alanlewstherin

Wow...thanks Evan, for your informative and sage reply. I'm already signed up to resume my piano lessons, so now all I have to do is establish a plan on how to accomplish the rest. I do appreciate your insight. I may be consulting all of you to the point of irritation, before long. But then, most Williams fans here seem to be pretty good-natured. -Alan

Yeah, I have "The Mission" on An American Journey, and it's really excellent. Of course, all I can compare it to is the bootleg, which I ordered vai the Internet some time ago. So much noise and compression, it's barely worth listening to. But I truly adore the recording on An American Journey. I've seen the By Request album, but never heard it. If KM considers it the best recording, why, then I must have it!

Oh, man, your piece was really an inspiration to me. It's incredible! I've listened to it at least 10 times today. You should be very, very proud. The past couple of weeks, I've finally come the realization that at age 28, after spending most of my life pursuing painting and drawing and earning my bachelor's of fine arts, what I really want to do is compose music. Man, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts (or anyone's) on how I might get started. I mean, I've had a couple of years of basic piano, and I "re-orchestrate" things in my head all the time, but where do I actually start? I've got a Macintosh and MIDI keyboard at home, so should I start buying notation software (Cakewalk?) and sequencers and stuff? Is the computer-assisted route a valid way to learn to compose? Do I need to take some music theory and compostion classes at my local college? I am sooooooo ignorant when it comes to music. Man, that is one AWESOME piece of music. Congrats again dude. And the fact that you can hire an orchestra for 500 bucks is incredible news to me. Isn't it great that we all have so much passion for something like music? Think of all the poor people in this world who never get all tingly the first time they hear a new JW piece, or, in your case, compose a new work. So much to do, -Alan

Neil, I'd like to hear your thoughts on The Fury. I've thought about purchasing the re-release, but have not yet heard any of it. I'll see if there's a review somewhere around here to whet my appetite. Which of JW's other scores is it most akin to, if such a parallel can be made? The same goes for Jane Eyre, Justin. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. Curious, -Alan

for a JW concert, which pieces would you include (i.e., DIE to see JW conduct live)? Mine would be: 1. A.I,. The Blue Fairy theme, with Barbara Bonney and lots of blue stage lighting, and The Reunion, just cause it's so darn sweet 2. Duel of the Fates, with the entire 80 voice choir 3. AOTC, Across the Stars 4. AOTC, Love Pledge and The Arena 5. TESB - Battle in the Snow/Luke's First Crash/The Rebels Escape Again 6. Jurassic Park Main Theme, preferably with real live dinosaurs. Okay, maybe not. 7. E.T. - Saying Goodbye, Adventures on Earth, preferably with real live E.T. 8. Superman, The Planet Krypton, Main March, Love Theme, with JW in Superman costume. Ech. Okay, I'm sorry about that one. 9. An American Journey, Popular Entertainment, Arts & Sports, The Mission Theme, Celebrate Discovery 10. Summon the Heroes 11. Saving Private Ryan, Hymn to the Fallen Perhaps not in that order, but that's all I can come up with at the moment

Hey guys, I've been a lurker for some time now (bad Alan!), and thought I'd finally go through the rigorous, exhaustive process of creating a login (just kidding Ricard - thanks for making it so easy) and actually join the discussions. I greatly enjoy all your posts, and look forward to discussing (eyes closed in reverence) The Great Johnny T. Best regards, -Alan