JOHN WILLIAMS

So far I've not seen ANY score CD in stores around here.

I guess our best option is to buy online if you have a credit card.

Of course.

PREMIERE CD UNCOVERS AN EARLY DRAMATIC GEM FROM JOHN WILLIAMS

NONE BUT THE BRAVE (1965)

Film Score Monthly presents the first-ever release of the famed film composer’s None But the Brave, an ambitiously broad and majestic 1960s score that will delight fans

Linden, VA – June 18, 2009 – An important dramatic score from the early career of John Williams is now released in complete stereo form by Film Score Monthly.

None But the Brave (1965) is a WWII film about a small contingent of Japanese and American solders making an uneasy truce on a small South Pacific island until war rears its ugly head. The picture is perhaps best remembered as the first (and only) directorial effort of Frank Sinatra, who stars in a small role alongside Clint Walker, Tony Bill and a diverse group of American and Japanese actors (it was co-produced by American and Japanese studios).

For film music fans the star is John Williams, then known as "Johnny" and transitioning to feature films after productive years in television. Most of Williams' early films were comedies but None But the Brave was a notable exception, giving Williams the opportunity to write a broad, majestic main theme, with ambitiously chromatic counterlines somewhat in the style of his contemporary, André Previn. The body of the score blends tension-filled moments informed by Williams' dramatic scores for television; atmospheric and suspense writing that anticipate his future blockbusters (from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Raiders of the Lost Ark); and even lighter passages recalling his comedic work. The story also allows for sensitive depictions of the Japanese as well as American characters, and these feature carefully designed Japanese-flavored colors (decades before Memoirs of a Geisha).

Fans of the composer who thought they knew every last note of his oeuvre and have hungered for new Williams CDs will delight in this uncovered gem. It is fascinating to hear his development as an artist, as well as the voice he offered for cinema of the 1960s. And if you like his Lost in Space television music, there is at least one cue ("The Final Flight") that will make you exclaim, "Danger, Will Robinson!"

FSM's premiere presentation of None But the Brave features the complete score newly mixed from the original ½" three-track stereo scoring masters as recorded by Dan Wallin on the Warner Bros. stage. Engineered for FSM's CD by Mike Matessino, it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Bonus tracks include Williams' music for the film's trailer, a piano solo performance of the theme (performed by the composer), and the commercial single recording of the main theme in the pop style of the day. Liner notes are by Jeff Eldridge. This is a limited edition of 3,000.

It is available now from Screen Archives Entertainment at www.screenarchives.com.

Check it out at http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm?ID=12527

and there goes my money again
man it litterally doesn't stop

Half the time it takes from now until its release, but doubled.

I hope you guys aren't ignoring this one just because of the year it was composed. Any chance to hear one of the masters first real serious film scores is nothing but a blessing.

Have any of you listened to the sound clips?

-Erik-

The sound clips do sound interesting - I'll hold off until there's more to order through SAE. If it is gone by then that will be a shame.

At first when I saw "Johnny Williams" I wasn't at all interested - I've not been too keen on his early scores but this new release certainly sounds like it's at the transition to the more dramatic-sounding Williams.

It's confusing, some websites say 2010 for Tintin and some are saying 2011. I think it's 2011 though, but don't know what's the release date. Can't tell you how excited I am for the score!

I'm waiting until next week as well, but Intrada is never going to top this, except perhaps if it's Family Plot or Black Sunday.

I want my own brontosaur.

The action material in The Lost World is indeed amazing (Visitor in San Diego is one of my most played tracks) but I think "T-Rex Rescue & Finale" from the original is one of Williams' finest action cues!

-Erik-

So you're saying you enjoy the fact that the main theme was generally held off till the end of the score?

I prefer the lyrical/melodic Williams to the action composer Williams so for me Jurassic Park is much better than The Lost World and I would have been glad to hear the well-known melody more often on the latter CD. Although The Lost World has been growing on me with each listen...