Of course loving Williams and most anything he does, I enjoy them both, but think THE TOWERING INFERNO is a much more engaging and enjoyable score. I remember buying them both on LP back in year they were released and playing the grooves off of INFERNO and playing EARTHQUAKE a few times. Although I love certain Tracks on EARTHQUAKE like "The City Sleeps" and those quirky bits like "Something for Rosa"!
Your thoughts please. Better score in your opinion? And dang EARTHQUAKE didn't even have a Love Theme Vocal Song on the album. Bummer.
Of course loving Williams and most anything he does, I enjoy them both, but think THE TOWERING INFERNO is a much more engaging and enjoyable score. I remember buying them both on LP back in year they were released and playing the grooves off of INFERNO and playing EARTHQUAKE a few times.
Your thoughts please. Better score in your opinion? And dang EARTHQUAKE didn't even have a Love Theme Vocal Song on the album. Bummer.
The main theme of Earthquake has that introspective 70s Morricone sound. Plus it has the earthquake sounds with the wide grooves. So that us the better of the two, hands down.
Then in the US there was a second of edition of this re-recorded LP with a pasted-over different list of tracks with the elimination of "Something for Remy" (sacrilege!) in favor of two "Special Effects" tracks at the end of side 2 with the first two minutes forty seconds from 'The Big One' and then a brief 'aftershock'.
The Varese Sarabande CD restores "Something for Remy" and adds the "Special Effects" at the end. The track listing on the CD is incorrect with The Remy actually coming before the Medley, not after. "Something for Remy" is listed as "additional music" but it was not "additional" on the first LP release.
The Japanese CD is the original listing as here without "Special Effects".
Speculation regarding what Victoria Principal is singing here has ranged from "I Feel Love" from "Benji" to "The Theme from 'Shaft'".
Towering Inferno happens to be MY most exciting & sort after score by John Williams & I hope that either INTRADA or LALA will re-release a Limited Edition of this superb score with NEW artwork?!
I like them both a lot, but they are definitely very different. That said, "The Towering Inferno" has long been my favorite soundtrack. It was probably my first "grown up" album when I was a kid. I have the Varese release of "Earthquake" and the FSM "Towering Inferno." I bought the "The Towering Inferno" used several years after it was out of print (and paid way too much for it), and unfortunately it skips in a couple of places. So I really, really would love it if La-La Land or Intrada or someone would release this soundtrack again. A lot of people talk about their "holy grails." This is mine.
I too love both of these scores, both featuring exciting "fly-over" main titles but each different in their own way. Earthquake holds a special place in my film music heart because I loved the movie and was a big Chuck Heston fan at the time. I also discovered an amazing talent, Vince de Rosa, because of this soundtrack album and its liner notes. Loved the "City Theme" track so much, with the solo piano at the beginning, that I spent days transcribing it so I could play it myself...there are some great chords in that!...though I only managed to figure out abbout 16 bars of it
I think I payed the most I've ever paid for a soundtrack for the FSM CD a few years ago. Even though it's one of my treasures I know that sooner or later it'll be re-released and a part of me has been thinking about selling mine. However, there's always the risk that the next released misses something or is lacking in some way which makes me hesitant. Decisions, decisions! Although I do believe that hopefully better elements will be discovered. And that all the source music is included (I'd love the instrumental of We May Never Love Like This Again that occurs after the main vocal when Robert Vaughn and Bill Holden are chatting).
I thought that LLL's Poseidon Adventure from 2010 might herald in new editions of Towering Inferno, Earthquake, the Airport scores, etc. over the coming years. But so far all that's been checked off my list is Beyond the Poseidon Adventure! Fingers crossed that there's more on the horizon.
Ah, yes. Vince De Rosa. What a gorgeous tone he has. Terrific musician. Here's a fun little post I found a few years ago-
So many 'goose-bump inducing' moments in that score. 
