Worth another look!
Best Original Score of 2001
13 Tracks (70:13)
Music Composed and Conducted by John Williams. Album Produced by John Williams.
Vocal Solos by Barbara Bonney.
Music Editor: Ken Wannberg. Music Recorded and Mixed by Shawn Murphy. Assistant Engineer: Sue McLean. Album Mastered by Patricia Sullivan Fourstar. Executive Producer for Warner Bros. Records: Danny Bramson. Executives in charge of music for Warner Bros. Records: Gary Lemel and Doug Frank. Package Design: Katherine Delaney.
Song: "For Always" (music by John Williams, lyrics by Cynthia Weil).
Warner Sunset/Warner Bros. Records 9 48096-2
Rating: ****
What a difference between two films made fifty-five years apart! I just reviewed THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES from 1946, which reflects an uncertain but upbeat time in post-World War II, and is one of the best films ever made. Then I turned to A.I., which is a badly flawed film telling an unsettling and downbeat tale about a distant future when David, a robot boy (or mecha), is built to love a human (or orga).
By now just about everyone knows that A.I. was a collaboration between two highly revered film directors, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick. That collaboration is at different poles and not really successful. At one pole is the more cynical Kubrick who seems represented by Gigolo Joe
(played by Jude Law), the Flesh Fair and Rouge City. On the other side is the more sentimental Spielberg, who gives us a cuddly mechanical Teddy, two strangely disconnected parents (Frances O'Connor and Sam Robards), and a wide-eyed robot boy ( Haley Joel Osment).
The two directors may be at different poles, but the collaboration that really works best is that between Spielberg and John Williams. This is reported to be their 20th film working together. With their films grossing multi-millions, they have become the most successful creative team in film history. Spielberg has always respected and admired the music of Williams, as he should.
I was largely unmoved by the film itself, except for the magical, dreamlike ending.
The film was too long, had too many loose ends, and the characters didn't seem genuine enough. That's the minus side. On the plus side are the intriguing story ideas, the spectacular special effects, the incredible acting by Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law, and especially the score.
This is one of the best John Williams scores in years. In fact, I would put it up there with two of his similar classics in the sci-fi genre, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and E.T.
His score for A.I. has enormous depth and development. The ordering of the tracks is not the same as in the film but so what if they aren't. That's only for the obsessive track counters. For example, the first track, "The Mecha World" (6:23), actually appears much later in the film. But it's an excellent opening cue, with touches of minimalism recalling John Adams or Philip Glass. I believe that JW has made the right choice by choosing this propulsive cue for the opening track of the CD.
All the remaining cues provide worthwhile listening. I'll just select a few I especially liked.
"The Moon Rising" (track 7, 4:26) is highly dramatic, with some techno rock thrown in for the Flesh Fair scene, and a thrilling finale for the cue. I believe the two tracks which follow are the best on the CD. "Stored Memories/ Monica's Theme" (the longest cue at 10:56) opens with a soft ethereal wordless chorus (unidentified) which gradually proceeds to the ravishing theme for the mother (Monica), played first by piano and cello, and then beautifully sung as a vocalise by Barbara Bonney. The next track, "Where Dreams Are Born" (4:23), continues with this magical Monica's Theme. I'll admit that I had tears rolling down my cheeks after hearing this gorgeous song sung so beautifully by Barbara Bonney.
Two others tracks I found appealing were " Rouge City" (track 10, 4:56) - with its highly romantic string writing (John Williams has stated this was his tribute to Kubrick); and "The Search for the Blue Fairy" (track 11, 6:12), once again with the lovely voice of Barbara Bonney. "The Reunion" (track 12, 7:45) is devoted again to the beautiful Monica's Theme, featuring solo piano and orchestra.
I'm not a fan of the big high power movie song within a dramatic score because they are usually thrown in under the end credits. They have little to do with the film's plot.
But that's not true with "For Always." It's an important part of the film, since it represents the love of David for Monica (" Monica's Theme"). This is a lovely song. It's heard twice on the soundtrack. First in a strong solo performance by Lara Fabian (track 5, 4:42). She reminds me of a young Barbra Streisand. The other version is a duet with Fabian and Josh Groban (track 13, 4:41), which was arranged by Danny Foster and orchestrated by William Ross. That version is obviously the one which the record company hopes will become a big hit and sell more soundtrack CDs. That's fine. It's a good arrangement. And if more people buy this soundtrack for the song, then they'll also get to hear the beautiful theme on which it's based.
I would love to know how John Williams approached this score because it truly carries the film along for much of its overextended length. Steven Spielberg acknowledges this in his brief comments on the CD insert:
"The music underlines and then transports David on his journey of discovery from his inception to his transcendence and John does this with wit, majesty, and soul."
I agree with Spielberg. The soundtrack enriches the film and gives it more feeling.
This is best soundtrack release so far this year and it's hard to imagine another score better than this one. It also illustrates once again, as in SABRINA and HOME ALONE, that John Williams can excel as both a songwriter and a film composer.
Even if you didn't like the Spielberg film, you're should find this exceptional soundtrack appealing. The ravishing " Monica's Theme" alone is worth having.
I highly recommend you buy this CD. Then you can hear for yourself how much of a master John Williams has become in the film music realm.
The last two score tracks of this soundtrack (11: "The Search for the Blue Fairy" and 12: "The Reunion") are as good as it gets in today's film music. They should have a life of their own in the concert world.
A truly great film score.
-- Roger Hall, 10 July 2001/revised 20 May 2013
Also recommended is this 2 CD release...
John Williams - Greatest Hits, 1969-1999
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