About the Soundtrack: "John Scott Conducts His Favorite Film Scores" is a collection prepared by the composer himself from his esteemed body of work. The album is available from BuySoundtrax.com or through JOS records (Scott's personal label) and serves as a nice sampling for both new and veteran fans alike. The music selections are arranged mostly as suites, though there are some tracks that are represented as individual cues from their respective scores. The packaging is a bit nondescript (a bit of a marketing touch could have served the layout better), however, there are running times and descriptions associated with each track that provide some background for each selection. Having this general information accessible in the liner notes is a great help in knowing what type of style to expect from each film, especially since it's such a diverse sampling of the composer's work.
What You Need to Know: I've always admired John Scott. I think he should be considered as one of the first tier composers of his generation, right there with John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, et al. I liken his style to that of Williams, specifically, with his ability to craft effective and memorable themes for his films without compromising the use of an equally useful underscore. So you as may deduce, I was quite enthused when I placed the order for this compilation since there was selections of his I hadn't heard before that were represented on the disc as well as updated recordings of work I had previously enjoyed.
The album begins with perhaps Scott's career highlight, the Main Title from "
The Final Countdown." The score itself, created a couple decades back, really warrants a complete re-recording as it is an adventurous, memorable and exciting experience. As it is, I had to settle for the Main Title rendition which is still welcome, though I hope to hear it with a large sized orchestra one day. Even though it lasts just a bit over 4 minutes, and doesn't include the additional themes from the film, it's still a highlight from this compilation disc.
The next notable, and perhaps best selection from the entire album, is Scott's suite from "
Antony and Cleopatra." The ill-fated picture, directed by Charlton Heston, fell short with critics when it was made but the soundtrack was well received. To that end, the suite on this album is phenomenal. The main theme is so rich and emotional that I was loving every moment of the 8+ minutes that this suite played and it left me wanting plenty more. This is yet another score that would do well with a re-recording in full.
Of course, there are other interesting selections on this particular album as well, such as "North Dallas Forty," "Greystoke - Tarzan," (I told you this is a diverse album) and a nifty march from "People that Time Forgot." Overall, this content on this album certainly makes for a reasonable introduction for newcomers to access Scott's work. And as far regulars, it turned me on to some of his older content that I had not previously had the pleasure of checking out. Based on what I heard, I'll be submitting an order for 'Antony and Cleopatra' at the very least.
Final Grade: John Scott is a composer that all fans of film music should be in line with. He's created a multitude of scores over the years that are entertaining and moving. Even though the releases from this current stage of his career have been for lesser known movies, he still puts out high quality work. I only wish the new generation of Hollywood would make the proper decisions and get a composer like Scott back on board with some of the major commercial projects. I am certain that the current film industry would benefit greatly from his work...as it did once before.
As far as this particular compilation -- I do not believe it's the elite selections from Scott's career, but I do think it is an entertaining release with plenty of varied selections of his work. Had there been a bit more of "The Final Countdown" and slightly larger orchestras to work with, then this would have been elevated to a higher mark. Instead, it feels like an informal release but one that I can confidently recommend.
