While the "Prologue" performance of the title theme is the famous highlight of JFK, Williams transfers the performance to an elegantly rolling piano in "Theme from JFK," much as he would do in Jurassic Park, though this cue ends by dissolving into a terribly dissonant electronic droning effect that ruins the overall track. It's understandable why Williams chose this dissolution, but he forfeits the listenability of the track by taking that route. The album would be padded with reprises of both cues, with the prologue truncated and given an attractive French horn solo at the start in "Finale." The second performance of "Theme from JFK" is identical to its predecessor, leaving the listener with the same awful, dissonant conclusion at album's end. The "Garrison Family Theme" is somewhat anonymous in the score, with its pleasant woodwind performances leading, likewise, to another intentionally muddied, electronic finish. The remainder of the album is interesting in parts, but largely difficult to enjoy outside of small snippets of the usual Williams magic. Both "The Motorcade" and "Garrison's Obsession" would offer stark orchestral and electronic dissonance not typically heard from the composer, alternating between wicked representations of distress (low register piano pounding and atonal brass layers suitable for raptors, among other methods of tragedy) and extremely subdued lengths of synthetic bass note droning. Suspenseful cues, such as "The Death of David Ferrie," offer a synthetic side to Williams' writing, including an eerie electronic chorus not often heard in his scores of the 1990's. In "The Witnesses," Williams experiments with harsh brass tones and his echoing synthetic rattling effects with distinct malice, producing a horrifyingly upsetting metallic crescendo.

A few individual moments of musical intrigue litter the score, however, including a rhythmic cue for "The Conspirators" that became surprisingly popular. Led by the sounds of wood block and metronome ticking (likely synthesized), the staggered rhythms of this cue would be expanded upon with a fuller representation in Jurassic Park. The keyboarded meanderings in the bass-heavy cue would be transformed into an on-stage dance piece for the score's nomination performance at the 1993 Oscars. Equally of note are the ultra-tragic string layers of "Arlington," with adagio qualities mirroring the intensity of Presumed Innocent and foreshadowing some of the turbulence heard in the latter two Star Wars prequel scores. This late cue would be another highlight in the film, representing the agony of a visit to the President's memorial flame, but is an awkward floater on the album. On that album, JFK is a completely frustrating listening experience. Williams' music is spread between several source cues, giving the overall experience a split personality. In the case of the two military-related adaptations and/or performances early on the album, Williams' own conducting of the cues alleviates the problem to an extent. But by the time we pass Tony Bennett and get to the bizarre combination of "Ode to Buckwheat" (and the homosexual implications that the film associates the wide-ranging percussive piece with) and the completely unlistenable Hispanic source song "El Watusi" (with its atrocious sound quality... easily one of the most annoying source cues ever to be pressed onto a film score CD), the album has completely lost its focus. Williams' title theme is obviously an outstanding and remarkable tribute to the man and the occasion, but unless you are a huge fan of the turbulent sides of Nixon and Jurassic Park, that theme will be better sought on a compilation.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download