Customer Reviews

John Adams [Television Series Soundtrack]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a superbly beautiful soundtrack from the recent HBO miniseries about our second President and Founding Father. I know virtually nothing about the technical aspect of music so I won't even try to describe that. All I will say is that this is a beautiful collection of classical music with a uniquely 18th century American flavor. It is heavy on violins which happens to be my favorite instrument.

Some of the songs are soft and delicate, while others are triumphantly upbeat. The Opening Titles track, perhaps my favorite, is an energetic and melodious blend of violins, whistles, drums and horns that has a distinctly American sound to it. Frankly, this song makes me want to start a revolution myself! That being said, many of the songs are much more subdued, and they tend to invoke a sort of melancholy reflection or even downright heartache. Others, such as 'Adams in the Cold' are not really sad nor triumphant, but have a strangely ironic yet perky sound, if that makes any sense. All in all, this is a brilliant and passionate collection of uniquely American music.

The best songs for me are:

Opening Titles
Leaving for Philadelphia
Abigail
Adams in the Cold
Letter to Jefferson
Farewell to Adams
John Says Goodbye
Abigail Dies
Hot Air Balloon

HBO and PlayTone score again with their tremendous miniseries adaptation of David McCullough's Pulitzer-prize winning book, and the soundtrack to the miniseries is every bit as rich, resonating and timeless as the story of the chief architect of the American Revolution, its second president and unsung hero, John Adams. The score is outstanding, proving once again that a whole new crop of talented young musicians (including Rob Lane & Joseph Vitarelli here, and guys like Charlie Clouser, Bear McCreary and Tyler Bates) is springing full-grown from the foreheads of the masters and carrying on the legacy of the best in the original motion picture soundtrack subgenre. Stellar work!!

This set is good, except

1) They forgot to add the Main Theme 4:00 full version played during the end credits.

2) Although the main theme is excellent, this and the other Rob Lane compositions sound like they are mostly comprised of computer-midi generated instrumentations accompanied by a few "real" soloist instuments, while the other Joseph Vitarelli compositions are played - recorded from actual orchestrations.

While browsing a mass merchant's video department one day, I saw two Goths who were studying the JOHN ADAMS DVD set with rapt attention. With their shoe-polish black hair, facial piercing,enormous key rings and nail-head boots, it was an unlikely scenario, and even more surprising when the taller kid said, "Did you ever see this, dude?" then paused. "It was, like, one of the only times in my life I really GOT what this America thing is all about."

Well, three cheers for that -- not only for the film to which he referred, but to the soundtrack which heightened the drama.

Not since James Horners' epic score for GLORY have I enjoyed the score of an historical film as much as this. Like Horner,Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli draw on the period themes and harmonies of a revolutionary age to build their musical backdrop to this much-admired mini-series. Here, though, the composers infuse their work with a more expansive variety of melodies and little sentimentality. With its imaginative, heroic orchestration, the score for JOHN ADAMS -- clocking in at over 70 minutes -- is richly satisfying. I've played it more than ten times since receiving it and still haven't tired of it.

The agitated fiddle dirge that forms the counterpoint for the main title is, perhaps, the most stirring, distinctly American title score I've heard since "Ashokan Farewell" in Ken Burns' THE CIVIL WAR. Reflecting the revolutionary fervor which inspired it so accurately, the piece rises in intensity until the listener's goosebumps compete with memories of Playtone's memorable production. It's rare to encounter such a varied and artful score on television -- although HBO had already broke the mold with Thomas Newman's score for ANGELS IN AMERICA.

One possible reason the music is so engaging is that it is as episodic as the film itself. For these two composers, it would not have been enough to simply recapitulate the principal theme. Instead, there are freestanding compositions for individual characters, for land battles, naval incursions, births, deaths, the narration of of Abigail's and John's letters -- and the historic pinnacles of the Revolution. Given the wide sound-stage of the recording and and competence of The Hollywood Studio Orchestra, the soundtrack is burnished American music of the highest order. The composers have infused their work with the raw emotion of the time and the hopes of five three generations of a family.

While such a frankly patriotic score beongs to a time other than our own, it reminds one of two founders' hopes and dreams and reminds us America is more than the sum of its parts. The fact that this project reached fruition during one of the two most politically oppressive periods of the past 100 years, this moving and intelligent work is worth its weight in gold.

Five stars.

The soundtrack to the HBO Miniseries "John Adams" is a fantastic one! Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli have both created a beautiful score, capturing the heart and soul of the miniseries. Lane's work includes the title theme, which is a fantastic piece that opens the miniseries, and is a great one to listen to on its own. His piece "Declaration of Independence" is fantastic as well. As for Vitarelli, his piece for the sea battle is great, hearkening to the music from "Master and Commander." Together, they have created a truly memorable score. If you enjoyed the HBO program, then you'll want this CD in your collection!
Grade: A

This was a great series on the life of John Adams, (Boston attorney, signer of the declaration of independence, our first vice president and second president) based on writer/historian David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize winning book. Great acting, directing, music, cinematography, makeup. It has it all. For TV (especially a miniseries -- you can't do much better). The opening music theme creates goosebumps and the whole seies makes you glad to be an American and what the founding fathers went through to achieve our independence. As usual for historical dramas there are some historical inaccuracies, but these are limited mainly to chronology and specific events that occurred in his family and a few statements, that I guess for dramatic purposes were placed in particular situations (e.g. unlike in this series his renewed relationship with Thomas Jefferson actually took place before Abigail Adams death not after, and his daughter married when she was over in England not at John Adams home; did he and his brother Samuel Adams actually have a disagreement about or witness a tar and feathering - there is no historical documentation on this, stuff like that). A lot of dialogue beween John Adams and Abigail and John Adams and Jefferson came from actual archived letters -- which there are many). The best episodes are 1 through 3 as America strives for independence and the new nation is born. The least action event oriented episode although still well done is the last episode which mainly chronicles (and rather quickly) how everyone dies. For a long series though it holds your attention throughout and makes you sad when its over. Deserving of its 13 Emmy awards! If all TV could be like this, Id watch it more.

This is an excellent series on how our country was founded and the values on which our country was founded. The series should be viewed by everyone from grade school age up. We watched the series on HBO and then purchased the series to view again. I would highly recommend the purchase of John Adams.

I had tried to find out who the composer of this fantiastic music was from the beginning of the minisieries. I searched on the HBO website, carefully watched the credits over & over, & I can't tell you how excited I was when at the end of the series, I checked on amazon, and there was the sound track. It is one of my favorties , and I feel totally captures the essence of the story. I am sure John & Abigail feel the same way. I hope anyone looking for an uplifting soundtrack will consider it. I treasure it, and listen to it often.

This is an excellent soundtrack that embodies the melodic feel of that very special Early American sound, piccolo and snare in selected pieces, with a wonderful Revolutionary War march flavor here and there. The pairing of music with screenplay was masterful, down to the detail of "Leaving for Philadelphia"'s end bars reflecting the woeful tone associated with a husband leaving his pregnant wife alone to care for the family whilst he is in Philadelphia drafting the Declaration. Pieces like these are rare for the afficionado of Revolutionary War-times musical fare. I truly don't have any standout favorites as they all are standouts! The closest I've found to this is the Soundtrack by James Taylor and Mark O'Connor's "Johnny's gone home for a Soldier" in PBS's LIBERTY soundtrack([...])
which graces your ears with similar Americana from the 1750's to 1800's. Both of these focused Early American selections make one wish for a revival of this type of music, which embues a genuine feeling of patriotic fervor for the period, and helps one to imagine just how hard life was back then, and just how hard the Founders worked to give us what we now take for granted. Both albums are a MUST HAVE.

Be warned that the mixing for the title track on the CD isn't the same as what you here in the show.