All of these contains (in my very biased) opinion some real jems by Mr. Willaims.

As a matter of Fact Volume 3 of "Lost In Space" has just come out with Williams score to "My Name,Mr. Nobody" which in many ways is the forrunner of his score to "Jane Eyre" (Another CD that no serious soundtrack fan should be without).

Have you taken a chance on these discs?

Any Opinions?

In fact, I bought the 6-disc set "Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen" GNP issued a few years ago.

I have not had a chance to order the 3rd Lost In Space disc as of yet. Hopefulkly in a short time, as I know it will be fantastic.

Personally, if anyone can get their hands on these CD's, do it. The whole set is wonderful, magnificent, stupendous, etc.

"Chariot Titles" is another mini-masterpiece. It is 64 seconds of Promethean profundity. It reminds me of the term that Stravinsky used to describe Beethoven: "virile melancholy". I love the bass harmonies of the passing bass-string notes.

Here's a tidbit I noticed: There's an ascending-trumpet finale motif at the end of both *The Reluctant Stowaway* & *The Hungry Sea*. Williams took that motif and spun 4 tracks from it. Namely: "Earthquake", "Chariot Titles", "Morning After", & "The Inland Sea". I was irritated by a sense of deja-vu until I figured out the common denominator. I'm not saying that those 4 tracks sound exactly alike. But they were all vaguely derived from that ascending finale motif.

The *Wild Adventure* score by Alexander Courage is another flat-out masterpiece. Courage is a writer of subtle harmonic genius. He's a true musical mystic who's been tragically under-utilized in the business.

I haven't yet heard Volume 3 of the *Lost in Space* records. I wasn't at all impressed by the scores that Williams & Courage wrote for *Land of the Giants* & *The Time Tunnel*. The only nexis of inspiration seemed to be *Lost in Space*. Goldsmith's *Voyage* score also bored me to tears.

I also greatly enjoy the "Derelict" score on LIS 3, though it's not as coherent a piece (understandably, since three composers had a hand in it). The music often has an eerie, mysterious quality that is quite evocative of deep space and lonely planets (to me, anyway).

The mono sound isn't the greatest on this CD, though it's certainly listenable. The liner notes mention that termites (!) were beginning to eat away at the master tapes when they were found--which makes me shudder. Is that why the famous LIS "Family" theme is so abbreviated on the disc?

Remember the creepy piccolo at the end of "Sea Attack #1" from *Jaws*? There's a similar piccolo routine in "Defrosting" (at 3/5:07). It's meandering & atonal & arhythmic. It sounds like nothing so much as a haunted tea kettle.

Regarding *Island in the Sky* from Volume 1: A track called "Will Is Threatened" starts at 7/1:30. I love the trumpet line that starts at 7/1:38. That trumpet line is backed with terrific harmonic orchestration and key changes.

Regarding *The Hungry Sea* from Volume 1: "Land Ho" is a short & slow flute tune accompanied by vibraphone & bass strings. It's a brief oasis of bittersweet placidity. And it means more to me than the entire combined oeuvres of Bach, Beethoven, & Brahms.

Tracks 8 9 and 10

My favorite thing is Richard LaSalle's NEW PLANET motif:
http://users.erols.com/msapp/LISvol3tr11clip.html

Here's a clip from FILMY SPIDER WEB: http://users.erols.com/msapp/LISvol3tr08clip.html
Can anyone identify the instrument that created the shimmering gong-ish effect? Is it a harp or a gong or what?