'RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK' SOUNDTRACK (OST) JOHN WILLIAMS w/ LSO
INDIANA JONES 'RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK'
ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK (OST)
JOHN WILLIAMS ~ LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS ~ JS 37373
RELEASED: JUNE 1981
EDITION: VERY CLEAN 1981 FIRST U.S. PRESSING ~ STILL IN SHRINK
COMPOSED & CONDUCTED BY JOHN WILLIAMS
PERFORMED BY THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
RECORDED AT ANVIL RECORDING STUDIOS ~ LONDON
RECORDING ENGINEER: ERIC TOMLINSON
MIXING AT 20th CENTURY FOX STUDIOS ~ LOS ANGELES
MASTERED AT CUSTOMATRIX ('o' IN MATRIX)
PRESSING: COLUMBIA PRESSING PLANT ~ TERRE HAUTE ('T' IN MATRIX)
LINER NOTES (BACK COVER) BY STEVEN SPIELBERG
MATRIX (SIDE A): (Etched) o T1 PAL-37373-IM
MATRIX (SIDE B): (Etched) o T1 PBL-37373-IG
CONDITION: VINYL: EX JACKET: EX (IN SHRINK)
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I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection these past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I'm offering up this fantastic sounding, minty clean, First Pressing of John Williams' score to 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.
This is a rare, early first pressing that I purchased 'new' back in the summer of 1981, and have kept safe in my collection for many years.
It's in excellent condition, and still in it's shrink wrap. See details on Condition below.
If you like Soundtracks and Film scores, this original, clean, first pressing of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' is a fantastic and essential addition to your collection.
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'Indiana Jones' was the amazing brainchild of film-makers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who came up with a heroic character based on the 1930's Adventure films and stories that they read in their youth.
When they created 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', they envisioned it as a standalone, thrilling, cinematic adventure. They had no idea of the success the film would have, becoming part of American popular culture.
When this was released, it was simply known as 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' since the rest of the franchise wasn't created yet.
If you ask anyone which of the several Indiana Jones movies is their favorite, the vast majority will mention 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'
If you ask any fan or collector of Original Soundtracks and Film Scores, which is the best 'Indiana Jones' soundtrack, you will also get only one answer; the original soundtrack to 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'
The album won a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack in 1982, but lost the Academy Award to Vangelis'
score for 'Chariots of Fire', another great soundtrack.
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By the time John Williams was asked to compose the music for the film, he had already done the music for 'Jaws', 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', 2 'Star Wars' films, and 'Superman', all with the London Symphony Orchestra, so he had a lot of excellent prior work that he had to match or surpass.
Williams didn't disappoint and his score for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' is a masterpiece, just about perfect, and one of his very best film scores.
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Raiders is a fun, adventurous score that harkens back to Hollywood’s golden age, complete with heroes and villains, victories and defeats, mystery and intrigue, and, of course, a romantic underlying theme woven throughout.
Williams' compositional genius perfectly captured the feel, suspense, and action of the movie, transforming the film's magical atmosphere into amazing music. It's one of the greatest musical scores of all time.
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The score for 'Raiders' is just about perfect
Williams designed this score around three primary themes, for Indy, Marion, and The Ark, and three secondary themes, for the Medallion of Ra, Discovery and the Germans.
His use of different themes, re-occurring throughout the film, work perfectly to add action, suspense and emotion to what you're watching on the screen.
Williams' three primary themes perfectly capture the elements of the film’s narrative; one bold and rousing for the heroic Indy, one soft, tender and romantic for his love interst Marion, and one that captures the mystery and spiritual power of the Ark itself.
The iconic 'Raiders March' functions as Indiana Jones' personal theme. Like Indy himself, it's intense, full of optimism and cocky confidence, and reflects his spirit of adventure.
The dazzling 'Raiders March' is one of the most iconic pieces of music in the history of cinema. Today, it's become part of American Pop culture, instantly recognizable, and screams "Indiana Jones" to anyone who was around in the early 1980's when this film was so popular.
'Marion’s Theme' is a soaring, sweeping, romantic love theme, that provides juxtaposition to Indy's intense theme. It's beautiful, romantic, and emotional, but has it's own sort of power, just like Marion herself.
The 'Ark Theme', with it's ominous three-note motif, perfectly captures both the religious and mysterious concept of the Ark itself.
The 'Ark' theme is powerful, mysterious and supernatural. Williams' use of chorus effects and his 3 note motif, for the Holy trinity, give it a strong spiritual and religious intensity.
The score for “The Miracle of the Ark” is used in the film's shocking finale and fits perfectly. It's one of the highlights of the score.
Williams also uses three 'secondary' themes, that present themselves at particular key moments in the score.
The 'Medallion Theme' represents the 'Medallion of Ra' an artifact that helps locate and unlock the Ark's location. The 'Discovery Theme', which plays whenever Indiana finds or discovers an important new clue or artifact, and the 'German' theme that represents a militaristic evil. The ominous and menacing theme appears whenever the dangerous German villains are nearby.
My personal favorite part of the Soundtrack is the use of the 'Ark' theme in "The Map Room: Dawn."
The piece starts slowly with the haunting theme, then staggers along, building up the suspense. The music erupts with intensity, powerful dynamics, and choral majesty as the sun slowly rises and shows Indy the way to the Ark.
I think this is one of the best uses of music in a film and one of the best compositions Williams ever created.
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This is an original 1981 First Pressing of the original soundtrack (OST) for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'
Considering that they could only capture about 45 minutes of the score on this single LP, due to time constraints of the time, I think they did a fine job. It's not exactly chronologically 'correct' to the film, but it flows quite well and sounds amazing.
The tracks or thematic segments of music on this album include:
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Flight From Peru
The Map Room: Dawn
The Basket Game
The Well Of The Souls
Desert Chase
Marion's Theme
The Miracle Of The Ark
The Raiders March
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The album starts off with the end credits suite; “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” and finishes with Indy's theme, “The Raiders March”.
In-between we get the lighthearted but dangerous “Escape from Peru”, the excellent “The Map Room: Dawn” which features the Ark theme.
Another lighthearted piece, “The Basket Game” slowly turns ominous and ends with a sorrowful rendition of 'Marion’s theme'.
The movement that accompanies the 'Cairo Swordsman' scene is just perfect. Your mind instantly recalls the scene in the movie where Indy decides not to battle the swordsman, and simply just shoots him instead.
“Desert Chase” is a great, dynamic, action packed highlight of the score, bouncing between the Indiana Jones theme and the German theme as the action unfurls.
Next we get the warm, beautiful “Marion’s Theme” which turns into “The Miracle of the Ark”.
As mentioned, the album concludes with the most iconic part of the soundtrack, “The Raiders March” or Indy's theme.
A fantastic, amazing sounding, rich and dynamic album.
The music of ‘The Map Room: Dawn’, Indy's 'March', as well as the ‘Desert Chase’, and ‘The Basket Game,’ are some of the Composer's most loved and most brilliant compositions.
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When this soundtrack was digitized, re-edited and re-mastered for the first CD release in 1995, many fans felt that the music lost some of it's power, dynamics and intensity.
The only way to really appreciate this amazing, dynamic score is in it's original, fully analog vinyl version.
Also, this score also really needs to be heard on a very clean pressing. There are so many little details, sound effects, and things to hear that you don't want them interrupted by pops and clicks.
This pressing is minty clean, looks like it's never been played, and sounds amazing. It's an exceptional, mind-blowing, rich, full, dynamic listening experience.
Every time you listen to this you discover new “gems” and little nuances buried in the music.
John William's score for “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is the perfect balance of romance and action, one of the most intense, thrilling, sensational and gripping scores I have ever heard.
This album deserves to be in any Soundtrack or Film Score collection.
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CONDITION:
This album is in fantastic condition. It's still in it's original shrink-wrap, which is tight and clean.
I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
I purchased this copy 'new' many years ago, and have taken great care of it since.
VINYL: The vinyl still looks excellent.
I opened it, played it a few times, transferred it to tape, and put the album back in the jacket and stored it away. Therefore, the vinyl is still in excellent condition and looks almost unplayed.
Clean and bright. No visual flaws, marks or defects. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
I rarely ever call an unsealed record 'excellent', but this vinyl is truly excellent.
The Deadwax has the first pressing numbers and the small 'o' stamp for 'Customatrix' mastering. See the full Matrix above.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.
I haven't messed with it or cleaned it for decades. I would suggest a good deep cleaning to make it even bettter looking and better sounding than it already is.
LABELS: This is pressed with the typical 80's red Columbia labels. The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are clean and sharp, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling over the years.
JACKET: This album is still in it's original shrink wrap, which has protected it all these years. The shrink is snug and tight, but no bowing of the jacket or warpage of the record. This has been sitting in my record shelves, supported by its 'neighbors' for many years.
This still looks fantastic for a 40 year old OG copy. No dings, damage or ringwear. The artwork is bold and bright, and the corners are sharp. A nice survivor.
On the back cover there is a "CSP" sticker over the barcode. I'm not sure what that was all about. 'CSP' stood for 'Columbia Special Projects' and I'm not sure if the sticker meant it was intended for a different market, like a Video store instead of a record shop, or if it was some sort of 'cut out' designation.
There's no evidence of this being a 'cut out', just thought I'd point out the 'CSP' sticker on the back.
Overall, although I rarely call a 'used' album excellent, I'll call this whole record EX in general.
I can comfortably say that this is likely the best, unsealed, copy available on Ebay, or even Discogs.
This record has been sleeved and stored properly for decades, and is still quite nice. I'm sure you'll love it.
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** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
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I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition.
Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words.
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,500 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
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As you well know, packing and shipping rare records requires special care and attention, therefore, shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $5.00 on this item. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Media/Economy Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far. -- JOHN