Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind_(soundtrack) References

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
	Original 1977 soundtrack album
Film score by John Williams
Released	1977
Recorded	June 1976 – October 1977
Studio	Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank; 20th Century Fox Studios
Genre	Soundtrack, Classical
Length	41 minutes (Original album and cassette); 44 minutes (re-issued cassette); 77 minutes (Collector's Edition CD)
Label	Arista
Producer	John Williams
John Williams chronology
Alternative cover
	1998 Collector's Edition soundtrack

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Filmtracks	^[2]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 1977 film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams. The soundtrack album was released on vinyl album (with a gatefold sleeve), 8-track tape and audio cassette by Arista Records in 1977, with a total running time of 41 minutes (it was later released on compact disc in 1990). The soundtrack album was a commercial success, peaking at #17 on the US Billboard album chart in February 1978 and was certified Gold by the RIAA for 500,000 copies shipped.^[3] It also peaked at #40 in the UK album charts.^[4]

Five-note tonal phrase featured in the story

Although not included on the original soundtrack album, a 7" single of a disco treatment of the five-note motif, titled, " Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind", was included with the album as a free bonus item. Despite being a giveaway, Billboard chart rules at that time allowed the single itself to chart, and it peaked at #13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1978. The single was later added as a bonus track to the cassette.

Following the twentieth anniversary re-release of the film in 1998, a new expanded soundtrack was released on compact disc by Arista. The "Collector's Edition Soundtrack" was made using 20-bit digital remastering from the original tapes, and contained 26 tracks totalling 77 minutes of music. The CD also came with extensive liner notes, including an interview with Williams. Cues were given new titles, and it also contained previously unreleased material, as well as material that was recorded but never used in the film. La-La Land Records reissued the soundtrack on November 28, 2017, in recognition of the film's fortieth anniversary.

The score features some of Williams' most complex and modernistic writing, making use of extended orchestral techniques and atonality.

Track listing

1977 original album

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Title and Mountain Visions"
2.	"Nocturnal Pursuit"
3.	"The Abduction of Barry"
4.	"I Can't Believe It's Real"
5.	"Climbing Devil's Tower"
6.	"The Arrival of Sky Harbor"

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Night Siege"
2.	"The Conversation"
3.	"The Appearance of the Visitors"
4.	"Resolution and End Titles"
5.	"Theme from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"†"

† 1978 reissue – bonus track (cassette), free bonus 7" single (vinyl album).

1998 Collector's Edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Opening: Let There Be Light"	0:49
2.	"Navy Planes"	2:06
3.	"Lost Squadron"	2:23
4.	"Roy's First Encounter"	2:41
5.	"Encounter at Crescendo Summit"	1:21
6.	"Chasing UFOs"	1:18
7.	"False Alarm"	1:42
8.	"Barry's Kidnapping"	6:19
9.	"The Cover-Up"	2:25
10.	"Stars and Trucks"	0:44
11.	"Forming The Mountain"	1:49
12.	"TV Reveals"	1:49
13.	"Roy and Gillian on the Road"	1:10
14.	"The Mountain"	3:31
15.	"Who Are You People?"	1:35
16.	"The Escape"	2:18
17.	"The Escape (Alternate Cue)"	2:40
18.	"Trucking"	2:01
19.	"Climbing The Mountain"	2:32
20.	"Outstretch Hands"	2:47
21.	"Lightshow"	3:43
22.	"Barnstorming"	4:25
23.	"The Mothership"	4:33
24.	"Wild Signals"	4:12
25.	"The Returnees"	3:45
26.	"The Visitors / "Bye" / End Titles: The Special Edition (Contains a sample of " When You Wish Upon a Star")"	12:32

2017 La-La Land Records' 40th Anniversary release

All tracks are written by John Williams

Disc 1: Expanded Soundtrack Presentation
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Title and The Vision ‡"	1:29
2.	"Navy Planes"	2:15
3.	"Lost Squadron"	2:34
4.	"Trucking"	2:09
5.	"Into the Tunnel and Chasing UFOs"	3:56
6.	"Crescendo Summit"	1:25
7.	"False Alarm and The Helicopter"	4:20
8.	"Barry's Kidnapping"	6:22
9.	"Forming the Mountain"	1:58
10.	"TV Reveals / Across Country"	2:53
11.	"The Mountain"	3:36
12.	"The Cover-up and Base Camp"	3:56
13.	"The Escape"	2:20
14.	"Climbing the Mountain"	2:36
15.	"Outstretched Hands"	2:50
16.	"The Light Show"	3:47
17.	"Barnstorming"	4:31
18.	"The Mothership"	4:35
19.	"The Dialogue"	4:28
20.	"The Returnees"	3:58
21.	"The Appearance of the Visitors +"	4:56
22.	"Contact"	3:22
23.	"End Titles +"	4:27
Total length:		78:43

+ Contains " When You Wish Upon a Star" (interpolated), written by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline.

All tracks are written by John Williams

Disc 2: Alternates and Additional Music
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Title ‡"	1:18
2.	"Roy's First Encounter"	2:44
3.	"Encounter at Crescendo Summit"	1:25
4.	"Chasing UFOs"	1:22
5.	"Watching the Skies †"	1:20
6.	"Vision Takes Shape †"	0:42
7.	"Another Vision †"	0:42
8.	"False Alarm"	1:45
9.	"The Abduction of Barry"	4:36
10.	"The Cover-up"	2:31
11.	"TV Reveals"	1:52
12.	"Roy and Jillian on the Road"	1:20
13.	"I Can't Believe It's Real"	3:25
14.	"Across the Fields"	1:20
15.	"Stars and Trucks"	0:49
16.	"Who Are You People?"	1:38
17.	"The Escape (Alternate)"	2:41
18.	"Climbing Devils Tower"	2:11
19.	"Dark Side of the Moon †"	1:34
20.	"The Approach †"	4:32
21.	"Night Siege"	6:27
22.	"The Conversation"	2:23
23.	"Inside +†"	2:34
24.	"Contact † (Alternate)"	2:51
25.	"Eleventh Commandment †"	2:00
26.	"TV Western †"	1:06
27.	"Lava Flow †"	1:47
28.	"The Five Tones †"	2:25
29.	"Advance Scout Greeting †"	2:58
30.	"The Dialogue (Early Version) †"	3:12
31.	"Resolution and End Title"	6:55
Total length:		74:25

+ Contains " When You Wish Upon a Star" (interpolated), written by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline.
† Previously unreleased.
‡ Contains previously unreleased material.

Charts

Chart (1978)	Position
Australia ( Kent Music Report)^[5]	37
United Kingdom ( Official Charts Company)^[6]	40
United States ( Billboard 200)^[7]	17

References

^ Close Encounters of the Third Kind [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] at AllMusic
^ "Filmtracks: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (John Williams)".
^ RIAA – Gold & Platinum Certifications (searchable database)
^ UK Charts Stats (Close Encounters soundtrack)
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 282. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ UK Charts Stats (Close Encounters soundtrack)
^ RIAA – Gold & Platinum Certifications (searchable database)

[1] Close Encounters of the Third Kind [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] at AllMusic

[2] "Filmtracks: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (John Williams)".

[3] RIAA – Gold & Platinum Certifications (searchable database)

[4] UK Charts Stats (Close Encounters soundtrack)

[aus-5] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 282. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[6] UK Charts Stats (Close Encounters soundtrack)

[7] RIAA – Gold & Platinum Certifications (searchable database)

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[4]

[5]

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v t e John Williams
Discography Composition list Accolades
Soundtracks	Jaws (1975) Star Wars (1977) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Superman (1978) The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Return of the Jedi (1983) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) SpaceCamp (1986) Empire of the Sun (1987) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Home Alone (1990) JFK (1991) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) Jurassic Park (1993) Schindler's List (1993) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) Angela's Ashes (1999) The Patriot (2000) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) Catch Me If You Can (2002) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) Munich (2005) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) The Adventures of Tintin (2011) War Horse (2011) Lincoln (2012) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) The BFG (2016) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) The Fabelmans (2022) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Compilations	John Williams Greatest Hits 1969–1999 (1999)
Compositions	" Star Wars (Main Title)" " Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind" " The Imperial March" " Ewok Celebration" " Summon the Heroes" " Duel of the Fates" " The Five Sacred Trees" Horn Concerto " Liberty Fanfare" " For New York" " American Journey" " Soundings" " Air and Simple Gifts" Violin Concerto No. 2
Songs	" Nice to Be Around"
See also	Music of Star Wars Music of Superman Music of Wizarding World Barbara Ruick Joseph Williams
Category

v t e Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
1950s	No Award (1958) Anatomy of a Murder – Duke Ellington (1959)
1960s	Exodus – Ernest Gold (1960) Breakfast at Tiffany's – Henry Mancini (1961) No Award (1962) Tom Jones – John Addison (1963) Mary Poppins – Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman (1964) The Sandpiper – Johnny Mandel (1965) Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre (1966) Music from Mission: Impossible – Lalo Schifrin (1967) The Graduate – Dave Grusin & Paul Simon (1968) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Burt Bacharach (1969)
1970s	Let It Be – The Beatles ( John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr) (1970) Shaft – Isaac Hayes (1971) The Godfather – Nino Rota (1972) Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Neil Diamond (1973) The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording – Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch (1974) Jaws – John Williams (1975) Car Wash – Norman Whitfield (1976) Star Wars – John Williams (1977) Close Encounters of the Third Kind – John Williams (1978) Superman – John Williams (1979)
1980s	The Empire Strikes Back – John Williams (1980) Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams (1981) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – John Williams (1982) Flashdance – Michael Boddicker, Irene Cara, Kim Carnes, Doug Cotler, Keith Forsey, Richard Gilbert, Jerry Hey, Duane Hitchings, Craig Krampf, Ronald Magness, Dennis Matkosky, Giorgio Moroder, Phil Ramone, Michael Sembello & Shandi Sinnamon (1983) Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution (1984) Beverly Hills Cop – Marc Benno, Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey, Micki Free, John Gilutin Hawk, Howard Hewett, Bunny Hull, Howie Rice, Sharon Robinson, Danny Sembello, Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen & Allee Willis (1985) Out of Africa – John Barry (1986) The Untouchables – Ennio Morricone (1987) The Last Emperor – David Byrne, Cong Su & Ryuichi Sakamoto (1988) The Fabulous Baker Boys – Dave Grusin (1989)
1990s	Glory – James Horner (1990) Dances with Wolves – John Barry (1991) Beauty and the Beast – Alan Menken (1992) Aladdin – Alan Menken (1993) Schindler's List – John Williams (1994) Crimson Tide – Hans Zimmer (1995) Independence Day – David Arnold (1996) The English Patient – Gabriel Yared (1997) Saving Private Ryan – John Williams (1998) A Bug's Life – Randy Newman (1999)
2000s	American Beauty – Thomas Newman (2000) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Tan Dun (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Howard Shore & John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) (2002) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Howard Shore, John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) & Peter Cobbin (engineer/mixer) (2003) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Howard Shore, John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) & Peter Cobbin (engineer/mixer) (2004) Ray – Craig Armstrong (2005) Memoirs of a Geisha – John Williams (2006) Ratatouille – Michael Giacchino (2007) The Dark Knight – Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (2008) Up – Michael Giacchino (2009)
2010s	Toy Story 3 – Randy Newman (2010) The King's Speech – Alexandre Desplat (2011) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (2012) Skyfall – Thomas Newman (2013) The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat (2014) Birdman – Antonio Sánchez (2015) Star Wars: The Force Awakens – John Williams (2016) La La Land – Justin Hurwitz (2017) Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson (2018) Chernobyl – Hildur Guðnadóttir (2019)
2020s	Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir (2020) The Queen's Gambit – Carlos Rafael Rivera / Soul – Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (2021) Encanto – Germaine Franco (2022) Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson (2023)