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JFK
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Composed, Conducted, Orchestrated and Produced by:
Performed by:
Soloists of the Boston Pops Orchestra
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release, but out of print as of 1998 and difficult to find in retail stores.
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AWARDS
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Nominated for an Academy Award.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... only if the beautiful title theme heard over the prologue
of the film is worth the price of an album littered with questionable
source music and highly synthetic, turbulent suspense cues.
Avoid it... if you expect any consistency in the listening
experience, free of intentional, synthetic dissonance at the conclusion
of the majority of thematic performances.
BUY IT
Filmtracks has no record of commercial ordering options for this title. However, you can search for this title at online soundtrack specialty outlets.
 | | Williams |
JFK: (John Williams) Among Oliver Stone's
historical, political dramas, none was received with such controversy
and spin as JFK in 1992. While the film's examination of the
conspiracy behind the assassination of the iconic American president
wasn't meant to be considered "the truth," many attempted to twist it as
such, further heightening the film's popularity. The film's settings
alternate between images powerful to American heritage and the smaller,
seedier sides of its culture, creating a dramatic swing of emotions
necessary for composer John Williams to address. His score would have to
convey the nobility of "Camelot" while suffering the task of mourning
the death, sparking tension for the obsessive investigation, and
offering a glimpse of life and hope in tender character themes.
Ultimately, Williams' task would be aided by the use of considerable
source music in the film, servicing Stone's immediate needs for each
scene quite well. But in the overall scheme, JFK is a classic
example of a score that functions well in context but quite badly on
album. His tribute to Kennedy in the form of the film's title theme is
really the extent of the memorable success for JFK, placing
itself well in Williams' concert performances and at the start of the
album. Mirroring the sound of a military funeral, the primary theme
opens with traditional snare salutes and Tim Morrison's noble trumpet
solos. The full ensemble performances of this theme are a spectacular
entry in Williams' career, oozing with respect with each carefully
placed snare roll and bass string swell. In the film, the theme would
see sparing use, though in traditional fashion, Williams didn't forget
to adapt the theme into several variants to expand the album's running
time.
While the "Prologue" performance of the title theme is
the famous highlight of JFK, Williams transfers the performance
to an elegantly rolling piano in "Theme from JFK," much as he would do
in Jurassic Park, though this cue ends by dissolving into a
terribly dissonant electronic droning effect that ruins the overall
track. It's understandable why Williams chose this dissolution, but he
forfeits the listenability of the track by taking that route. The album
would be padded with reprises of both cues, with the prologue truncated
and given an attractive French horn solo at the start in "Finale." The
second performance of "Theme from JFK" is identical to its predecessor,
leaving the listener with the same awful, dissonant conclusion at
album's end. The "Garrison Family Theme" is somewhat anonymous in the
score, with its pleasant woodwind performances leading, likewise, to
another intentionally muddied, electronic finish. The remainder of the
album is interesting in parts, but largely difficult to enjoy outside of
small snippets of the usual Williams magic. Both "The Motorcade" and
"Garrison's Obsession" would offer stark orchestral and electronic
dissonance not typically heard from the composer, alternating between
wicked representations of distress (low register piano pounding and
atonal brass layers suitable for raptors, among other methods of
tragedy) and extremely subdued lengths of synthetic bass note droning.
Suspenseful cues, such as "The Death of David Ferrie," offer a synthetic
side to Williams' writing, including an eerie electronic chorus not
often heard in his scores of the 1990's. In "The Witnesses," Williams
experiments with harsh brass tones and his echoing synthetic rattling
effects with distinct malice, producing a horrifyingly upsetting
metallic crescendo.
A few individual moments of musical intrigue litter
the score, however, including a rhythmic cue for "The Conspirators"
that became surprisingly popular. Led by the sounds of wood block and
metronome ticking (likely synthesized), the staggered rhythms of this
cue would be expanded upon with a fuller representation in Jurassic
Park. The keyboarded meanderings in the bass-heavy cue would be
transformed into an on-stage dance piece for the score's nomination
performance at the 1993 Oscars. Equally of note are the ultra-tragic
string layers of "Arlington," with adagio qualities mirroring the
intensity of Presumed Innocent and foreshadowing some of the
turbulence heard in the latter two Star Wars prequel scores. This
late cue would be another highlight in the film, representing the agony
of a visit to the President's memorial flame, but is an awkward
floater on the album. On that album, JFK is a completely
frustrating listening experience. Williams' music is spread between
several source cues, giving the overall experience a split personality.
In the case of the two military-related adaptations and/or performances
early on the album, Williams' own conducting of the cues alleviates the
problem to an extent. But by the time we pass Tony Bennett and get to
the bizarre combination of "Ode to Buckwheat" (and the homosexual
implications that the film associates the wide-ranging percussive piece
with) and the completely unlistenable Hispanic source song "El Watusi"
(with its atrocious sound quality... easily one of the most annoying
source cues ever to be pressed onto a film score CD), the album has
completely lost its focus. Williams' title theme is obviously an
outstanding and remarkable tribute to the man and the occasion, but
unless you are a huge fan of the turbulent sides of Nixon and
Jurassic Park, that theme will be better sought on a
compilation.
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- Score as written for the film: ***
- Score as heard on album: **
- Overall: **
| Bias Check: |
For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.68
(in 91 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.54
(in 363,581 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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Total Time: 64:16
• 1. Prologue (4:00)
• 2. The Motorcade (5:14)
• 3. Drummers' Salute - traditional adaptation (2:55)
• 4. Theme from J.F.K. (2:23)
• 5. Eternal Father, Strong to Save (For Those in Peril on the Sea) - traditional (1:19)
• 6. Garrison's Obession (2:33)
• 7. On the Sunny Side of the Street - performed by Sidney Bechet (4:13)
• 8. The Conspirators (4:04)
• 9. The Death of David Ferrie (2:47)
• 10. Maybe Sepetember - performed by Tony Bennett (4:03)
• 11. Garrison Family Theme (2:14)
• 12. Ode to Buckwheat - performed by Brent Lewis (3:54)
• 13. El Watusi - performed by Ray Barretto (2:41)
• 14. The Witnesses (2:46)
• 15. Concerto #2 For Horn and Orchestra, K. 417:1 Allegro Maestoso - written by Mozart, Clevenger, and Liszt (6:29)
• 16. Arlington (6:29)
• 17. Finale (3:14)
• 18. Theme from JFK (Reprise) (2:23)
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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