Music Album Review: 'The Very Best of the Boston Pops: John Williams & The Boston Pops Orchestra'
Illustration by Sergio Baradat. Art design by Umi Kenyon. (C) 1991 Philips Classics Productions On May 21, 1991, Philips Classics Productions released The Very Best of the Boston Pops: John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. This album is a nine-track compilation that features a mix of themes from Hollywood classics, a television series, and several Broadway musicals. It also serves as a valedictory, of sorts, to the label's long association with Maestro Williams and the Boston Pops; Philips Classics Production was by now a division of PolyGram Records, which was itself owned by Philips NV, the Dutch electronics company responsible - with Sony- for the invention of the CD. As you can imagine, this Williams-Boston Pops Orchestra is an ode to showbusiness. Its eclectic mix of composers includes Alexander Courage, George Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, John Kander, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, and - naturally, Maestro Williams himself. From Star Trek to Oklahoma! and