Chris ChrusherComix

I've always imagined that his very productive time around Barbara's death was a) the fact that he was now a sole provider and b) keeping busy as a means to stay mentally "afloat".

Wouldn't it be nice if the album masters got lost and only the complete film score masters survived, for a change? First Jane Eyre, now this

I can see why Williams might not want to revisit Sugarland express. It was released the very month of hisr wife's passing

The Concerto, while wrote between 1974/76, was only premiered in 1981.

He began the concerto, or at least Barbara urged him to write it, before she died in 1974, but he finished it in 1976.
So, probably the lion's share of it was written after her death and deals with his feelings of that time.
The second movement is specifically dedicated to her memory.  

It's amazing how quickly a newly widower'ed father of three threw himself into his work, recording a major film score just under 5 months later (so presumably starting to write it a month or so earlier than that)
 
I guess he had the violin concerto in '74 as well, though I don't know when he wrote that or when it premiered.  But I always thought at least part of that concerto was him processing his grief over Barbara's death

You just need to tell them you're very Eiger for a replacement disc. 

I count 5 themes in this score, personally.  Here’s where you can find them on the original soundtrack album:
 
Mystery Theme
1 Main Title @ 0:08, 0:26
Main Theme
1 Main Title @ 0:50, 1:15, 1:44
2 Theme From The Eiger Sanction (Flugelhorn Version) @ 0:16, 1:01, 1:54
4 The Icy Ascent @ 0:15, 0:59, 2:03, 2:53
5 Friends And Enemies @ 0:21, 0:53, 1:37
7 Theme From The Eiger Sanction @ 0:16, 0:57, 1:43
9 Theme From The Eiger Sanction (Hemlock and Jemima) @ 0:00, 0:55
12 Up The Drainpipe @ 2:53
13 The Eiger @ 0:43, 1:02, 1:42
Suspense Theme
3 Fifty Miles of Desert @ 0:13, 1:00, 1:35, 2:14, 2:34
5 Friends And Enemies @ 0:00, 0:11
11 The Microfilm Killing @ 0:09, 0:27
13 The Eiger @ 0:26
Action Theme
3 Fifty Miles of Desert @ 1:47
Training Theme
8 Training With George @ 0:00, 0:37, 1:40
10 George Sets The Pace @ 0:07, 0:27, 1:02, 1:38, 2:14, 2:23
(Training Theme B Section)
8 Training With George @ 0:22
10 George Sets The Pace @ 1:10, 1:58

This was one of (if not definitively) my most wanted expanded/remastered scores!!! We basically had nothing except the OST, which I love. So thrilled to get it. Listening to it now... the remastered OST is excellent -- hearing stuff I never noticed before, and the film score is a welcome full CD length! Been waiting to crack open the recent Blu-Ray of it after I become more familiar with the film score (very familiar with the album). Absolutely LOVE it!
What the?! That's not for real, is it?! Fooled me for a sec! Hade me scrambling to Target's site, 
Yeah, it's been a goal of mine since the 1990s to have every CD release of all of Williams' scores. And I don't sell the OSTs when a new expanded/remaster comes out, either.  I used to get even re-pressings with different covers and such, but I had to draw a line somewhere for my sanity's sake. 

The hardest ones to get for me were the 'Yes, Giorgio' OST and the original pressing of the 'SpaceCamp' CD (before Stefancos turned to evil, he helped me find that one!). It kind of stuns me when I hear 'Goodbye Mr. Chips' is so hard to get, now? 

I never left, but kids and work and JW not putting out a ton of work means that I don't sign in as much, but I'm still around, and will almost always stop in when there's a new WIlliams release.

Who else would I be talking to? 
 
Yea he quit JWFan a few years ago now. He said he'll be back when Williams passes

Cool.Didn't see the thread until now
 
I hope there's enough unreleased music and alternate to make it interesting

Very good. I suppose not just the newly found source was used but the album master/sources may have been also utilized here under the expertise of Matessino here. We should get more details whenever a new podcast comes out. 

Chris! You're still here!

I got mine a few days ago from Intrada, cheapest shipping AND fast.
 
Sound quality is definitely improved from the old bootleg CD transfer of the rare LP, and the prior CD release. Can hear a lot in there that I had never noticed before. Big improvement.
 
Big fan of this score. Dark, twisted and tormented. Two cues are two of my favorites in Williams entire career, and the others are... well uniquely creepy in a dark room, that's for sure.
 
Wished the entire film score was also included... damn.

I got mine a few days ago from Intrada, cheapest shipping AND fast.
 
Sound quality is definitely improved from the old bootleg CD transfer of the rare LP, and the prior CD release. Can hear a lot in there that I had never noticed before. Big improvement.
 
Big fan of this score. Dark, twisted and tormented. Two cues are two of my favorites in Williams entire career, and the others are... well uniquely creepy in a dark room, that's for sure.
 
Wished the entire film score was also included... damn.

I got mine a few days ago from Intrada, cheapest shipping AND fast.
 
Sound quality is definitely improved from the old bootleg CD transfer of the rare LP, and the prior CD release. Can hear a lot in there that I had never noticed before. Big improvement.
 
Big fan of this score. Dark, twisted and tormented. Two cues are two of my favorites in Williams entire career, and the others are... well uniquely creepy in a dark room, that's for sure.
 
Wished the entire film score was also included... damn.

Your neighbours will think you have an exciting sex life!

The remaining tracks are good for scaring away your neighbor's cat.

You can still support them by purchasing it through Intrada (like I did) or SAE.  $24.49 shipped is easier to stomach than what Quartet wanted to charge to order from them.  

And while we wait for Williams' original liner notes for the album, here's an excerpt from an interview in which the Maestro discusses his work on the score, published on the 1975 book Knowing the Score, by Irwin Bazelon.
(Also available here: https://www.jwfan.com/?p=4583):
 
 

Just re-read part of another Images thread and found this: 
 
 
@Jay Any idea if those "film stems" where once used by Mike for a complete presentation that ended up not being approved by Williams?

Don't forget you also get JW's original liner notes.

A few days ago, I was pondering abut the lack of John Williams releases of late... then this and expanded Always drop back to back, nice!

One of my favorite creepy Williams scores. Wished it was expanded (if I recall, the film had some different material? Been years since I watched it, tho...), but I imagine that the new source materials being higher quality than the LP transfers anyway, so I'll gladly take it. That and I always support any and of the limited/remastered/expanded JW releases to support the work in order that they keep coming.

-Chris

PS - Wow, I was gonna' buy it on Quartet's website, but yikes the shipping was sky high for me, so Intrada gets my business. Much more reasonable. 

I remember reading this many years ago and it was great to read it again. It was a strange yet creative period for American cinema, with studios producing adult dramas made by "auteur" directors like Altman, Arthur Penn, Mike Nichols etc. and leaving them alone to do whatever they wanted. I think this also reflected on composers, who were probably left quite free to experiment and write music without too much control and dictation from producers. It was an interesting period for Williams too, as he was finally leaving the comedy typecasting behind and started to explore a more modern side of his musical persona, akin to the one that showed up in his early concert works like the Flute Concerto and the Essay for Strings. It's fun to speculate what his career might have been if he continued in this direction in his film works too.