John Williams has written so many great fantasy scores, probably more than anyone else. Expectations for his music for the first Harry Potter movie were vast and the hype surrounding every aspect of the movie certainly extended to the music. Unfortunately, it's the one element of the project that failed in a big way. I'm not convinced these days that Williams pays that much attention to how his music is going to sound in the movie, he writes music for music's sake - great for albums, not so great for films.

Harry Potter has some particularly enjoyable moments. The two themes, "Hedwig's Theme" (whose title is mysterious to say the least, since it doesn't seem to be associated with Hedwig in any way) and "Harry's Wondrous World" are certainly standouts - but as is so often the case, they are repeated ad nauseum, to the point that their impact is virtually completely removed. There are a couple of other standout moments - "The Quidditch Match" and "The Chess Game" in particular. The latter resembles Alex North, of all people.

Problem is that this is Williams on autopilot, again. It's always difficult to assess such a situation, but like The Patriot, Harry Potter seems to be far less than the sum of its parts. Listening to it, extracts from Hook, Home Alone, The Witches of Eastwick and The Phantom Menace are all too obvious, and it's so repetitive it becomes quite dull after 73 minutes. There aren't the "wow" moments associated with Williams's best.

In the movie itself, the score is a nightmare. It's so loud, overbearing, bombastic and densely-orchestrated for its entire length that it completely overwhelms the film and really does harm it. The rest of the film is not without fault - Daniel Radcliffe is poor as Potter, seeming to have none of the necessary qualities apart from his physical appearance, and surprisingly the narrative structure doesn't lend itself particularly well to film, since there's no linear storyline but rather a series of set-pieces - but the score is the one thing that stands out as being a disappointment.

Of course, average Williams is still better than most composers' best, and the two themes are great. The album's still recommended, but it's not in the same league as the scores it closely resembles; Williams really does seem to be far more suited to scoring more serious, adult dramas these days.

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