HOOK Ultimate Edition - MUSIC Discussion

[Brando 2,703]

2 hours ago, TownerFan said:

you have to listen to the Legacy of JW Christmas Special episode

Oh shoot i completely forgot about this episode, thanks for the reminder!

[johnmillions 75]

23 hours ago, TownerFan said:

The songs were written first as, well, songs, so there is no orchestral sketch. It's more than likely they were written out as a piano sketch by JW and LB and from that a proper lead sheet for piano & voice was created in order for the rehearsal pianist and singers to record the demo tracks.

Yes, that's much more likely than my guess! I had things all out of order and had JW writing a fully-fledged score for voice and full orchestra and then reducing those--when it was probably the opposite as he worked with LB to develop the songs (and JW may have never gotten past the lead sheet stage for the songs in question).

 

I'll have to listen to the excellent Legacy episode again...it's been a while! The episode convinced me to buy the 3CD set.

[Jay 44,721]

20 minutes ago, johnmillions said:

The episode convinced me to buy the 3CD set.

 

That makes me very happy to read

 

And incidentally, they did TWO episodes about the Hook release.  Both are linked within the same page on his site.

 

https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2023/12/27/hook-podcast-special

[bollemanneke 4,237]

I just had a thought! In Hook Returns to Kensington, at around 0:25, are the violins really playing a variation on the Childhood theme? Or is that a coincidence and am I reading too much into their accompanying notes for the Jolly Roger?

[John Takis 392]

13 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

I just had a thought! In Hook Returns to Kensington, at around 0:25, are the violins really playing a variation on the Childhood theme? Or is that a coincidence and am I reading too much into their accompanying notes for the Jolly Roger?

 

Personally, I don't hear "Childhood" in there. I think you're latching onto the "descending third" motion within the accompaniment figure, a common interval which "Childhood" also employs. But where "Childhood" descends from 5 to 3 relative to the tonic, this figure descends from 3 to 1. Now ... you can, of course, shift a melody relative to the tonic to give it a different character (Williams does this to good effect in The Witches of Eastwick). But both rhythmically and melodically, the accompaniment figure in this particular passage doesn't really have anything else in common with "Childhood"

[Tommy Lellan 10]

Isn't it funny how this score didn't get nominated for an Oscar? It's quite incredible.

Actually, so is the Jurassic Park score. No nomination either.

I also thought the score for Home Alone 2 was also unique enough and great to have deserved a nom, but none more than for Hook. So strange.

[Trope 1,360]

Anyone else find that you love a score (or any piece of music, for that matter) so much that you intentionally don't listen to it casually (i.e. while you're out for a walk or doing stuff around the house or driving your car), because you want to give it nothing less than your undivided attention, and end up listening to it far less as a result? This is what Hook is for me.

 

I listen to this magnificent release only a few times a year (particularly around Christmas - it has that kind of atmosphere) and feel like I'm discovering its magic all over again. I don't want its sheer greatness to fade through familiarity - There's so much gold in this score (and this release is a dream). Every time I listen, I am blown away by it.

[Holko 11,849]

16 minutes ago, Trope said:

Anyone else find that you love a score (or any piece of music, for that matter) so much that you intentionally don't listen to it casually (i.e. while you're out for a walk or doing stuff around the house or driving your car), because you want to give it nothing less than your undivided attention, and end up listening to it far less as a result?

I'm that way with a lot of film scores, a few years ago I mentally removed more than 2/3rds of my collection from my commute listen cycle and keep them for evening listens. And I can definitely relate to greatness fading through familiarity, I'm still sad that I listened to the HP1 leak so much that the expansion, and even listens nowadays, have lost their greatness impact.

[Trope 1,360]

9 minutes ago, Holko said:

I'm that way with a lot of film scores, a few years ago I mentally removed more than 2/3rds of my collection from my commute listen cycle and keep them for evening listens. And I can definitely relate to greatness fading through familiarity, I'm still sad that I listened to the HP1 leak so much that the expansion, and even listens nowadays, have lost their greatness impact.

I'm the same with the Harry Potter and Home Alone expansions. A.I. and E.T. too, now that I think about it. The OST's I have memorised, but I want the complete score experience to remain fresh when I revisit them.

[FBC Director 10,562]

I can't imagine listening to music while commuting. I can only do it while sitting down at home with the hi-fi going and nursing a glass of bourbon.

[The Score Cleaner 9,230]

1 hour ago, Trope said:

Anyone else find that you love a score (or any piece of music, for that matter) so much that you intentionally don't listen to it casually (i.e. while you're out for a walk or doing stuff around the house or driving your car), because you want to give it nothing less than your undivided attention, and end up listening to it far less as a result? This is what Hook is for me.

 

 

Yeah, I don't do that, as I find it has the opposite effect, and I pay less attention. (Or perhaps too much?) Or end up falling asleep.

[bollemanneke 4,237]

38 minutes ago, Lady Dimitrescu said:

I can't imagine listening to music while commuting. I can only do it while sitting down at home with the hi-fi going and nursing a glass of bourbon.

Same, not the bourbon though. Background listening is something I would only do with songs.

[Maurizio 6,703]

5 hours ago, Tommy Lellan said:

Isn't it funny how this score didn't get nominated for an Oscar? It's quite incredible.

Actually, so is the Jurassic Park score. No nomination either.

I also thought the score for Home Alone 2 was also unique enough and great to have deserved a nom, but none more than for Hook. So strange.

 

Williams had two very strong entries that year and it was an overall strong year with many worthy contenders, but I think many were surprised that Hook didn't get nominated and JFK was preferred instead.

 

In the case of Jurassic Park, I think it wasn't even submitted for award consideration so that all the chips were on Schindler's List.

 

Home Alone 2 may have been considered too dependant on the reuse of previously composed material, so I don't think it was ever considered. Strange that Far and Away didn't get nominated that year, but the film bombed and didn't get any nomination at all in any category.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 11,603]

4 hours ago, Maurizio said:

In the case of Jurassic Park, I think it wasn't even submitted for award consideration so that all the chips were on Schindler's List.

 

This!

[Brando 2,703]

Sharing this here in case some don't follow this thread, but Hook is playing at Regal theaters next Tuesday! We get to hear this absolute powerhouse of a film score in the theater

 

[Luke Skywalker 2,289]

On 13/10/2025 at 12:05 PM, Maurizio said:

 

Williams had two very strong entries that year and it was an overall strong year with many worthy contenders, but I think many were surprised that Hook didn't get nominated and JFK was preferred instead.

 

In the case of Jurassic Park, I think it wasn't even submitted for award consideration so that all the chips were on Schindler's List.

 

Home Alone 2 may have been considered too dependant on the reuse of previously composed material, so I don't think it was ever considered. Strange that Far and Away didn't get nominated that year, but the film bombed and didn't get any nomination at all in any category.

Well, “when you are alone” was nominated wasnt it?

[igger6 1,027]

Can anyone identify any differences in orchestration between the heroic theme as played in "Prologue" and the same theme as played in "Peter Remembers"/"Remembering Childhood"?  Just reviewing this soundtrack after reaching this point in Tim's book, and I agree with his assessment that the version of the theme played here (around 6:30-end of the track on the LLL 3-disc set) does seem to outdo other versions in terms of celebratory heroism.  Can anyone with better ears than me figure out why?  Or is it just its place in the context of the music that comes before it?  Call me crazy, but even the sound quality seems better in the film cue than in the prologue.

[Goldfingers 137]

Listening to the Prologue again now that I know Low Below, I can’t help but hear in the intro (the very first seconds) a kind of variation of Low Below’s intro, but more minimalist and faster. Am I the only one who gets that feeling?
 

 

 

[Dr. Know 469]

Just re-listening today, and thinking that nothing will ever top this score or release for me.  It's just so right up my alley.  A thrilling, stunning, gorgeous work.

[Jay 44,721]

Incredible release of an incredible score!

[Luke Skywalker 2,289]

I will always be curious to know how the Maggie smith-julie Andrews vocals sounded....

[bollemanneke 4,237]

I listened to the main program over the past few days too. The only complaint now is that Pick 'em Up should have been taken out altogether or moved to disc 3. The instrumental section is way nicer.

[A. A. Ron 2,409]

I actually removed all vocals from the main program, but then added the pirates chanting to Presenting the Hook. I also grouped all the demo songs together in the bonus section. I know Jay and Mike put a lot of work into making Disc 3 into an album and I'm sure it works great for them, but what can I say? Even when playing the alternates, I don't usually want to hear the songs. I don't even like most of them.

[Jay 44,721]

The sequencing was all Mike!

 

Nobody should feel sorry for resequencing any album to fit their own personal preferences. I only asked that people try the album as presented for their first listen.