New 22 CD boxset "John Williams: The Anthology, Vol. 1 - 1969-1990" (2025-07-18)

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990 is the first installment of a three-part box set that celebrates the legendary John Williams and his deep body of work.

Vol. 1 will be released 2025-07-18.

 

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0F5MXR5ZD/

 

I have dreamed of such a collection since 2015...

 

Full CD list:

1. The Reivers / Images
2. The Cowboys
3. Earthquake / The Towering Inferno
4. Jaws 1 & 2
5. Star Wars Episode IV "A New Hope"
6. Cose Encounters of the Third Kind
7. The Sugarland Express / 1941
8. The Fury
9. Superman
10. Dracula / Monsignor
11. Star Wars Episode V "The Empire Strikes Back"
12. Raiders of the Lost Ark
13. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial
14. Star Wars Episode VI "Return of the Jedi"
15. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
16. Spacecamp
17. The Witches of Eastwick
18. Empire of the Sun
19. The Accidental Tourist
20. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
21. Born of the Fourth of July / Always
22. Home Alone

[Holko 11,675]

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

The CD numbers we see on the covers seem to imply that the box set will not feature all the OSTs from that period, but only selected ones... or rather, the ones Sony has the rights to hehe

CD 5 - A New Hope
CD 12 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
CD 13 - E.T.

[Amer 2,642]

This is going the same way as that set from France?

 

I hope the material is sources from the same masters where Matessino was involved?

[Andy 6,432]

I’m sorry, I love a good box set but that green is fugly. 

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

11 minutes ago, Amer said:

This is going the same way as that set from France?

 

No, here it appears that all the selected scores are reproduced in their full original OST program.

 

10 minutes ago, Andy said:

I’m sorry, I love a good box set but that green is fugly. 

 

[Luke Skywalker 2,262]

reissues-reissues-reissues

 

 

pass.

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

55 minutes ago, Luke Skywalker said:

reissues-reissues-reissues

 

 

pass.

 

It's especially interesting for younger fans who don't already own all this material and who, either by choice or financial constraints, have skipped the expansions of the past 30 years. Such an anthology is no small thing, even if, due to rights issues, there will inevitably be some gaps. Nothing is ever perfect in the world of recorded music...

[Holko 11,675]

7 minutes ago, Bespin Copilot said:

younger fans who don't already own all this material and who, either by choice or financial constraints, have skipped the expansions of the past 30 years

Exactly the type of core audience to shell out a couple hundred for an ugly box with a few discs of unexpanded versions of ancient scores, half of which are streaming!

[Erik Woods 812]

So Sony looked at the brilliant French Legacy set from a few years ago and said, "Hey, how can we do something similar but make it look like shit?"

 

Good grief, that's hideous!

 

-Erik-

[crumbs 15,768]

3 hours ago, Bespin Copilot said:

No more details for now...

 

None required. It speaks for itself.

 

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

A New Hope, is the "CD 5", so I assume the boxset starts like this...

Any other idea?
 

CD1 The Reivers / Images

CD2 Cinderella Liberty / The Eiger Sanction

CD3 Earthquake / Towering Inferno

CD4 Jaws / Jaws 2

CD5 Star Wars: A New Hope

[Quppa 357]

Not even Sony Classical's first John Williams anthology.

 

 

Feels extremely low effort, but whatever - good luck to Sony trying to milk their back catalogue through CD sales in the year 2025. At least it (probably) won't cost $400 like the Star Wars Celebration box set.

[Marian Schedenig 10,833]

That reminds me how I once said to my mother, probably some 30 years ago: Sadly, Williams is old already, so he probably won't live for much longer, but maybe they'll at least do some special posthumous box sets.

 

Fortunately, he's still around. On the other hand, it doesn't look like I have any use for this kind of box set anymore.

 

2 minutes ago, Quppa said:

Feels extremely low effort, but whatever - good luck to Sony trying to milk their back catalogue through CD sales in the year 2025. At least it (probably) won't cost $400 like the Star Wars Celebration box set.

 

And if it's just milking their back catalogue by re-releasing stuff, more power to them. There are still one or two classic Karajan albums on DG that I don't have in original form and that seem to never have gotten a new release since the long OOP 90s versions. And their Kubelik Mahler cycle also seems to be neglected these days.

 

The question is whether the price will be reasonably. And this being only available in box set form also makes it rather unwieldy for those only looking to patch a few holes in their collections.

[Mr. Hooper 6,867]

3 hours ago, Andy said:

I’m sorry, I love a good box set but that green is fugly. 

John Williams: The Evergreen Collection

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

It's blue and green, perfect to match the color of our eyes, @Mr. Hooper!

[Quppa 357]

Recent box set prices (on release):

• John Williams: Conductor (2018, Sony, 20 CDs): $103
• Complete Philips Recordings (2021, Decca, 21 CDs): $92
• The Legend of John Williams (2023, Panthéon / Universal, 20 CDs): €92.95 (~$105)
• Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 (2025, Universal, 23 CDs): ¥57,500 (~$400)

Though I guess the last one doesn't really count since it was a limited item only available at a convention.

[Jay 43,905]

This is up on several of the European Amazon sites, but not any of their Asian or North American sites yet

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F5MXR5ZD

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0F5MXR5ZD

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0F5MXR5ZD

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0F5MXR5ZD

 

 

4 hours ago, Bespin Copilot said:

 or rather, the ones Sony has the rights to hehe

 

The albums revealed in the image already come from multiple licensors

 

Sony Music: Close Encounters, Home Alone

Universal Music: Earthquake, Jaws, Jaws 2, E.T.

Warner Music: The Towering Inferno, Empire of the Sun
Disney Records: Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

 

Resource: https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/32706-john-williams-scores-by-music-label/

[Richard P 4,949]

Who, exactly, is supposed to buy this? Williams ultra-completists who need to own everything featuring their idol?

 

Perhaps a big present for someone who's just getting into scores?

 

Hmm.

[Tom 6,042]

Remember 30 years ago when a Sony Williams's release was significant?  

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

Listen, everyone, these kind of comments are getting a bit tiresome. Some of you said the same thing when the 23-CD Universal box set was released in 2023. This new release is simply Sony’s response, nothing more, nothing less. We should appreciate that those who want to start a physical collection of some of the best John Williams soundtracks now have the opportunity to do so.

 

[Damien F 1,939]

7 hours ago, Andy said:

I’m sorry, I love a good box set but that green is fugly. 

 

[GerateWohl 6,198]

3 hours ago, Quppa said:

Recent box set prices (on release):

• John Williams: Conductor (2018, Sony, 20 CDs): $103
• Complete Philips Recordings (2021, Decca, 21 CDs): $92
• The Legend of John Williams (2023, Panthéon / Universal, 20 CDs): €92.95 (~$105)
• Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 (2025, Universal, 23 CDs): ¥57,500 (~$400)

Though I guess the last one doesn't really count since it was a limited item only available at a convention.

You forgot to mention the 5 CD Indiana Jones Box for $150.

[Andy 6,432]

I have a feeling that Vol 2 will be yellow/orange and Vol 3 will be red/violet.  But on its own… yecchh. 

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

Excerpt from Steven Spielberg’s Forward for John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990:

 

Quote

“I’m delighted that Sony Masterworks has created John Williams: The Anthology, a definitive three-volume box set presenting a specially curated collection of the best of John’s music for film and the concert stage throughout his extraordinary career. Volume 1 celebrates his film work from the 1960’s through the 1980’s, a period during which John revitalized the role of the symphony orchestra in movie scoring and created some of Hollywood’s most iconic and enduring music for films such as “Jaws”, “Star Wars”, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Superman: The Movie”, “Dracula”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”, “Empire of the Sun”, “Born on the Fourth of July”, and “Home  Alone”.

 

Over the course of his lengthy career, John Williams has become one of America's most influential and renowned film composers. He has composed music for over 120 films, with many of his pieces becoming some of the most recognizable film scores of all time. His iconic themes for classics such as “Jaws”, “Jurassic Park”, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Superman”, and “Harry Potter” resonate not only with cinephiles but also with the general public. Williams is particularly known for his decades-long creative partnership with director Steven Spielberg, resulting in some of the most acclaimed and successful films ever made.  

 

John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990 is the first installment of a three-part box set that celebrates the legendary John Williams and his deep body of work. Each disc will be housed in a small jacket that can hold four discs, featuring cover graphics that showcase the original artwork, just as it appeared upon its initial release. 

 

https://www.roughtrade.com/en-us/product/john-williams/john-williams-the-anthology-vol-1-1969-1990

[Bilbo 4,047]

7 hours ago, Luke Skywalker said:

reissues-reissues-reissues

 

 

pass.

 

Re-issue! Re-package! Re-package! 
Re-evaluate the songs 
Double-pack with a photograph 
Extra track (and a tacky badge) 

 

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

3 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

Re-issue! Re-package! Re-package! 
Re-evaluate the songs 
Double-pack with a photograph 
Extra track (and a tacky badge) 

Is it a new Lady Gaga Song?

[Bilbo 4,047]

29 minutes ago, Bespin Copilot said:

Is it a new Lady Gaga Song?

 

IT’S THE SMITHS YOU NINCOMPOOP! 

[Bayesian 1,560]

4 hours ago, Richard P said:

Who, exactly, is supposed to buy this? Williams ultra-completists who need to own everything featuring their idol?

 

Perhaps a big present for someone who's just getting into scores?

 

Hmm.

Great question. I consider myself to be a hard-core completist but even I can't see myself buying this.

 

At least we can rest assured of JW's elevated place in the musical canon, given that he's now being given the same old-wine-in-new-bottles box set treatment that all the great conductors, soloists, and composers have been subject to for the last couple of decades.

 

[Tom 6,042]

Maybe I don't know what the word "definitive" even means anymore.  But surely it is not this.  A random collection united mostly by legal rights versus true artistic representation.  

[Naïve Old Fart 12,155]

So... 22 CDs of stuff that is still readily available, and no new, or rare, tracks.

What a diabolical liberty!

Do they think we were born yesterday?

[Bespin Copilot 10,060]

24 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Do they think we were born yesterday?

 

We perfectly know you were not born yesterday, the record of your birth is engraved on a stone tablet!

[Naïve Old Fart 12,155]

[Quppa 357]

4 hours ago, Bespin Copilot said:

Excerpt from Steven Spielberg’s Forward for John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990:

 

 

https://www.roughtrade.com/en-us/product/john-williams/john-williams-the-anthology-vol-1-1969-1990

 

Burying the lede there - Rough Trade lists the price as $364.99 (release date of 2025-07-18). That would be outrageous.

[Matt S. 709]

1 hour ago, Quppa said:

 

Burying the lede there - Rough Trade lists the price as $364.99 (release date of 2025-07-18). That would be outrageous.

 

So does that mean the three volumes, assuming the others are a similar size, will cost over a thousand dollars??  That is truly insane…

[Quppa 357]

JPC has a listing for €209.99 ($237) which is slightly more reasonable, but still very steep for what it is.

 

Full CD list:

1. The Reivers
2. The Cowboys
3. Earthquake / The Towering Inferno
4. Jaws 1 & 2
5. Star Wars Episode IV "A New Hope"
6. Cose Encounters of the Third Kind
7. The Sugarland Express / 1941
8. The Fury
9. Superman
10. Dracula / Monsignor
11. Star Wars Episode V "The Empire Strikes Back"
12. Raiders of the Lost Ark
13. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial
14. Star Wars Episode VI "Return of the Jedi"
15. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
16. Spacecamp
17. The Witches of Eastwick
18. Empire of the Sun
19. The Accidental Tourist
20. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
21. Born of the Fourth of July / Always
22. Home Alone

[crumbs 15,768]

Looking at that list, it's amazing to consider how many of those scores Mike and the labels have already remastered and expanded properly. The only scores in that entire list he hasn't done are the Lucasfilm ones plus Eastwick, BOT4J and Accidental Tourist.

[Once 974]

I'm surprised Sugarland Express is included. I wonder if it's "just" the concert arrangement.

[Quppa 357]

On 02/05/2025 at 10:57 AM, Once said:

I'm surprised Sugarland Express is included. I wonder if it's "just" the concert arrangement.

 

Seems likely (EDIT: nope), and would mark at least the 9th Sony album with that recording included. Combining the 38 minute 1941 soundtrack with the 40 minute Sugarland Express soundtrack would also be pushing the limits of the CD format.

[Marian Schedenig 10,833]

In that case, BOTFOJ might also be the Sony suite.

 

I find this wording to be odd, by the way:

Quote

Each disc will be housed in a small jacket that can hold four discs

 

I suppose it means that 4 discs each will share one jacket? But the statement sounds like there will be 22 jackets that each hold one disc but could hold four…

[crumbs 15,768]

7 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I suppose it means that 4 discs each will share one jacket? But the statement sounds like there will be 22 jackets that each hold one disc but could hold four…

 

That's why it costs €210.

[Andy 6,432]

20 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

But the statement sounds like there will be 22 jackets that each hold one disc but could hold four…

[Quppa 357]

56 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

In that case, BOTFOJ might also be the Sony suite.

 

 

Could be, although the 6 score tracks from the BOTFOJ album (25 minutes) would fit on one disc next to the score included on the Always album (46 minutes). The Legend of John Williams set included all 6 BOTFOJ score tracks and 7/12 Always tracks.

[crumbs 15,768]

10 minutes ago, Quppa said:

 

Could be, although the 6 score tracks from the BOTFOJ album (25 minutes) would fit on one disc next to the score included on the Always album (46 minutes). The Legend of John Williams set included all 6 BOTFOJ score tracks and 7/12 Always tracks.

 

If the BOT4J tracks are newly remastered, it might be an indication that an expansion is in the works.

 

Eastwick and Tourist both have very ordinary sounding OSTs, but they're WB (so no chance of an expansion happening anytime soon). Will be interesting to see if those are just 1:1 pressings of the previous releases.

 

Do we know if Mike has any involvement in this collection? He's remastered a lot of these albums so it would be an enormous downgrade if they reverted to the ancient album masters.

[Amer 2,642]

I doubt they involved Matessino. It’s most likely the same album masters in the Sony Catalogue or using licensing from the other labels where needed. They did the same with Williams Conducts Box set.  Only Decca did a few things with the album masters of the Philips Boston Pops recordings.

 

 

P.S. I guess it's now officially a MIke Matessino project.LOL.  

[Mr. Hooper 6,867]

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I suppose it means that 4 discs each will share one jacket? But the statement sounds like there will be 22 jackets that each hold one disc but could hold four…

[Lady Dimitrescu 10,260]

Which masters are they using for the SW OSTs?

[crumbs 15,768]

4 minutes ago, Lady Dimitrescu said:

Which masters are they using for the SW OSTs?

 

They probably went back to the freshly transferred album masters Sony already released in 2016, before losing the Star Wars licence.

[Lady Dimitrescu 10,260]

Just now, crumbs said:

 

They probably went back to the actual album masters Sony already released in 2016, before losing the Star Wars licence.

 

That'd be great!

[mstrox 7,281]

This is a really cool box!  I’d have been all over this as a teenager.  Nowadays I already have everything on there of course, so it’s a pass like that other similar box set from last year.