For some unknown reason, none of the must from Amazing Stories has ever been released, despite having a rather smashing line up of talent. I mean, what other TV series (post Star Wars) could bost a John Williams theme and score? Obviously, the fact that the entire series was one of Steven Spielberg's slightly unsuccessful forays into TV mini-movies could be the reason. The main theme is pretty typical Williams sounding, brassy, heroic, adventurous and noble (and the first legitimate release of the theme on an album, which I think is quite staggering). The actual score is pretty good, certainly miles above average TV mini-series music, but then we'd expect nothing less from John Williams. I guess it's not stuninng by Williams' standards, but of course the benchmark is extremely high in his case. This is not to say that it's not enjoyable, it is mostly very noble and warm, with the final couple of cues being very rousing indeed. The main theme is hinted at, but never really quoted as such and to be honest there aren't many obvious motifs running in and out, even if the general atmosphere is pretty well maintained. The last two cues of Williams' music are certainly the highlight as they build from pretty subtle beginning to soaring to the heavens towards the end. There are hints of bits of other Williams scores, but this is no great detriment since it's not as though a famous main theme appears or anything quite that obvious.
The Georges Delerue will possibly be second in the mind of many people, but this would be somewhat unfair since Delerue wrote some of the most lush film music ever to grace the cinema. While the first few cues are perhaps a little short and uneventful, again the finale provides Delerue with a chance to bring his own rish warmth and Dorothy makes for a perfect ending to his segment. The short end title version of the main theme rounds out the album. Of course, this being a re-recording, there will be those wanting blood for not releasing the original cues. Of course, the problem of extreme cost is most likely the reason that a re-recording was favoured, especially since unlike now, TV scores were usually performed by LA studio musicians, whereas now they are often performed in other countries or with non-union orchestras. Being a great proponent of Varese's re-recordings, this one certainly comes up to scratch with McNeely elciting a great performance from the RSNO, particularly in regard to the main theme. I guess the lush Delerue segments suit the recording style better, but the Williams cues are equally good to my ears. Well worth picking up and here's hoping they record some more, James Horner, Michael Kamen and others all wrote music for the series, so they would be well worth hearing.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 41:27