Your favourite Williams score - by audio quality.

[Quintus 5,399]

Which of his releases do you believe to sound the most crisp and clean? Do you prefer the sound mixing of Hook to that of Jurassic Park's? Which Williams ost album offers the best complete audio package from a technical pov?

My favourite would probably be ET. It has brass and percussion flourishes like I've heard in no other JW release (both albums), with the brass in particular sounding so clean and pronounced thus making that area of the orchestra a standout. The strings too seem to have a certain depth to them which, whilst retaining a strong romantic element, avoid the typical (of that time) 'epic' Williams strings sound. Basically they sound powerful, yet gentle, even during the most sweeping moments.

Now I don't know if this is all due to the 'engineering' of the recording, but I believe it plays a big part in the overall polish.

So what do you think?

[Jeshopk 8]

I agree with you on ET. I also think Close Encounters is a great recording that has similar qualities, but maybe better (the original, not the Murphy Remix). It doesn't sound like it is even a recording, it sounds like it is actually coming out of the world of the movie. Whenever Williams writes those types of orchestrations in AI or Harry Potter 3, it never sounds quite as "real" as in close encounters. Its almost as if now, you can sort of imagine the whole recording studio whereas then, the orchestra was a beast coming out of the heavens.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The Witches of Eastwick and JFK both sound pretty clear and well mixed.

[robthehand 3]

I don't like the sound on the E.T. re-releases, it sounds too dry.

Expanded Close Encounters is the best-sounding Williams album I own.

[Josh500 1,615]

In recent years, I think the 2004 JW scores are pretty clear and crisp: PoA and Terminal.

The worst are arguably Minority Report and A.I.

[King Mark 3,631]

Phantom Menace UE.

k.M.

[rocnathan 0]

I agree that ET is one of the finest recordings, although for other reasons. I go with (from those that I know) ET, Jedi and Chamber of Secrets, because those have the best-sounding halls. I like small halls with rather, but not too, short reverbs, and the room they recorded ET in is amazing. Jedi may suffer from a narrow stereo field, but the reverb for instance you get from the brass stabs at the beginning of "The return of the jedi" are great. That same quality I hear on Chamber of Secrets, although that has a longer reverb tail.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

The first ones that come to mind are CE3K, Hook and JP, and in recent years POA. Also, the Summon the Heroes album sounds stunning.

Worst by far is AI.

[John Crichton 4]

Phantom Menace UE.

k.M.

Seconded, along with ET. PoA and Episode III are my favorite recent ones.

[scissorhands 16]

War of the Worlds.

I'm not an expert on the subject, anyway.

[Romão 2,274]

TPM has also sounded pretty flawless to me.

[Seth 67]

The DCC Raiders disk is amazing as well. All the orchestrations come through really clear. I also really like the 4-disc Star Wars anthology. From his more recent releases, I like The Terminal, POA and the first half of Revenge of the Sith. The mixing kind of goes dead on the last half. I think it's hard to put a finger on the LSO's more recent performances. Their readings of the 70s and 80s just jump off the page and are played with panache and a lot of flair. I feel this carried over recently with TPM, but the readings of the last two prequels are technically flawless but seem staid and unenthusiastic. The less vibrant recording doesn't help any either.

[Quintus 5,399]

Reading some of the comments, I can't help but find it ridiculously ironic that the earlier, technically cruder recordings are held in a higher regard than some of the latest recordings.

[Seth 67]

The older recordings may be "crude" but the orchestra often has a warmth and coherence that doesn't always come across in digital recordings. I am very fond of analog recorded strings-they have more presence and body. The upper woodwind ranges also lose some harshness. The brass do come off well in digital recordings though; the high trumpets lose some of the bright edge that they get in some older recordings, and horns and trombones sound particularly nice in digital recordings as well. I don't think percussion is favored by either. I do love the sound of harp glissandos in the old Star Wars recordings, though. They sound more vibrant and real.

[Jeshopk 8]

I forget where I read or or heard John Williams say this, but he has said that he prefers the analog recordings. I do not think he has a choice in the matter as the studios prefer digital, and that is what everyone uses. He said something to the effect of, "something should be done" to make the digital recordings as warm and nice as the older analog ones "especially in the strings". His position was that his new soundtracks had worse recordings.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

This might be why Schindlers list was recorded in analogue.

[LongTallJodie 59]

Not to mention that, in recent years, CDs are being mastered with much higher volumes than in the past, often hacking off the tops of certain peaks. At least, they are with rock albums, though I assume the same applies to recent soundtracks since older CDs often sound better to my ear as well.

[Henry B 50]

Not to mention that, in recent years, CDs are being mastered with much higher volumes than in the past, often hacking off the tops of certain peaks. At least, they are with rock albums, though I assume the same applies to recent soundtracks since older CDs often sound better to my ear as well.

Williams's soundtracks are rarely mastered too high. The RCA editions of the Star Wars soundtracks are notable exceptions (Star Wars sounds excellent, the too-hot mixing being its only weakness, while the other two are quite bad).

[Romão 2,274]

It´s a crime what they did to the sound in ROTJ SE.

[Red 75]

Indeed.

[V_For_Vendetta 0]

TPM UE

[King Mark 3,631]

The Missouri Breaks also sounds great.

K.M.

[Datameister 2,042]

The SW prequels have pretty pristine sound quality, IMO. I'm more a product of the digital era than of the analog era, so it's the former sound I've grown up with. But the older analog recordings have a certain charm to them...they feel a little more organic, which can be both bad and good.

Now, one score that has really disappointing mixing is ROTLA. The LSO performed spectacularly, but the tuba blares out in the mix and every fortissimo trumpet passage is ear-numbingly loud.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The SW prequels have pretty pristine sound quality, IMO.  I'm more a product of the digital era than of the analog era, so it's the former sound I've grown up with.  But the older analog recordings have a certain charm to them...they feel a little more organic, which can be both bad and good.

The AOTC CD has an awful sound.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

by audio quality who the flying frack cares?

[King Mark 3,631]

I think it only really matters when the sound is noticeably bad,like the Return of the Jedi Special Edition.

K.M.

[rocnathan 0]

I think it only really matters when the sound is noticeably bad,like the Return of the Jedi Special Edition.

K.M.

I think they just wanted to fix the lacking high end there. Why they c ouldn't get hold of the digital masters of half the cues I have no idea, but I still think that, going by the LSO's performance, it's the finest SW recording. Even though the timing isn't always right, they play with a confidence that's lacking in the first two, and an energy that's entirely absent from the prequels (possibly excepting TPM).

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

As great as the performance may be, the audio quality is still rubbish.

[Romão 2,274]

And it probably is my all time favorite JW score, although not really the one I ´d consider the best.

[King Mark 3,631]

I hope one day I can hear The Dark Side Beckons with a cleaner audio.I was hoping it would pop up on the RotS Musical Journey 5bonus disk but it didn't

K.M.

[crocodile 8,012]

Close Encounters is my favourite. It's really hard to explain, but it just sounds... right to me.

Karol