Music of America: John Williams

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JH0LGE/jwfancom-20



Disc: 1
1. Air and Simple Gifts
2. American Journey; I. Immigration and Building
3. American Journey; II. The Country at War
4. American Journey; III. Popular Entertainment
5. American Journey; IV. Arts and Sports
6. American Journey; V. Civil Rights and the Women's Movement
7. American Journey; VI. Flight and Technology
8. Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha for Cello and Orchestra; Sayuri's Theme
9. Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha for Cello and Orchestra; Going to School
10. Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha for Cello and Orchestra; The Chairman's Waltz
11. Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha for Cello and Orchestra; Brush on Silk
12. Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha for Cello and Orchestra; Chiyo's Prayer
13. Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha for Cello and Orchestra; Becoming A Geisha
14. Song for World Peace

Disc: 2
1. Summon the Heroes (for Tim Morrison)
2. Hymn to New England
3. The Five Sacred Trees (Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra); I. Eó Mugna
4. The Five Sacred Trees (Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra); II. Tortan
5. The Five Sacred Trees (Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra); III. Eó Rossa
6. The Five Sacred Trees (Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra); IV. Craeb Uisnig
7. The Five Sacred Trees (Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra); V. Dathi
8. Sound the Bells!
9. Elegy for Cello and Orchestra
10. The Mission Theme (Theme for NBC News)
11. March from 1941
12. The Olympic Spirit

Disc: 3
1. Main Title from Star Wars
2. Theme from Jaws
3. Theme from Sugarland Express
4. Flying Theme from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
5. Suite from Born on the Fourth of July; I. Theme from Born on the Fourth of July
6. Suite from Born on the Fourth of July; II. Cua Viet River, Vietnam 1968
7. Suite from Born on the Fourth of July; III. Massapequa...The Early Days
8. Theme from Schindler's List
9. Theme from Jurassic Park
10. Cadillac of the Skies from Empire of the Sun
11. Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark
12. Close Encounters of the Third Kind/When You Wish Upon a Star Medley; Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Excerpts)\ When You Wish Upon A Star (interpolated) (Voice)
13. Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars

[Incanus 5,714]

Nice release even if only for Air and Simple Gifts and Memoirs of a Geisha Suite. But to some one starting their JW concert work collection this offers a nice starting point. Sony seems to be repackaging JWs music year after year after year.

[fommes 153]

Ah! Finally.

Wait - is there now still something on that massive Yo-Yo Ma box that isn't available separately?

[Incanus 5,714]

Ah! Finally.

Wait - is there now still something on that massive Yo-Yo Ma box that isn't available separately?

Of John Williams' material? I don't think the box set had anything else JW related that is not already available.

The only downside of the set is having to buy the same music twice over as Sony includes music from many older JW compilation albums in this release. But I think that for this price the Geisha suite is definitely worth it.

[Jacob 0]

Nice. There's only 9 tracks on there I already have.

And it's being released on my birthday. How did they know?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

This is obviously awesome for the availability of the Memoirs of a Geisha suite outside of an $800 set. But otherwise...

I also don't have this Elegy for Cello and Orchestra. Did Williams compose it?

[sulky 6]

Cool beans pre-ordered this too. Quite a few things coming in the mail for the next couple of weeks.

[King Mark 3,631]

For a second I thought wee were getting something new. Same old deal re-packaged differently as usual.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Nice collection, worthwile almost just for the Geisha suite.

Sony is the king of repackaging, so it's not surprising they're releasing this. Too bad they didn't take the occasion to put in some other still unreleased works from the Williams repertoire.

[King Mark 3,631]

Give us some unreleased work?...but think of the added fees and the tiny fan base of Williams fans.No we only deserve the same crap with a different booklet

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Too bad they didn't take the occasion to put in some other still unreleased works from the Williams repertoire.

Yes. I've been thinking about this for a while now. It's been some time since Williams recorded anything with the Pops. Just think of what they could have included on a friggin' 3 disc set like this...the Indiana Jones concert pieces, Stargazers, Soundings, Harry Potter suite, etc. However, I'm still very positive about the Memoirs of a Geisha suite since I have wanted that.

[King Mark 3,631]

Were never not getting these pieces. There's some kind of effort required on Sony's part to release them. Better release a shoddily put together album of previously released material that nobody will buy, then they will justify the poor sales not to bother releasing anything new. It's the same vicious circle that never ends for us

I already have about 15 different versions of the Memoirs of a Geisha themes

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I only have the original soundtrack.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Cool, will buy this.

[Incanus 5,714]

This is obviously awesome for the availability of the Memoirs of a Geisha suite outside of an $800 set. But otherwise...

I also don't have this Elegy for Cello and Orchestra. Did Williams compose it?

The Elegy for Cello and Orchestra is indeed composed by Williams. The piece was written as a memorial for the funeral of two children of JWs violinist friend. It was originally written for piano and cello but Williams reworked it for the orchestra and cello. Yo-Yo Ma is the soloist on this recording. The music is build on a thematic fragment from Seven Years in Tibet (the melody is heard on track Regaining a Son on the OST) and is a gorgeous piece of music, beautiful, restrained and respectful.

KM are you really this depressed by the release of Giacchino's Star Trek? You are seething bad mood all over the place.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I should probably get that Yo Yo Ma plays JW CD that I skipped on. I had no idea there was material inspired by Seven Years in Tibet and Rosewood on there. You learn something new every day. It's nice and used/cheap now.

[King Mark 3,631]

Yes, I am in a bad mood.

Nothing EVER changes regarding Williams releases:

1)VERY RARELY (about once every 5 years) we get a new score or true expanded release (Black Sunday, None but the Brave but this one doesn't count because nobody knew it existed)

2)We mostly get re-mastered c.d.'s of previously released scores that we already played to death (Poseidon Adventure, Superman the Movie).They are cool to have , but leave you with the "I wish it had been something we really wanted " feeling.

3)We get c.d. releases that STILL don't have the unreleased music because of studio interference (Monsignor). And I can bet all my money Spacecamp will be that way too if it's ever released.

4)We get "new" compilations from Sony of previously released concert pieces .The last real one is from 2002 (Call of the Champions)

5)We have to cobble up together the scores we really want from 10 seconds videogame files and DVD menus because the studios are too much of an asshole to release them claiming the score market isn't big enough for them to make a profit.

6)In the mean time, and contradicting point 5, a ,lot of scores from other franchises get perfectly assembled deluxe 2 c.d. releases in the same year the movie was released.

7)When we do get something important, it's a corner cutting ,half assed botched release with tons of mistakes and missing music (Indiana Jones, TPM UE) that leaves us once more waiting for a future , better release. They've released an expanded E.T., twice, and still can't get it right

So as you can see,I'm not bitching specifically about Star Trek ,but also about this new Williams release, because both exemplify my frustration at this point.

[Incanus 5,714]

I should probably get that Yo Yo Ma plays JW CD that I skipped on. I had no idea there was material inspired by Seven Years in Tibet and Rosewood on there. You learn something new every day. It's nice and used/cheap now.

There is nothing directly related to Rosewood score on the album except slight connection on the level of ideas between Rosewood and Three Pieces for Solo Cello. Both try to express African American expriences but they are not related musically even though one of the solo pieces is called Rosewood.

And KM. You make a few good points. Music industry aside it is more than likely that JW himself is one of the reasons behind the lack of complete releases of his later major scores. He is not nearly as keen to release his works in complete form as many other composers. In this way his famous modesty really works against his fans.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I agree with KM. But I take what I can get. In this case, Memoirs of a Geisha suite.

[King Mark 3,631]

Yeah only the thing is, I have way enough of Geisha with what's on the OST .And i rarely say that about Williams scores. And I'm guessing Air and Simple gift is the itunes version.

[Datameister 2,042]

Yes, I am in a bad mood.

It's music. It's supposed to bring you happiness, relaxation, revelation, energization, etc. Take a chill pill.

We mostly get re-mastered c.d.'s of previously released scores that we already played to death (Poseidon Adventure, Superman the Movie).They are cool to have , but leave you with the "I wish it had been something we really wanted " feeling.

Would you prefer these superior releases just weren't made at all?

)We have to cobble up together the scores we really want from 10 seconds videogame files and DVD menus because the studios are too much of an asshole to release them claiming the score market isn't big enough for them to make a profit.

Personally, I enjoy doing that. It's a fun challenge, even though it's only made necessary by incomplete releases.

In the mean time, and contradicting point 5, a ,lot of scores from other franchises get perfectly assembled deluxe 2 c.d. releases in the same year the movie was released.

Really? Which films do you have in mind? Aside from Star Trek, of course. I seem to recall the very popular The Dark Knight getting an expanded release...and the widely revered LOTR scores got complete-ish releases a few years after they came out...I can't really think of any others, though.

When we do get something important, it's a corner cutting ,half assed botched release with tons of mistakes and missing music (Indiana Jones, TPM UE) that leaves us once more waiting for a future , better release.

Can't argue with that. Though there are cases like the '97 Star Wars SEs, in which the only thing that can really be criticized at all is the sound quality.

[fommes 153]

Well, I'm very happy since I never thought I'd see a CD release of the new stuff (apart from the Yo-Yo Mammoth box set I can't afford).

But KM is of course right, time's ripe to also do a new CD full of concert versions and new concert pieces the man's written in the last decade.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

Are the pieces that have been released before (for example, JP) exactly the same as in other CDs (like the Spielberg-Williams collaboration) or are they re-recorded?

Can't wait to hear the concert pieces, though!

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm 99.9% sure they didn't re-record anything (as usual)

[indy4 155]

I thought this was the premiere release of the MoaG suite, other than the massive Yo-Yo Ma Box? And I wouldn't be surprised if the variation of "Air and Simple Gifts" is that full orchestral version. It could be worth having.

Anyway, I like how six pieces from Memoirs of a Geisha made it onto a Music of America set.

[TownerFan 4,983]

I too guess this is all previously released material. As I said, Sony is the king of repackaging, they do these kind of things all the time with most of their catalogue.

I hope that down the line we'll see other Williams works that still have to be properly released, like Soundings!, for Seiji!, the Horn Concerto, the Harry Potter Children's Suite, the Sunday Night Football themes, all the NBC News themes, etc.

As for KM's lament about the hard life of the Williams' collector, we should remember that we JWfans got expanded/complete editions of his classic scores back in the days where those kind of things were almost non-existent. Maybe we grew spoiled about it, but the reality is that a lot of Williams' expanded scores have already been released. Yes, I know some stuff probably could have turn out better than it actually have been (i.e. Indy boxset, TPM Ultimate Edition) and that there are classic works that have not been released in any expanded form (Harry Potter, Prequel Trilogy, Hook), but the reality is that Williams is probably the best-represented film composer on CD. Ok, we could have more, but we already have a lot! And I'm sure we'll see quite a lot Williams' new releases for many years to come.

[Jarbas 1]

Nice collection, worthwile almost just for the Geisha suite.

Sony is the king of repackaging, so it's not surprising they're releasing this. Too bad they didn't take the occasion to put in some other still unreleased works from the Williams repertoire.

Yes, they could have included Soundings! But it's a nice box set.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I ordered this, along with the Barber and Ives sets. Should be cool. I love the artwork for the sets.

From what I could find, the titles in this series are...

John Williams

Aaron Copland

Charles Ives

Leonard Bernstein

Samuel Barber

I think that it is great that Williams is included in a collection like this, regardless of the music being previously released or not. (All of the sets are made up of previously released material)

[King Mark 3,631]

As for KM's lament about the hard life of the Williams' collector, we should remember that we JWfans got expanded/complete editions of his classic scores back in the days where those kind of things were almost non-existent. Maybe we grew spoiled about it, but the reality is that a lot of Williams' expanded scores have already been released. Yes, I know some stuff probably could have turn out better than it actually have been (i.e. Indy boxset, TPM Ultimate Edition) and that there are classic works that have not been released in any expanded form (Harry Potter, Prequel Trilogy, Hook), but the reality is that Williams is probably the best-represented film composer on CD. Ok, we could have more, but we already have a lot! And I'm sure we'll see quite a lot Williams' new releases for many years to come.

I'm not looking back on the stuff we got in the 90's. I mean the stuff we've been hoping to get since this MB was created.It's been pretty much a stalemate .

[pixie_twinkle 48]

From what I could find, the titles in this series are...

John Williams

Aaron Copland

Charles Ives

Leonard Bernstein

Samuel Barber

I think that it is great that Williams is included in a collection like this, regardless of the music being previously released or not. (All of the sets are made up of previously released material)

I completely agree. Finally someone is taking Williams' music seriously.

[davros72 1]

Glad to see Memoirs of a Geisha get released on a reasonably priced set. My wife and I were there for one of the nights of recording (it was two nights, wasn't it?) and were looking forward to having a nice souvenir of the event. I'm a JW fan, she's a Yo Yo Ma fan (as well as JW but originally moreso Yo Yo Ma, just as I'm a Yo Yo Ma fan but moreso a JW fan).

[DU Lou 1]

Maybe, just maybe, Song for World Peace will be the expanded version performed with the Chicago Symphony. Holding breath now!

Turning blue...

[King Mark 3,631]

Don't hold it too long

It's be the version on Call of the Champion...it's as certain as the sun will rise tomorrow

[Thor 7,494]

There is nothing here that I didn't already own, but it's a superb compilation for people starting out on Williams.

[fommes 153]

Yeah, but you don't own all of it in CD quality!

[QMM 4]

So the Geisha stuff is from the Chicago concert two years ago, right?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Might pick this up for the Geisha suite, other than that, I have almost all of it.

Does anyone know if the Copland set is worth it? For awhile now, I have been meaning to look into his Western stuff, specifically the kind of music Horner stole for Feivel Goes West.

[Joe Brausam 214]

Truthfully I hate Copland Americana. It gets on my nerves extremely fast!

The Music of America set has some good stuff, but if what you want his that Americana sort of stuff, like Feival, I highly recommend this disc...

http://www.amazon.com/Bernstein-Century-Copland-Appalachian-Spring/dp/B0000029XG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1275845388&sr=1-1

That's really the big important stuff.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Sony Classical really needs new management. They could be doing great things with JW's music. Like releasing it.

[Datameister 2,042]

Or, better yet, selling it to one of the real film score labels!

[fommes 153]

Sony Classical really needs new management. They could be doing great things with JW's music. Like releasing it.

Seriously, though, how do these things work? If Johnny writes a new concert piece, everybody can record it, right? Or is he under contract with Sony?

[King Mark 3,631]

Well, James Horner just recorded a new concert piece ,and he made sure it was available for download within a week.

I think JW doesn't even try to get his music recorded or released

[QMM 4]

I think JW doesn't even try to get his music recorded or released

And it's all just to piss you off.

[Ollie 1,059]

And I thought it was just the labels ignoring Williams' music so they could get all this Goldsmith stuff released.

Silly me.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Truthfully I hate Copland Americana. It gets on my nerves extremely fast!

The Music of America set has some good stuff, but if what you want his that Americana sort of stuff, like Feival, I highly recommend this disc...

http://www.amazon.co...75845388&sr=1-1

That's really the big important stuff.

Thanks!

[Wojo 2,453]

I tack this set onto my next big upcoming soundtrack order, whenever that may be. Though the Amazon price ($15 for three discs) is awfully nice. I'm sure I don't have most of what's on this set, so it'd be a no-brainer.

[Ollie 1,059]

I'm still waiting to hear the version of Call Of The Champions he recorded with the LSO. I hope it packs more of a punch than the original.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I wonder why the discounted the Williams set and not the others. Oh well, at least I'll get a $5 refund on that set then.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I'm still waiting to hear the version of Call Of The Champions he recorded with the LSO. I hope it packs more of a punch than the original.

I've never even heard of this. Frankly, I have no qualms with the original track. However, I'm probably one of the few that wants to hear Summon the Heroes re-recorded. That's a piece that could use the LSO. There's something about that track...I just don't like how it sounds. It should sound bigger.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I tack this set onto my next big upcoming soundtrack order, whenever that may be. Though the Amazon price ($15 for three discs) is awfully nice. I'm sure I don't have most of what's on this set, so it'd be a no-brainer.

Hot damn. I didn't realize it was 3 discs, thought it was 2; and with the new price drop, I'm definitely getting this. Pre-order! Thanksya Amazon!