Published on Nov 1, 1999
I want to know how John Williams was able to write all these
terrific scores in the late ’70s. Think about it:
Jaws,
Star Wars,
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind,
The Empire Strikes Back, and this one among a plethora of
others. Now, come on, think of another superhero theme that is as
easily remembered by the general public. Well, maybe Batman’s theme
from the cheesy 60s TV show and the Spider-Man theme from the
cartoon. (Why would he want to do everything a spider can?)
Truth be told, however, the “Theme for Superman” is basically
classic. It’s the reason why, 20 years later, every Superman
project tries to mimic it in some fashion. The theme encompasses
the entire persona of Superman. It’s grand, heroic and pure. From
its opening notes, you feel as if this is the music that plays
behind Superman.
But the soundtrack album – I’m speaking of the one CD and not
the 2-CD package that came out last year – does possess other
classic themes. In the second track, “The Planet Krypton,” you are
introduced to what becomes known as the “Krypton Theme”. It is
otherwordly and exotic. The music becomes a bit more serious for
the trial scenes. However, I’m sure that those drums are supposed
to be louder. Minor complaint, but necessary.
Then, there’s the classic “Love Theme From Superman.” We all
know it and have heard it many times. It is very soft and quiet
before building towards a climax. Here you get to hear it twice.
It’s also on “The Flying Theme” and” Can You Read My Mind.” This is
perhaps the biggest complaint I have. “Can You Read My Mind” turns
the soft orchestra music into a jazz piece and has Margot Kidder’s
lines from the movie – which turn into a poem. Sorry, but I wanted
the music. (In the 2-CD release, I’ve heard that this has been
fixed, but still. There’s no way to fight the cheesiness of
this).
Most of the music has a haunting feel. From “The Destruction Of
Krypton” – which starts somber, then quiet and ends epic-like – to
“The Fortress Of Solitude.” “Fortress” is one of my favorite tracks
because it features the “Krypton Theme” and uses it well to
describe the creation of Superman’s castle. It turns loud for the
creation and then returns to the “Krypton Theme” once the castle is
completed. Then, the music turns…cosmic is a good word, before
ending with a short version of “Superman’s Theme”. Alongside this,
is the quiet and tender “Leaving Home” – which does start out
haunting – but turns quiet as it builds to an unnamed theme (The
Kent Family Theme?) as Superman leaves home.
Unfortunately, not every track is this great. “Superfeats” and
“Super Rescues” rely way to much on the “Superman Theme” and
feature nothing more than generic action music. Meanwhile, “The
Trip To Earth” is a bit too…hmm…flimsy. Depending a lot on the
flutes early on before turning to the “Flying Theme”, it isn’t one
of my favorites – but it’s OK.
The final theme that everyone remembers is “The March Of The
Villains.” Now, some people do have a problem with this theme –
since it depicts the bad guys as inept, bumbling fools. Personally,
I love it. I think that it fits the characters great and I get the
joke. After all, when you name something “The March Of The
Villains,” you expect evil and danger, but not this – which is why
it works.
“Chasing Rockets” meanwhile brings al three main themes –
Superman, Love and Villains – together and builds great action
music around it. All three themes are used to build to the climax –
Superman chasing nuclear rockets across the country. Then, it turns
somber and loving to signal the death of Lois Lane. This segues
into “Turning Back The World,” a short piece where Supes turns back
the world. The Krypton and Superman themes are used in the
beginning, before a stronger and louder version of the “Love Theme”
signals the action. The theme ends with a soft version of
“Superman’s Theme”. I like the fact that instead of going with the
classic way of doing things – “Superman’s Theme” for the action and
“Love Theme” for the soft moment – Williams shifts them around. The
album ends with both the “Love Theme” playing softly and giving way
to the classic “Superman Theme” for the ending and the end
credits.
Granted, not every moment in this album is great, but there is
so much good stuff in here that it just can’t be passed up. I still
remember being a kid and loving this music. Yeah, Batman had all
them toys and Spider-Man could climb walls. But I wanted to be
Superman. Why? Because he could fly. This music encompasses that
desire and the character so well, I doubt any future Superman
incarnation can feature better music.