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This is such a weird time... probably the last time it will be like this, unless Indiana Jones 5 actually gets made and JW scores it. What I mean is, it was weird yesterday, as I was out and about doing errands, then doing various things around the house... basically all day long constantly checking to see if the STAR WARS EPISODE 9 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM was available to listen to. Then eventually... going to bed... and realizing "well, when I wake up in about 8 hours or so, either there will be dozens of pages of discussion, and I'll know how my day is starting... or there will be nothing". And today... I keep checking. At some point, some time soon, I'll be able to hear the STAR WARS EPISODE 9 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM... but I have no idea when that point will be. All we know is that it will be legally for sale digitally in Australia and New Zealand 41 hours and 38 minutes from now, and that's goddamn exciting.

Couldn't agree more. I'm not usually one to encourage dwelling too heavily on what could have been, but in this case I really think it's worthwhile to entertain those "What If?" scenarios just so we can fully appreciate what (as other users have aptly called them) a gift these scores are, not just for having received them but for having received them in the way that we did. So first, there was the very unfortunate, grim, but ultimately quite possible reality that Williams either wasn't physically or mentally able to do these scores or, even worse, had passed away years before these films were even made. Abrams directs the first installment to the new trilogy and his longtime collaborator, Michael Giacchino, does the score instead. The films are made and we are left longing to hear what Williams could have done with these new films. Unfortunately, we'll never know. We sit listening to the new scores wondering what Williams could have done with a theme for Rey, or what sound Williams would have gone for for a character like Kylo. But that didn't happen! Williams remains as mentally and physically fit as ever. However, he decides he doesn't have any interest in scoring Episode VII or agrees only to write a couple themes to kickstart the new trilogy. "I don't want to steal the spotlight from this new generation of talents," Williams politely declines. "I'm too old for that scene. They need someone younger, more energetic, more talented than myself." Nope! Williams decides to score the whole film. But maybe he only scores Episode VII and then passes the baton to a new voice to finish the trilogy? Or, even worse, maybe something happens to Williams that makes him unable to finish the trilogy? Yeah, no. Williams, nearing the age of 88, persists, alive and healthy in both body and mind, and closes out yet another Star Wars trilogy. But maybe the result is severely lacking? Williams scored all 3 films, sure, but nowhere did he manage to even once capture the spirit of the earlier entries, not once did he wow with vibrant new thematic statements or invoke that classic Star Wars-ian feel of old that he used to be able to pull off oh so well? The scores lack an energy, lack imagination. They stand as proof that Williams should have hung up the baton years ago; that the idea to hand-off the job of scoring these 200 million dollar films to a man soon to be pushing 90 was a mistake seriously lacking in judgement. Where is that Williams spark, that magic? But maybe that doesn't happen either? Maybe, just maybe, Williams does do all three scores? And maybe, while arguments can be made as to the overall quality of them compared to the other 6, the scores stand as proof that Williams, and only Williams, could have delivered on that trademark Star Wars sound for these films, while standing as a continued testament to his talented musical capabilities and cementing his status even further as a legendary figure in the pages of musical history. Maybe Williams actually was able to pull it off, in a way that only Williams could? Maybe we're left wondering how we could have gotten so lucky? In all the possible scenarios of what could have happened, the one that seems most unlikely to me is that last one. And, holy fuck, that's the one we got.

So this is REALLY weird. My dad and me were toying around with this Shazam app and so I played the Kylo Ren theme from ‘Prologue’, trying to fool the thing because that music hasn’t been officially released yet but it contains an existing theme. And then it said THIS: 😳😳😳

For all the criticism about the characters, script, dependence on computer graphics etc., the prequels tell a clear story and fill the gaps in the saga. The Disney movies are just more, with no real purpose other than to cash in on the franchise. They're doin' it for a shitload o' money! Lucas certainly profited off Star Wars, but it still feels like completing the saga was personal to him and these White Slavers calling the shots now are just profiteering.

Hi everyone, I've been trying to steer clear of JWfan and social media until TROS comes out, for fear of musical spoilers. But I did want to drop in quickly just to share an article I wrote that I think JWfan may enjoy: "How John Williams’s Star Wars score pulls us to the dark side" https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/how-john-williamss-star-wars-score-subtly-pulls-us-to-the-dark-side/2019/12/13/be3ab50e-1b7d-11ea-87f7-f2e91143c60d_story.html Most of what I cover here is stuff a lot of you will already know (Vader's death cue, the Emperor/Augie connection, the fantastic unreleased music in ROTS Opera Scene) but even if it's not news, I bet it will still be fun seeing it in print! (Also, despite my better judgment, I checked the comments on the article, and most of them are really wonderful!) May the force be with you all!

I mean it's so ridiculous. The Disney movies have boring characters, are a bit full of themselves, and seem to be fixated on pleasing demographics and maximising sales through mass appeal. And it's hard to accept anything from the Disneyverse as canon anyway since George Lucas isn't involved. I mean, the guy IS Star Wars, not all these other hangers-on. But the prequels, man. Those were where it was all happening. They had a clear direction, a visionary leader, a greater sense of unified artistry. And ROTS, that movie is amazing. It's a film that moves, and has suspense and things are happening all the time. You always remember the dialogue in these movies too. They're about things too, like a man's love for his woman. They're great! But these sterile Disney flicks? Do people just go for these because of brand loyalty that's been drilled into them since the early 90s? I'm thankfully immune to their dainty princessy crap for kids, but it seems everyone else is enamoured by it. Makes me feel sick.

Shazam just told me a portion of "In The Desert" is actually "Alleys (Version Francaise)" by Domeno Feat. Kain.

Seeing Sights is apparently "The Force Is With You".

I really think TFA is kind of amazing right up until Han comes into it. Not a knock against Harrison Ford who is surprisingly fun and JJ/Kasdan did a good job bringing his character to life in the writing, but it's just at that point it becomes something else. And it doesn't help that the Rathtars sequence is the worst of the film. But I always think the true strength of JJ's TV roots really show in the first 40 minutes. All four main new characters -- Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe -- are introduced to us in the first 10 minutes and we immediately get a sense of who they are and their role in the story. It establishes dynamics between Kylo-Finn, Kylo-Poe, Finn-Poe, and Finn-Rey from the beginning and Kylo Ren also becomes aware of Rey by the end of the first act. I dunno, I still remember being blown away by all of that the first time, it's amazing stuff and hits the ground running. If that section were the first episode of a Star Wars show it'd be considered one of the greatest TV pilots ever and "Chewie we're home" would be one of the all-time great cliffhangers.

Watching it right now. Its great fun. The new characters are excellent.

This is the way.

This is peak JWFan 😂

This is the best time ever to be a member of JWfan.

That's probably some dude reading this thread

I kind of don't like that the FYC dropped first, because, now when I first listen to the new STAR WARS EPISODE 9 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM, my brain won't simply be taking a ride on what John Williams wanted me to hear for 75 minutes to sum up the score. Instead, my brain will keep going "oh, that was on the FYC" or "Oh wow, this music wasn't on the FYC at all, and it's great!" or "Wow, this concert arrangement makes that theme from the FYC make so much more sense now", or whatever else. Oh well. In an ideal world, the OST album should have just come out digitally in early December, and we should just be waiting for the physical one to come out once it's done pressing. Oh well.

Are you kidding me?? You call the sequel trilogy characters "boring" and don't think the prequel characters are? At BEST the prequel characters are boring (Qui-Gon, Amidala, and yes even Obi-Wan, despite Ewan MacGregor being well cast and generally the least-terrible part of these movies). At worse they are just terrible/insufferable (Anakin even moreso than Jar-Jar Binks, IMO). The sequel trilogy is messy and should have really been planned ahead more, but at the very least they created characters that people *care about and feel invested in*. If you compare Rey to Amidala I don't think it's fair to even call the latter a character at all. Hell, Poe has had the least screentime of any of the three new leads, but even in his initial 8 minutes of work on The Force Awakens, he was already a much better, engaging, and more memorable character than ANY of the characters in the prequels, perhaps McDiarmid's delightfully hammy Palpatine aside. Yavar

The Prequels is the only trilogy where Lucas is 100% responsible for everything. It's his most undiluted vision of Star Wars. However it's incredibly poorly made in just about every way. The sequel trilogy so far is far far better from a film making and storytelling standpoint. But you can certainly consider them redundant if you're a purist about these things. I have zero interest in ever watching the Prequels again, not that I've seen them a lot anyway. No more that 3 times each. ROTS just twice I think. The sequels are very watchable.

The prequels had an interesting story. It was just poorly executed. The sequel trilogy has a boring story. That is also poorly executed. Prequels - The rise of Sidious and the fall of Vader. The rise of the Empire and the fall of the Republic. Interesting. Sequels - The instant perfection of Rey and the instant imperfection of Kylo. The already risen First Order and the 15 second destruction of the New Republic. Boring.

@MattrisLOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOLLOLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOLLLLOLLLLOLOLOLLLLLLLLLLLLOLLLOLOLOLLLLOL LLR LOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLLLOLOLOLLLLOLOLLLLOOLLLLOLLLLLLOOLLLLLLOOPOOOOLLLLLLOOOOLLLOLLLLLLLLLLOOOOLLLLĹLLLLLLLOLLOLOLLLLOLLOLLPLLLLLLPLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLLOLLLLLLOLOOOLL I died.

Daisy Ridley cannot act. She has one reaction to everything; eyes wide/mouth open. Adam Driver is a great actor, with nothing to work with other than 'be emotionless and bored, followed by extremely angry...and repeat.' Boyega is an okay actor. But doesn't fit this style of acting at all. And his character's interesting premise is completely wasted. Isaac is a great actor. Again, given nothing to do. Ford was there for the money and to get rid of his character. Fisher was a cardboard cut-out, and Hamill was brilliant, even in having to reluctantly but contractually destroy his own iconic character.

While I still need to the see how this trilogy wraps, I must say in terms of acting alone it is vastly superior. Concerning the lack of characters, the new trilogy did bring us Kylo Ren, which I find to be one of most interesting and well acted characters in the entire saga. The prequels couldn've been much better had they have an actor of Driver's caliber playing Anakin

This is one instance where it would be quite appropriate if the boxset arrived badly damaged in transit. I would like the top of my boxset to be sodden with seawater, the middle third to have scorch marks and smoke damage while the bottom third should be cracked and torn. In fact LaLa Land will have dropped the ball on this one if the box arrives in pristine condition. Good news is that my order has now shipped, although hopefully not on the SS Poseidon. Rescuer: "How many of you down there?" Red Buttons: "Six." R: "Is that all?" RB: "Did you save anybody else? Anyone from the bow?" R: "No. Just one insufficiently packaged specialist soundtrack boxset addressed to London with a hilariously inaccurate value declaration on the customs label."

Hating it would be misogynistic.

The John & Daisy interviews are posted side by side, and they seems responds with the hands, what a beautiful love story ^^

They must be insane.

I've said before that the odds of an 87 year old scoring one of the biggest movies of the year are really very low. There are just so many mental and physical ailments that would prevent an 87 year old from continuing to work, including the fact that he is about 10 years older than the average life expectancy. John Barry and Jerry Goldsmith both died in their 70s. We really are very lucky John is still with us and available to conclude the Skywalker saga that he helped start over 40 years ago.

Here's the list from the reddit thread, looks a bit wonky thought, I'll clean it up

I love that the Sequel Trilogy OST album track lists were each leaked in different ways TFA, Amazon France posted it early: https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25617-the-force-awakens-disney-records-ost/page/16/&tab=comments#comment-1192305 TLJ, someone from Target opened a physical copy early: https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28049-the-last-jedi-ost-album-track-list-revealed-temporary-thread/ TROS, freaking Shazam

Do it with the YouTube video, tried the very beginning which is just the music pretty cleanly

“Fanfare and Prologue” instead of “Main Title and...” *eye twitches*

Basically, we learned 12 UPDATE: 13 OST titles Fanfare and Prologue Journey to Exegol We Go Together The Speeder Chase Fleeing from Kijimi Join Me The Old Death Star The Final Saber Duel Battle of the Resistance Approaching the Throne The Force Is With You Farewell A New Home

I guess this is everything, then: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VWApmUMfiSF9gvXb3LW9QloZO-St-ITFMF-qYaNN0fw

Yeah, I was about to go to sleep, but I'm staying up!

OMG you people are genius! I wouldn't have thought to do it!

My set showed up earlier than I expected - got it yesterday and it just shipped on Thursday afternoon. From CA to KY in pretty much a day and a half - pretty good time. :) I spent the day yesterday listening through everything and, even as a long-time JW fan from back in the late 70s, with this set and some of the other releases that have come out the past few years, I'm getting a much better appreciation for the 1970-1975 era. I never cared much for Earthquake and it's easily been the least favorite of the disaster movie scores, but this release is fantastic! It's still, like the other two disaster scores, a lot of atmospheric music, but the actual film cues add a of meat onto the listening experience that wasn't there on the original LP. One reason I never cared much for that release was due to the source cues and special effects all over it. I clicked immediately with the Lunch with Remy cue and had to go back and listen to the album's Something for Remy because I didn't remember that melody being in there. Turns out I like it 100% better speeded up like the film version is as opposed to the jazzier and slower approach from the LP. And the theme for Jody is actually one of the most heavily used of the motifs throughout the entire score. Go figure. Anyway, the sound is phenomenal, as I expected it would be, so definitely great to have this out finally.

What is also incredible is that we are getting the final score by John Williams for the Star Wars saga at the same time as three of his earliest blockbuster scores are finally being released in virtually definitive editions. Great time to be a fan.

Less than 41 hours to go now

Bespin if you are asking that question, then you haven't listened to Maurizio's great new interview with Mike Matessino, where all that is answered https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2019/12/11/mike-matessino-podcast-disaster-soundtrack-collection/ The short answer (you should listen to the podcast for the full detailed answer!) is that Earthquake is a complete re-recording, done after and separately from the film recording. JW crafted the album he wanted, but then at the last minute, a producer at the label insisted on adding sound effects, so he added them to the main title and combined some tracks into the medley and put sound effects on that too. These new constructions were also released as the A and B side of a 45RPM single. For this release, MM found the clean album master from before that was done, as well as the sound effects versions, so was able to remix the entire album from scratch, and re-create the program JW wanted, which has no sound effects. Then, he also put the sound effects tracks on the CD right after, since they represent the 45RPM release, but also the individual user can re-create the sound effects version of the album by changing changing the order of tracks in their personal playlist. The Towering Inferno OST album was not a re-recording. It was constructed from film recordings.

The prequels managed to make Samuel Jackson boring.

Jane Eyre (seems like it would have to be a re-recording at this point) Story of a Woman (knowing that Mike M. had it transferred at least gives me hope)...The Rare Breed basically ties it for me, but you asked for just one. Irina's Theme 1st Symphony Yavar

autocorrect. Apparently I post about former club hurlers more often than I use the word “begins!”

Its a complicated question. The prequel trilogy is the most planned-out of the three Star Wars trilogy and there is something satisfying about that aspect of it, as opposed to not just the Disney trilogy but also the classic trilogy, which were both made up as the filmmakers went alone, and were both NOT the creation of any one visionary filmmaker but instead of several. It also has scale and size to burn, not just with its plot's preoccupation with the downfall of the republic and its politics, but also in a lot of the visuals. By Revenge of the Sith, some of the Curoscant vistas look positivelly grand and impressive. Lastly, to make a trilogy about a tragic hero was (and remains) quite refreshing in the blockbuster landscape, which tends to rely more on The Hero's Journey. I still find Revenge of the Sith a very daring film both in some of its visuals (the immolation), story beats (killing of the younglings) and in its willingness to close an entire trilogy on a very dour note. However, a lot of the execution is sorely lacking. I'm not necessarily talking about the aesthetics of the effects: I can take all the green-screen in the world for a good story. Its more to do with the acting, as well as with some of the characterizations and storytelling. Look for instance at the portrayal of the Jedi Council: they're insufferable, stupid dicks, and it never feels like Lucas is actually criticizing their conduct, either. Anakin has a similar issue: we first meet his as a kid with no indication that he is on a dangerous path (apart from the Jedi Council telling us as much), and then he transforms into a new character, and is seemingly already teetering on the edge of falling out with the Jedi, plus he's insufferable in his own way. His demise would have been much more tragic had we a) got to see some darkness in young Anakin and b) had established the adult Anakin as a likable character (with drawbacks) early on, before he started his descent. While the broad brushstokes were planned by Lucas, he does also have puzzling missteps in the overarching storytelling of the trilogy. For instance, the lack of one overriding villain in a role similar to Vader's, the near-complete redundancy of the first film to the overall story, dropped story threads, continuity errors, etcetra. By comparison, the execution in the sequel trilogy is really strong: the acting is the best of all three trilogies, the cinematography is excellent, action is thrilling, etcetra. The characters and story are engaging. Its main flaws thus far are the deriviative nature of The Force Awakens; The Last Jedi's frequnt use of bathos and sarcasm for comedy (completely foreign to the style of this series, which has always been much more earnst) and the overall redundancy of the entire trilogy. I mean, once Vader was made Luke's father, the prequel trilogy really was a forgone conclusion: one simply had to have an explanation as to why and how Luke's father became Darth Vader, and what role he played in the downfall of the republic and the Jedi. The sequel trilogy, though? At the end of Return of the Jedi, the story of Star Wars is over and done with. The only reason there are three more films is because Disney can make them. Clearly they were so preocuppied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should; and fans - for their part - were so eager for "more Star Wars" that they didn't stop to think whether there's a storytelling need for another trilogy. Its as if someone were to make a sequel to The Return of the King. It just shouldn't have happened. Overall, judging them each as a trilogy, the Disney trilogy strikes me as by far the superior. However, we still have to see The Rise of Skywalker. Having Kylo Ren redeem himself might just tip the scales in favour of the prequel trilogy, for me.

leeallen01 makes Mattris look sane.

Disney should de-canonize their atrocious trilogy.

I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee amazing results. Also, there are obviously three individual CD sets, so I can't take photos of every side and angle of every one. That said: Sorry the pics are kind of terrible, I'm not too great at it, and I'm more focused on the music, but the set looks amazing, beautiful design work.