Search - John Williams :: Superman: The Movie - Original Sound Track

Abridged "Super-Saver" album is still super, man.....

Alex Diaz-Granados | Miami, FL United States | 01/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Before Rhino Records released the 2-CD soundtrack album a few years ago, this single disc 1990 edition was the only version of the John Williams' composed-and-conducted soundtrack for Superman: The Movie. Featuring the exciting Theme from Superman and the romantic "Love Theme" as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, this somewhat abridged album is still worth listening to, even though the newer (and more expensive) version is better.Superman: The Movie's original double album and cassette editions had 16 tracks, but when this CD was first published 14 years ago there was a "super saver" (no pun intended) trend of releasing soundtrack albums with fewer tracks to sell the CDs at a lower price. In the case of Superman, the cues "Growing Up" (heard mostly in the scene where young Clark Kent kicks a football into the stratosphere, then outraces a train) and "Lex Luthor's Lair" were deleted. The latter track is not missed -- the thematic material omitted is reprised in "The March of the Villains" -- but "Growing Up" was one of my favorite cues, starting out with a gentle statement of the "Superman Fanfare" which segues first into an ascending motif that suggests the flight of that kicked football and concludes with music that conveys the power of that speeding locomotive and the even faster superhero-to-be.The tracks are arranged more or less in the sequence in which they appear in the film, but as is common practice on albums of the genre some cues are spliced together because they sound good on the record. The major differences between the original 1978 soundtrack (and this first CD) and the Rhino/Warner Archives reissue are:1. The tracks on the 2-CD re-release follow the film's storyline precisely. This is also the case on other Nick Redman-produced projects such as The Special Edition albums of the original Star Wars Trilogy and the Raiders of the Lost Ark CD release.2. Track 5, which should have been "Growing Up," is "Love Theme From Superman." The 2001 re-release features the love theme after the main end title march, since it is played as underscore for what is one of the longest credits rolls in movie history.3. Track 1, Theme from Superman (Main Title) is not the same cue heard either in the film or on the Rhino re-release. It's actually the shorter concert hall version. It lacks the subtle woodwind introduction and the longer, more dramatic buildup to the Main Title, and it is included in the 2-CD edition as a bonus track.4. The Flying Sequence and Margot Kidder's "Can You Read My Mind" vocal (which was also covered as a song by Melissa Manchester but not in any soundtrack) appears on this abridged version right after The Fortress of Solitude, but is presented as a bonus track on the Rhino re-release. (There was another, unused "pop" version which was wisely not used in either the final film or the original recordings, but owners of the Special Edition DVD or the longer soundtrack can hear and compare it to the LSO/Kidder version.)Even though film score (and John Williams) aficionados prefer the latest version of the Superman: The Movie soundtrack, this "super-saver" edition is still enjoyable. The LSO is one of the world's greatest classical ensembles and has provided musical firepower to such films as the Star Wars saga and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and under the direction of Williams at the height of his powers, its performance of this score will make the listener believe that a man can, indeed, fly."

Wrong Track Lists

Alex Diaz-Granados | 01/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just to let you know that the track listing above (as of 20th Janurary) are wrong and are in fact from the forthcoming Superman Box Set. THIS CD has 14 tracks on one CD"

John Williams Is The Superhero Here!

MATTHEW BLACK | Auckland, New Zealand. | 02/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Williams was on a roll that started with Jaws and that roll has yet to end! The word genius gets bandied around a lot these days but it is an apellation that applies to Williams in spades. 'Star Wars', 'Close Encounters' and 'Superman' are his best works, in my opinion, and Supes is probably the best of those. You would have to be tone deaf and made of stone to not feel the hairs on the back of your neck rise when the horns of the 'Main Title' sound! This music is sheer (that word again) genius from start to finish and is very moving in every way. 'The Love Theme To Superman', 'Fortress Of Solitude' and 'Leaving Home' still give me goosebumps after all these years. Am I gushing over this album? You bet! If I could I'd give it TEN stars, so help me! I think I'll go play 'Leaving Home' again right now, so I can blubber like a baby once more..."