A brown fedora. The crack of a whip. Action. Adventure. Archeology. If this doesn’t instantly bring to mind the image of Indiana Jones, one of the most iconic characters in all of cinema, you need to update your film collection. Just as tied to Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Speilberg’s classic adventure films are the memorable score by John Williams.
What rambunctious younger growing up in the 80’s didn’t hum “The Raiders March” while attempting to climbs trees, jump ravines and race their red wagon down imaginary mine shafts. Ok, maybe that was just me. While I never did find any ancient artifacts (unless you count that old Pepsi bottle), the Indy flicks provided a treasure trove of escapism all on their own.
Now, 36 years after the original Raiders of the Lost Ark hit the big screen to help usher in the term “blockbuster”, Concord Music Group reveals a new jewel for Indy fans and vinyl enthusiasts with the re-release of the classic Oscar-nominated score.
“John Williams saves yet another life,” said Spielberg back in 1981 of how the famed composer’s music elevated the film even higher than his own expectations. “The Raiders score…its sharp rhythms told (Jones) when to run. Its slicing strings told him when to duck. Its several integrated themes told adventurer Jones when to kiss the heroine or smash the enemy.”
Unlike the film’s namesake, you won’t have to go digging for the musical gems on this now expanded 180-gram vinyl double-LP. Even if you’ve heard the familiar themes hundreds of times you haven’t quite heard them this way with audio so crisp you think it was recorded yesterday by the London Symphony Orchestra.
“I work very much in what some would consider old school, in front of the keyboard with pencil and paper. The piano is my favorite tool. Over the decades there has been so much amazing technological change in the music business, but I've been so busy I've never retooled,” Williams has said of his work, which is really best for the movies. He’s had 50 Academy Award nominations, including one for Raiders.
Pressed at Record Technology Incorporated, the reissue is housed in a two-pocket gatefold jacket featuring classic stills and artwork from the film. Collectors and fans will first want to dive into the wealth of cues newly unearthed by engineer Bernie Grundman (who mastered the original soundtrack). There’s over a half hour of new stuff for everybody to enjoy here. Well, almost everybody.
“That damn music follows me everywhere,” Harrison Ford once quipped. “It was playing in the operating room when I went in for my colonoscopy.”
While we don’t expect you to take the album that far, a spin might induce the want to venture into the deep jungles in search of something that belongs in a museum. This release, however, doesn’t. It belongs in your record collection!
Track list:
A1. In The Jungle
A2. The Idol Temple
A3. Escape From The Temple
A4. Flight From Peru
A5. Washington Men / Indy's Home
A6. A Thought For Marion / To Nepal
A7. The Medallion
A8. Flight To Cairo
B1. The Basket Game
B2. Bad Dates
B3. The Map Room: Dawn
B4. Reunion In The Tent / Searching For The Well
B5. The Well Of The Souls
C1. Indy Rides The Statue
C2. The Fist Fight / The Flying Wing
C3. Desert Chase
C4. Marion's Theme / The Crate
D1. The German Sub
D2. Ride To The Nazi Hideout
D3. Indy Follows The Ark
D4. The Miracle Of The Ark
D5. Washington Ending / Raiders March
