Each movement of the "American Journey" suite deals
with another aspect of American history or culture portrayed in the
presentation. The remaining selections on the album are odds and ends
from both Williams' recent and not-so-recent specialty concert
recordings. The "Song for World Peace" was written for a musical
director and friend of Williams and performed by the Boston Pops. That
piece, as well as "Sound the Bells!" (which was composed for a marriage
in the Japanese Royal Family), were first performed in Tokyo a few years
prior to this release. The "Hymn to New England," "Celebrate Discovery,"
and "Jubilee 350" pieces were composed as individual concert works for
the Boston Pops through the years. The "Mission Theme" for NBC news is
the most widely known piece on the album, dating back to the 1980's and
needing no further explanation. Fan reaction to this album, like all of
the other Williams concert compilations, has been positive, keeping it
sailing off the shelves at an initially brisk pace. In the United
States, that is. Williams' concert pieces are always a joy to hear, and
his consistent excellence in thematic and orchestral intensity makes
this album no less of an easy listening experience. There are no
particularly weak tracks, nor are there any interruptions in the quality
of the recordings. In these respects, the album is both flawless and a
safe purchase. The actual compositions, however, came under more
scrutiny than perhaps Williams' others, and the arguments against his
lack of stylistic originality and diversity in instrumentation picked up
a fair amount of steam at the time. It was an argument that didn't
receive much attention until Williams' much anticipated score for
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone originally failed to be the
explosive hit that most had hoped for, a partial failure attributed (by
many) to the seeming fact that Williams was simply recycling too much of
his own material. The same argument regarding regurgitation could be
made about many of the concert works on the "American Journey" album.
The "Immigration and Building" piece contains passages obviously lifted
directly from the score for
Far and Away. The "Civil Rights and
Women's Movement" piece, among a few others, mirrors the noble tones of
The Patriot. Some have even debated the similarities between the
"Mission Theme" and
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Williams'
famous theme for the "Amazing Stories" series.
In short, the sum of the argument against Williams is
that he is blinded by his own sense of Americana and is incapable of
writing a truly international concert. So deeply rooted in his Western
classical styles, he might be incapable of capturing the multi-cultural
spirit of the Olympics and, especially, in pieces that are supposedly
dedicated to world peace. In these regards, Williams's music is just as
much a symbol of America as McDonald's and Coca-Cola, and for him to
compose "world" music is a potentially irritating prospect to many
people of other cultures. Because of this blatant style of American
bombast that saturates the entirety of this collection of music, some
referred to the "Call of the Champions" theme as "Call of the Americans"
or even "Call of the Bomb-Sniffing Dogs." There really is nothing
international about any of the music on this album, including the themes
for the two Olympics, with the instrumentation limited to the
stereotypical orchestra, choir, and large bells and chimes that best
represent the composer's very comfortable sense of community. Even
within the United States, Williams' style is distinctly tied to the East
Coast, with the bulk of his efforts in tribute to New England, New York
and the traditions of music unique in those regions of the country. The
"American Journey" suite has nothing, for instance, to musically
represent California or the Rocky Mountain region. Is any of this really
a problem? Well, that depends on whether you think Williams' job in
writing the Olympics material was to encompass the sounds of many
different world cultures. If so, then perhaps a composer like Mychael
Danna would be a better fit. Williams is ultimately a product of
American patriotism, however, and for most listeners, the
socio-political implications of the music won't be important. It is
wholesome, entertaining music either way, and the sound quality from
each of the recording venues is, as usual for Williams' concert albums,
equally resounding. Ultimately, it's hard not to once again be attracted
to the "Mission Theme" for NBC News as the highlight of the product.
It's an enduring piece that remained appropriate given the NBC network's
long contract to broadcast the games. Overall, if you can separate the
music from its intended meaning and lack of cultural diversity, this
album is an impressive collection of many of Williams' most prominent
concert works.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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