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Posted: |
Jul 14, 2021 - 4:51 PM
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By: |
EdG
(Member)
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A few thoughts about La La Land's ALWAYS:
1988-1990 was an even more fertile period for John Williams than usual: seven film scores in three years and the release six Boston Pops albums. Moreover the Pops transitioned from its former label at Phillips Classics (now Decca) to Sony. In addition he conducted his first album entirely devoted to the Star Wars Trilogy with a newly created Bay Area session orchestra dubbed The Skywalker Symphony.
Moreover, Williams was embracing a new mini genre within his body of work: small scale, piano-led scores for more intimate character-based films. Perhaps this move was a response to some negative feedback on his majestic score for EMPIRE OF THE SUN which drew criticism for its prominent use of choir and large orchestra in a war drama. At that time orchestral scores were flourishing as never before but increasingly the tastes of many in production and in the press were once again leaning against large thematically rich scores, particularly in dramas, and toward song-driven soundtracks that were perceived as less openly manipulative (and more commercially exploitable). Whatever the reason, we got a series of smaller-scale Williams efforts that began with Lawrence Kasdan's THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST in December 1988 and continued a year later with Steven Spielberg's ALWAYS. I won't go into the details of the film itself, but the score blends piano and an array of keyboard synthesizers with strings and a generally restrained orchestra to create a shimmering and ethereal tone poem of "the next world."
The MCA LP and cassette floated into stores some time after the film opened, which was rare for a Spielberg/Williams joint effort. Accounts above vary but I found the first CD in my local Sam Goody's nearly six months later. The album begins with six songs most of which had been previously released including The Platter's timeless cover of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," however the master for the song was mediocre in quality and clipped off the first downbeat (current remasterings are greatly improved and contain everything). The arrangement of the score that follows is one of the best Williams ever did from the standpoint of a listening experience. The music began powerfully with the score's highlight, "Among The Clouds" which made for a successful overture and after a brief orchestral scherzo, "Follow Me," continued into a otherworldly soundscape for "Pete In Heaven." Here in the first three cues we got the gist of the score proper and everything that followed is in some fashion a development of one of those ideas: a solid 45 minutes of Williams material even though mixed song/score albums generally spent most of their time on songs. A number of the tracks were small mini suites of short but related cues which enhanced the flow. Unfortunately, the whole album's audio was disappointing: everything was mixed low and seemed dull and lifeless. The low end was there but the dynamics were limited and the highs were weak. I suspect that even as CDs began to eclipse LPs as the preferred choice there were still mastering engineers locked into the limitations of vinyl. In the end the film went down as a disappointment with critics and audiences after almost a decade of development and the music dropped out of memory until Williams recorded his unused End Title with the Pops five years later.
And so it was for two decades until La La Land's recent release of an expanded ALWAYS and it was worth the wait. We get virtually the whole score including alternates and unused tracks. The 1989 album track assemblies have been retained but reorganized into roughly chronological order and supplemented with new cues and assemblies of cues. Most fascinating of all is an alternate End Title interpolating Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" with the main theme. The sound is a massive improvement in every respect: the whole orchestra is clear and distinct and the dynamics pack the punch you'd expect from Williams. Every transient detail in Shawn Murphy's recording is preserved, and there are few French Horn solos anywhere as heartrending and seemingly effortless as Jim Thatcher's. The glittering synths and percussion effects are bright and sharp and float above the orchestra like stars in a summer evening. ALWAYS is a frequently overlooked gem particularly when held up against massive sagas like Star Wars and Indiana Jones but this new release makes a powerful argument for its continued relevance.
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Posted: |
Jul 15, 2021 - 1:50 AM
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By: |
Amer Zahid
(Member)
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A few thoughts about La La Land's ALWAYS:
1988-1990 was an even more fertile period for John Williams than usual: seven film scores in three years and the release six Boston Pops albums. Moreover the Pops transitioned from its former label at Phillips Classics (now Decca) to Sony. In addition he conducted his first album entirely devoted to the Star Wars Trilogy with a newly created Bay Area session orchestra dubbed The Skywalker Symphony.
Moreover, Williams was embracing a new mini genre within his body of work: small scale, piano-led scores for more intimate character-based films. Perhaps this move was a response to some negative feedback on his majestic score for EMPIRE OF THE SUN which drew criticism for its prominent use of choir and large orchestra in a war drama. At that time orchestral scores were flourishing as never before but increasingly the tastes of many in production and in the press were once again leaning against large thematically rich scores, particularly in dramas, and toward song-driven soundtracks that were perceived as less openly manipulative (and more commercially exploitable). Whatever the reason, we got a series of smaller-scale Williams efforts that began with Lawrence Kasdan's THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST in December 1988 and continued a year later with Steven Spielberg's ALWAYS. I won't go into the details of the film itself, but the score blends piano and an array of keyboard synthesizers with strings and a generally restrained orchestra to create a shimmering and ethereal tone poem of "the next world."
The MCA LP and cassette floated into stores some time after the film opened, which was rare for a Spielberg/Williams joint effort. Accounts above vary but I found the first CD in my local Sam Goody's nearly six months later. The album begins with six songs most of which had been previously released including The Platter's timeless cover of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," however the master for the song was mediocre in quality and clipped off the first downbeat (current remasterings are greatly improved and contain everything). The arrangement of the score that follows is one of the best Williams ever did from the standpoint of a listening experience. The music began powerfully with the score's highlight, "Among The Clouds" which made for a successful overture and after a brief orchestral scherzo, "Follow Me," continued into a otherworldly soundscape for "Pete In Heaven." Here in the first three cues we got the gist of the score proper and everything that followed is in some fashion a development of one of those ideas: a solid 45 minutes of Williams material even though mixed song/score albums generally spent most of their time on songs. A number of the tracks were small mini suites of short but related cues which enhanced the flow. Unfortunately, the whole album's audio was disappointing: everything was mixed low and seemed dull and lifeless. The low end was there but the dynamics were limited and the highs were weak. I suspect that even as CDs began to eclipse LPs as the preferred choice there were still mastering engineers locked into the limitations of vinyl. In the end the film went down as a disappointment with critics and audiences after almost a decade of development and the music dropped out of memory until Williams recorded his unused End Title with the Pops five years later.
And so it was for two decades until La La Land's recent release of an expanded ALWAYS and it was worth the wait. We get virtually the whole score including alternates and unused tracks. The 1989 album track assemblies have been retained but reorganized into roughly chronological order and supplemented with new cues and assemblies of cues. Most fascinating of all is an alternate End Title interpolating Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" with the main theme. The sound is a massive improvement in every respect: the whole orchestra is clear and distinct and the dynamics pack the punch you'd expect from Williams. Every transient detail in Shawn Murphy's recording is preserved, and there are few French Horn solos anywhere as heartrending and seemingly effortless as Jim Thatcher's. The glittering synths and percussion effects are bright and sharp and float above the orchestra like stars in a summer evening. ALWAYS is a frequently overlooked gem particularly when held up against massive sagas like Star Wars and Indiana Jones but this new release makes a powerful argument for its continued relevance.
Good points and I feel the same about the original album when it first came out-I look forward to this !
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A few thoughts about La La Land's ALWAYS:
Nicely done!
One further note: This album benefited greatly from being heard on CD and being able to listen to Among the Clouds all the way through to Dorinda Solo Flight. On cassette (and I'm assuming LP) the end of Side One was Among the Clouds and Follow Me. And then Side Two started with Pete in Heaven and finished from there. It was a disjointed listening experience.
The new CD is sublime.
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I do feel, as a listening experience, this released is much improved with Among The Clouds, which opened the score sequence on the original album (after the songs), being placed at the start here too.
The CD starts with such a low-key whimper of tracks and then most of the BIG, action*/emotional cues are loaded together at the end of the score.
Just taking that one cue out of that mix and placing it at the beginning works so much better for me.
Still, it's a beaut of a release!
*well, not really action, but you know what I mean.
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I have to respond...
You´re right!
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You realize, of course, if we did that, there would be remarks saying the opposite and that we should have kept it in order.
We live in an age of playlisting and that's a good thing, and more bang for the buck really in that you can explore and personalize.
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In any event, this is a fantastic release every Williams fan needs to have. Wonderful and enchanting music.
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You realize, of course, if we did that, there would be remarks saying the opposite and that we should have kept it in order.
We live in an age of playlisting and that's a good thing, and more bang for the buck really in that you can explore and personalize.
Mike, I LOVE this set. And I'm very happy where everything fits and builds. (Pete in Heaven is hard to get through wherever you put it.)
I made my own version of the film edit of the finale. Then I couldn't figure out where to put it where it wouldn't be either redundant or step on the vibe of an existing track (Among the Clouds).
This sequencing stuff is serious business!
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If a composer i.e., John Williams puts his scores out in suite like order, I love it.
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