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Listening to the SW Trilogy Original Soundtrack Anthology (Arista, 1993)


Pellaeon

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Greetings! First post. I apologize for such a newbieish question, but, I searched for a similar topic and nothing really came up.

 

I acquired the set named in the thread title, and have been listening to it in my car. My question is, do you listen to the three main discs as-is? Or do you mix in (or even replace with) the tracks from the “previously unreleased” disc? And if so, can you post your list? Are the tracks on the main discs more or less presented in film order (concert pieces aside)? Any existing analysis that you could point me to would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Are you looking for film order here? 

 

For the anthology here, it is a very good collection. Taking a look, I would say it looks like a pretty good listen as it is, with most if not all tracks being in order. I think if you know the movies and the cue titles you should be able to figure out the order.  Heck, I could probably tell you what is going on every time there's a new note.

 

If you look at the Ultimate Edition track listings for the original trilogy, they are in order. So you could go off of those.

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Welcome Pellaeon!

 

Sometimes when I want a "quickie" I only listen to one CD yes... but on my mp3 player, I also made playlist combining the tracks from CD 4.

 

It's the most "chronological" we can get with this boxset I think (Concert suites included)!

 

01.PNG

In Alt there is :

- 4-02 Main Title (Alternate)

 

02.PNG

03.PNG

 

In Alt there is:

4-19 The Return Of The Jedi (Alterna

4-20 Leia Breaks The News (Alternate

4-21 Ewok Celebration (Film Version)

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2 minutes ago, Smeltington said:

If you're new to the Star Wars scores, also note that there's still music missing from the Anthology. But there's no one perfect CD source for these scores, so if you enjoy the Anthology presentation, then have fun.

 

At least, it have Lapti Nek and the original Ewok chorale singing!!! Ok, some alt cues introduced by error... but it makes the charm of this essential set!

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Thanks, Bespin. That’s the exact sort of methodology I had in mind. Can you explain your placement of Destruction of Alderaan? Wouldn’t it be 1-08e? Or is the issue that “Blasting Off” is out of sequence?

 

Smeltington, is there anything really significant I am missing, like a track here and a track there that I can lift from the SE sets?

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The first version I owned was the 1997 SE sets, so I'm not as familiar with the Anthology. If you have access to the SE soundtracks, you could use them as a guide to edit the Anthology, then take the missing material from the SE. This is especially helpful in the case of RotJ, where the Anthology has better sound than the SE.

 

The best way to go about this is really just to get your hands on a fan edit for each score, so you can make sure you have the best possible versions of each track, the best and most complete arrangement of the available material, etc. But if you can't, then a combination of SE and Anthology material will get you most of the way there.

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On some level, I am fine with just listening to a published album and enjoying it as an experience in its own right (hence retaining the placement of the concert pieces, for example). On the other hand, I know fans do excellent work, and if I can enjoy more of the score in better quality, that would be nice!

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I used to sequence discs 1-3 with the additional tracks from disc 4, but with album versions, chronological is out the door anyway, so why bother?

 

I find it's best to just listen to it in order discs 1-4. It's pretty well assembled and a charming product of it's time that holds up as a great listening experience to this day.

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These are the first and only soundtracks of the original trilogy that I bought (ca. 1995, through mail order); and also that I will ever own. I don't do anything with them; I play them as is (although it's been a long time since I played any of them) -- straight from my iTunes. The CDs and box are shelved comfortably in two different locations.

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Welcome, @Pellaeon! You've taken your first step into a larger world. That's a quote from STA- oh, never mind.

 

 

4 hours ago, Pellaeon said:

On some level, I am fine with just listening to a published album and enjoying it as an experience in its own right (hence retaining the placement of the concert pieces, for example).

You wait. Thor is going to love you :)

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The OSTs are better. ;)

 @Jurassic Shark,  how can you say that less JW music is better than more JW music?

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I made the same edit that Bespin lists when I recorded my Anthology set to cassette tape back in 1997 or 1998. I didn't own a portable CD player until 1999.

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2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The OSTs are better. ;)

 

You need those too. The remastered ESB has a unique mix. The Anthology didn't retain all the album edits. ROTJ is absolutely flawless in its original release.

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2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

The OSTs are better. ;)

 

The OSTs are great, but this is one of those extremely rare instances I might just prefer the expanded versions that are the Arista CDs.

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6 hours ago, Bespin said:

 

At least, it have Lapti Nek and the original Ewok chorale singing!!! Ok, some alt cues introduced by error... but it makes the charm of this essential set!

 

And it has the Concert Version of the Main Title from EP 4.

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I prefer to listen to them as-is; that's how I listened to them when I bought the box set back in the day, and I enjoy hearing them that way.

 

No wrong way to do it; put 'em in chronological order, play 'em in disc order, put 'em in flippin' alphabetical order if you want.  It all depends on how YOU prefer it.

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20 minutes ago, Richard said:

 

Good evening.

The headlines, tonight:

THOR ADMITS TO LIKING EXPANDED SCORES! 

THE DOLLAR COLLAPSES!!

SOCIETY NO LONGER EXISTS, AS WE KNOW IT!!!

 

Here's a special report, from our roving reporter.

"Yes, I'm standing outside Thor's house. The blinds are down, but I can hear the SW Anthology blaring out, from behind closed doors. Earlier, I tried to talk to Thor about this revelation, but he told me to 'go away' (or words to that effect).

It's not known if Thor is planning to listen to any more expanded scores, but I have it on good faith that a Fed Ex package arrived today, a package which is rumoured to contain the compete JAWS 2. How this will affect society, and, indeed, the entire universe, remains to be seen. One thing we do know is that life will never be the same, again...for any of us."

 

Maybe you could get a job as a journalist? :D

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The Arista CDs are a joy. My first CD ever was the Skywalker Symphony, but I remember gettting the Arista box set. I couldn’t believe there was so much Star Wars music! LOL! To me, they are comprehensive enough and present the “best” material in a kick ass way. Easy to enjoy and easy to digest!

 

Although I wouldn’t want to be without the Special Editions, the expansions that followed the Arista box feels exactly like what they are - expansions. No shame in that though.

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1 hour ago, Richard said:

 

Good evening.

The headlines, tonight:

THOR ADMITS TO LIKING EXPANDED SCORES! 

THE DOLLAR COLLAPSES!!

SOCIETY NO LONGER EXISTS, AS WE KNOW IT!!!

 

Here's a special report, from our roving reporter.

"Yes, I'm standing outside Thor's house. The blinds are down, but I can hear the SW Anthology blaring out, from behind closed doors. Earlier, I tried to talk to Thor about this revelation, but he told me to 'go away' (or words to that effect).

It's not known if Thor is planning to listen to any more expanded scores, but I have it on good faith that a Fed Ex package arrived today, a package which is rumoured to contain the compete JAWS 2. How this will affect society, and, indeed, the entire universe, remains to be seen. One thing we do know is that life will never be the same, again...for any of us."

 

LOL! Now THAT'S how to do "ribbing"! :D

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I can't think of any other score where I can listen to three different albums / sets and get something different from all of them.  The OST's of Star Wars and Empire are nigh perfect.  The Arista has huge emotional cache for me and it's such a tight arrangement of the expanded scores.  And the '97 CDs are almost everything.  (Then there's things like ABC's "audiophile edition".)

 

The only thing that keeps me from sticking to the Aristas on a CD by CD basis is Drawing the Battle Lines and Losing a Hand.  I think these are the only truly indispensable cues.  Standing By comes close.  (There's some small cues from Star Wars that aren't on the set like "Quite Beyond My Capacity" or "How Did My Father Die?" - my titles of course.)

 

OTOH, maybe I should just enjoy CD 4 on its own more.

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On 3/15/2018 at 12:20 PM, Bespin said:

It's the most "chronological" we can get with this boxset I think (Concert suites included)!

 

Quick question — which are the concert suites? Am I right that it’s…

 

STAR WARS
The Little People Work
Princess Leia's Theme

 

EMPIRE
The Imperial March
Han Solo and the Princess
Yoda's Theme

 

JEDI
Luke and Leia
Parade of the Ewoks
The Forest Battle

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Nope, The Little People Work is normal film cue, though, he did later form a concert piece out of it that uses the same name.

 

Same with Han Solo and the Princess, that's a normal film cue, though he did later write a true concert arrangement of their theme theme that uses the same name.

 

For Jedi, all the tracks you listed are concert arrangements yet, but he also recorded one called Jabba The Hutt, the second half of which appears in the track called "Han Solo Returns (At The Court of Jabba The Hutt).  "Lapti Nek" and "Ewok Celebration" are also special album-only versions, not the film versions.

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@Jay's avatar fills me with nostalgia every time I look at it. Quite possibly the finest film score ever recorded.

 

It almost seems not fair to use it. That image, like the music that accompanies it, belongs to the world. 

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I decided for the rest of the year my avatar will be for the most recent / a soon upcoming JW release, by specialty or major label.

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Thanks for the quick and thorough info, Jay. Are there any spreadsheets or similarly thorough analysis covering this sort of thing? I’ve been searching for days and have had embarrassingly little luck.

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2 minutes ago, Pellaeon said:

Thanks for the quick and thorough info, Jay. Are there any spreadsheets or similarly thorough analysis covering this sort of thing? I’ve been searching for days and have had embarrassingly little luck.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRtrG_j5LEL5dTl9Ehw0aHE4IUm9AgofiJ8I-RXnVIJlski4kmPR6qLSWVPiUW_ltSaC79ZEZ9OYzl7/pubhtml

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQe7TbSHJWT9aHgJxYIBfLQkxRsgQa5AKNq1lBsAfH4mlJ36ZBCcu5xFSk4jDOtP_cqq-_uLp5nTBy2/pubhtml

 

I don't seem to have made one for TESB, but there's this:

 

http://www.jwfan.com/?p=4092

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just so as to keep all my embarrassing newbie questions in the same thread… It jumps out at me that Princess Leia’s Theme might be best listened to first, as an overture. (I.e., before listening to the rest of the soundtrack; OR even before watching the movie itself.) Does anyone else prefer this approach?

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I see your points, guys, but ILIA'S THEME was always an overture. It's even an overture on the Blu Ray, DVD, and VHS, whereas LEIA's THEME is not, and never has been.

Still, as far as the score goes, its a nice little hors d'oeuvre.

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On 4/11/2018 at 8:39 AM, Richard said:

as far as the score goes, its a nice little hors d'oeuvre.

 

I think the only Star Wars album that has the theme presentations stacked up at the beginning after the manner of an overture is The Phantom Menace. Being the first in the narrative order, it kind of makes sense, too.

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On 3/26/2018 at 1:25 PM, Jay said:

Same with Han Solo and the Princess, that's a normal film cue, though he did later write a true concert arrangement of their theme theme that uses the same name.

 

For Jedi, all the tracks you listed are concert arrangements yet, but he also recorded one called Jabba The Hutt, the second half of which appears in the track called "Han Solo Returns (At The Court of Jabba The Hutt).

 

I’ve acquired recordings of both of these two concert arrangements and added them to my collection. Am I missing anything else? I mean I know there are other concert arrangements of several of the film cues, but, are any of them substantially different, or longer, or anything of particular interest?

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