John Williams & Boston Pops Orchestra - Complete Philips Recordings (NEW 2022 21-CD boxset)

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Exactly

[Bespin 8,483]

The missing part was lost in the battle.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

So, the track should rather be named "attlestar Galactica".

[Andy 4,138]

I am listening in order.  I'm up to Peter and the Wolf so far.  The box set is just okay for me.  Grateful to have it, but I'm finding that unless it's Williams' compositions, there isn't much that has grabbed me.  I'm not a classical music listener, so I am hoping for more exposure and education, but I'm not sure the Pops style orchestra is the best way for that, despite being under Williams' baton.  

 

But, I'm less than halfway through, so maybe the best is yet to be discovered.  Oh well, still enjoying the journey.

 

I may find more to like in the Sony box(?)

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I enjoy the very specific character of an American pops orchestra album.  Kitschy yet tastefully and professionally performed, well-crafted light music from an actual standing orchestra (meaning not just a bunch of studio freelancers brought together for a single project).  Their bread and butter was the corny themed concept album.  That kinda thing is definitely not for everyone.   A genre spearheaded by Fiedler and Kostelanetz, kept alive by Williams and Kunzel, but had basically died by the 2000s.  John Morris Russell has been pretty much the only one keeping it alive with his albums put out in the 2010s (https://www.discogs.com/artist/978126-Cincinnati-Pops-Orchestra?query=john morris russell).  I hope he keeps releasing albums this decade.  Lockhart has put out albums here and there over the last 25 years, but fewer and farther between.

[Bespin 8,483]

The main purpose of the "Pops" was to bring the orchestral music to the "population"... to make it more "accessible".

 

It means Classical Music, military music, traditional music from different countries, film music, music for the stage, jazz, swing, ballroom, name it.

 

I always found that despite the efforts made to make "concept albums", some albums recorded by John Williams with the Pops... remained for the most part... candy-mixes.

 

There's maybe a more satifying way to listen to all this material today, than to listen to each album one after the other...

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'm saying for me it's all meant to be enjoyed somewhat ironically, but in a sincere way if that makes sense?  Embrace the cheese!

[Bespin 8,483]

In 1998, Reader's Digest gave us a hint of another approach to listen to some of the material from the Philips era...

 

The Very Best of John Williams and the Boston Pops (1998, Reader's Digest, I-21-179, Compilation; Boston Pops O/Williams)

CD 1 - AMERICA, THE DREAM GOES ON: Liberty Fanfare; America The Beautiful; This Land Is Your Land; Richard Rodgers' Waltzes (Lover / Falling In Love With Love / Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' / It's A Grand Night For Singing); March From Superman; Fanfare For The Common Man; America, The Dream Goes On; Hoedown From Rodeo; Seventy-Six Trombones; THE POPS PLAY A MOVIE SPECTACULAR: Theme From A Summer Place; Singin' In The Rain; Over The Rainbow; The Trolley Song; Somewhere Out There; March From Raiders of the Lost Ark; A Salute To Fred Astaire (Top Hat, White Tie And Tails / The Carioca / Dancing In The Dark / I Won't Dance / The Continental); Theme From 2001, A Space Odyssey (Also Sprach Zarathustra); Theme From New York, New York; CD 2  - QUIET NIGHT... WITH THE POPS: Fantasia on "Greensleeves"; Theme from Out Of Africa; Clair de Lune; Adagio For Strings And Organ; STARLIGHT SWING... WITH THE POPS: Sleepy Lagoon; A String Of Pearls; Begin The Beguine; Song Of India; Sing, Sing, Sing; THE POPS ON BROADWAY: Sophisticated Ladies - A Tribute to Duke Ellington (Sophisticated Lady / Take the "A" Train / Mood Indigo / It Don't Mean a Thing [If It Ain't Got That Swing]); Memory; There's No Business Like Show Business; Slaughter On Tenth Avenue; Overture To A Chorus Line; CD 3 - THE POPS SALUTE ALL-TIME POPULAR FAVORITES: Ebb Tide; More; Here You Come Again; Unchained Melody; The Girl from Ipanema; Theme from Summer Of '42 (The Summer Knows); Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love); Where Is Your Heart? (The Song from Moulin Rouge); Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing; THE POPS AROUND THE WORLD: Never On Sunday; La Bamba; Irish Tune From Country Derry (Danny Boy); American Medley (New York, New York / Lonely Town / America); Tuxedo Junction; Fiddler on the Roof Medley (If I Were a Rich Man / To Life / Miracle of Miracles / Sunrise, Sunset / Matchmaker, Matchmaker / Tradition); Ciribiribin; CD 4 - POPS... GO THE CLASSICS: Rhapsody In Blue; Pavane; Orb And Sceptre (Coronation March); The Swan; A POPS TRIBUTE TO GERSHWIN: An American In Paris; MARCHING WITH THE POPS: St. Louis Blues March; Under The Double Eagle; American Salute (When Johnny Comes Marching Home); Strike Up The Band.

 

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

27 minutes ago, Andy said:

I may find more to like in the Sony box(?)

I think there are more Williams works in those so at least that part is better.

[Andy 4,138]

8 minutes ago, Bespin said:

In 1998, Reader's Digest gave us a hint of another approach to listen to some of the material from the Phillips era...

 

The Very Best of John Williams and the Boston Pops (1998, Reader's Digest, I-21-179, Compilation; Boston Pops O/Williams)

 

 

 

I have this!  It's collecting dust on my shelf.  I'll give it a listen as an addendum.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

That cover reminds me of he scene 'John Williams must be rolling in his grave' from the Simpsons

[Andy 4,138]

"They're butchering the classics!"

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The clip 

 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=555044311721305

[Andy 4,138]

Upon @Bespin's reminder of the Reader's Digest BPO set, I dug mine out for the first time in years.  I had to laugh... how appropriate that the Reader's Digest booklet is (like the magazine namesake) teeny tiny sized!   But... it's actually pretty packed with content (48 pages) , and liner notes for each track, a step above the Decca booklet!  I've posted a few pics below in spoiler tags. 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

On 18/03/2022 at 11:11 AM, Disco Stu said:

I'm saying for me it's all meant to be enjoyed somewhat ironically, but in a sincere way if that makes sense?  Embrace the cheese!

 

Oh yes, you have to take it in with a grain of ... something.  There is a cheese to it, and yet as you mentioned a sincerity to be unabashedly entertaining.  It doesn't always work for me, but sometimes you just need to smile with some lighter fare.  Actually, @Bespin and @Disco Stu, your perspective is helping me put my listening in context as I continue to march forward through the box set.  I'm up to the first Jessye Norman album.  I'll post my thoughts after I finish the second.

[Bespin 8,483]

Another way to listen to some of the "space" themed cues of the Philips years:

 

(in Japan, 1 hour 21 minutes of music, I love those Japs!)

 

(Don't know why they removed the two Superman tracks from this one, it could have been an almost "perfect" compilation then!)

[Andy 4,138]

The obsessive nerd that I am wonders if that second one from Decca succeeded in fixing the Battlestar Galactica track. 

[Bespin 8,483]

I think it has been truncated a bit, like on the new boxset.

 

You know this piece starts with a rumble drum, we talk about a fraction of millisecond that is perhaps missing... Frankly, with the fade-in they added, it's unnoticeable.

 

[Andy 4,138]

Oh yes, I'm certain any new listeners wouldn't even notice.  I'm hyper focused on it because of years of mild frustration with the indexing error on the cue.  It's more my hang-up than anything else.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

Anyway, it is not a good version of the piece.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

The whole album is pretty badly performed.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Pops in Love. I love the renditions of Albinoni's Adagio and Pachelbel's canon!

[Bespin 8,483]

Very nice escalator music indeed!

[mahler3 478]

It’s definitely not badly performed!

 

Personally speaking the BPO Star Wars selections I listen to the least due to the overly bright sound. There’s very little bass which is a combination of the natural Symphony Hall acoustic and recording technique. The timpani in particular is too soft in moments it needs to be “bigger” (Forest Battle / final bars of SW Main Theme).

 

The quieter cues like Yoda and Luke & Leia work better for me.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

1 hour ago, mahler3 said:

It’s definitely not badly performed!

 

I mainly meant interpreted.

[GerateWohl 4,370]

I said it before. The brass is too quiet. The percussion too loud. attlestar Galactica is basically a fanfare, but the brass is somewhere in the background. At the Jabba The Hutt piece you wouldn't believe that this is a piece for solo tuba and orchestra, because the tuba sounds so quiet somewhere in the background as well. The performance of each individual instrument might be good, but the mix is terrible.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

They could have mixed more.

 

We need a remix by Junkie XL.

[Andy 4,138]

The loud percussion on Battlestar is what endears it to me as a Pops recording.   If I had a choice, sure I'd give the brass a bit more, but it is still rock solid. 

 

That Star Trek the Motion Picture performance on the other hand...

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'll say something nice about the TMP performance, or at least the mix.  I've always weirdly liked how clear the piano is in the right channel, gives that particular recording its own character.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

39 minutes ago, Andy said:

That Star Trek the Motion Picture performance on the other hand...

That performance is exactly as slow as the film deserves.

[Bespin 8,483]

If you still want to know the "highlights" of the Philips boxset, there is also this 2012 2-CD compilation which features some of the best "well-known" non-JW recordings on Philips.

 

https://www.discogs.com/release/12101172-John-Williams-4-The-Boston-Pops-Orchestra-A-Celebration

[Andy 4,138]

I'm in the middle of my listening (up to Pops in Love).  Jay's reviews of the individual discs are terrific, but I'll just say in general I really need original Williams compositions to be fully invested.  I was hoping to get a more "classical" education, and I suppose I have, but I'm not finding incredible replay value here.  

 

I'm glad I got the box set, because if I bought individual discs piecemeal, a lackluster album would diminish my buying momentum to complete the collection.  

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Pops a la Russe. some great tracks!

[Jay 37,368]

3 minutes ago, Andy said:

in general I really need original Williams compositions to be fully invested.  I was hoping to get a more "classical" education, and I suppose I have, but I'm not finding incredible replay value here.  

 

Exactly my experience.

[Andy 4,138]

And yet, it's weird because I seem to have more enjoyment for Rhythm in Motion, although they too are not penned by Johnny, the arrangements seem to feel more like they have "The Towner Touch".

[Jay 37,368]

Agreed again!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

For non-Williams focused albums, I tend to enjoy least the light classical albums (Planets, a la Russe, Around the World) and enjoy most the albums focused on classic film and theater music, and also the march albums.  I also do not like the albums of "jazz"/Great American Songbook standards because I despise orchestral arrangements of jazz music.  And of course I like the holiday albums.

 

So I love That's Entertainment, Salute to Hollywood, Aisle Seat, Pops by Gershwin, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, On Stage, Music of the Night, etc.. 

[Bespin 8,483]

Just made this little selection from the 2-CD compilation I posted earlier.

 

Very niiiice

 

[QuartalHarmony 543]

Is the fourth track title a typo, or the theme from an obscure movie about a sex pest?

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Pops by Gershwin. Crap, crap, crap and more crap.

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

Really? You don't like the performances?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

1 hour ago, bollemanneke said:

Pops by Gershwin. Crap, crap, crap and more crap.

 

If you like Pops a la Russe and hate Pops by Gershwin, I really don't think we have any common ground at all.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

43 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Really? You don't like the performances?

They're fine. The music isn't.

 

1 minute ago, Disco Stu said:

 

If you like Pops a la Russe and hate Pops by Gershwin, I really don't think we have any common ground at all.

That's okay.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

If you hate Gershwin you don't have a soul.  That's not okay!

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

It's against the forum rules!

[Jay 37,368]

I liked the Gershwin album but not the Russe album 

[Andy 4,138]

Finished Pops in Love.  The one that feels least like a Pops performance for me.  Familiarity and some connection to Love Theme conventions of film scoring make this one of the better listens for me.

 

On to The Planets, which I will likely enjoy.  Joseph Harnell and John Williams can't be wrong if it inspired their writing for their Space movies.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

With Pops a la Russe, it's not that I dislike great composers like Prokofiev or Khatchaturian (the two I like the most on that album), it's just that I've never been a huge fan of that style of pops classical album.  The "greatest hits" of famous melodies from larger classical works.

[igger6 894]

Is there a comprehensive list anywhere of which Pops recordings are Williams arrangements of other composers’ pieces?

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Last CD. Some great tracks again! Are the 1941 and Jaws tracks the same as on the first Spielberg album? Now I need that conductor box set... Why can't these things be released digitally?

[Jurassic Shark 12,079]

All (or at least almost all) Sony and Philips albums are on Spotify.