lairdo

Thank you! Yeah, pretty lucky. My parents were not in the biz, but I had school friend with parents which were. We had family in from Philly once, and we must have seen 3 famous actors at dinner at a rib joint we liked, and our friends were going nuts. We were like "it's a quiet night." Not sure my parents were really that blasé, but they did not want my sister and me to think of those people as anything other than fellow people. Pretty cool lesson, really. That being said, meeting John Williams a couple of times was definitely a highlight of my history. This image is from 2013 during the renaming of the USC Scoring Stage; it was moved from Steven Spielberg's to JW's as an 80th gift from Steven and George Lucas. I have an autographed copy that JW's agent got signed for me.

I just realized (despite that the back of the Blu-ray shows this info) that the encore from Tanglewood's Violin Concerto No. 2 "Across the stars" is on the Blu-ray video portion of the new release. It's not in the audio only section (which is basically the album tracks). Audio Only Violin Concerto No. 2 - 4 movements "The Love Themes" (that's what JW calls them in the video track) The Long Goodbye Han Solo and the Princess Marion's Theme Video Violin Concerto No. 2 - 4 movements Intro to Encore Across the Stars "The Love Themes" (that's what JW calls them in the video track) Intro by JW The Long Goodbye Intro by JW Han Solo and the Princess Intro by JW Marion's Theme So, the DG powers-that-be did at least include that revised version officially in some capacity. They missed a chance in my opinion though with not including this on the 10" vinyl release to round out side B.

Thanks, @Sandor, for kicking off the thread. And congrats on 30 years! Your collection looks amazing. For sure my family had Fiddler on the Roof - cannot remember if that was ours or my grandparents' - but we had it and I played it. Of course, my awareness of John Williams was zilch as a 4-year old. I definitely saw Poseidon Adventure in the theater at a friend's birthday party when I was 5 (although I probably spent 33% of it in the lobby scared out of my mind). So, Star Wars in 1977 would be where I started collecting John Williams with the 8-Track Cassette version. My first JW LP was Superman, given to us as part of a charity screening for my cousin's school, which was held at Warner Bros. What a glorious Saturday morning that was. It was the first movie I ever saw that started without previews (given it was at the studio theater). 2+ hours later, I believed a man could fly. We then had lunch in Hollywood on the way back from Burbank and ran into my school friend Tony Hooper. He had a Superman pin which he gave to me (and I still have) - he had just seen the movie at a screening as well. (I met his dad, Tobe, too, but I did not know he was a film director let alone would be making Poltergeist in a few years.) Probably I had the LA Phil Star Wars-CE3K recording around then and the Gerhardt suites too. My real active collecting came in 1980. For my Bar Mitzvah, family friends gave me a record/cassette/radio all-in-one unit with speakers. These were promptly wired all the way around my room along the ceiling and the speakers mounted high in my room. Those speakers are still there! Along with the hardware, I was also given a $100 gift certificate to Warehouse Records. The Empire Strikes Back was amongst the albums I got that day. I think I bought Jaws as well. So, how long have been at this? I guess you can round up to 50 years if you go back to Fiddler, but really I would say 45 years given that I actively lobbied my parents to buy that 8-track of Star Wars. And then to play it endlessly in the car.

On the Legacy of JW Podcast linked earlier in this thread, Mike explained that when building the order for Close Encounters, he thought a lot about how to make sure the first CD was a complete listening experience. I suspect, as @crumbs referenced, that this was the same for E.T. A nice nostalgic sense that you put on a disc and you feel like you have a complete journey when it ends 80 mins later.

Well, I did get a notice this week that my order had shipped (as of Thursday). But alas, despite paying for Fedex tracked shipping, Presto only shipped my disc via untracked standard international mail which will take 2 weeks. Fortunately, my back up Amazon order arrived! So, I have the lovely disc now and have already enjoyed much of it via video and audio only. I emailed their support but did not hear back. Frustratingly, when they first emailed that the delay was happening (Aug 19), I responded with understanding and reminding the agent that I had paid for the faster shipping service. I received a response to that email (so I know they saw it). And still the mistake. I will be asking them for a shipping refund. Sadly, this has happened in the past, and frankly I found their response unapologetic at that time. I love their site and they are one of the best sources of physical music, but I actually buy digital tracks from Qobuz. (Eurodisc is another source of physical discs from Europe I sometimes use.) To the release itself which is what really matters: I find the cardboard a bit more flimsy than past Mutter-Williams releases, but otherwise I am very happy with the presentation and disc. The audio only tracks do not have any introductions but the video does include these for the film pieces recorded in Boston. It's lovely to see ASM react to JW's heaps of praise and her joyful excitement before she plays Han and the Princess. As John Williams fans, we really owe her a huge debt of gratitude for inspiring Williams so much. (And to quote both Williams and Mutter, "Dear Andre" too.) I do not see any indication that DG will be releasing a video blu-ray for Japan on this one, so no plastic case via that market. I suspect that the sales of the CD were not large enough to merit a second release in Japan, unlike for the more film music oriented Berlin and Vienna concerts. I hope everyone's copies arrive soon!

Yeah, but odd that Presto did not get their initial order given that they are a big partner to DG in this space. (But likely not to Universal Music.) This just came in from Presto: "We have been notified by our supplier that your item is unexpectedly out of stock. We expect this situation to be resolved within the next two weeks and will despatch it as soon as possible."

Here's what I got today from Presto. Not great news. It does look like my order from DG directly cleared NY yesterday, so maybe that will arrive this week. "We are very sorry that you have not received your order. Unfortunately this item is still out of stock at the UK Distributors. They continue to inform us that the item is available to order but cannot tell us when they will have the item in stock again. We understand that this is not the most ideal situation and will continue to try to obtain the item on your behalf." At least they are communicative. Perhaps this means the album is very popular? Or could be DG did not make enough? Or just supply chain issues?

and Johnny calls Yo-Yo "Angel!" Wonderful!

No, quite right to point it out. I was thinking of the Raiders Adaptation! Anyway, fixed my original post. Thanks.

Two additional follow ups to CE3K that I can highly recommend: Bob Balaban's diary about his experience on the film: "Spielberg Truffaut and Me" https://www.amazon.com/dp/184023430X/ Who Are You People? Directed by Jonathan Robinson Documentary on the extras who were part of the Alabama film shoot. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078GSHGPX

Wow, great photos and a ton of them! Thanks for posting. Yes, that is Jenny. He attends a lot of events with her. She has more reddish hair than Samantha Winslow and of course has a different facial structure. Here are some older photos but definitely show the above images are Jenny. These are from Getty images and are tagged with both their names along with JW. I think that sometimes Jenny is mistaken for Samantha in photo captions. (Also, the below photos are almost 20 years old. I could not find a recent one of Samantha actually which makes me wonder if she is doing as well health-wise as Johnny seems to be.)

Ah, yes. I was thinking of those.

Andris Nelsons, Music Director of the BSO was the first. Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was the 2nd.

Superman March from the orchestra Happy Birthday from the guest stars and orchestra Raiders March conducted by the birthday boy himself

I have to say, my wife and I who are listening on the stream are asking the same thing. And why is he neither playing any JW music or music even with a relation to him? (I guess JW did play piano on The King & I film, so that’s a tenuous connection and as JT said, he sang it in 1993.) I really think this section of the concert should have been much more Jazz influenced with an amazing Jazz singer. I love James Taylor, but it really does seem odd. The first part of the concert was great and really fun to hear. That’s wonderful! I suspect someone donated back their ticket because they could not go last minute. It was definitely sold out a few days ago.

Alas, Presto informed me on Friday that they are delayed in shipping my copy of the Blu-Ray. This, despite, having ordered within hours of the listing going live in June. I don't know if this means their entire shipment was delayed and I am not alone or if this only impacts a handful of folks. I also have one on order from Amazon US, and that is indicating a Friday delivery next week. DG has shipped my 10" Film Themes mini-LP and it's on the way over the Atlantic.

I do remember hearing that, I think during the 2021 Tanglewood Season. Wonderful!

Anyone know if the Boston Symphony from Tanglewood at WCRB will carry the concert? I know sometimes the live events are not broadcasted when the material is like this. For example, during the July 2019 Across the Stars concert, they played a different archive concert that evening. (I had planned to go, but it did not work out.)

Tanglewood: I just noticed that in the Prelude concert on August 19 (the day before the JW Birthday Concert), the Duo Concertante will be performed at 6 pm in Ozawa Hall. This performance is included in the Sondheim memorial concert that is at 8 pm that same evening. I did a quick search, and I did not see that reported in the forums. (Sorry if I missed it!) Info on all the Prelude concerts on this page: https://www.bso.org/tanglewood/prelude-concerts#august-19. It appears Schindler's List was in last Friday's Prelude. I wonder how often the Duo Concertante has actually been performed. Friday, August 19 6pm, Ozawa Hall John WILLIAMS Duo Concertante for violin and viola BRUCH Eight Pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83 Victor Romanul, violin Michael Zaretsky, viola Thomas Martin, clarinet Xak Bjerken, piano

I was really pleased to back this project, and the music turned out great. I put in for both short scores, and again, I could not be happier. Communication was also quite good along the way. I hope this the first of many such ventures.

Very cool. Thanks for posting. I've seen clips of her on that show before. It's great that they do those pieces and to have Marion's Theme for Piano and Violin. (And I love ASM's Yoda with sunglasses and headphones shirt - DJ Yoda Cool!)

Wonderful!!! Enjoy! (I keep checking weekly if a SACD of VC#2 is added so we can have a full set. Maybe even Gathering of Friends too!)

Really wonderful summation and honest look at the history of the soundtrack releases. Well done.

The organ player at Dodger Stadium, Dieter Ruehle, loves to play snippets of Williams. I am sure this is probably something across all baseball and other sports venues. Last night, a ball was hit that was just foul. Out popped the 5 notes from Close Encounters. I wonder how many people actually got the reference? Star Wars blasts out at least once a game, and I've heard Jurassic Park, Superman, and Raiders from time to time. And whenever anything Olympics is played, the 1984 Olympic Theme is heard. Not JW, but film music: When I was a kid in the 80s, there used to be 12 pm start times on certain days. The organist then, Helen Dell, would always kick off with Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, the theme from High Noon. I think her successor Nancy Bea would do the same. (The Dodgers have only had the above 3 organists in the past 50 years which is pretty cool)

Absolutely lovely. Rebecca Wilt has partnered with Tom on a few of his albums. The music was really nicely brought forward. Tom has a wonderful tone that really suits this music. By the way, check out his other recent video. Not JW, but still really enjoyable.