well as some other source pieces worthy of mention, ( To Love anyone?). So for me all the releases of Poseidon have been pretty special.

As one of the tracks that was earmarked as 'damaged' (or sonically challenged) on the previous release, you'll be happy to know that all tracks in this edition sound the best they ever have.
 
It's a great cue and in a sense a satisfying conclusion to the aftermath of the events in the story.  

So after cracking the box open, lighting a cigar and picking a quiet moment to dig into The Disaster Box, this was the first CD I listened to.
 
I haven’t seen the film, don’t know the score and am only familiar with “The City Theme” which I discovered as a re-recording a couple of years ago.
 
So I am basically going in blind.
 
I didn’t know what to expect, but certainly not this! Oh man, what a score!
 
Since it’s a score for a disaster movie, I guess I expected a lot of ‘action music’, maybe something like Black Sunday, but no.
 
The score is jazzy and melodic and I love it!
 
The sound quality is absolutely stunning. It sounds clear and pristine, no hiss and ready to go. The biggest give away that this score was recorded in the 70s is the sound production and arrangements - not the sound. Those funky guitars and post ‘60s jazz/pop rhythms just can’t be denied.
 
All in all, a very good impression from a first listen and I look forward to revisiting Earthquake to have my expectations “shook” again and again.

Thanks for that. Am now exploring Earthquake which is equally exciting. 

1: The stereo field on the Main title sounds so much better on the LLL compared to the FSM, that wierd jump in the strings is no longer there. 2: Can't really get rid of the formal introductions to the main love themes.

I think the thing with film music is, it's an incredibly wide, deserve spectrum of music that has over 100 years and counting of films to pull from.  You've got orchestral scores, electronic scores, experimental scores, classic scores, huge scores, small scores, video game scores, tv scores, animation scores, complicated scores, simple scores, all kinds of stuff from all kinds of different eras... and everyone has different tastes.  Many people end up wanting scores to all the big movies from their childhood and young adulthood, which for the current forum culture ends up being a lot of late 70s to late 90s scores, but that wasn't always the case.  Some people prefer golden age scores, or silver age scores, or 90s scores, or japanese scores, or whatever else, some people have very narrow ranges, some people love to check out almost everything.
 
It has never made sense, to me, to ever be disappointed in any label's output, for any reason.  They are licensing what they can, from the studios that will allow them to, from this incredibly diverse 100+ year catalog of music.  Every release they put out is important to SOMEONE, every score is potentially someone's favorite score of all time. None of these labels are in this for the profit, they do it for the passion, and for the huge array of fans who each want different particular scores from these studios' catalogs.  

I think sometimes when a label puts out a score a vocal portion of a message board really want, or perhaps a few scores that get a lot of attention in a short time, people come to continue to expect more releases that will hit their specific pleasure centers, but it's really unrealistic to ever expect that; With so much ground to cover from such a diverse media, it's only coincidence if one label releases a large portion of your particular score deserves in a certain time frame.
 
Basically, there's no reason to get yourself hyped and hyped when any label says anything is coming on any certain date, with so many releases coming out every month from so many labels, the likelihood of your particular short checklist of being met is always small.  Better to be ambivalent about what's coming then be pleasantly surprised when it's something you really want, than to expect something particular because you feel its deserved then be crushed again and again when it doesn't come out.

Everything will come out eventually!  In the meantime, always check out samples to scores you've never heard before to see if there's something new-to-you that you might really enjoy!

Yes the original John Conrad Berkey artwork is certainly iconic but I must admit the new artwork for the CD cover does grow on you after a while.  It makes it stand out even more and for the uninitiated it was designed by poster artist Tom Jung utilizing the 1976 theatrical re-release poster.
 
Some have commented that it doesn't look like Steve McQueen but it does, it just isn't that good a representation of him. 
 
Not crazy about the way they kept the title design all on one line, albeit aesthetically I can see why they did, to keep it balanced. However, the title design was iconic too and seeing it modified is a little jarring at first.
 
I wonder if any of you have seen this alternate Berkey art before? I think the one that was used was the better one but this one is quite striking, I think.  

Not necessarily true with respect to TTI.  The main theme is quoted throughout the feature in the form of the 'rescue motif', complemented by a pair of love themes used for two sets of main characters which easily highlight the emotional impact of the score in the dramatic moments. I believe this was also facilitated by Williams' subtle use of the Wagnerian leitmotif technique. 
 
I've always believed that his skill in this area is what has made his composing talent stand out over the course of his career as he just has the perfect knack of capturing the essence of raw emotion in any given scene, thus putting the viewer/listener at the heart of the action.