Sold Date: April 28, 2018
Start Date: April 8, 2018
Final Price: £30.00 £15.00 (GBP)
Seller Feedback: 968
Buyer Feedback: 27

Here I have for sale the US import of the original motion picture soundtrack LP to ‘Empire of the Sun’ (1987), composed and conducted by John Williams.

John Williams, Ambrosian Junior Choir ‎– Empire of the Sun (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1987)

Condition (refer also to notes at bottom):
Vinyl – VG-EX. Both sides look very clean. No obvious signs of wear or scratches. Played just pre-listing and sound clarity is super. Some light clicking in places and very low surface noise during quieter cues.
Outer sleeve (Cover) – VG. Some minor edge/corner wear and creasing. Minor soiling and disc showthrough. Cut-out delete tab on top edge, left.
Inner Sleeve – EX. Original. Thin black plastic. Some creasing but intact.

Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 1- 25668
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Import
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Classical, Stage & Screen, Instrumental, Theme
Style: Soundtrack, Contemporary, Score, Easy Listening

This original 1987 Warner album for ‘Empire of the Sun’ features a typical LP-inspired arrangement of highlights of the score out of chronological order.

Track listing
A1. Suo Gan (Ambrosian Junior Choir; soloist – James Rainbird)   2:19
A2. Cadillac Of The Skies   3:48
A3. Jim's New Life   2:33
A4. Lost In The Crowd   5:39
A5. Imaginary Air Battle   2:35
A6. The Return To The City   7:45
A7. Liberation: Exultate Justi   1:46

B1. The British Grenadiers   2:25
B2. Toy Planes, Home And Hearth   4:37
B3. The Streets Of Shanghai   5:11
B4. The Pheasant Hunt   4:24
B5. No Road Home / Seeing The Bomb   6:10
B6. Exultate Justi   4:59

Design – Kim Champagne
Engineer [Recording] – Shawn Murphy
Other [Music Editor] – Ken Wannberg
Producer, Composed By, Conductor – John Williams
Remix [Album Remixed By] – Armin Steiner


Soundtrack for the movie "Empire Of The Sun" directed by Steven Spielberg (1987).
Track B2: Based on Frédéric Chopin's Mazurka (Opus 17, No 4).


Review:
This is the brilliant but largely underappreciated soundtrack to Steven Spielberg's 1987 historical drama 'Empire of the Sun'. It contains 13 cues from the film, with some pieces, especially Exsultate Justi, making an appearance more than once.

At 51 minutes, this soundtrack can't possibly do justice to a film that runs for over 3 hours, and as a result some musical pieces do not appear here, which is a shame, as some sections not included were memorable (The music that plays as Jim comes back to the British dormitory is missing, for instance).

Numerous songs contained here are traditional classical pieces not composed by John Williams, including 'British Grenadiers' and Chopin's Mazurka Opus 17 No.4.

Songs that standout include the beautiful melancholy theme expressed in 'Toy Planes, Home and Hearth' (the theme that plays when Jim stands next to the Zero fighter plane surrounded by sparks) to the memorable and rousing 'Cadillac of the Skies'. Joyful tunes include 'Imaginary Air Battle' and 'Jim's New Life', although a large part of the soundtrack include more foreboding and darker pieces such as 'The Streets of Shanghai' and 'Return to the City'.

Yet the soundtrack is worthy for the two brilliant melodies, Suo Gan and Exsultate Justi. Exsultate Justi is a rousing choral piece in latin, the tune that plays at the films credits. Another slightly different version appears earlier in the soundtrack, representing Jim's liberation from the Prison camp. Suo Gan is possibly the best song, and the film's unofficial theme. This is a haunting old Welsh lullaby, sung beautifully by James Rainbird and the Ambrosian Junior Choir.

This soundtrack has been largely ignored, mostly because it contains a large selection of traditional songs (Suo Gan, Mazurka Opus, British Grenadiers) rather than John Williams own original material.

Those themes that were composed by John Williams do have his unique signature and style, meaning this a great soundtrack for Williams fans and fans of the film alike.



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Postage and packaging FREE to UK. Will post worldwide. Europe standard £6.50; Europe tracked and signed £11; N and S America, USA, Canada £9; Asia, Australia, Japan £11. No returns accepted.

Payment by cheque (UK only) or Paypal please.

Please see my other soundtrack listings.

Thanks for looking and happy eBaying!



ITEM CONDITION - items are graded according to Record Collector definitions - see below:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.