Search - John Williams :: The Indiana Jones Trilogy (Soundtrack)

A very bad interpretation of the classic scores

02/05/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"There is no need to point out that the magnificent Indy scores by John Williams have become modern classics. Unfortunately, what certain recording studios don't realize in their pursuit of a quick buck, is that Williams's music is *not* an easy popcorn theme that anyone can perform. It's actually quite difficult and requires a skilled, experienced orchestra. The London Symphony Orchestra is up to the task - the Prague Orchestra is not. It's no big mystery among film score conneisseurs that the Prague Orchestra is not among the best ones in any parts of Europe, and that Silva chose them for this recording merely for monetary reasons. It shows immediately. The tracks, performed chronologically and starting with Raiders, suffer from uneven volume, bizarre pitch changes in the choir, and what sounds suspiciously as if some musicians were unable to keep the pace and began falling behind the rest, which resulted in strange sound fluctuations, and the listener's teeth aching. The ToD tracks are once again performed sloppily, with volume changes and tempo problems, especially evident in "Airplane Fight". This continues, and by the time the LC Finale comes, they orchestra sounds bored and sleepy, and so does its performance.To add to the insult, the sleeve doesn't even use the Indy fonts (except for the freeware SF-Fedora), its choice of illustration is awkward at least, *and* there are no bonus tracks (except for a rehash of the bad ToD song - definitely not what the John Williams listeners want).I own all releases of the Indy music, including the expanded 2CD versions, and I can say that even if you only own the regular 1CD releases, you should avoid this mediocre effort (I should actually call it "a tacky hacky effort") from Silva and the Prague Orchestra. If you want an introduction to the music of the Indy world, and want to buy only one CD, get the quasi-expanded Raiders instead. An Indy or JW completist will certainly buy this Trilogy anyway, but I predict that, like me, you're not likely to listen to it more than once."

A Fresh, Stand-Alone Interpretation

Michael A. Aquino | Northern California, USA | 08/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The original soundtrack albums of the three Indiana Jones films have long since embedded themselves as auditory gospel between the ears of fans, which is often the case with really good movie music. Other/later interpretations run the risk of being denounced just for not being precisely the same, which of course they are usually not intended to be. So it is with this collection.



The IJ music here doesn't sound like a photocopy of the soundtracks. Rather it is Indiana Jones as you might hear it live in a concert hall setting. The pace of the pieces is designed for the audience to "taste", not for an on-screen character's actions. Thus this music gets slow and rich when it wants to, adds percussion, brass, etc. when you would enjoy more of it, and generally leaves you with a very satisfying listening-exclusively experience.



These versions of the themes would not have worked as soundtracks as well as Williams' originals, because these are their own "center stage" whereas Williams' are enhancements to screen activity.



My only complaint is that the liner-notes booklet with this CD just provides synopses of the three films, and doesn't discuss how this Prague SO version came to pass. Was it intended as a "concert collection"? Why did the conductor & orchestra make the changes they did? I think that would have been interesting to know.



Anyway, if you have the original soundtracks and are wondering whether to get this CD too, I would say do it. You'll find it a novel, pleasurable, and at times even exciting listening experience."

Not a soundtrack!

Roger T. Yokubaitis | Houston, Texas USA | 08/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Come on, Amazon, you list this under "Soundtracks" when it clearly is but a later rerecording of the original score. A rerecordings is not a sountrack! The average customer would think something you list inder "Soundtracks" would in fact be a soundtrack and would find out it actually is but a rerecording of the score only by going over the details of these reviews. It might be great music, but a rerecording is not a soundtrack!"