In many of John Williams’ film scores, there is often a section or a an entire track that presents a central theme of the score in a minimalist style with sparse instrumentation. The arrangement is usually reduced to a solo instrument, such as violin or piano, performed with great emotional intensity and often accompanying a pivotal turning point in the plot. Think cues like “A Tree for My Bed” from Jurassic Park, “Avner’s Theme” from Munich or the ending of “Stolen Memories” from Schindler’s List. These small and often unassuming renditions are usually my favorite tracks on every album, and I keep coming back to them again and again. For The Fabelmans – his 31st collaboration with iconic director Steven Spielberg – John Williams has written a score consisting almost entirely of such restrained compositions and I love it to bits.

What wasn’t love at first sight, though, was the official cover of the soundtrack album. The main poster design is a wild collage of various images from the film, and in my opinion, hopelessly cluttered. Gone are the days of iconic, minimalist Steven Spielberg movie posters, which is a pity as The Fabelmans had great potential to put the art of filmmaking front and center. In any case, I took it upon myself to declutter the soundtrack cover by giving it some much-needed breathing space. Now, while the softly lit film strips are still towering over the horizon, you no longer feel as overwhelmed by them as you did before (#1).

In addition to this custom cover, I’ve brought two more variations along, the second of which is based on an unofficial poster by Maks Bereski, which I used to create a somewhat old-fashioned, vintage-style cover (#3), which, by the way, features the same typeface that was used in the film’s end credits. I hope you like it and take it to good use.