La-La Land announces Home Alone (Complete)

[fommes 153]

Indeed. The "Drug Store" cue might be my favourite new cue, and the segue is really exciting. On par with many of the great segues in Temple of Doom, for sure.

[Josh500 1,615]

One part I absolutely LOVE is the segue from "Drug Store" to "Escape On The Ice". Its brilliant!! I love when JW composes two cues to blend together like that. "Escape On The Ice" always sounded fine on the OST starting independently, but when you listen to it including the buildup in "Drug Store" it's just even better!

Man, can't wait to hear that!

"Man of the House" is already one of my favorite cues...

[TownerFan 4,983]

Also, I just read the liner notes - that connection between Carol of the Bells and Dies Iraes and their connection with Marcel is really cool. I want to rewatch that scene to see exactly where Carol of the Bells kicks in. Things like this strengthen my admiration for Williams.

I always loved the way Williams linked "Carol of the Bells" and the subsequent cue ("Setting the Trap"), as it seems to "born out" of the classic carol. Great stuff.

It's also quite curious the pop beat Williams used for that cue, it's quite unusual for him. I'd love to hear a drum-less take of that cue.

[Josh500 1,615]

It's also quite curious the pop beat Williams used for that cue, it's quite unusual for him. I'd love to hear a drum-less take of that cue.

Well, the drum-less version would be pretty much "Star of Bethlehem," with a bit of additional music, wouldn't it?

But anyway, "Setting the Trap" is one of the most awesome cues JW has ever written, I think. I love everything about it, including the drums.

If not for this music, the entire sequence would be just silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, with none of the urgency and excitement.

[Bellosh 3,415]

Never really noticed this until now...

We Wish You A Merry Christmas/End Title

:14 reminds me of the transitions in the Stars Wars end titles!! Badass.

[stewdog1 50]

I'm really on the fence about this one. I have the OST. Is this version that much better? I just ordered STV, Conan, & Narnia the other day, so with other xmas presents it makes it difficult to slip this one in. Hmmm...

[ZackR 95]

I love this disc. Easily my personal favorite of the year.

Then again, I've always had a sentimental attachment to Home Alone.

I've listened to the entire thing five or six times since I received it.

Love it, love it, love it!

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

yay! i got it

now waiting for family plot!

[Andy 4,119]

Wow... just happened upon this at work today! Lorrie Morgan, Up On Santa Claus Mountain. Go to 2:00 in! Sound familiar?

Anybody know the story to that?

[Ollie 1,059]

A case of temp tracking? The song is dated 1993.

[Andy 4,119]

Interesting nonetheless.

[TownerFan 4,983]

But anyway, "Setting the Trap" is one of the most awesome cues JW has ever written, I think. I love everything about it, including the drums.

If not for this music, the entire sequence would be just silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, with none of the urgency and excitement.

I love the little fugue segment which underscores Kevin setting up his plan--it seems Williams likes to associate human intellect at work with fugal writing (see also the "Building the Cage" cue in Jaws), a brilliant choice as the fugue is probably the most complex structure of music writing.

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

I always loved the way Williams linked "Carol of the Bells" and the subsequent cue ("Setting the Trap"), as it seems to "born out" of the classic carol. Great stuff.

Yes. And the original album sequencing completely hides that. I never noticed it until I re-watched the film someday. Imagine my surprise!

Well, the drum-less version would be pretty much "Star of Bethlehem," with a bit of additional music, wouldn't it?

But SoB isn't based on Carol of the Bells.

[Hlao-roo 389]

If not for this music, the entire sequence would be just silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, with none of the urgency and excitement.

If not for silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, the entire sequence would be just John Williams fiddling around with the orchestra.

[Josh500 1,615]

I always loved the way Williams linked "Carol of the Bells" and the subsequent cue ("Setting the Trap"), as it seems to "born out" of the classic carol. Great stuff.

Yes. And the original album sequencing completely hides that. I never noticed it until I re-watched the film someday. Imagine my surprise!

Well, the drum-less version would be pretty much "Star of Bethlehem," with a bit of additional music, wouldn't it?

But SoB isn't based on Carol of the Bells.

SoB? You mean, son of a...

Anyway, I never said that. Setting the Trap is based mainly on Star of Bethlehem.

[crocodile 8,000]

It's essentially based on both of them. Why not?

Karol - still waiting for his copy

[Josh500 1,615]

I love the little fugue segment which underscores Kevin setting up his plan--it seems Williams likes to associate human intellect at work with fugal writing (see also the "Building the Cage" cue in Jaws), a brilliant choice as the fugue is probably the most complex structure of music writing.

Agreed!

But my favorite part has always been what comes after the fugue. 1:10 - 1:50 or so. This section is freaking brilliant, it takes my breath away.

[Trent B 337]

I like both Home Alone scores, however, Michael Arlidge from FSM said this best in regards for Home Alone 2.

My vote goes to "Home Alone 2". It contains reprises of all the thematic material from the first film's score, plus numerous themes written specifically for the film.

I agree with him on this statement.

[Jay 37,346]

If not for this music, the entire sequence would be just silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, with none of the urgency and excitement.

If not for silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, the entire sequence would be just John Williams fiddling around with the orchestra.

[Josh500 1,615]

Never really noticed this until now...

We Wish You A Merry Christmas/End Title

:14 reminds me of the transitions in the Stars Wars end titles!! Badass.

Never made that connection before!

But yeah, maybe the ending of TPM, with the choir and all...

It's essentially based on both of them. Why not?

Karol - still waiting for his copy

Hmmm, I never thought Setting the Trap was based (even partly) on Carol of the Bells. I just don't hear it.

Maybe inspired, but it's definitely not based.

If not for this music, the entire sequence would be just silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, with none of the urgency and excitement.

If not for silly Kevin at home doing some silly stuff, the entire sequence would be just John Williams fiddling around with the orchestra.

Thanks Kevin!

[filmmusic 1,826]

By the way:

(to whoever got the cd already and read the liner notes):

Does it say what is the "Christmas Carol medley"?

If it was going to be used somewhere in the film? because it didn't apparently..

[crocodile 8,000]

It's essentially based on both of them. Why not?

Karol - still waiting for his copy

Hmmm, I never thought Setting the Trap was based (even partly) on Carol of the Bells. I just don't hear it.

Maybe inspired, but it's definitely not based.

So what's playing at around 0:08 into the track then? I didn't say this is a big deal, but it is definitely there. And much more recognizable than something like, say, The Nativity Story by Mychael Danna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXokqUiWdeI&p=5FA308A3CA09188C

Karol

[Josh500 1,615]

So what's playing at around 0:08 into the track then?

The sequence of the first 4 or 5 notes is the same (or similar), granted, but JW takes this immediately into an entirely different direction...

Like I said, maybe it was inspired by Carol, but to say it's based on it is ridiculous.

[Frank Vincent 234]

Does it say what is the "Christmas Carol medley"?

If it was going to be used somewhere in the film? because it didn't apparently..

The "Christmas Carol Medley" consists of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (not used in the film), "The First Noël" (used in the at Orly Airport as Kate engages in a ticket swap), "Joy to the World" (used in the scene at Scranton airport), "Deck the Halls" (used in the scene at Scranton airport where Kate talks to Gus Polinski), "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (used in the scene where Kevin checks out at the supermarket) and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (unused).

[crocodile 8,000]

So what's playing at around 0:08 into the track then?

The sequence of those 4 or 5 notes are the same (or similar), granted, but JW takes this immediately into an entirely different direction...

Like I said, maybe it was inspired by Carol, but to say it's based on it is ridiculous.

Why ridiculous? This is a Christmas movie.

Karol

[Incanus 5,714]

The ostinato figure from Carol of Bells is very clearly part of the Setting the Trap. I think I made that connection quite soon after I bought the original album. It is not like you have to dig it out of there as it is quite obvious. A deft and brilliant move from Williams as you guys have said above.

[Trent B 337]

By the way:

(to whoever got the cd already and read the liner notes):

Does it say what is the "Christmas Carol medley"?

If it was going to be used somewhere in the film? because it didn't apparently..

Here's what the booklet says.

Christmas Carol Medley (track 32) consist of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (known as "Adest Fidelis" and attributed to John Francis Wade, not used in the film), 'The First Noel" (English carol given a French flavor and used in a scene at Orly Airport as Kate engages in a ticket swap), "Joy to the World" (a tune entitled "Antioch" attributed to an arrangement by Lowell Mason based on the phrases from "Handel's Messiah, used in the Scranton sequence), "Deck the Hall" (a Welsh carol with origins as a parlor game, also heard during the Scranton scene as Kate speaks with Polinski), "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" (a German carol with a tune from Mendelssohn's Gutenberg Cantata, heard as Kevin checks out at the supermarket) and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (unused, an arrangement of the American tune "Carol" by Richard Storrs Willis).

Edit: It seems Frank and I were posting at the same time.

[filmmusic 1,826]

Does it say what is the "Christmas Carol medley"?

If it was going to be used somewhere in the film? because it didn't apparently..

The "Christmas Carol Medley" consists of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (not used in the film), "The First Noël" (used in the at Orly Airport as Kate engages in a ticket swap), "Joy to the World" (used in the scene at Scranton airport), "Deck the Halls" (used in the scene at Scranton airport where Kate talks to Gus Polinski), "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (used in the scene where Kevin checks out at the supermarket) and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (unused).

Oh, thank you very much!

[Datameister 2,041]

By the way:

(to whoever got the cd already and read the liner notes):

Does it say what is the "Christmas Carol medley"?

If it was going to be used somewhere in the film? because it didn't apparently..

According to the liner notes, these were selected by Williams for use as source music and orchestrated by Angela Morley. Apparently, "O Come, All Ye Faithful" is the only one that wasn't used in the film. EDIT: Haha, wow. Beaten to the punch much?

[crocodile 8,000]

The ostinato figure from Carol of Bells is very clearly part of the Setting the Trap. I think I made that connection quite soon after I bought the original album. It is not like you have to dig it out of there as it is quite obvious. A deft and brilliant move from Williams as you guys have said above.

But the most amazing variations on this carol appear in the Turbulence by Shirley Walker. I wasn't aware of that until I listened to FSM Podcast, which discussed some of the examples (Home Alone included). I hope this score gets a proper release someday.

Karol - who misses greatly these podcasts.

[Josh500 1,615]

The ostinato figure from Carol of Bells is very clearly part of the Setting the Trap. I think I made that connection quite soon after I bought the original album. It is not like you have to dig it out of there as it is quite obvious. A deft and brilliant move from Williams as you guys have said above.

OK listened to it again, and as I see it, the similarity lasts for exactly 2 seconds... 0:07-0:08. And JW probably did this to create a smooth segue from the piece that comes before.

The 0:16 -0:21 part doesn't even sound like Carol anymore, IMO. Maybe the chords are similar, but that's it.

So to say that the entire piece "Setting the Trap" with Star of Bethlehem, the fugue, etc. is based on "Carol of the Bells" is quite ridiculous.

By the way:

(to whoever got the cd already and read the liner notes):

Does it say what is the "Christmas Carol medley"?

If it was going to be used somewhere in the film? because it didn't apparently..

Here's what the booklet says.

Christmas Carol Medley (track 32) consist of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (known as "Adest Fidelis" and attributed to John Francis Wade, not used in the film), 'The First Noel" (English carol given a French flavor and used in a scene at Orly Airport as Kate engages in a ticket swap), "Joy to the World" (a tune entitled "Antioch" attributed to an arrangement by Lowell Mason based on the phrases from "Handel's Messiah, used in the Scranton sequence), "Deck the Hall" (a Welsh carol with origins as a parlor game, also heard during the Scranton scene as Kate speaks with Polinski), "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" (a German carol with a tune from Mendelssohn's Gutenberg Cantata, heard as Kevin checks out at the supermarket) and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (unused, an arrangement of the American tune "Carol" by Richard Storrs Willis).

Edit: It seems Frank and I were posting at the same time.

This reminds me... anybody have the BPO album Joy to the World?

The first track "A Christmas Festival" includes almost the same songs... along with Jingle Bells at the end.

[Frank Vincent 234]

So to say that the entire piece "Setting the Trap" with Star of Bethlehem, the fugue, etc. is based on "Carol of the Bells" is quite ridiculous.

According to the booklet "Setting the Trap" is scored with a fugue (with backbeat) spinning off "Carol of the Bells" and based on "Star of Bethlehem".

[indy4 155]

Yeah, the opening of the cue is the only really obvious reference to "Carol" but I hear it throughout. Like, for instance, that part where the drums drop out and there's that string fugue - that part seems to be based loosely on "Carol."

I think my favorite part of the piece is the ascending woodwind lick followed by the flute hits...just brilliant.

[King Mark 3,631]

what I don;t like about it is the "pop" beat

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

So to say that the entire piece "Setting the Trap" with Star of Bethlehem, the fugue, etc. is based on "Carol of the Bells" is quite ridiculous.

Nobody has been saying something about "the entire piece", but it's clear, especially when playing them back to back (as they appear in the movie) that the rhythmic idea for the fugue is derived from the carol. If you want to pick a fight and cry ridiculous, I refer you to your statement that taking the drums out would reduce the piece to a mere copy of Star of Bethlehem. It clearly takes its main thematic material from that song, but it's also clearly very much a piece of its own. Which I think is all we've been saying all along.

[indy4 155]

what I don;t like about it is the "pop" beat

That's actually one of my favorite parts of the cue. Not sure why, that type of stuff often bothers me, but I think it sounds really cool here.

[Josh500 1,615]

So to say that the entire piece "Setting the Trap" with Star of Bethlehem, the fugue, etc. is based on "Carol of the Bells" is quite ridiculous.

Nobody has been saying something about "the entire piece", but it's clear, especially when playing them back to back (as they appear in the movie) that the rhythmic idea for the fugue is derived from the carol. If you want to pick a fight and cry ridiculous, I refer you to your statement that taking the drums out would reduce the piece to a mere copy of Star of Bethlehem. It clearly takes its main thematic material from that song, but it's also clearly very much a piece of its own. Which I think is all we've been saying all along.

Sure, I agree, and that's what I've been saying all along, too.

The first section might--and probably is--inspired by CotB. Certainly not the whole piece, however.

I refer you to your statement that taking the drums out would reduce the piece to a mere copy of Star of Bethlehem.

I never said that, did I? StT is based in large part on "Star of Bethlehem," but there is a lot of additional music too. "Making the Plane" and "Holiday Flight" are based (in large part) on that Tchaikovsky piece, but StT is NOT based in large part on "Carol of the Bells."

[TownerFan 4,983]

This score reminds me a very funny story in my early days of soundtrack collecting.

I was just 12-13 back then and, after I saw the film in theater, I began my search for the soundtrack album. I phoned almost all record stores here in Milano and apparently nobody had the OST in their catalogue. I started to get really mad at this! Remember, those were the pre-internet days... where if you want a record, you HAD to go out and buy it in a record store. I visited several record shops, but still the OST was nowhere to be found. I still remember the faces of various clerks when I was asking "Do you have the soundtrack album of Home Alone?". The thing was even more embarassing for me because the film here in Italy was dubbed with a very silly title (something like Mom, I missed the plane!). So you can imagine the looks of these clerks seeing a 12-year old kid asking for such a thing I remember one clerk saying to me "Are you really sure you're looking for THAT?". And another one wanted to convince me to buy a record of Dirty Dancing instead! Oh, boy...

In the end, I resigned that the album was impossible to find. After several months, a Virgin Megastore opened in the city's downtown and, much to my surprise, I finally found the Home Alone soundtrack... but only on cassette! When I saw it, I immediately grabbed it saying "Yes!". I searched for the CD, but it wasn't there. Well, better a cassette than nothing, I said to myself. I literally listened to that cassette hundreds of times... until the point it wasn't listenable anymore. A few years after I bought the CD, which began to appear everywhere (as another proof of the Murphy's Law).

So it's really nice to have this little gem in a beautiful expanded treatment. It makes me aware once more how much obsessed I was with John Williams' music... as I am still today.

[Josh500 1,615]

Nice story, Maurizio. We've come a long way since 1990!

I first became a John Williams fan only 4 years later, right after I saw Jurassic Park and Schindler's List in the theater.

By the way, in Italy Home Alone was called Mamma, ho perso l'aereo!

[crocodile 8,000]

The literal translation of the Polish title would be "Kevin Alone at Home". Something like that.

Karol

[TownerFan 4,983]

I first became a John Williams fan only 4 years later, right after I saw Jurassic Park and Schindler's List in the theater.

I was already well aware of JW in 1990. My obsession started when I was 4-years old actually

By the way, in Italy Home Alone was called Mamma, ho perso l'aereo!

Yes, which can be translated as Mom, I missed the plane.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

in castillian it a very straight translation, amazingly.

in latin spanish though its something like 'my poor sweetheart'.

[stuttersteps 1]

I thoroughly enjoyed the score to Home Alone 2 when it came out. After immersing myself in the original, when HA2 was released the new variations on the themes (esp Setting/Preparing the Trap) was incredible to hear.

I was wondering: Which version of Holiday Flight do people prefer? The original descending one from the first or the quick ascending triplet from the second?

Incidently, does anyone have any insight into why Williams "modified" the piece? He recorded the latter version w/ the Boston Pops in the Joy to the World album also released in 92.

[Henry B 50]

I was wondering: Which version of Holiday Flight do people prefer? The original descending one from the first or the quick ascending triplet from the second?

The jazzy, alternative version.

[Sandor 797]

Mine arrived today...! Yeah. :cool:

CD case was pretty damaged though. That's a new thing for me.

[Josh500 1,615]

Mine arrived today...! Yeah. :cool:

CD case was pretty damaged though. That's a new thing for me.

Well, as long as the CD is okay... still annoying, though!

I was wondering: Which version of Holiday Flight do people prefer? The original descending one from the first or the quick ascending triplet from the second?

First.

[Maglorfin 196]

I always loved the way Williams linked "Carol of the Bells" and the subsequent cue ("Setting the Trap"), as it seems to "born out" of the classic carol. Great stuff.

I couldn't agree more. But this is not "resurrected" on this new edition, right?

I remember one clerk saying to me "Are you really sure you're looking for THAT?". And another one wanted to convince me to buy a record of Dirty Dancing instead! Oh, boy...

HAHA LOL Like I once asked in a local record store many years ago: "Do you have any Star Wars soundtracks?" and got the answer: "Lemme see ... wait ... no, but we've got something called Star Trek here - it's the same, ain't it?"

[Datameister 2,041]

I always loved the way Williams linked "Carol of the Bells" and the subsequent cue ("Setting the Trap"), as it seems to "born out" of the classic carol. Great stuff.

I couldn't agree more. But this is not "resurrected" on this new edition, right?

"Carol of the Bells" is in there!

[jacksparrow900 32]

does anyone have a complete track list of all the music heard in home alone in order. I've listen to the expanded they even have the music heard at the airport

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I was wondering: Which version of Holiday Flight do people prefer? The original descending one from the first or the quick ascending triplet from the second?

Both versions equally.