There are enthusiasts of the film who claim that the dialing out or rearrangement of Williams' score, sometimes to a significant degree, is of benefit to the film. While a case could be made advocating the long sequences of Empire of the Sun without any music whatsoever, Williams' contributions simply removed, a full examination of the score as intended reveals that the composer had pretty good idea of what he was trying to do, regardless of Spielberg's alternate vision. The quality of the composition aside, it is a score of two incompatible halves, contributing to the awkward imbalance of fantasy and reality in the harrowing circumstances on screen. On one hand, you hear the jubilant, celebratory music of both the boy's imagination and his eventual liberation (known best in its concert arrangement, "Exsultate Justi"). On the other is the grim, deeply disturbed ambient material for the actual depictions of wartime hardship. Alone, either half of the score for Empire of the Sun would be effective, but together they especially produce an awkward album experience. It was Williams' intention to score the movie strictly from the perspective of the child's mind, explaining some of the use of classical and traditional music, as well as his somewhat alienated relationship to his parents. But the exuberant side of the score, an offshoot of the boy's hopeless optimism about certain subjects like the airplanes, can be received as representing too much detachment and false hope. The light half of Empire of the Sun ranges from the effortless fun of the frolicking primary theme in "Jim's New Life" to wondrous full ensemble harmony representing the airplanes in "The Plane" and "Cadillac of the Skies." In both "Imaginary Air Battle" and "Liberation: Exsultate Justi," Williams explores lovely variations on this material, foreshadowing the warmth and sense of freedom that both Home Alone and Hook would more exhibit to much greater degrees shortly thereafter. The addition of a choir to Williams' standard orchestral tones was something relatively new in 1987, though the technique is as much a highlight here as it would be in Hook and several other later works. The choral concert arrangement of the primary theme (in Latin), "Exsultate Justi," is by far the most famous piece remembered from the original score, though like the similar application of the primary vocalized themes in Saving Private Ryan and Amistad, this recording is not particularly representative of the remainder of the score.

In fact, Empire of the Sun is dominated in its running time by its frightfully darker half, arguably more interesting music that may or may not translate to an engaging listening experience depending on your opinion of Williams' suspense and horror material. In the most turbulent portions, the instrumentation and tone of JFK and Jurassic Park is hinted, "The Streets of Shanghai" strongly suggestive of the latter. The anguish of "Lost in the Crowd" causes emotional responses similar to equally troubled parts of A.I. Artificial Intelligence. The lengthy "The Return to the City" rumbles with a rhythmic bass horn figure reminiscent of Christopher Young's material from the era. Like the equally long "No Road Home/Seeing the Bomb," this cue is ultimately atmospheric; with whining string effects, lonely shakuhachi flute, faint reminders of a classical existence on piano, and disembodied chorus, these cues maintain a sense of wonderment, though in a distinctly oppressed atmosphere. Many of the score's early family cues are similarly detached in their cooing choral tones, some of which minimized in its impact on the film. Existing by itself is the four minute "The Pheasant Hunt," a straight precursor to the jungle-like suspense material of sparse construct in Jurassic Park and a cue that all but kills the score's flow on album. When you add the movie's source inclusions, themselves disparate in style and breaking up the continuity of Williams' original contributions, Empire of the Sun is a difficult soundtrack album at best. Of particular importance is the "Suo Gan" traditional Welch song that is performed on screen and serves as the boy's own voice several time in the picture, in some ways overshadowing Williams' own music. The original 1987 Warner album for Empire of the Sun featured a typical LP-inspired arrangement of highlights of the score out of chronological order. A 2014 expanded and limited La-La Lands set, however, restored Williams' score to its original length and order, providing not only the properly timed versions of "Suo Gan" and "Exsultate Justi" for their screen edits but also supplementing the classical pieces with numerous alternate takes of Williams' score. There is much to appreciate in the score, though like the film, there is general lack of overarching direction that forces the music to react without consistent references to a memorable core of ideas. As such, Empire of the Sun is the kind of Williams music that is easy to recommend, but it's not a source of easy listening on album to revisit in its entirety too often, the ten minutes of enthusiastic, imaginative portions a clear exception for suite rearrangement.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download