In Session is subtitled "A Film Music Celebration," but what it celebrates is not so much original soundtrack recordings as commercial re-recordings and releases of music written for the silver screen. Many of the 36 tracks on this two-CD compilation never made it onto film. For example, the collection begins with
Alex North's theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey -- a composition that was rejected by Stanley Kubrick and replaced with famous classical pieces.
North's work lacks the power of the final version, but it has some of the same sense of mystery and grandeur. It has historical value, but let the buyer beware: anyone who picks up this album in her local record store expecting the familiar theme from 2001 will be sorely disappointed. And so it goes throughout the set: "Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire" is not an excerpt from
John Williams' score, it is an experimental attempt by
Joel McNeely to write a score for one of the many Star Wars novels that have little to do with the movies. The excerpts from Superman: The Movie and Star Trek: The Motion Picture are taken from the final score for those films (by
Williams and
Jerry Goldsmith, respectively) but they are presented in new recordings that sound little like the familiar soundtrack versions. Producer
Robert Townson provides detailed liner notes that reveal the intricate histories of each track, and for some film buffs those notes may be treasure trove. But the music itself is generally much less interesting. Don't let the ambiguous and misleading packaging fool you.
In Session is for serious film music junkies only. ~ Evan Cater