Pops Stoppers is a retrospective look at film composer
John Williams' tenure at the helm of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Cynical listeners may view the record as one more in a never-ending series of attempts by the orchestra to milk its famous conductor for every penny his revered movie tunes are worth. This is approximately the 16 bagillionth BoPops compilation to feature excerpts from
Williams' Oscar-sanctioned scores for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it is especially vulnerable to accusations of mercenary motives since it was released nearly a decade after
Williams hung up his Boston baton. But regardless of the motives behind its release, Pops Stoppers is a respectable collection of blustery orchestral foofaraw. The sequencing is somewhat ill-advised and monochromatic -- the movie music is clumped at the beginning rather than spread throughout the disc -- but the album does convey some of the splendor of the ensemble's stirring concerts. Particularly impressive are
Williams' orchestral arrangements of big-band tunes like
George Gershwin's "Moonlight Serenade" and "Strike Up the Band" and
Benny Goodman's "Stompin' at the Savoy." Pops Stoppers also includes
Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a fine piece of work that demonstrates
Williams' enormous influence on scorists for box office blockbusters throughout the late '70s and '80s. ~ Evan Cater, All Music Guide
