Interested parties may now purchase a three-CD collection called “Hook – The Ultimate Edition” through La-La Land Records because record producer Mike Matessino made it his mission to round up and remaster every single John Williams score. The collection includes the standard score of “Hook” alongside everything else recorded and subsequently discarded. The only notable track missing from the collection is a demo of “Childhood,” a ballad planned for Granny Wendy (Maggie Smith) performed by Julie Andrews. There is a demo of “Childhood” present on the third CD; it just isn’t the version performed by Andrews. Other available songs include “Stick With Me,” a villainous tune planned for Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), and “Below – Pirate Sequence,” the aforementioned fully choreographed pirate number.
In a conversation with NPR, Matessino noted how attentive listeners may catch remnants of the musical in the final score, saying, “Even without the songs being sung, the score has a ‘lyrical’ quality. You don’t really get themes in a film score that have what we call bridges in a song, sort of a center section. And that’s a clue right there that a lot of these themes began life with the intention of having lyrics set to them.”
It’s no secret that “Hook” received as much criticism as it received love, so these additional tunes are unlikely to find purchase with the general public. But for those who still shout “bangarang” whenever the opportunity arises, “Hook – The Ultimate Edition” is better than a thimble.
