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What's your favorite Boston Pops Orchestra CD???


Josh500

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I don't really know just how many John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra CDs there are out there (probably more than 30), but I've got 12 and I love them all. You guys talk a lot about his soundtracks but hardly ever about the Boston Pops CDs, and I don't mean just the re-recordings of the film music. The ones I really like among them are Night and Day: Celebrating Sinatra, Swing!, and Joy To The World. Also, of course, I like Sound of Glory and Unforgettable. Unfortunately many of them are out of print and very hard to get now.

My first CD with the Boston Pops, however, was The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration. Still my favorite, closely followed by Williams On Williams (the second CD with Spielberg music).

;)

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Hello,

the CD done by the BPO and Williams I love is BY REQUEST.

The power of the MISSION (NBC Theme) is huge !

request.jpg

I second. Although I also like Star Wars Trilogy very much.

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Hello,

the CD done by the BPO and Williams I love is BY REQUEST.

The power of the MISSION (NBC Theme) is huge !

request.jpg

I second. Although I also like Star Wars Trilogy very much.

This may sound stupid now, but are you actually Hilary Hahn??? Or are you just a big fan of hers???

I agree, The Star Wars Trilogy is one of the best, but this was performed by The Skywalker Symphony. ;)

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Hello,

the CD done by the BPO and Williams I love is BY REQUEST.

The power of the MISSION (NBC Theme) is huge !

"the replacement feet will be rushed to you by my grandson Jody. And now I must return to the sweet embrace of the crypt. But I'll be back! Muahahahahaha!"

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This may sound stupid now, but are you actually Hilary Hahn??? Or are you just a big fan of hers???

Eh, the latter :roll:

I agree, The Star Wars Trilogy is one of the best, but this was performed by The Skywalker Symphony.  ;)

Wrong. That one is one of the worst recordings of SW music done by Williams. I was referring to the Philips album fully named Williams conducts Music from the Star Wars Saga (or Trilogy in an earlier release):

B00000J2SE.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

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I agree' date=' The Star Wars Trilogy is one of the best, but this was performed by The Skywalker Symphony. ;)[/quote']

Wrong. That one is one of the worst recordings of SW music done by Williams. I was referring to the Philips album fully named Williams conducts Music from the Star Wars Saga (or Trilogy in an earlier release):

B00000J2SE.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Oh I see. I didn't know there was another recording of the Star Wars music other than the Skywalker Symphony version. I presume it's out of print???

8O

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Great! I'm gonna get that as soon as my credit card clears!!! That, and Rosewood, the expanded edition of Home Alone 2, the OS of ToD, and every Boston Pops CD available.

;)

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OS of ToD? That is going to cost you at least $120!

I know, but that's one of my all-time favorites. I would also like to own the re-issue of the Raiders CD. That's gonna cost me another $120, I'm afraid!!!

;)

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A friend of mine found the Raiders re-issue this Christmas in a German department store for less than 20 Euros. Lucky bastard.

Yeah, lucky bastard!!!! I'm green with envy. ;)

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Does "Encore!" count, since it's a compilation? It's the only Boston Pops CD I have (except "Williams on Williams" and "The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration"). I like it very much, the arrangement of the Chariots of Fire theme is awesome.

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I agree, The Star Wars Trilogy is one of the best, but this was performed by The Skywalker Symphony.  ;)

Wrong. That one is one of the worst recordings of SW music done by Williams.

Wrong. It's a very fine album, as good as any of the Gerhardt SW albums (and better than his ESB). Vastly underrated, as I have to keep saying around these parts.

CoF with orchestra? Wow, I'd love to hear that.

The Summon the Heroes album is excellent.

Marian - :thumbup:

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I have four Pops albums:

Williams on Williams - great re-recordings and suites....the new opening to "The Banquet" is so good!

By Request - same as above, though I really haven't listened to it very much

Joy to the World - a wonderful Christmas album..."The Night Before Christmas" with Robin Williams is really fun

The Celtic Album (with Lockhart) - this album has special meaning to me as I bought it at Symphony Hall in Boston last May. Besides that, it's a fantastic listen.

Ray Barnsbury

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CoF with orchestra? Wow, I'd love to hear that.

Nah. It's pretty lame. The whole point of COF is the pulsing synth 8th notes and the grand piano solo. Without those elements the piece falls flat. With them the piece is stunning.

BTW I third (or fourth or however far we've got) By Request. Terrific CD! You won't be disappointed.

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Oh yes, if you can find the Boston Pops CD with the extended suite from The Reivers on it, it's also very good. I forget what it's called but the Rievers has narration (sparce and not annoying, quite effective actually) by Burgess Meredith, and there are some Copland pieces too.

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Oh yes, if you can find the Boston Pops CD with the extended suite from The Reivers on it, it's also very good. I forget what it's called but the Rievers has narration (sparce and not annoying, quite effective actually) by Burgess Meredith, and there are some Copland pieces too.

This is the CD your thinking of, and also my personal favorite.

B000002A2O.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Available for purchase here

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All right, here's my list:

Unforgettable ***

Night And Day *****

Swing! ****

Joy To The World! ****

The Green Album **

The Digital Jukebox ****

The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration *****

Williams On Williams *****

The Sound Of Glory ****

Encore! ****

Does no one here have Night and Day and/or Swing! (with Nancy Wilson)??? Those have some of the best jazz performances of the BPO!!! :sleepy:

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By Request,Williams on Williams and the Spielberg/Williams collaboration

Also,a 3rd c.d. in that series is long overdue to cover Spielberg the films from TLW and on...that's very high on my wishlist.I like the way Williams re-arranges the music so it's not the same as the OST.

K.M.

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I have to say, I always enjoyed the Williams/Speilburg Collaboration cd. But I also like the By Request album as well. But my favorite one now, has to be Unforgettable. There is just something so soothing about that cd!! And not to mention, 'Through the Eyes Of Love" will be my "first dance" song with Michele!

This has been brought up before, but I wish we had a list of all the BP/Williams cds that are out there. I'm trying to finalize the collection but just browsing through "Boston Pops" on eBay. It's not that easy!

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I love By Request, but Out Of This World holds a soft spot for me as it was the first JW recording that I ever owned.....and the version of Battlestar Galactica on there is still the best around.....

.....picked up ToD OST on e-Bay for £15.25, and Raiders Expanded from Amazon Marketplace for £7.99....Right place at the right time.......

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This has been brought up before, but I wish we had a list of all the BP/Williams cds that are out there. I'm trying to finalize the collection but just browsing through "Boston Pops" on eBay. It's not that easy!

And there are people saying elsewhere on the board to skip the rest of the network and only keep the message board... And then were would you get the complete listing of Williams and the Boston Pops recordings?

http://johnwilliams.jw-music.net/int_disc_bpo.htm

Here you can find them all... there another page on my site with compilations, but if you're able to get all of this, you won't need them.

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Ahh.. I knew you would probably have one Miguel!!

This is why I am donating money to this! This is a wealth of info right at our fingertips!

Thank you so much!

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Does "Encore!" count, since it's a compilation?

Lots of people have mentioned By Request, which is a compilation as well. I don't think it qualifies. (And I don't find most of the performances that great either, to tell the truth, at least not those which are also available in different versions... but it's still a must have for the Cowboys suite, the Midway march and Liberty Fanfare).

Marian - :thumbup:

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Does "Encore!" count, since it's a compilation?

Lots of people have mentioned By Request, which is a compilation as well. I don't think it qualifies. (And I don't find most of the performances that great either, to tell the truth, at least not those which are also available in different versions... but it's still a must have for the Cowboys suite, the Midway march and Liberty Fanfare).

Marian - 8O

By Request is a weird compilation... it uses previous available recordings, like The Cowboys Overture, Midway, superman and Star Wars, but has new recorded material, like Jaws, Mission Theme, Olympic Fanfare and Theme and Liberty Fanfare.

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Oh yes, if you can find the Boston Pops CD with the extended suite from The Reivers on it, it's also very good. I forget what it's called but the Rievers has narration (sparce and not annoying, quite effective actually) by Burgess Meredith, and there are some Copland pieces too.

This is the CD your thinking of, and also my personal favorite.

B000002A2O.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Available for purchase here

It's also my favorite. Hey, we're three already! That's reason enough to form a club, right fellas? Who will do the printing of the T-shirts and baseball hats?

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Also,a 3rd c.d. in that series is long overdue to cover Spielberg the films from TLW and on...that's very high on my wishlist.I like the way Williams re-arranges the music so it's not the same as the OST.  

Yes, that would be great. Let's see, that would include The Lost World, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, A.I., Minority Report, Catch Me if You Can, and The Terminal. Doesn't seem like quite as nice a selection as the other CDs, but it would still be very welcome.

Ray Barnsbury - who would like instrumental versions of the several chorus pieces from the above scores

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  • 5 months later...

I have two favorite:

Pops In Space

Out of This World.

And both are going for under a buck at amazon/half.

The "John Willaims COnducts Star Wars Saga" is good, but its basically just the Star Wars/ESB tracks from Pops In Space and ROTJ tracks from Out Of This World, along with some of the other tracks from those two albums.

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My favorite John Williams-Boston Pops CD is "An Afternoon at the Movies." I think I'm the only person on this Earth who owns it, and I'm afraid I can't show you the cover.

To my knowledge, it's the only place to find a concert version of Jabba's theme. And it has a nice orchestral "Over the Rainbow."

By the way, this was the first CD I owned that had John Williams on it. Still have it, and might sell it on eBay if it indeed is rare.

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This one?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00...7717434-5188108

BTW, jabba's theme was on the Out Of This World too, the whole ROTJ concert suite was included at the end of that cd (Parade of the Ewoks, Luke and Leia, Jabba The Hutt, Forest Battle)

finally, over the rainbow is also on this CD: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...g=UTF8&v=glance

for under 2 bucks :fouetaa:

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Yes, tjguitar, that's the one!

Only one for sale! If you want it, hurry!

Track list:

ET's Flying Theme

March from Superman

Star Wars Main Theme

Raiders of the Lost Ark March 

The Asteroid Field

Yoda's Theme

Imperial March

Main Theme from Jaws (love the building percussion, by the way)

Main Theme from The Pink Panther

Over the Rainbow

Adventures on Earth -- ET (the last 15 minutes, though a few minutes are cut out: the few minutes before the van chase and after the bicycles land)

Parade of the Ewoks

Jabba the Hutt

Forest Battle

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To my knowledge, it's the only place to find a concert version of Jabba's theme.

No, you can find it on this CD too. That's a pretty good recording!

My favorite is definitely By Request, but I have a huge soft spot for Williams on Williams since it's what got me into Hook.

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