Cinema Musica
By Stephan Eicke

Alan Williams belongs, in spite of its 15 years in the film music business, still to the rather unknown names in the business.  That is thoroughly deplorable, if you think of such great scores like MISS LETTIE AND ME.

Now appeared as a 2 CD Promotional Disc set: the best of Alan Williams, excerpts from nearly every soundtrack by Mr. Williams, organized by genre; on the first CD there is music from categories "Adventure", "Romance", "Action", "Mystery Suspense", on the second disc "Family", "drama", "Comedy" and "World". "Adventure" consists of eleven tracks, mostly dominated by percussion and hard brass, which are so rousing and pulsating that there couldn’t be a better entrance to the double disc; musical highlights without a break, stirring marches, pathetic hymns for trumpet or choral music accompanied by exotic drums. Adventure music nonstop, which won’t let you sit still.

In “Romance“, Alan Williams presents you warm musical colors, characteristic are the solos for woodwinds about strings.

Few convincing are the short action tracks with E- Guitar, Beats and Synthesizers which remind me of Media Ventures- that Alan Williams can write better strong music he demonstrated with his adventure music.

The last genre on disc one are suspense pieces- a good stopover. Felicitous tension; whirring violins or dark basses with minimal synthetic backup, little piano melodies, which build a strong tension- that’s perhaps no new concept but it’s quite effective and shock effects as heard in so many various horror scores aren’t used.

The music on the second CD fills 79 minutes, 40 seconds and opens with harmonic pieces for “Family”. If you like romantic orchestral melodies, you will love this suite- spirited and whimsical, lyrical and melodic, bright and hopeful.  That is the best entertainment because it is so beautifully orchestrated, full with warm colors.
The next genre “Drama” is more quiet and meditative- solos for various instruments, piano or guitar preferred, laid over strings with few synths.

Highlight is track number 14 “Sacrifice” in which an ethnic vocal tries to sing against the whole grandiloquence of the orchestra.

It continues lively: “Comedy”, nine breezy pieces with Elfman-esque glocks, light percussion, dancing flutes, fast folk music or Easy Listening- Alan Williams is talented whatever he composes.

“World”- music builds the end to this great compilation. Curious is track 32 “Islamic Prayer”: Islamic ethno vocals with DJ Beats and synthetic percussion- not everyone will like it but it is a very interesting combination. In this suite you can find more exotic percussions, South American drums with pan flutes, gentle choir, Japanese violins, Egyptian ethnic- composed with love for details and that stands for nearly the whole compilation. There are so many beautiful, great orchestrated tracks, entertaining, profounding and much better than a lot of scores that come to us from Hollywood today.