For those who enjoy Goldenthal's "Alien 3" or Corigliano's "Altered States" will love John Williams's long forgotten score to "Images". A thick, avant-garde score of the most primal qualities.
I've long hoped for a release of this after a friend played the LP for me several times. I can't believe its actually happening. My highest possible recommendation goes with this score.
This seems to be the only thread about this score that doesn't start or end up as a BSX bun-fight! The fact it only has one post probably helps What a score this is. It's the most untypical sounding John Williams score that still sounds like Williams. I imagine the people who don't care for John Williams much would cite this as his best work, as it eschews his usual thematic/warm/tonal style for some great creepy/dark/atonal music set amongst a gorgeous piano and strings theme. The Prometheus CD is on it's way to me as I type, courtesy of MovieMusic (I can't believe I took so long to order one, although I already had a really cool copy of the score from the old promo with some nice artwork that a mate did). I managed to see the Prometheus release in said mate's house last week and the nice packaging, notes by John Burlingame and assurances that the sound 'knocked spots off' the one I already had led me to hunt out a copy before it finally disappears. I've been on a Williams kick lately (Jaws 1 and 2, Dracula and all his Potter scores) and look forward to hearing this one again, in all it's new found glory.
I was just essaying this score's virtues to Frank DeWald the other day. I can't believe it's still available after all these years! An absolutely essential score for any Williams fan. Even if you have a hard time with the more avant garde passages featuring Stomu Yamash'ta's percussion and vocals, there's plenty of amazing string work. "Blood Moon" alone is worth the price of the album. Top it off with great mastering (especially considering the vinyl source) and liner notes from Jon Burlingame, and we have a real winner.
I have fond memories, incidentally, of handing John Williams a copy of this to autograph and seeing the surprised look on his face.
This just arrived in the post and although I haven't played it yet, I was a bit dismayed to notice the track title glitch on track 10 I'm gonna assume the original Academy LP and my mates subsequent packaging, (which emulated the old LP cover - and very nice it is too) was correct with
10. Nightwatch Rise.
They have called it The Night Witch Ride on the CD.
Love this score; pretty sure you did a piece on it here, too, Thor. I remember replying to it and adding some pictures of the Baschet sound sculptures, as played by Stomu Yamashta. There was some great info about the score, and pictures of the sheet music with Williams' amusing annotations, in this book:
I've just finished reading Mr Burlingame's notes and they're great. Very enjoyable and informative. Some cool, experimental stuff going on during the recording of this score, but it's apparent Williams was always in control of specifics, even down to giving timings and spaces for Yamash'ta to be experimental within. What a LEGEND he is
Does anyone know - the 'Images' LP that John Williams made for Oscar consideration, how much music from the actual film did it miss out? The LP only runs half an hour so I'm guessing there's more.
Does anyone know - the 'Images' LP that John Williams made for Oscar consideration, how much music from the actual film did it miss out? The LP only runs half an hour so I'm guessing there's more.
Based on what exactly?
Have you taken the time to WATCH THE MOVIE and see how much score there is in it?
The current version runs about 36 minutes and contains pieces that aren't in the final version of the film?
Films in the 70's tended to be scored vastly more lightly then they are today.
If you get the CD read the notes, much will be explained.
Does anyone know - the 'Images' LP that John Williams made for Oscar consideration, how much music from the actual film did it miss out? The LP only runs half an hour so I'm guessing there's more.
Based on what exactly?
Most films I see tend to have at least 45 minutes' worth of music in the film so I wondered if there was more in Images. The film length is 101 mins so I wasn't sure. I haven't seen the film.
It's the most untypical sounding John Williams score that still sounds like Williams. I imagine the people who don't care for John Williams much would cite this as his best work, as it eschews his usual thematic/warm/tonal style for some great creepy/dark/atonal music set amongst a gorgeous piano and strings theme.
Yep! I just saw this film for the first time last night, and it's already my all-time favorite John Williams score.
There was a very brief period in the early 70s when American directors and composers were picking up on the vibe of Italian giallos. Images and Klute are two examples.
Yep! I just saw this film for the first time last night, and it's already my all-time favorite John Williams score.
There was a very brief period in the early 70s when American directors and composers were picking up on the vibe of Italian giallos. Images and Klute are two examples.
Hhmmm ... I'm rather unsure, Onya, that American directors & composers had access to Italian giallos in order to see & hear them enough for such to influence American cinema.
I was only a child myself during this time period (so I can't speak from personal experience), but my impression is that Italian gore was relegated to drive-in or grindhouse movie theaters. Most English-speaking peoples tended to regard such flicks as 'trash'. Would American directors and composers actually go to see Euro-trash movies for inspiration?
[bear in mind, too, that some of the earliest soundtracks from giallos began to appear during the early 1980s (around 10 years after these types of movies were made) on vinyl records via such labels as Cerberus.]
I don't see or hear much 'giallo' in IMAGES (it has more in common with European arthouse like Polanski's REPULSION), but it's one of my JW favourites too. I often use it in my lectures. Glad you enjoyed the film and score, Onya. I kinda knew you would.
Hhmmm ... I'm rather unsure, Onya, that American directors & composers had access to Italian giallos in order to see & hear them enough for such to influence American cinema.
You may be correct in part, but Michael Small said that he was listening to lots of Morricone at that time, and given the sonic character, it's not far-fetched to think that he at least listened to some giallo scores. "Crystal Plumage," for example, was released by Capitol in the U.S.
I do, but we may have listened to different giallo scores and have different reference points. The only thing Images is missing is the fake rock tune with the free-form trumpet freakout.
