Decca Records US and Deutsche Grammophon release their collaborative album, John Williams: Legacy, on vinyl, CD, and digitally. Celebrating one of the most influential and celebrated composers in film history, this collection, brings together landmark recordings from across Williams’ distinguished catalog. The collection features the composer conducting music from his legendary film career with some of the world’s finest orchestras...

I never get tired of champion the work of John Williams in being instrumental in my appreciation of film soundtracks. I bought the LP of Raiders of the Lost Ark back in the early '80s and was hooked by Williams' incredible orchestrations. His work on the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies played out as the soundtrack to important elements of my teenage years. And the music from Jurassic Park was a constant companion as I studied at university in the '90s.

Over the years I've reviewed several Williams' collections of his most notable themes. Whilst I love listening to them I always see them as tasters for people who don't really collect scores - I mean, if you did, you'd already own the original soundtracks. However, whilst I do own each full score for every track that's represented on John Williams: Legacy, listening to this new collection gave me a newfound respect for tracks I've heard hundreds of times. The reason? Whilst each track stays faithful to the original, the editing mix is a little different. This means that various sections of the orchestra are more in focus on these recordings than on the original recordings and some cases - a lot of cases in fact - this means that you pick up little intricate segments that weren't accessible previously. The end result is akin to hearing the music for the first time.

I fell in love with Williams' most icon themes once again. I urge all soundtrack lovers to pick up this lovingly crafted collection.

Track listing:

01. Main Title from “Star Wars: A New Hope”
02. Hedwig’s Theme from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”
03. Raiders March from “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”
04. Flying Theme from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”
05. Theme from “Jurassic Park”
06. Superman March
07. Theme from “Schindler’s List”
08. Olympic Fanfare and Theme
09. Excerpts from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”
10. Harry’s Wondrous World from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”
11. Yoda’s Theme from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”
12. The Imperial March from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”
13. The Flight to Neverland from “Hook”
14. Princess Leia’s Theme from “Star Wars: A New Hope”
15. Throne Room & Finale from “Star Wars: A New Hope”

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Darren Rea