Search - John Williams :: Jaws (2000 Rerecording of 1975 Film Score)

A Classic score and a new reading

Mark | new york, ny United States | 09/15/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Joel McNeely's presentation with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra can't go wrong inasmuch as it celebrates one of the finest, textured, and most recognized scores in the history of popular film. It is curious that it comes on the heals of another pressing of this music not two months earlier, which was released in conjunction with the DVD and remastered video release of the film. Both of these albumns contain significantly more music than the original motion picture soundtrack which has been available for years. However I think the recent "Special Edition" version which offers Williams' compilation in sequential order is superior, packing more punch than McNeely's. While the music still plumbs the depths of fear, soars in seafaring adventure and brings the characters to life in all their thematic brilliance, true fans of this score will hear a slightly different interpretation of this music. "Montage", which on Williams' collection is called "Tourists on the Menu" seems slower and more hollow, missing the whimsical commentary on summer folk blindly readying themselves for summertime beaching. Indeed, many of the tracks simply sound thinner or a slight bit more heavyhanded, either missing some of the humor of the music or skipping the pathos. McNeely's Superman score had a similar problem, missing some of the richness of the music one may be used to hearing in the film. In that case, however, he was offering cues which had not been previously available to listeners. With very little exception (a sequence dropped from the autopsy scene?) There is little new material here, especially since the new Williams score has added 20 minutes to the old soundtrack release.I am glad, in a way, that he is choosing to give new readings to the scores of these types of popular films, but I would first and foremost recommend a listening to John Williams' own recordings of this music. Oddly, both albumns offer liner notes which malign the original soundtrack for being rearranged to compose a suite of the film's music rather than a telling of the story. In my opinion, the original albumn still delivers the best of the score in the best format. These new releases add many interesting musical cues which may be only notable for folks who want to investigate this score to death."

THE version to get

Inspector Gadget | On the trail of Doctor Claw | 07/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There have been many releases of the Jaws score in the past. The first on LP and cassette and then a couple of releases on CD that only lasted about 30 minutes.



But this 2000 release from Varese Sarabande gives us 25 tracks, lasts 52 minutes and is a brand new digital recording (maxing out the excitement if you have big speakers) performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conducted by Joel McNeely. It sounds great and is a more complete package than the other Jaws CDs, especially when you consider then extensive liner notes.



Even brilliant unused cues such as 'Quint Meets His End' are included. The Jaws music is way more than just DUM DUM DUM. There is a very good reason why John Williams took home that Academy Award and this CD is the best proof of that. Must buy."

A Must-Have Score!

Daniel V. Reilly | Upstate New York, United States | 08/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally! The complete score from the classic movie, re-recorded by Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish Orchestra. Every bit of John Williams' music is here, and the CD also comes with a very informative insert. This is a must-have for film-score fanatics; A vast improvement over the highly-truncated CD's that were previously available."