Music » Star Wars Music

The Star Wars cycle, George Lucas's stellar pop parable cum merchandising blitzkrieg, has long since made history as an unparalleled cinematic-cultural-marketing phenomena; somewhere Billy Jack should be in one envious, ass-kickin' mood. Phantom Menace, easily the most eagerly anticipated film of the '90s, returns to the saga's roots and allows Lucas to flesh out the history of some of the fable's core characters and conjure up a dazzling new cast of cohorts, antagonists, and alien realms for them to interact with and in. Thus, all composer John Williams had to do was essentially reinvent the world's most popular wheel. The film-scoring legend has admirably risen to that daunting challenge, delivering an inventive score whose dynamics should surprise and delight even the most ardent SW fanatic. The Main Title and a few oh-so-sparing bars of a familiar Jedi theme are all that remains from the original trilogy's lexicon, Williams having evolved the saga's musical language, stylistic reach, and orchestral palette with masterful subtlety. The composer's most ambitious surprise is the welcome addition of strong choral elements, which he uses in ways both majestic ("Duel of the Fates") and menacing ("Passage Through the Planet's Core"). And though the film revolves around a young boy (Anakin Skywalker, who will grow to be both corrupted and redeemed as Darth Vader), the only flirtation with cloying sentimentality comes with the innocently loping "Jar Jar's Introduction." In the tradition of the Cantina and Max Rebo's Band of the previous trilogy, Williams and Lucas close out this musical installment with "Augie's Municipal Band," a Carnivale-esque romp that segues grandly into the composer's swelling title music. Williams may be the master of a grand scoring tradition, but Phantom Menace is gratifying evidence that he seldom plays it safe--even when the Force is with him. --Jerry McCulley

There's never been anything quite like the symphonic film music series that John Williams has forged for George Lucas's sprawling Star Wars saga. By the time the sixth chapter rolls around, Williams will have created a body of work that spans fully 30 years of his career, a virtual Ring Cycle of sci-fi/fantasy soundtrack music. While Attack of the Clones again achieves the high standards of its predecessors, it also succeeds by both forging some rewarding new musical themes at the same time it begins to bring the galactic fable full circle. The budding relationship between now-teenaged Anakin Skywalker and Amidala/Padme is informed by "Across the Stars--Love Theme from Attack of the Clones," a grand romantic motif that's infused with a subtle melancholy that hints at the tragedy that must ultimately befall the young lovers. The composer's mastery of idiom and color serve him especially well in the action cues, infusing "Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant" and "Jango's Escape" with bracing doses of 20th-century modernism and its inherent rhythmic fury performed, as always, by the London Symphony Orchestra. Williams also incorporates the "Force" and "Jedi" themes of the first SW trilogy sparingly, before "Confrontation with Count Dooku and Finale" completes the musical/thematic tapestry by interweaving The Empire Strikes Back's menacing "Imperial March" with both the new "Love Theme" and the Phantom Menace's dramatic choral showcase "Duel of the Fates." This sweeping denouement should rightfully take its place among the saga's most compelling musical sequences. Purists may grouse at the obviously abridged music here, but given history a complete/ultimate edition of the score can't be far behind. This soundtrack is issued with one of four different, collectible covers. --Jerry McCulley

Holst: The Planets

Release Date: 2004-08-03, Audio CD, Philips

Release Date: 1991-07-01, Audio CD, Sony

Release Date: 1991-07-09, Audio CD, RCA

Obscured by the familiar grandeur of John Williams's score for Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace was the sheer volume of the composer's prodigious musical efforts. Not only did Williams expand on the original Star Wars trilogy's musical language with a whole new range of modern classical inspirations, but his efforts also produced more than two hours of seamless symphonic foundation for the galactic epic, enough wall-to-wall music to power three less ambitious films. This impressively packaged double-disc set offers Williams's complete Episode 1 score for the first time. It's a worthy tribute to the scoring legend's mastery of tone, dynamics, and nuance--a virtual musical tone poem that imparts much of the film's dramaturgy. Divorced from the bombastic visual assault of state-of-the-art digital effects, one is struck by the composition's emotional resonance. It's the small, quiet moments that give the story its subtle, crucial humanity; it's hard to imagine a film conceit so outlandish functioning without it. The Ultimate Edition includes a bonus track of the stirring choral centerpiece, "Duel of the Fates," with an overlaid dialogue montage, as well as a photo-rich booklet that illustrates each of the film's key scenes and musical cues. --Jerry McCulley

Array

Array

Release Date: 1999-05-18, Audio CD, Hip-O Records