John Williams in Tokyo

Happened to me on the way here... i went to John Williams: A Legacy in Sound... and i read the only review there and it's talking about how it's NOT a documentary and it sucks and there's hardly any MUsic... and with each comment my dropping lower and lower... because i had just finished it and thought, 'well YEAH! It not REALly a documentary and sure, the maestro doesn't start the concert off(i kept thinking, is that REALly John Williams??? WtF is going ON? When did he lost 25 years and grow his HAIR long...in FACT, where did he get that hair FROM, cuz it's REAL... and then that guy left to be replaced by the man, Hisself...in my opinion, one of the great composers of our time, be it as it may film music. Still. Great music is a blessing to the Universe, much less most animals...one of THE great achievements of humans...if we're being observed by species trying to determine whether we're worth the property, THAT's what probably saved us...HELL! Just listened to the music from 'close encounters'! How did they comMUnicate?!!? EXACTly...i rest my violin case, yer honor... if you like the man's music, marvel at all the instruments he wrote each piece for... the nuance...the way that each piece fits the story perfectly...this guy and hans zimmer, though there are a NUMber of other great film composers...but these two have conSIStently blown me away...so. It starts off a bit slow, imo, but as soon as John takes the stage? Off we go...enjoy.

I was tempted to give this a 3/5, but it's also John Williams at 92 conducting an almost full-length concert, and I think it's pretty cool that he's still able to do that at such an age. The music, of course, ranges from good to great throughout, and while nothing sounds particularly amazing (and there's a lack of deep cuts), it all sounds good, and it's John Williams. That's a shallow reason to like something, but it's John Williams.

Well, it's mostly John Williams. There's another conductor who's there for the first 30 to 40 minutes, but Williams appears for the remaining hour or so. It's a bit weird at first, but he's there eventually, he's old, and he's still doing his thing. So it's worth a watch/listen for that; for him doing it while so old, and because it celebrates - even in a somewhat basic way - a good chunk of the iconic music he's composed over many decades.