Star Wars Prequel Music General Discussion

[chuck 154]

I hope JW will compose a Next Generation theme for SW...

[aj_vader 533]

I was reading reviews of AOTC score by Williams, all reviews were looking very good but then I came across this one which made me laugh.

"DEFINITELY NOT A DISAPPOINTMENT-just as good as the movie"

Ahh AotC, one of the most hated scores on JWFan...

Being part of the minority that likes the score here, I can't say why.

I think its a great score, Across the Stars alone is enough to make me love the score. The Arena music, also great (even though hardly used in the film).

[chuck 154]

The love theme Across The Stars, although lovely, was pretty old school. It's very rare to hear that kind of love theme these days and back in 2002, that's starting to become a fossil.

[Sandor 796]

I seriously have two friends who are not soundtrack collectors or John Williams fans, but own the AOTC soundtrack.

[Bilbo 3,709]

I love Across the Stars. I think that's why I love it so much, it's beautiful and you don't really hear anything like it these days.

[JamieC 13]

Across the Stars sure is a lovely theme. It really does encapsulate the melancholy at the heart of Anakin and Padme's love for each other.

[Balahkay 627]

Music question regarding Attack of the Clones... The scene where Anakin searches for his mother, was Duel of the Fates tracked in or was it newly recorded for this scene? Was Duel of the Fates always meant to used for this scene or did Williams have something different in mind? I ask because I'm not understanding why Duel of the Fates was used for the montage except that it works with the visuals. I don't believe Duel of the Fates was used elsewhere in the film... correct me if I'm wrong.

[Jay 37,323]

It's a new arrangement of DOTF written specifcally for that scene, and it's the only version of that cue he wrote - it didn't replace some earlier, different version or anything.

And no, DOTF was not used in any other AOTC cues.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Yeah, it's mm. 79-102 from 4M4 Arrival at Tatooine.

[JohnnyD 1,221]

It represents an inner struggle going on in Anakin.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Or Lucas' lack of inner struggle about making questionable spotting choices.

[Balahkay 627]

Thanks and I just found this... http://www.jwfan.com/?p=3417. Can't believe I've never seen this analysis after all these years.

It says this about the montage:

The scene parallels Luke in A New Hope, and the music clinches the likeness: Williams uses the exact same orchestration … only instead of resolving the theme, he shifts into a minor mode and launches into “Duel of the Fates” for the subsequent search montage. It’s a new arrangement with some subtle electronic effects. Lucas must not have approved of the way Williams wound it down, because he spliced on a slam-bang finale from The Phantom Menace (TPM:UE Disc 2, Track 27 [2:04-2:10/2:14-2:17]) that ruins the effect.

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

Thanks and I just found this... http://www.jwfan.com/?p=3417. Can't believe I've never seen this analysis after all these years.

It says this about the montage:

The scene parallels Luke in A New Hope, and the music clinches the likeness: Williams uses the exact same orchestration … only instead of resolving the theme, he shifts into a minor mode and launches into “Duel of the Fates” for the subsequent search montage. It’s a new arrangement with some subtle electronic effects. Lucas must not have approved of the way Williams wound it down, because he spliced on a slam-bang finale from The Phantom Menace (TPM:UE Disc 2, Track 27 [2:04-2:10/2:14-2:17]) that ruins the effect.

Great analysis. One thing confuses me, though: what "electronic effects?" I don't hear any in that cue, at least not in the OST version

[Datameister 2,037]

The quiet synth voices in the earlier parts of the passage come to mind.

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

The quiet synth voices in the earlier parts of the passage come to mind.

Didn't realize until now that was a synth - I guess I'd always just thought it was higher-register voices mixed really low.

[Richard Penna 3,676]

I think only Joe hates it.

This.

I think a good portion of the rest of us do like it. The album is the best Prequel album in terms of presentation and editing that we have had. As we all know the Star Wars games, especially The Old Republic gave us a ton of new previously unreleased music, which in my opinion has helped the listening experience.

'Hate' seems a strong word - to me it implies that even playing it in the background would be unbearable.

I just find it boring, and one of the best examples for me of the music being technically excellent, but emotion being largely absent.

I've always liked Escape from Coruscant though.

[Faleel 5,342]

but emotion being largely absent.

Probably because you didn't bring it with you.

[Trent B 337]

That analysis for AOTC was good for its time but is a bit out-dated...especially with all the new music that surfaced from The Old Republic.

By the way I for one find myself enjoying AOTC more every time I listen to my edit. I have learned to appreciate it a lot more. Yes it's still the weakest of the scores but it's nice to listen to when you want to have more or less soft music playing.

[Balahkay 627]

That analysis for AOTC was good for its time but is a bit out-dated...especially with all the new music that surfaced from The Old Republic.

What do you mean exactly?

EDIT: Oh, I think I know what you mean. Does The Old Republic have music that is no longer "unreleased" according to the analysis?

[Trent B 337]

That analysis for AOTC was good for its time but is a bit out-dated...especially with all the new music that surfaced from The Old Republic.

What do you mean exactly?

EDIT: Oh, I think I know what you mean. Does The Old Republic have music that is no longer "unreleased" according to the analysis?

Well sadly it doesn't have unused music like TPM and ROTS. Despite a lot of cues having clean intros and endings the music in between was from the films music only stems. I'm not sure why the game music editors chose to use those instead of the true sessions like with TPM and ROTS material that has surfaced in the games.

[Balahkay 627]

It has been suggested those cues were taken from what would have been on the supposed Ultimate Edition of AOTC, which is why the pieces are edited . Apparently, the AOTC UE was never going to happen. I think this was debated in another thread...

[Trent B 337]

There was no planned U.E. for AOTC as I stated Mike Matessino had told me such and I trust his word.

[Balahkay 627]

Does anyone know anything about this music? Where is came from and who wrote it? It can also be heard in "The Phantom Menace" game from '99, so it was around at least 5 years before KoTOR II. This tune may play in some other Star Wars games, too.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I have a memory of jumping up on the stage and being attacked by the wookiee in the band.

http://www.petermc.com/

Ask that guy.

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

Does anyone know anything about this music? Where is came from and who wrote it? It can also be heard in "The Phantom Menace" game from '99, so it was around at least 5 years before KoTOR II. This tune may play in some other Star Wars games, too.

I don't know, but it's both hideous and catchy at the same time.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

That would most likely be the work of the (in)famous Jeremy Soule. Although if it's been around that long, maybe not.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

I think Brian Eno wrote that.

[Luke Skywalker 1,793]

Maybe it was one of the protagonist's room radio tunes from X-WIng Alliance, which came before.

[Balahkay 627]

What is the instrument (if any) or the sound used at 3:21? Is it a gong with some type of mallet?

[Faleel 5,342]

It sounds like a synth.

[Datameister 2,037]

Yeah, that's gotta be synth.

[Balahkay 627]

It's creepy. I like it.

[indy4 155]

Can we all acknowledge how awesome the last 30 seconds or so of "Jango's Escape" is? Weirdly medieval, but so great.

Starting at 3:08:

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Reminds me of the bit at 0:22 in "Detention" from HP1

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Balahkay 627]

I hear a surprising amount of Harry Potter sounding material in the first two Star Wars prequel scores. Especially AOTC and CoS.

[Jonesy 55]

Well, AOTC and CoS were written the same year

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

His output became very samey in those years. The later Star Wars scores sounded more and more interchangeable with his other scores from the era. It didn't help that the films were, in my opinion, poorly spotted, resulting in simply too much music and many forgettable cues for inconsequential scenes. Williams didn't break much new ground. It would have been literally impossible to track music from Star Wars into The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi and have any continuity with the rest of the score, for instance. But they had no trouble tracking the prequel scores into each successive film.

[Balahkay 627]

You're right, they were very interchangeable. I remember listening to a track from CoS and I thought it was from AOTC... it kind of blew my mind at the time. It was more so the quieter moments rather than action cues, but the Coruscant chase music did end up in CoS and worked fine with the scene.

[Trent B 337]

You're right, they were very interchangeable. I remember listening to a track from CoS and I thought it was from AOTC... it kind of blew my mind at the time. It was more so the quieter moments rather than action cues, but the Coruscant chase music did end up in CoS and worked fine with the scene.

You're thinking of Quidditch Match, in fact Williams did lift a lot of that from the Chase Through Coruscant.

[Faleel 5,342]

You can actually hear a hint of The Clash of Lightsabers from ESB in that cue as well

BTW I don't hear any pitch content from Jango's Escape at all in that HP cue.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Does anyone else notice the similarities between the Grievous' theme and Nuclear Man's theme?

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Anyone know what cue 1:37 is tracked in from?

[Faleel 5,342]

Obi-wan Eavesdropping > The Arrival at Tatooine > original Cue

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Cheers!

[Balahkay 627]

What's the instrument at 0:21 in the left channel? Some times I have trouble identifying instruments.

[Jilal 569]

It's the horn section playing a glissando, in the case of the horn also known as a 'rip' (think of it as a seemless slide between two notes).

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

8 horns I think.

[Balahkay 627]

Awesome. Thanks!

[Jilal 569]

8 horns I think.

AOTC is orchestrated for 6 horns, so I suspect that's the case for TPM as well.

It's about time Williams sneaks a pair of tuben into his scores.