1997 lyrical scores?

[Ross 1]

It's often amazed me that nobody here ever comments of the scores that turned from the Indiana Jones and Star Wars fan I was in 1996 to the John Williams fan I was in 1998. Those are the two magical 1997 scores! I don't mean Rosewood (which I think would fit into my point, I just haven't listened to it yet) or The Lost World, but those two scores that touched the heart of a thirteen-year-old boy and defined his musical taste forever.

I mean what's wrong with Amistad or Seven Years in Tibet? I prompt everybody to talk about them in this thread. I mean, it doesn't hurt. Talk about the power of Dry Your Tears, Afrika; memorable tracks like Cinque's Memories of Home or The Long Road to Justice and its feeling of a country in the making; Yo-Yo Ma doing those moving cello solos in the main theme of 7 Years; those emotionally epic tracks like Harrer's Journey; the whole the effort made by Grandpa Williams to write two very religionally different yet thematically exact scores in the same years, and succeeding!

Oh, well. Reviews of The Lost World are welcomed too.

-ROSS, who would listen to 7 Years more if the music wasn't so low that it's inaudible in the noisy school bus.

[Hlao-roo 389]

1997 was the greatest year of John Williams's career. I celebrate not only his four fantastic scores but also his "Victory Celebration," which, unfortunately, no one else likes, it seems.

[scissorhands 16]

I agree. 1997 was the best year of Williams' career (but if you considerate Home Alone a 1989 soundtrack, then I would say 97 is the second one).

AMISTAD: One of my favorite scores. This plus Star Wars plus Jurassic Park became me a John Williams fan. It's very underrated. But it's a masterpiece. No doubt.

SEVEN YEARS OF TIBET: The main theme is, in my opinion, the most powerful one since Schindler's List. It's perfect in its complexity. Another masterpiece.

THE LOST WORLD: Oh, man. Sometimes, I think it's better than the original one. The best action cues since..... I can't remember. They are soooo good.

[Ricard 2,245]

I celebrate not only his four fantastic scores but also his "Victory Celebration," which, unfortunately, no one else likes, it seems.

Alan, almost everyone LOVES "Victory Celebration" here. Even I think it's a great theme. My only complaint is that it's totally out of place in ROTJ. That's all.

[Rogue_Leader 2]

I did not like Williams' 97 work. I felt The Lost World was not a very good follow up to JP.

I thought Amistad was OK, but it was kind of lacking for me.

Seven Years in Tibet was a well done score but not my kind of thing.

[David Coscina 3]

I agree with Rogue Leader. '97 was quite a prolific year for Williams indeed but I only like bits of each of his offerings from that year. '91 was pretty good what with JFK and Hook; two disparate scores but both of equal quality.

[Morn 8]

The Lost World had a similar affect on me as Amistad and Tibet did on you.

[tpigeon 3]

i think 1997 represents a completely new side of John Williams, in which he was able to bridge so many of his great qualities. up until then, many of his scores have been one thing... serving one purpose and being great at it. but that all changed in 1997. his music got more complex and mature, yet he never abandoned his old style.

Seven Years in Tibet is a very atonal score that is also very thematically loyal. Williams got into the ethnic instruments and orchestration while at the same time balancing it with his utterly beautiful string based theme that i think as a stand alone piece removed from the film is equal to the Schindler's List main theme. there are some subtle moments in that score that i find so incredibly moving, such as the track entitled Quiet Moments from 1:05 - 1:40 in which a very soft version of the main theme is played solely by the piano with a four note motif weaved into it perfectly. that is my favorite part of the score. overall, i think this is an absolutely amazing effort by Williams, a must have for any fan. that theme alone i think is one of the most moving and emotional pieces of music i have ever heard. the final piece, Regaining a Son is like an emotional release for me. after hearing the whole score and then listening to this piece... that makes this listening experience complete.

Amistad is another score with a lot of ethnic influence and full of a different kind of emotion than JW regularly expresses. there are moments of utter darkness (almost as dark as the Temple of Doom chant music) in this score as well as quiet, tender moments. but when i say dark and tender, i mean of a different kind (hard to explain). the theme heard for the first forty seconds of Dry Your Tears Africa is very deep and unlike anything JW's ever composed. i believe it's Cinque's theme, which is developed throughout the score. it is the centerpiece of the score and it sets the tone for the entire listening experience, one which (like the theme) is at times utterly triumphant and deeply bittersweet, but always high on emotion. a great score!

Rosewood is one of those JW scores that i own which rarely gets listened to. i respect it for what it is, as i do most Williams scores, but i don't exactly like it. like every single JW score, it fits the movie perfectly, but that doesn't make for the best musical listening experience. i especially liked someone's comment one time about it being the evil twin of the Reivers. that's a very good way of looking at it.

The Lost World, like Amistad, is a very experimental score for Williams that worked incredibly well for me. I'll admit that it was an acquired taste though. i got so used to the Jurassic Park score, which was traditional (in an orchestral sense), that when i heard this i didn't react too well. like the film, it's much darker and more primal overall than Jurassic Park, which had dark moments but had a much "brighter" feel. But over the years i have listened to it more and more and it took me a while to finally realize that i actaully loved the score. i think Williams really kind of basked in his own creative darkness with this score. Rescuing Sarah, which has an AMAZING segment (featuring some very menacing chimes) that was cut from the soundtrack but is in the part where the Rexes emerge on either side of the car, and The Raptor Attack (?, track 9, whatever its called) just strike me that way. same goes for Ludlow's Demise and track 13 (love the percussion and brass mixing together in this one!). it jsut grew on me so much and i didn't even realize that i listened to it as much as i did. now, it's the kind of score i'll listen to on a rainy day. the more i listen to it, the more i like it and appreciate its richness.

Overall, i think 1997 was a great year for Williams that marks a pivotal time in his career. in a sense, it ushered his musical style into where it is now (which i know many of you don't like and have made clear numerous times). he mixed his old style with his emerging new one, experimenting and trying all kinds of new things. i think he really dug deep in 1997, and i believe it to be one of the Maestro's best years for film scoring. its impact may not have been huge in the world of movies or music, but in this year he displayed a new side of himself, one which i love, and has been building upon for the past five years: layered with emotion, musically complex and experimental, and daringly experimental. and in my opinion, JW is not a different composer he was twenty years ago. he hasn't gotten any worse. he continues to blow my mind even today!

Ted

[tpigeon 3]

double post, my mistake!

Ted, astounded by the amount of posts i've... (for lack of a better word) posted today

[Hlao-roo 389]

"Fear is a problem with film music and films; people want to be conventional, and there's more commercialism today. If you are not daring in your art, you're bankrupt." - Alex North

Yeah, well, then I guess John Williams is, at the moment, bankrupt...or something. You're turning into Chris Tilton, Morn, and that's not a good sign.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Seven years in tibet is another those meandering boring scores that while a que or two is nice, I don't rank them anywhere near the top of John's list.

Actually it ranks toward the bottom, down there with Always, Least Crusade and Hook.

Amistad is an unusual score that is very interesting the first couple of times but even it becomes a dust collector soon after.

Lost World is a 5 star cd. Easily his best work in the last half of the 90's. Nothing comes close. Not even TPM.

Rosewood is a beautiful score for an underated film. It proved John could write for any genre in my opinion.

Overall 97 was a good year, not great. It is typical of the 90's which pales incomparison to his great period of 74 to 84, and the 70's and 80's in general.

[Morn 8]

"Fear is a problem with film music and films; people want to be conventional, and there's more commercialism today. If you are not daring in your art, you're bankrupt." - Alex North

Yeah, well, then I guess John Williams is, at the moment, bankrupt...or something.  You're turning into Chris Tilton, Morn, and that's not a good sign.

No, in my opinion, recently he's been more daring, hence all the criticisms such as yours and Joes. He's more modern less accessible than he used to be. And more complex in ways.

And what is wrong with Chris Tilton, he's one of the best posters there, better than being Brendan, Mr Conservative

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

1997 was the greatest year of John Williams's career.  I celebrate not only his four fantastic scores but also his "Victory Celebration," which, unfortunately, no one else likes, it seems.

I love it, both in the movie and score.

[Romão 2,274]

I've said this many times before: Amistad and Seven years in Tibet are some of the greatest scores JW ever did. Dry Your Tears Afrika is almost an anthem in my family...everyone knows it and belive, that is very rewarding for a JW fan like myself.

My favorite theme in Seven Years in Tibet is not the main theme (although it is fantastic), but rather the theme that dominates the track Leaving Ingrid (and it shows up many times in the score). It's so sad and melancholic..I don't know, I just love it to death.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

i think 1997 represents a completely new side of John Williams, in which he was able to bridge so many of his great qualities. up until then, many of his scores have been one thing... serving one purpose and being great at it. but that all changed in 1997. his music got more complex and mature, yet he never abandoned his old style.

Seven Years in Tibet is a very atonal score that is also very thematically loyal. Williams got into the ethnic instruments and orchestration while at the same time balancing it with his utterly beautiful string based theme that i think as a stand alone piece removed from the film is equal to the Schindler's List main theme. there are some subtle moments in that score that i find so incredibly moving, such as the track entitled Quiet Moments from 1:05 - 1:40 in which a very soft version of the main theme is played solely by the piano with a four note motif weaved into it perfectly. that is my favorite part of the score. overall, i think this is an absolutely amazing effort by Williams, a must have for any fan. that theme alone i think is one of the most moving and emotional pieces of music i have ever heard. the final piece, Regaining a Son is like an emotional release for me. after hearing the whole score and then listening to this piece... that makes this listening experience complete.

Amistad is another score with a lot of ethnic influence and full of a different kind of emotion than JW regularly expresses. there are moments of utter darkness (almost as dark as the Temple of Doom chant music) in this score as well as quiet, tender moments. but when i say dark and tender, i mean of a different kind (hard to explain). the theme heard for the first forty seconds of Dry Your Tears Africa is very deep and unlike anything JW's ever composed. i believe it's Cinque's theme, which is developed throughout the score. it is the centerpiece of the score and it sets the tone for the entire listening experience, one which (like the theme) is at times utterly triumphant and deeply bittersweet, but always high on emotion. a great score!

Rosewood is one of those JW scores that i own which rarely gets listened to. i respect it for what it is, as i do most Williams scores, but i don't exactly like it. like every single JW score, it fits the movie perfectly, but that doesn't make for the best musical listening experience. i especially liked someone's comment one time about it being the evil twin of the Reivers. that's a very good way of looking at it.

The Lost World, like Amistad, is a very experimental score for Williams that worked incredibly well for me. I'll admit that it was an acquired taste though. i got so used to the Jurassic Park score, which was traditional (in an orchestral sense), that when i heard this i didn't react too well. like the film, it's much darker and more primal overall than Jurassic Park, which had dark moments but had a much "brighter" feel. But over the years i have listened to it more and more and it took me a while to finally realize that i actaully loved the score. i think Williams really kind of basked in his own creative darkness with this score. Rescuing Sarah, which has an AMAZING segment (featuring some very menacing chimes) that was cut from the soundtrack but is in the part where the Rexes emerge on either side of the car, and The Raptor Attack (?, track 9, whatever its called) just strike me that way. same goes for Ludlow's Demise and track 13 (love the percussion and brass mixing together in this one!). it jsut grew on me so much and i didn't even realize that i listened to it as much as i did. now, it's the kind of score i'll listen to on a rainy day. the more i listen to it, the more i like it and appreciate its richness.

Overall, i think 1997 was a great year for Williams that marks a pivotal time in his career. in a sense, it ushered his musical style into where it is now (which i know many of you don't like and have made clear numerous times). he mixed his old style with his emerging new one, experimenting and trying all kinds of new things. i think he really dug deep in 1997, and i believe it to be one of the Maestro's best years for film scoring. its impact may not have been huge in the world of movies or music, but in this year he displayed a new side of himself, one which i love, and has been building upon for the past five years: layered with emotion, musically complex and experimental, and daringly experimental. and in my opinion, JW is not a different composer he was twenty years ago. he hasn't gotten any worse. he continues to blow my mind even today!  

Ted

Wow Ted! I haven't even heard any of these scores (still slowly building my collection) and your post was really enjoyable. It made me excited to get each one of those scores!

Ray Barnsbury

[tpigeon 3]

Thanks Ray!

Ted

[Ross 1]

i think 1997 represents a completely new side of John Williams, in which he was able to bridge so many of his great qualities. up until then, many of his scores have been one thing... serving one purpose and being great at it. but that all changed in 1997. his music got more complex and mature, yet he never abandoned his old style.

That was just what I was trying to say, only in better words! Thanks!

the final piece, Regaining a Son is like an emotional release for me. after hearing the whole score and then listening to this piece... that makes this listening experience complete.

That track, which is one of my favorites, almost immediatly made me think of "A New Beginning" from Minority Report.

Amistad is another score with a lot of ethnic influence and full of a different kind of emotion than JW regularly expresses. there are moments of utter darkness (almost as dark as the Temple of Doom chant music) in this score as well as quiet, tender moments. but when i say dark and tender, i mean of a different kind (hard to explain). the theme heard for the first forty seconds of Dry Your Tears Africa is very deep and unlike anything JW's ever composed. i believe it's Cinque's theme, which is developed throughout the score. it is the centerpiece of the score and it sets the tone for the entire listening experience, one which (like the theme) is at times utterly triumphant and deeply bittersweet, but always high on emotion. a great score!

I think Cinque's Theme is a great theme. It reminds me of Hedwig's Theme (or is it backwards?) in some tune aspects.

Seven Years doubtlessly suffered from people expecting Schindler's List II. Even Williams himself or Sony Classical, or the powers that be, tried to sell it like another Schindler List. And so people were disappointed. And bad reputation surrounded the score. That's my theory.

Others like Joe would disagree. I would have disgreed two weeks ago, but I just rediscovered this score and the magical december 1997 when the movie was released. There's a lot of me in that score.

-ROSS, getting a little bit emotional.