Back In The Water: Intrada Premieres John Williams’ Complete “JAWS 2” Score
Mere weeks after Intrada took us Back to the Future for two very special soundtrack reissues, the label is exploring another one of Universal’s hit franchises with unforgettable soundtracks: JAWS. Having expanded Alan Parker and Michael Small’s scores to JAWS 3-D (1983) and JAWS: The Revenge (1987) earlier this year, Intrada now enters John Williams territory with a double-disc presentation of 1978’s JAWS 2.
Though John Williams was a composer of some acclaim before JAWS hit theaters in 1975–he’d earned an Oscar for adapting Fiddler on the Roof to film in 1971 and was the go-to composer for a string of disaster movies, including The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure and Earthquake–it was his score to Steven Spielberg’s risky adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel that put him on the map. His instantly recognizable two-note shark theme became the perfect stand in for a mechanical beast that did not always work properly, and Spielberg (propelled to international fame as JAWS became the highest-grossing film of all time) duly credited his longtime musical partner for roughly half the film’s success.
Though Spielberg would not come back to the director’s chair for JAWS 2, Williams returned for Jeannot Szwarc’s fun if flawed follow-up in which Amity police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) has to contend with yet another killer great white, who ends up menacing, Friday the 13th-style, a group of teenage boaters. Williams’ score retains the shark theme while embarking on new thematic journeys for the characters and events in the film, making for a listening experience rather unique from that of JAWS.
Long out of print since it was released on CD by Varese Sarabande in the early 1990s, Intrada’s JAWS 2 features Williams’ complete score (including five alternate takes and edits) on one disc and Williams’ original MCA album presentation on another. Mike Matessino, whose stellar work on the Back to the Future trilogy is taking score fans well beyond 88 miles per hour, again lends his talents in restoration and assembly.
The presence of three JAWS scores on Intrada’s roster in 2015 makes one wonder if a new version of Williams’ original classic will surface from the waves, 40 years after JAWS was first released. Whether or that happens, JAWS 2 will keep you on dry land for the time being.
JAWS 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Intrada ISC 331, 2015 – original film released 1978)
CD 1: Original score
- JAWS 2 – Main Title
- The Shark Prowls
- Sailing
- The Water Kite
- The Water Skier/Fire on Board
- Catching the Cable
- Brody’s Thoughts/The Charred Body
- The Menu (Film Version)
- Brody Misunderstood (Film Version)
- The Photo
- More Boating
- Ballet for Divers
- Boats in Danger
- Eddie’s Death
- The Open Sea (Film Version)
- Rescue Party
- Sinking the Catamaran
- The Big Bite
- Disabled Party
- Munching the Helicopter
- Sean’s Rescue
- Toward Cable Junction/More Teeth
- The Big Jolt (Extended Version)
- End Title/End Credits
- JAWS 2 – Main Title (Alternate Take)
- The Menu (Alternate Take)
- Boats in Danger (Alternate Edit)
- The Big Bite (Alternate Edit)
- End Credits (Alternate)
CD 2: Original LP (released as MCA Records 3045, 1978)
- Finding The Orca (Main Title)
- The Menu
- Ballet for Divers
- The Water Kite Sequence
- Brody Misunderstood
- The Catamaran Race
- Toward Cable Junction
- Attack on the Helicopter
- The Open Sea
- Fire Onboard and Eddie’s Death
- Sean’s Rescue
- Attack on the Water Skier
- The Big Jolt!
- End Title/End Cast
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If Intrada is able to release an expanded John Williams score where the original was a Varese Sarabande offering, is there any chance that we might see Williams’ 1979 Dracula issued by Intrada as well? I know there have been stories that the original tapes are lost, but miracles in soundtrack-ville have happened before…