War of the Worlds

Composer: John Williams .

John Williams became the most famous soundtrack composer in Hollywood thanks to his late-'70s work with George Lucas and, crucially, Lucas's pal Steven Spielberg. (Williams's first score for Spielberg, 1975's JAWS, is quite possibly the most famous movie score of all time, and certainly contains the most parodied music cue ever.) WAR OF THE WORLDS is yet another Williams score for yet another Spielberg movie, but rather like the film itself, there's a newfound unsettling quality to Williams's aesthetic. Previous Williams/Spielberg scores tended to mirror the filmmaker's generally upbeat world view with similarly accessible music; even the elegantly restrained score to SCHINDLER'S LIST served to highlight the main character's essential nobility. However, WAR OF THE WORLDS is atypically scary and somewhat paranoid for a Spielberg summer action flick, and Williams's score effectively ratchets up the tension throughout the album, repeatedly layering dissonant, clashing brass and woodwind parts and using repetitive figures in a style occasionally reminiscent of Philip Glass. WAR OF THE WORLDS is an interesting departure for both artists, and a notable achievement for Williams.