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SPOTLIGHT ON JOHN WILLIAMS: A Prospero Classical CD release featuring new recordings of JW film music

SyncMan

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King Mark
King Mark

I found the track list!!!!   Track 1: The Rise of Skywalker Track2: Fanfare for Michael Dukakis Track 3: Han Solo and the Princess (Revised) Track 4: The Lost World (Revised C

TownerFan
TownerFan

.

Miguel Andrade
Miguel Andrade

Feeling devilish  

Fabulin

Fabulin 3433

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Overall a very nice recording. Imaginative direction with some great timings. Especially the unorthodox 3:05-3:21 section brings out a dance-like quality to that passage that I've never felt before.

 

3 hours ago, Omen II said:

Why is the dinosaur furry?

Welcome to the 21st century!

 

When people create cover art for a release of Wagner's or Tchaikovsky's music, it's always a vision of a different graphic artist. I'm glad to see the same happening with JW.

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Omen II

Omen II 1125

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1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Didn't they have feathers?

 

WRONG!  I have done some further internet research on the matter and it turns out - much to my surprise - that twenty-first century dinosaurs do indeed have fur.

 

EjBDbZ3WoAkRI4k.jpg

 

barney_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBmo3ZBPOSwC7GqR

 

Must go faster!

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Jay

Jay 31058

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Looks like its on some of the European Amazon sites, but not US or CA yet

 

Live:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

 

Not Live:

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

 

 

 

61D6Wa%2BZEeL._AC_SL1200_.jpg

 

71XrPX0Rm5L._AC_SL1200_.jpg

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BB-8

BB-8 1736

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Note the "Limited Edition" stance and the open space on the backside of the cover that seems to be prepared for (handwritten?) copy numbers.

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BB-8

BB-8 1736

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13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Written by William Ross himself.

Or maybe by Anne-Sophie who then would get an appearance.

 

 

13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Written by William Ross himself.

That said, the next editions could be:

 

"Spotlight on William Ross"

"Spotlight on Conrad Pope"

"Spotlight on Herbert W. Spencer"

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Jay

Jay 31058

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It's interesting looking at that back cover art, and seeing how short Disc 2 is compared to Disc 1!


Surely they could have budgeted for another 30 minutes of music to include on disc 2 and would have ended up with a better - and potentially better selling - album than this configuration?

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Tom Guernsey

Tom Guernsey 1439

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2 hours ago, Jay said:

It's interesting looking at that back cover art, and seeing how short Disc 2 is compared to Disc 1!


Surely they could have budgeted for another 30 minutes of music to include on disc 2 and would have ended up with a better and potentially better selling album than this configuration?

 

I refer my right honourable friend to the comments I made some days ago...

 

On 3/14/2021 at 6:13 PM, Tom Guernsey said:

I'm wondering if there aren't some tracks missing on the second disc listing here... the second disc has only slightly more than half as many as the first, and looking at the selections, I can't see those eight tracks would amount to more than 45/50 minutes whereas the first is well over an hour (just rough estimates here). In other words, the remaining 20/25 minutes on disc 2 is pretty much the ideal space for CE3K and ET. Of course, it's all just speculation... ;-)

 

I'm actually surprised that the second disc is even shorter than I guessed. ET and CE3K still feel like ideal tracks to fill the second disc up to an hour or so. Ah well.

 

Having finally given a few tracks a listen, it certainly is well played and recorded. Fine, incisive playing and, from what I can tell, well recorded, although the brass sounds a bit strange at times here and there. The playing is fine, sounds more a recording issue, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I actually wondered if it was compression due to streaming, although I'm set to highest quality (whatever that is on Amazon Music). The rest of the orchestra sounds just great. Not sure if I'm totally sold to buying it given that I have everything there in several iterations but I can see myself being tempted... I'd like to think if this was a success they'd do a Jerry Goldsmith one, or maybe Danny Elfman or James Horner, but I guess nobody sells quite like JW.

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bollemanneke

bollemanneke 2873

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Yeah, so I just did something wrong and had both Nimbus and WW and W playing at the same time. Quite the experience. Anyway, the performances sound really great. They really should record all the HP suites. But damn, I really dislike that POA track's contents. I don't know what JW was thinking.

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May the Force be with You

May the Force be with You 1965

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25 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

But damn, I really dislike that POA track's contents. I don't know what JW was thinking.

This track is particularly weird, it took me a while before starting to like it. I feel like some parts just have been edited by JJ. Abrams!

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Jurassic Shark

Jurassic Shark 9355

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6 hours ago, Jay said:

Looks like its on some of the European Amazon sites, but not US or CA yet

 

Live:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

 

Not Live:

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

 

 

 

61D6Wa%2BZEeL._AC_SL1200_.jpg

 

71XrPX0Rm5L._AC_SL1200_.jpg

 

Ouch, this is gonna get lots of dents during shipping, at least if ordering from amazon!

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lairdo

lairdo 587

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52 minutes ago, carlborg said:

 

Did anyone find the link for the digital purchase they're advertising? 

 

Not sure about the specific link, but Qobuz has it 88 kHz/24 bit.

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/spotlight-on-john-williams-kevin-griffiths-city-light-symphony-orchestra/uiaqsoc5hhaxa

 

Was <$10 with my Sublime membership level. Under $15 without. ($35 at Presto Music which also has it digitally.) The site shows "preorder" but I bought it and was able to download immediately. (It is still Thu Apr 8 where I am.)

 

I don't see it on the Prospero site yet - which is odd since it is well into Friday in Switzerland as I type this.

 

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BB-8

BB-8 1736

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2 hours ago, carlborg said:

Complete album on Spotify: 

Did anyone find the link for the digital purchase they're advertising? 

Sounds like this was produced for ClassicFM (ugly comment).

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MaxTheHouseelf

MaxTheHouseelf 291

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Posted
3 hours ago, carlborg said:

Just found it on HDtracks too: https://www.hdtracks.com/#/album/604b8e86cdf23b2392e8518c - much cheaper than Presto [for the 88 kHz/24-bit it's 21USD on HDtracks vs 32EUR on Presto]. Qobuz isn't available in my region unfortunately.

No liner notes though :(

There's a 20% discount on HDTracks (until 4/12/21) Code: 20HIRESAPR

With discount its $16.78 (from $20.98)

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Jay

Jay 31058

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On 4/7/2021 at 11:02 AM, Jay said:

Looks like its on some of the European Amazon sites, but not US or CA yet

 

Live:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

 

Not Live:

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZW4RJJ6

 

All of these except one are live now, but most with no price / ability to order yet

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TownerFan

TownerFan 4974

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SPOTLIGHT ON JOHN WILLIAMS, the debut album of City Light Symphony Orchestra featuring brand-new recordings of John Williams' classic film compositions, is out today on Prospero Classical.

 

The recording features 21 tracks for a 100-minute musical journey throughout some of John Williams’ movie masterworks including fan-favorites Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic Park, the Harry Potter films, Hook, Superman, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but also The Cowboys, JFK, Catch Me If You Can, Born on the Fourth of July, The Terminal and The Adventures of Tintin. Acclaimed soloists Valentine Michaud, Reinhold Friedrich and Paul Meyer are featured on some of the selections. The album features a world-class performance from the Swiss-based orchestra, led with great enthusiasm by conductorKevin Griffiths, in the spectacular sonics of the KKL Luzern concert hall.

 

Kevin Griffiths sat down with The Legacy of John Williams to present this new album, talking about how the project was put together and how he worked with the City Light Symphony Orchestra to bring out all the marvelous nuances and details of John Williams’ music, with excerpts from the album peppered throughout the conversation. Griffiths also talks about how the audience’s perception of film music has changed throughout the years and reflects on the legacy of Maestro Williams.

 

 

https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2021/04/09/kevin-griffiths-city-light-interview/

 

Since the album is out today, I hope you'll enjoy this sort of companion piece. Kevin Griffiths is a super nice guy and quite knowledgeable about film music and JW. We had a very nice conversation.

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MrJosh

MrJosh 651

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I didn't listen to any of this until now when I downloaded from HDtracks. 

 

Half-way through and really enjoying the sound of the recording and the mixing. It's interesting, it sounds like there is more sub-bass to the basses/ other bass instruments...I can just feel the bass more. 

 

Also, I can hear woodwinds in the mix more on some tracks where they normally are more covered by the rest of the orchestra. This all makes for a really fun listen. 

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lairdo

lairdo 587

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14 hours ago, Jay said:

 

All of these except one are live now, but most with no price / ability to order yet

 

Interestingly, when I click on "all formats," the date shown for the CD is May 21. I saw this on the US and DE sites. (Did not check more of them.)

 

So, perhaps that is a known date they have from Prospero or a guess of availability. 

 

Glad to have the digital version today though as I am enjoying it.

 

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carlborg

carlborg 346

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2 hours ago, lairdo said:

 

Interestingly, when I click on "all formats," the date shown for the CD is May 21.

Maybe that's due to this? (and I hate that this announcement was made on the release day...)

Screenshot_20210410-075710.jpg

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Bayesian

Bayesian 994

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On 4/9/2021 at 5:43 PM, MrJosh said:

I didn't listen to any of this until now when I downloaded from HDtracks. 

 

Half-way through and really enjoying the sound of the recording and the mixing. It's interesting, it sounds like there is more sub-bass to the basses/ other bass instruments...I can just feel the bass more. 

 

Also, I can hear woodwinds in the mix more on some tracks where they normally are more covered by the rest of the orchestra. This all makes for a really fun listen. 

I completely agree; the mix sounds absolutely marvelous. And the playing is utterly precise; the brass have incredible intonation.

 

The Force Awakens suite recorded here, in particular, renewed my appreciation for the quality of themes JW wrote for the sequel trilogy. They all already sound completely timeless, on a par with all the warhorses in his catalog, and they've only been around for 6 years. I know we've already talked elsewhere about how truly incredible Rey's Theme and the Jedi Steps are, but in this recording you can tell that JW didn't just hit a home run here, he bashed that ball onto the fucking freeway. Other composers can only wish they could write like this.

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Jay

Jay 31058

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I'd like to order this on physical CD but you still cannot on Amazon US and Screen Archives doesn't have it up yet either

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Bayesian

Bayesian 994

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3 minutes ago, Jay said:

I'd like to order this on physical CD but you still cannot on Amazon US and Screen Archives doesn't have it up yet either

I know! I really dislike the idea of having to double dip on this just to get the CDs (especially when it seems so avoidable, since CDs are coming eventually). But ultimately this is an album that can justify the extra spend. 

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Tydirium

Tydirium 847

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9 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

I'm not interested in buying any CDs ever, so I happily bought this album from 7digital.  I was disappointed there's no digital booklet.

 

There’s one on iTunes. It’s a great booklet.

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Disco Stu

Disco Stu 15468

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In general, the performances and recording of this album are really spectacular.  The Temple of Doom credits sound amazing!  Little nitpicks I may have had when individual tracks were being drip-fed largely wash away in the experience of listening to the full album, which, despite our wishes that even more obscure choices had been made, is really a wonderful program as a complete listen-through.

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Jay

Jay 31058

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Yea, that's why I waited for the full album after checking out the first one or two tracks released.  Can't wait to experience the whole thing!

 

(still waiting for an active Amazon or Screen Archives link)

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Miguel Andrade

Miguel Andrade 1034

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9 hours ago, Romão said:

Really great to hear extra details and greater emphasis on certain sections of the Tintin Main Titles. It's one great perks of re-recordings

 

I think that one has had a re-recording by the London Music Works (I think that's the name of the ensemble) on a Silva compilation.

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