Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I was replying to your last paragraph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 Oh I getcha. I mean we could list lots of 80s scores that are classics to us, but how many of them were performed in orchestral concerts during the 80s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Nevermind concert performances. To the average Joe, it's radio that matters. Gabriel's oboe has been played to death on radio for as long as I can remember, and is possibly the single most played piece of film music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 JW should have included it on Salute to Hollywood then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondheim 1,157 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I wish they would release a box set of all his work with Philips. I would definitely buy it. The Sony box looks nice, and is definitely on my list. I love a set with all the original jacket covers replicated like that. Otherwise, I would have to buy them all individually. Bespin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 7 hours ago, Jay said: JW should have included it on Salute to Hollywood then! Frankly, I've always found the content of this CD to be a bit strange - it's not what I expect given the title! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 17 hours ago, Jay said: 1986 An American Tail by James Horner Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 What are you confused about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 44 minutes ago, Jay said: What are you confused about? I don't see on which album it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 On 7/14/2020 at 4:32 PM, Jay said: 1986 An American Tail by James Horner On 7/14/2020 at 4:35 PM, Jurassic Shark said: Which album is that on? On 7/14/2020 at 4:38 PM, Jay said: Salute to Hollywood Bespin and Jurassic Shark 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 I know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 I was responding to Bespin, who apparently didn't read the very next post after the one that confused him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 I know! I was trying to make a joke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jay 37,355 Posted July 16, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 16, 2020 You try too hard to make jokes on this forum. Your overall success rate of making people laugh would improve if you posted less often and didn't spread your comedy juice so thinly. Chewy, Bespin, crumbs and 5 others 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 I put a laughing smiley on your post, and still you didn't get it. Registered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Going to start listening to these today. Does anybody know the release date of any of these? Or at least the order they came out? For example, both Pops in Space and Pops on the March came out in 1980. Which one came out first? Anyone know? @TownerFan? @Miguel Andrade? @Bespin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Miguel Andrade 1,263 Posted July 23, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 23, 2020 Pops in Space was the first one. It even came with a sticker saying it was the first Jay, Amer and Falstaft 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 Great! Now what about every other year that two albums came out? For example, digital Overtures and Aisle Seat in 1982. Which came first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80sFan 108 Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 I remember getting this album when it came out and was always amused that the conductor in the picture was a ‘little’ John Williams complete with bald spot… Falstaft and Jay 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,263 Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 I'll be taking some free time from school work tomorrow (what the heck, it's weekend time!!!) and will check all the recording info on my LPs. I have most of the Pops albums on vinyl and maybe they have some additional info. I also have the 5 different releases of Peter and the Wolf, and will check for anything in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 Yea it's crazy how many times Peter and the Wolf was reissued with different cover arts, narrators, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,263 Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 19 minutes ago, Jay said: Yea it's crazy how many times Peter and the Wolf was reissued with different cover arts, narrators, etc. This was a 5-disc release actually. It was something that was done a few times in the 80's and 90's, having multiple narrations in different languages for one same orchestral recording. In the late 90's there was a new release of the Peter and the Wolf piece only, with newly recorded narration in German, coupled with Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals, conducted by André Previn: http://www.jw-collection.de/compilations/peter_dt_rueger.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 On 7/23/2020 at 12:40 PM, Jay said: Going to start listening to these today. Does anybody know the release date of any of these? Or at least the order they came out? For example, both Pops in Space and Pops on the March came out in 1980. Which one came out first? Anyone know? @TownerFan? @Miguel Andrade? @Bespin? Like Miguel said, and it's shown on my website: On 7/24/2020 at 12:46 AM, Jay said: Great! Now what about every other year that two albums came out? For example, digital Overtures and Aisle Seat in 1982. Which came first? You can trust my website about all Philips albums release order, it's a thing I fixed with the help of @Stempel if I remember well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 Huh. There's no indication on your site that those are listed in the same order they came out, I had no idea. Could you add the month of release so it's more obvious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I guess he just used the fact that 328 > 186 to find the correct order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 For a distinct label in a distinct year, the order is always good. But sometimes, I cannot certify at 100% if a Philips release came out before or after a Columbia one, by example. Like I said I remember that @Stempel helped me a lot to correct some releases order in the past years. My discography is a collective effort, made with the expertise of all the greatest jwfans here. 1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said: I guess he just used the fact that 328 > 186 to find the correct order. And no you Stupid Shark (who I normally ignore, except when you post just after me), we can't always relate to the catalog number to correctly set the chronology of releases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 AWW! 39 minutes ago, Bespin said: And no you Beautiful Shark, we can't always relate to the catalog number to correctly set the chronology of releases. How do you set it then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Miguel Andrade 1,263 Posted July 26, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 26, 2020 Here's the info I collected checking the vinyl and Japanese releases as well as numerous compilations featuring some tracks from this albums (new/different info in red): 1980 Williams: Pops in Space (recorded June 1980) 1980 Pops on the March (recorded June 1980) 1981 That's Entertainment (recorded ???) 1981 We Wish You A Merry Christmas (recorded December 1980) 1982 Pops Around The World (Digital Overtures) (recorded June 5-6, 1981) 1982 Aisle Seat (recorded 1982) 1983 Out of This World (recorded June 1983) 1984 On Stage (recorded ???) 1984 With A Song In My Heart (recorded June 1984) 1984/5 Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf / Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (The Nutcracker recorded June 1983; Peter and the Wolf recorded likely in 1983 or 84; narrations recorded likely between 1984/85) 1985 Swing, Swing, Swing (recorded May 18-19, 1984) 1985 America, The Dream Goes On (recorded June 1984) 1986 Bernstein: Bernstein by Boston (recorded June 1-6, 1985; except Candide overture recorded June 5-6, 1981) 1987 Pops in Love (recorded June 1985) 1987 Holst: The Planets (recorded June 1986) 1987 Williams: By Request (Jaws and Olympic Fanfare recorded June 1986; remaining new tracks probably recorded at the same sessions) 1988 Digital Jukebox (recorded June 1987) 1989 Pops Britannia (new tracks recorded May 1987) 1989 Salute to Hollywood (recorded May 18 & June 4, 1988) 1990 Pops à lá Russe (recorded June 4-7, 1988) 1990 Gershwin: Pops by Gershwin (recorded June 16-17, 1989) A few thoughts: It's amazing how information varies from different local releases of the same disc. "Salute to Hollywood" and "Pops à lá Russe" had just generic info (month and year or just year) on the European releases I own. The additional information with full dates (including days) comes from Japanese releases (either releases of the actual album or compilations including tracks from said albums.) "Aisle Seat" and "By Request" dates found in Philips compilations featuring various artists. The "Peter and the Wolf" album is a bit tricky. I do believe it was released in 1984, and maybe some of the other versions (at least the Dutch) came out an year later. On the Dutch release, the Tchaikovsky is stated as being a recording from June 1983 and 1985 for the Prokofiev. In the notes of the English version, there is also a 1985 date after Terry Wogan's signature. Others have no information at all besides the date along the Sound Recording Copyright symbol (always 1984, except the Dutch release). My guess is that Peter and the Wolf was recorded in either in 1983, during the same sessions as The Nutcracker, or in 1984. In the Dutch release the 1983 date might have been meant for all the music, and the 1985 one for the narration (which would make this an year later release.) Or could very well be a typo... I have a reply from an old letter I wrote Philips in the early 90's as well as couple of Philips Catalogs from the 90's and will try to find some more info about the release dates. QuartalHarmony, Falstaft, fommes and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 On 6/17/2020 at 4:48 PM, Jay said: I wish Philips would just put put out a box set of all 19 albums, like Sony did for his run with them. I see that Universal Japan are re-releasing many of JW's Philips albums, so I reckon that makes a box less likely for the time being. https://www.imusic.dk/page/artist/John Williams https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=john+williams&rh=p_n_srvg_2374648051%3A81873051&s=date-desc-rank&dc&__mk_ja_JP=カタカナ&qid=1596701720&rnid=2374648051&ref=sr_nr_p_n_srvg_2374648051_1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jay 37,355 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 18, 2021 I finally got around to taking pics of my collection I'm gonna listen to and post my thoughts on each starting soon! Raiders of the SoundtrArk, Bayesian, mahler3 and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Nice! Too bad with the sun faded spines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 I'm more annoyed that two of them are BMG pressings instead of UPC pressings! And that some of them have gold foil for the "Digital Classics" and some don't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rick 1,157 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Do you have this release as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 Nope. There's an endless slew of compilations Philips put out that all contain nothing more than existing tracks taken from the above albums. Identical mastering every time too, I believe. Some of the new artwork is fun, though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 7 minutes ago, Jay said: I'm more annoyed that two of them are BMG pressings instead of UPC pressings! Is there a quality difference in the printing or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 No, they just don't match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rick 1,157 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Here's all the Philips that I have, I know I'm missing a With a Song in my Heart and Lucky to be Me. Are they worth getting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 Couldn't tell you, I've never heard them before! Dr. Rick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rick 1,157 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 21 minutes ago, Jay said: I'm more annoyed that two of them are BMG pressings instead of UPC pressings! And that some of them have gold foil for the "Digital Classics" and some don't! What I'm annoyed with is when you have them on the shelf and the red banners on the top of the side of the case don't line up with the others exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 Somehow that doesn't annoy me as much as the inconsistent placing of the PHILIPS and DIGITAL on the right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Oh come on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahler3 478 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 14 hours ago, ATXHusker said: I'm missing a With a Song in my Heart and Lucky to be Me. Are they worth getting? Yes, very much worth getting. Particularly showcasing JW’s piano virtuosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,346 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Is this the right thread to ask why Presto Music has Pops Brittannia available for download but not By Request? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Don't look for any reason behind such things. bollemanneke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 The two Jessye Norman albums recorded with JW have been reissued as a 2-CD bargain collection, that's the version I have. I don't listen to them as often as I should...but they're part of the collection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jay 37,355 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 23, 2021 Pops In Space (1980) And the series is off to a terrific start! Williams kicks of his run with an album of his own compositions, smartly centered around a space theme as 4 of his biggest hits at the time (CE3K, Star Wars, Superman, and TESB) all had connections to it. While I do think its a very good album overall, I think the first half of the album is much stronger than the second. The Superman March is a brilliant album and series opener, and this is a terrific rendition; Only two years after this arrangement was created for the OST album by editing together the recording of the original Main Title with the recording of the End Credits, we get a cohesive recording of that arrangement under Williams' baton and it sounds really good. The Love Theme from Superman always sounds great and this is no exception. The way its lovely ending leads into the quieter concert opening of The Asteroid Field from TESB is terrific! I always loved this arrangement (I believe I first heard it on the Gerhardt TESB album) and it's nice to get a nice quality recording of it under Williams' baton not too long after the original film cue would have been recorded. Did this album come out before or after Gerhardts? Yoda's Theme is really nice too. The Imperial March, however, while fine, is nothing remarkable - it loses a lot of its "power" compared to the original recording I believe, something none of the other recordings on this disc lose - and this is especially notably compared to the Gerhardt album, where he arguably gave th piece even more power! Then things get kinda weird where we now go into the Main Theme from Star Wars, which again was the Main Title recording edited together with the End Title recording on its OST album, but is a cohesive performance here. But like The Imperial March, it somewhat loses some of its original oomph. Maybe the Pops players were already sick of playing it after 3 years? Anyway, it is kind of weird to get the main theme arrangement here at this point in the album. I wish he had done Han Solo and the Princess, Here They Come, or The Last Battle instead! Leia's Theme is next, and sounds fine - but any version of that is always pretty great. Finally we end with the Close Encounters Suite, which is notable for giving us the intended end credits with the When You Wish Upon A Star interpolation, after it had been edited out of the original OST album. It would be another year before we got to hear Williams' original recording of it within the Special Edition release of the film in 1981, and almost 2 decades until we got it clean on CD. Anyway, I tend to enjoy any performances or any of the various suites, and enjoy noticing the differences, like most notably the choir is always different. I liked the choir here. This is a nice album closer. The packaging for this is kinda funny. All lower case track titles (other than the first word and "Leia") on the back cover, back cover of the booklet, and disc itself. I do enjoy the cover picture showing Williams conducting on a spaceship. The blurb on the inside of the CD edition is clearly not something taken directly from the original vinyl since it mentions later scores. Oh, and something I found amusing: When I put it in my CD player, it displayed a time of EXACTLY 40:00. This can't be a coincidence, it must have been intentional, no? Overall, a great start here! Bayesian, Andy, Jurassic Shark and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 Pops On The March (1980) Well, I don't have too much to say about this one, really. I find it to be a bit of a curious choice for their second album. It's 41 1/2 minutes of marches. Yep, that's it. Maybe those with more musical education than me would find intriguing differences between how these are all constructed, but I personally didn't find much to enjoy here even after 4 listens. There's two exceptions to this. First is The Midway March by Williams, which I've always loved (not sure when I first heard it, actually). It must have been nice for fans of the movie to get this since that film had no OST album (there was a single release of the two Marches from the film, but I understand that was pretty rare). It sounds good here! Second is Conquest by Alfred Newman, from his score to Captain from Castile. That was pretty cool tool, and a fun album ender. The packaging is better, with no more weird lowercase issues, and George Korngold getting credited this time. The cover art is pretty clever, too! It's interesting to see this was recorded the same month as Pops in Space. They probably banged out both albums in one weekend! The performance and recording is pretty even between both albums, the first one is just full of terrific compositions and the second album is just... marches. Onward to 1981! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 49 minutes ago, Jay said: Second is Conquest by Alfred Newman, from his score to Captain from Castile. That was pretty cool tool, and a fun album ender. Indeed a great piece of music. You should check out the entire score, currently available from Kritzerland. The Elgar, Walton, and Gershwin pieces are classics and rightly so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,355 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 That's Entertainment! (1981) Now this is a way for me to appreciate the great work that's been done for the world of stage musicals - take out all the singing and turn them into orchestral arrangements I really enjoyed pretty much the whole album here. That's Entertainment is oddly the track I probably connected to least - It really left no impression on me even after 4 listens. Excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof is really great! The memorable melodies really shine through and are fantastically arranged and performed here. It's funny how I just instinctively knew a lot of these melodies when I first heard this track (this was last summer, well before my recent venture into the Fiddler on the Roof EMI album a few weeks ago). A lot of these have really remained in pop culture, like "If I Were a Rich Man" on Seinfeld and in that Gwen Stefani song, "Tradition!" on Friends, "Sunrise Sunset" in Addams Family Values, etc. If I'm not mistaken, when I was in elementary school we even sang "Matchmaker Matchmaker" in chorus. The violin playing is great too. Really fun track! Selections from A Little Night Music - heh, I first heard this arrangement last spring when that 1980 Boston Pops concert re-aired on my local PBS channel and we watched it. I thought I didn't know this music at at all, until the "Send in the Clowns" part happened and we both recognized that. Do I know it just from The Simpsons or somewhere else? This is another nice track, lovely, warm arrangement. I've appreciated it more with each listen. Richard Rodgers Waltzes - This is the other track along with the first that are easily the least interesting tracks for me. I don't have anything to say about it! It didn't leave any impression either. Pops on Broadway - Another fun track - I found myself instantly recognizing One Singular Sensation, Tomorrow from Annie, and Don't Cry For Me Argentina despite never chosen to listen to any of those shows before or anything - more pop culture invasions. They all sound good, especially Argentina. Selections from Gigi - A pretty nice track of lovely music. I recognized the final song from Pink Panther! Overall, a nice album that I think finally gets to the "pops" part of things - Incredibly recognizable music played with great panache by the orchestra. I also like how much variety we've gotten 3 albums in - they are all so different from each other! Kind of nice to get a photograph of Williams on the front cover now instead of just artistic interpretations. Also, this is the first of my copies that have gold embossing on the "Digital Classics" logo on the top. Did that start with this album, or did I get later reprints of the 1980 albums that didn't use it? The track titles - or rather, the individual parts listed as being inside each title - are back to being all lowercase except for the first letter and people's names, which is odd. George Korngold is credited again, and my copy mentions its been mastered by SOUNDSTREAM INC. Does everybody's copy say that? The inside booklet finally has more than just 2 pages of info, including nice clean logos of some of the musicals represented (not sure how they chose these 6 logos out of the 12 musicals represented. So, not my favorite of the albums, but a clear and easy second place after Pops in Space, and ahead of the marches album. It doesn't necessarily compel me to go seek out any Broadway shows to listen to, but it does increase my appreciation of the artform, which is theoretically one of the goals of making an album like this. This is also the first album in the series to not feature any Williams compositions at all. Looking ahead, the other 1981 album doesn't either. This may be a bit surprising after the smash hit of Raiders in 1981 not to mention the plethora of older Williams hits not represented yet (like Jaws, Cowboys, Dracula, 1941, and his disaster scores), but I guess it was never meant to be a series that focused only on film music, as the first 3 albums being so completely different from each other in terms of content. We'll resume with We Wish You A Merry Christmas later in the week! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,072 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 7 minutes ago, Jay said: Did that start with this album, or did I get later reprints of the 1980 albums that didn't use it? Many Philips reprints omit this golden line. I guess golden ink isn't something every plant offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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