John Williams has done as much as anyone to define the sound of movies since the '70s, often through his long-running association with Steven Spielberg. Cineastes should seek the original soundtrack albums, but casual fans wanting a clutch of his compositions on a single disc might buy a copy of <em>John Williams: An 80th Birthday Celebration</em> (released by Sony Classics). Most of the material is culled from previously released sessions featuring Williams conducting his music in front of various orchestras. Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman can be heard amid the fury of symphony musicians eager to please the pops crowd. At worst, Williams' music is saturated with Spielberg's irrepressible sentimentality, but he was also able to help the director conjure wonder (<em>E.T.</em>) and dread (<em>Jaws</em>).
