[.ca] Planets/Star Wars/Also Sprach

You gotta love it! Perfect for the Sci-Fi fan.:
This is a great CD for the Sci-Fi fan. It has all of the music that you could want. It has the classic "Star Wars Suite" from " Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope," but it also includes the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" suite from Lucas' director buddy, Steven Spielberg. The compilers got another bull's-eye by including Holst's "The Planets," which is the source for the themes of Star Wars. For example, play "Mars," then listen to the themes associated with the Empire. Or play "Venus" and compare that to "Princess Leia's Theme." And the similarities between "Mercury" and "The Little People" are too obvious to state. "The Cantina Theme" is strong, except for the bridge. In the original recording there were steel drums that are conspicuously absent. For some reason, the entire "Also Sprach Zarathustra" was included on the CD. The introduction was made famous by "2001: A Space Odyssey," but the rest of the opus has been forgotten. I think they just had extra space on the CD, so they included the rest of the composition. Whatever reason, we are better for hearing all of the music that was based on Nietzsche's philosophical book of the same name. The recording is clear and sharp, and I have had no technical problems with the CD skipping. The cover-art has some of those unusual pictures from the Hubble Telescope that gives the entire product that sense of otherness we all crave.

Out of This World:
This is the version of "Star Wars" you want. It has the raucus, almost bawdy victorious power you remember from the movie. Likewise are the other pieces. Besides being the themes from "Star Wars", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Close Encounters", there is the classical classic (can I say that?) work, "The Planets" by Holst. I think the them to 2001 ("Thus Spake Zarathustra") also was the intro the famous Macintosh commerical (1984 Superbowl?). These are more than pop-culture favorites that happen to be orchestral works. They are sophisticated and poetic, with more than easy melodies sweeping occasionally. These are the complete suites. You might remember the glorious intro to 2001, but enjoy with this CD the full piece: almost 33 minutes. The pace and range of the music undulates from serene, almost pastoral quietude to raging, fist in air excitement. I fully recommend "Holst: The Planets/John Williams: Star Wars/Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra." Anthony Trendl

Into Deep Space With Mehta And The L.A. Philharmonic:
One of the best double-CD sets in classical music is this superlative reissue of top-notch performances of space-related music by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the conductor who put it into world-class status, Zubin Mehta. On Disc One, we get the orchestra's epic 1971 recording of Gustav Holst's celebrated suite "The Planets." In terms of the recording and performance, this has to rank as one of the greatest recordings this piece has ever had, right alongside Ormandy's equally vibrant 1975 RCA recording. The women's voices of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in "Neptune" are appropriately haunting and interstellar. This is followed by the orchestra and the chorale in a 13-minute arrangement of themes from the 1977 Steven Spielberg sci-fi classic CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND by John Williams, and it is something to behold. Disc 2 opens up with the celebrated "Dawn" sequence that opens up Richard Strauss' celebrated tone poem "Also Sprach Zarathustra"--the music that became well known worldwide in 1968 thanks to director Stanley Kubrick's cagey use of it in his classic sci-fi epic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Mehta and the orchestra recorded Strauss' 34 minute tone poem shortly after "2001" was released, and they came up with a version that arguably surpasses the 1954 Reiner/Chicago version that so often grabs the glory. The disc concludes with more John Williams, this time a symphonic suite of themes from STAR WARS, dating like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS from 1977. This ultra-familiar music is excellently performed and recorded. Mehta and the L.A. Philharmonic made a great deal of fine recordings, and the four works featured on this double-disc set are proof of that. This is a two-fer that is not to be missed.

If you like John Williams soundtracks, you'll love this!:
Okay, so the album isn't all John Williams. However, I think the selections to create this album were superb! You get the best of outer space soundtracks with this double CD set! I should mention that I enjoy this album merely because of the works used to put it together. Some of the interpretations left a bit to be desired (hence, the reason why I give this only four, instead of five, stars). For example, I felt the horn player in "Mars" (the first movement of "The Planets") was too overbearing, rather than subtle (as done in the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal's version, ASN# B0000041S7 -- check out my review of that album). Additionally, I wasn't too crazy about "Cantina Band" in "Star Wars" -- it's not that I don't like the piece (I do!); rather, the fade out by the sound engineer was unnatural and inappropriate for an orchestral work. (C'mon, shouldn't a fine group led by the great Zubin Metha be able to perform a decrescendo ending without any electronic help?) Criticism aside, let me say that I LOVE this album! Even though I might attack the performance quality, I loved how the works were selected and organized. If you're a fan of sci-fi or action/adventure soundtracks, you'll thoroughly enjoy what you hear!

For fans of Classical Music and Film Scores:
Being a "fan" of classical music as well as a collector of good sci fi film scores, I immediately picked up this double CD even if I was short on cash. Although I have become used to my own favorite interpretations of these selections( like Andre Previn for the Zarathustra, Gardiner for The Planets, and John Williams or Charles Gerhardt for Star Wars)this album made me hear other parts of these works that I had not liked, or listened well before. This should be a collectors piece. Worth the price for any of the pieces.

• The Planets: I - Mars, The Bringer Of War
• The Planets: II - Venus, The Bringer Of Peace
• The Planets: III - Mercury, The Winged Messenger
• The Planets: IV - Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity
• The Planets: V - Saturn, The Bringer Of Old Age
• The Planets: VI - Uranus, The Magician
• The Planets: VII - Neptune, The Mystic
• Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - Suite
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Introduction
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Of The Backworldsmen
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Of The Great Longing
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Of Joys And Passions
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Song Of The Grave
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Of Science
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: The Convalescent
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Dance Song
• Also Sprach Zarathustra: Night Wanderer's Song
• Star Wars - Suite: I - Main Title
• Star Wars - Suite: II - Princess Leia's Theme
• Star Wars - Suite: III - The Little people
• Star Wars - Suite: Cantina Band
• Star Wars - Suite: IV - The Battle
• Star Wars - Suite: V - The Throne Room And End Title