John Williams: A Composer’s Life by Tim Greiving – Review

By Roger Crow

If there’s a more exhaustive, insightful book about the life and work of John Williams, I imagine the author will have a Herculean task of topping Tim Greiving’s.

His epic tome about arguably Hollywood’s greatest living composer is so meticulous in its research, the book is a must for any fan, like me, who sat slack of jaw circa 1978, when Star Wars blew punters out of the back of their respective cinemas. And of course it was John Williams’ score that was 50 per cent of the success story. For every beautifully crafted effect, amazing set piece, and the banter between its lead characters, there was THAT score. As an introduction to the work of an already veteran tunesmith, it opened the floodgates for countless movie fans whether aged nine, like me at the time, or 90.

John had of course been around for years before that movie cemented his status as an A-list composer. There was the work on Irwin Allen’s TV classics Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel, before movies like The Reivers brought him to the attention of Steven Spielberg. And when he needed a composer for debut feature The Sugarland Express, it marked the beginning of a regular collaboration that lasts until this day, more than 50 years later. And yes, Greiving covers all of the classic moments, including the blockbusters like The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Jaws and The Empire Strikes Back. You name it, and Greiving’s forensic approach to Williams’ work covers it in admirable detail.

“Memorable”

It’s perhaps best read as a companion piece to that fabulous 2024 documentary Music By John Williams, which could only pack so much into its run time. Here Tim goes to town with a biography as rich and compelling as its subject matter. And not just filthy rich in the monetary sense, because John’s riches as a musician go way beyond anything you can put a price on.

His humanity shines through in the book, and his intelligence, as it does in the documentary. If you’ve not seen it, watch the bit where John discusses the five iconic notes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and how the last note is left open to continue the ‘conversation’ between aliens and humans. It’s little moments like that where you realise how much thought goes into his creative process. And how little he has to do to pull off the most memorable themes in film and TV history.

Those two notes in Jaws for example. Little wonder when Spielberg first heard them, he thought John was having a laugh. Quite the opposite. Putting the right couple of notes in the right order is a skill Eric Morecambe would have been proud of.

I’m in awe of John Williams, and have been for most of my life. Finding a definitive book about my composing idol has been a long search, but like Indiana Jones seeking the Lost Ark of the Covenant, all set to the cues of John’s orchestral magnificence, the search ends here.

‘John Williams: A Composer’s Life’ by Tim Greiving is published by Oxford University Press

Roger Crow( Writer )

Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
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