The first time I watched Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun I was utterly spellbound. It's a highly spiritual journey and quite overwhelming in many ways. Thanks, in no small part, to the music of John Williams. I don't wax rhapsodic about every Spielberg and Williams collaboration (honest!), but this one does demand a fair amount of gushing in my mind. Something which very few do when talking about this entry on the resume of both gentlemen.

La-La Land Records and Mike Matessino have poured much love and respect into their new 2-CD release of the award-winning score by John Williams and it's been a real treat to be able to revisit the score with a new perspective. Admittedy, we knew some music was absent from the film due to the original 1987 album. We didn't know why though, presuming it was another example of JW providing lengthier cues for an improved listening experience. Mike Matessino provides a fascinating insight into how Empire of the Sun was spotted and scored in his booklet essay, as well as an article written especially for JWFan.com. It's a very unique scoring approach which is quite bold.

I invited Mike to speak with me about this important film and score for my radio programme in Northern Ireland, albeit heavily edited. What follows here is the full unedited 70 minute conversation with plenty of analysis, statistical research and commentary on numerous tracks from this wonderful new album. 

We start with John Williams accepting his BAFTA Award for Best Original Music...