Thirty-six years ago, principal photography began on Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. It’s incredibly fitting, then, that The Second Disc can exclusively share details on La-La Land Records’ definitive new expansion of John Williams’ timeless, award-winning score to the film, prepared in honor of the film’s 35th anniversary.

“He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home.” So announced the first posters for E.T., Spielberg’s seventh feature film. The timeless tale of a mysterious alien creature found and protected by a lonely 10-year-old boy was part science fiction and part coming-of-age family drama–arguably the perfect distillation of the director’s dual sensibilities regarding profound emotion and technically proficient grandiosity–and the result was a worldwide sensation, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time for more than a decade.

As with nearly every one of Spielberg’s films, Williams was selected to provide a powerful and emotional soundtrack. (The Spielberg-Williams partnership, one of the most fruitful in film history, now extends nearly 45 years, with all but three of the director’s full-length features scored by Williams.) Praised in Spielberg’s liner notes for the original E.T. soundtrack album as the director’s “musical rewrite artist,” Williams did not disappoint, creating a score rich in themes and motifs yet surprisingly reserved and intimate in their usages.

As E.T. became a critical and commercial smash, so too did Williams’ score, with the main theme “Flying” even denting the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100. Selections for the soundtrack album, recorded in a separate session, was released concurrently with the film, offering concertized passages from the themes and score. That album helped the score net several major awards in 1983, including an Oscar (Williams’ fourth of five), a BAFTA and a Grammy Award.

While previous expanded releases (in 1996 and 2002) offered most of the film score, they were not complete, nor did they accurately present the performances as actually heard in the film. La-La Land’s new release at last corrects this, while providing a generous amount of alternate and unreleased material–all presented in the best possible sound this music’s ever been heard.

In this 2CD set you’ll find:

• The original film score, newly mixed, mastered and edited by John Williams’ longtime soundtrack producer Mike Matessino, alongside original engineer/album producer Bruce Botnick.
• The original soundtrack album, newly transferred in hi-resolution from the original analog master tapes. (This new master will also feature in the upcoming 35th anniversary Blu-ray/4K box set due this month.)
• Seven alternate and partially unreleased takes from the original scoring sessions.
• One brief but previously unheard cue, “The Levitation,” intended to score a deleted scene featuring Harrison Ford in an uncredited cameo as a school principal.
• The CD debut of Williams’ original suite of music for the Universal Studios theme park ride E.T. Adventure, recorded in 1990.

The package is rounded out with liner notes by Matessino on the creation of the score and a booklet by designer Jim Titus, including newly designed cover approved by the director. Limited to 5,000 copies, this is a release Williams fans will want to phone home about!

We are pleased to premiere the full track list below; the set is on sale September 12 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific standard time at LLL’s official site!

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial: 35th Anniversary Limited Edition (La-La Land Records LLLCD1420, 2017 – original film released 1982)

* previously unreleased
** contains previously unreleased material

Disc 1: Film score presentation

1. Main Title 1:14
2. Far From Home / E.T. Alone 6:57
3. Bait For E.T. 1:45
4. Meeting E.T. 2:08
5. E.T.’s New Home 1:28
6. The Beginning of a Friendship 2:53
7. Toys 3:13
8. I’m Keeping Him 2:20
9. E.T.’s Powers 2:44
10. The Closet * 0:53
11. E.T. and Elliott Get Drunk 2:57
12. Frogs 2:12
13. At Home 5:38
14. The Magic of Halloween 2:55
15. Sending the Signal 3:58
16. Searching For E.T. 4:18
17. Invading Elliott’s House 2:24
18. Stay With Me * 2:24
19. Losing E.T. 2:04
20. E.T. is Alive 4:22
21. The Rescue and Bike Chase 8:07
22. The Departure 7:07
23. End Credits 3:55

Disc 1 total running time: 77:57

Disc 2: Original soundtrack album and additional material

1. Three Million Light Years From Home 3:01
2. Abandoned and Pursued 3:02
3. E.T. and Me 4:54
4. E.T.’s Halloween 4:11
5. Flying 3:25
6. E.T. Phone Home 4:21
7. Over the Moon 2:12
8. Adventure On Earth 15:10
9. The E.T. Adventure * 4:12
10. Far From Home / E.T. Alone (Alternate) ** 7:00
11. The Encounter * 1:49
12. Meeting E.T. (Alternate) * 2:20
13. E.T.’s New Home (Alternate) 1:27
14. The Kiss * 0:49
15. The Levitation * 0:41
16. Searching For E.T. (Alternate) ** 4:19
17. Invading Elliott’s House (Alternate) ** 2:24
18. E.T. is Dying 2:24
19. The Departure (Alternate) 7:06
20. End Credits (Alternate) 3:55

Disc 2 total running time: 78:42