“From legendary composer John Williams, a soundtrack so incredible it was recorded twice…”
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On the heels of the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster classic Jaws, Universal Studios and Universal Music Enterprises present new remastered releases of the masterful score composed by John Williams. The plural is not a typo because both the original film score and the soundtrack album recording are being newly reissued in brand-new editions restored, remixed and remastered by GRAMMY-nominated producer Mike Matessino for digital, vinyl and CD releases. For the first time ever, both the Academy Award-winning film score and the GRAMMY-winning soundtrack album are being released for the audience at large in definitive presentations with astounding remastered sound. For the occasion, a special website called Jaws50Music.com has been created to help listeners and collectors navigate and understand the specifics of the various releases.
The original film score album is now available digitally from Back Lot Music and on 2-LP vinyl by Mondo, both featuring the brand new master created by Matessino from a recent high-resolution transfer of the 3-track tapes (the only surviving elements of the recording), which have been painstakingly restored and remixed to bring out the punch and the character of the original recording captured by engineer Ted Keep at the 20th Century Fox Scoring Stage, with Williams conducting a 75-piece orchestra of some of the best Los Angeles-based studio musicians. The album has been supervised and approved by the composer.
The 1975 soundtrack album (originally released by MCA Records) presents 12 tracks arranged and refashioned by John Williams specifically for a standalone listening experience, recorded in separate session dates a few weeks after the film recording with many of the same LA studio musicians conducted by the composer. It is coming back in print courtesy of Universal Music and finally remastered for the first time in 50 years from multi-track 1st generation tapes by Mike Matessino in brand-new stereo mixes approved by Williams, restoring the original brilliance of the recording (engineered by John Neal at Warner Bros. Scoring Stage) and offering unprecedented clarity and detail. It will be available starting next October on a limited edition vinyl from UMe and Geffen Records. Check Jaws50Music.com regularly for more updates.
Both the film score and the soundtrack album will be released together in a Special Edition release on compact disc courtesy of Intrada Records (release date will be announced soon). The release will also feature a whole slew of additional bonus tracks, including previously unreleased alternate cues from both recordings not available elsewhere. It will be the definitive Jaws release to own by all true John Williams aficionados.
Soundtrack producer Mike Matessino comes back on The Legacy of John Williams podcast to illustrate the details of the various releases of the Jaws 50th Anniversary, while also assessing the importance of the score in John Williams’ career and further elaborating on the differences between the original film score and the soundtrack album recording.
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The Legacy of John Williams 