Spins: John Williams • Jaws: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
John Williams
Jaws: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(Geffen/UMe)
You’re going to need a bigger record shelf. Composer and conductor John Williams’ famous two-note theme surfaces from these shallow grooves, reminding countless listeners of a certain age why they were scared to go to the beach as kids. The combination of Williams’ score and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s best-selling book created a cinematic milestone in 1975. This reissue offers a vivid new stereo mix of the original 12 score pieces from the soundtrack album for its 50th anniversary. “Chrissie’s Death” begins with uneasy anticipation, builds toward ravenous bloodlust, and concludes with eerie finality. Led by breezy flutes, bells, bright trumpets, and chirping strings, “Promenade (Tourists on the Menu)” is an unsuspecting visitor’s lighthearted reflection of a summer day along the shore in Amity Island. So goes the classically oriented program, with orchestral movements including the optimistic “Out to Sea,” grim “Sea Attack Number One,” tense “Sea Attack Number One,” nervous but resolute “Preparing the Cage,” and the frenzied “Hand to Hand Combat” reflecting key moments from one of Hollywood’s greatest creature features. After 50 years, “Main Title (Theme from Jaws)” remains among the most recognizable movie music ever, and one of Williams’ most beloved themes. The LP is available with a couple of excellent, campy gimmicks. A “Blood in the Water” version is pressed onto red-and-blue splatter vinyl suggestive of dangerous waters. Another option leaves nothing to interpretation: the “Shark-Infested Water-Filled Vinyl” arrives in a limited edition of 1,975 numbered copies on clear vinyl. A layer of swirling sea-colored liquid separates the two sides, and both sides feature a shark-fin label. Galeophobia (I had to look it up, too) notwithstanding, this reissue is ripe for holiday giving to your favorite orchestral music aficionado, vinyl junkie, monster movie maven, or oceanographer.
– Jeff Elbel
9 of 10
