21 for 21—#21: John Barry, "Dances With Wolves"

Today is June 1, and in 21 days, I'll be 47 years old. To commemorate yet another year of living without dying, I'll be sharing with you my top 21 CDs from my music collection. Just as I did with my top 25 albums from a couple of years ago, I'll be explaining why each CD is significant and what the music means to me.

#21: Tatonka...Buffalo

First up tonight at #21 is an unusual pick—a fully instrumental movie soundtrack score, John Barry's "Dances With Wolves." I was in my first year of graduate school at the University of Missouri when the movie came out. The young lady I was dating at the time, Amy Katz, wanted to see the movie. A three-hour western? No thanks! She persisted and I relented. That was the fastest three hours I had ever experienced. The following Spring, "Dances With Wolves" won a ton of Oscars, including one for Best Original Score for Mr. Barry.

This soundtrack was a staple on the stereo at my college apartment, a regular background score to hours of studying, reading, and writing. Over the years, it's been in regular rotation during fiction writing sessions, and it's playing on my stereo now as I write.

Of course, Barry is most famous for creating the signature "James Bond" theme, created for the first Bond film, "Dr. No," and still one of the most recognizable musical themes in cinema. He scored 11 Bond films and won five Oscars, as well as numerous other awards during his career.

His music is always recognizable, with soaring strings, powerful low brass fanfares, driving percussion, and an ever-present dramatic intensity. Listening to the soundtrack is almost like watching a silent version of the film; the music tells the story without any images or dialogue. Watch this clip from the beginning of the movie and you'll see just how integral Mr. Barry's music is in telling the story. As long as I'm still writing, I'll still be listening to this soundtrack.