3.21.2008

Star Wars Soundtracks: In Order

I have all the Star Wars songs on my iPod, so when I'm at work I plug in the headphones and play them in order. However, I find that the movies should be done in classic-to-new order (Episode IV-to-VI, then I-to-III, for the ignorant), but the soundtracks really benefit from going in chronological (and by chronological, I mean time in the story, not production time) order. It is fascinating to see how John Williams retro-fits the new episodes in with his older work.For instance, the 'Emperor's Theme' is actually the basis of the 'Celebration' song at the end of Episode I. Fun. That all said, since I start from Episode I and don't work enough to get the whole experience in, I hear The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones a lot. While I still think ATOC is a masterpiece on a level with A New Hope and Empire, I have really come to appreciate, nay, love the very subtle tones of TPM. It's growing on me, like the movie does upon repeat viewing.

And not to whet my two readers' appetites, but I am planning on posting regarding my choices for best music from the Star Wars movies. Believe it or not, there are over 100 songs to choose from, so it's not that easy. I will take my time doing this, partly to give each soundtrack a good listen and a fair shake, and partly because I love the music itself. Only then will I divulge. Patience. For the Jedi, it is time to eat, as well.

3 comments:

Kelly Sedinger said...

Is that the single-disc edition of TPM, or the double-disc "Ultimate" edition, with every note from the score as it is heard in the film?

Matt said...

Alack, it is the original single-disc edition. Having been re-introduced to this work, I have taken the necessary first-step in enhancing my pleasure and ordered the double-disc. (It is out-of-stock at Amazon, oddly, so I had to order used.)

That said, I'm only going to use the single-disc in my reviews; I don't think it's fair to compare a full work to expurgated versions. In other words, it will be a gamut-less TPM. I never like that bird.

Kelly Sedinger said...

The 2-disc TPM is all kinds of terrific, although it pretty much presents the music EXACTLY as it comes in the movie, which results in a couple of odd edits during the final battle sequence, as John Williams scored those scenes before Lucas tweaked them in a final edit. This bugged the hell out of a lot of film music fans, but I was never that angry about it.