MrScratch

I’ve met him twice, they aren’t terribly interesting stories but here is the first time meeting him: I flew to Boston to see Williams conduct the Boston Pops in 1996, I was 20 years old. It wasn’t a film music concert or anything and he didn’t conduct any of his own music. I asked the Pops staff if it would be possible to meet him, and they let me go backstage to meet him (I can’t even remember if it was before/after the concert or during intermission). Keith Lockhart was back there too, though he wasn’t conducting that night. I said hello and shook his hand. I got to spend a few minutes with JW, I can’t even remember what I said, probably just fanboy gushing. I was nervous as hell. Williams was very nice and thanked me for coming all the way from Baltimore to see him. He signed my Star Wars Anthology disc 4, which I then got framed. I didn’t get a picture with him, but I would on my next meeting…

By Request was one of my very first CD purchases, in fact I got that and the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration at the same time in the early 90s. Those two CDs were the first I ever heard The Cowboys, 1941, etc. and made me want to really start collecting all of JW’s stuff beyond the big blockbuster scores. I used to really dislike Liberty Fanfare but it’s grown on me somewhat, though I agree that it doesn’t belong on a ‘greatest hits’ album.

I have this entire EAP episode on VHS, recorded off the original PBS broadcast.

Not particularly, but I actually have 49 of his soundtracks now. I’m getting more acquainted with him.

Just listened to the Legacy podcast, MM ponders how Williams came to score Eiger Sanction, JW’s working relationship with Eastwood, where/how the jazz elements of the score originated, etc. Why doesn’t MM ask these questions to JW himself when preparing the album? Is JW not up for interviews when approving these releases? Listening to his old scores must bring back so many memories. Would be great to get some insights/anecdotes from JW himself about these scores.

Thanks! That's an improvement over what I had. I like this album cover, a lot. Simple, yes, but still bold with that main title lettering on the solid black background. When I was a kid I could hear the wooshes of the main title credits in my head as I blasted this record on my Dad's old record player. I'd like this cover better if the small white lettering was gone.

Anyone here have a good hi-res scan of the cover for the Debney Superman album?

McLaglen also directed Mitchell (1975)… wow, maybe in some alternate universe Williams scores that instead of Jaws

The most film music-y classical music to my ears is the first movement of Bruckner’s 6th (Maestoso) and the last movement of Bruckner’s 8th. The first couple minutes of the Maestoso sound like a Main Title cue for a superhero movie, and the last five or so minutes of it sounds like an epic Finale cue.

I own the Holst Planets BPO album, that is a good one.

Thanks for posting, I just watched this - or most of it. Didn’t watch the Sinatra medley at the end. We had tickets to see Borge but the concert was canceled when his wife died, then he died shortly after.

Jay, that's pretty much my opinion of the album too. Though I do also really like the Pavane album opener and Le Cygne (The Swan), very nice pieces of music that I discovered through this album. I remember in my early days of film score CD buying when I was discovering these BPO albums I was kinda bothered that Williams didn't include one of his own love themes on this album.

I own Bernstein By Boston and the only piece I like from it is the Candide Overture.

Oh man, I am behind on these... I’d never heard Peter & The Wolf or JW’s conducting of the Nutcracker before. I made it a few minutes into Peter & The Wolf just now on Spotify and I got bored with it. I might have liked this as a kid, but it’s not my cup of tea today. Swing, Swing, Swing is one of my favorite BPO albums. It’s great from start to finish and it was my first introduction to some of these classic tunes. I always found this recording of “Swing, Swing, Swing” to be pretty sloppy, the BPO is not up to this piece like whatever studio ensemble played on 1941. But it is still a fun listen. I would love to know what the BPO players thought of this piece as they were performing it. The song “America, The Dream Goes On” is a real stinker - one of very very few Williams pieces I outright dislike. I used to own this album and never listened to it. I don’t like corny patriotic songs and ATDGO is the worst. This is the only BPO album where the Williams track is the worst piece on the program.

Just a guestimate but I voted a couple times a year. It’s beautiful music, and always a moving experience.