curlytoot

I'm currently re-watching all of LOST, and am noticing so many great musical choices and thematic weaving this time around.
 
I was watching the episode where in the flashback Desmond is a monk, and all throughout the episode, Giacchino gives us only half of Desmond and Penny's theme. Literally every scene that Desmond mentions Penny, we hear only half of the theme to indicate that he is not a complete person without her. And then at the end when we see the flashback of them meeting for the first time, Giacchino plays the full theme to show how they are complete when they're together. Such great musical storytelling. 

@curlytoot this might be useful too:  I put together some Spotify playlists of tracks containing the major themes recently (and some other of my favorite themes too)
 
Main Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/2ojjMdGYt7molLhpZuDN7O
Life and Death: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/6o9NDmMGsjQRhnXJmxqieE
Departure / Reunion Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/6mhBlyg4a1W7XwETFUXgx3
Oceanic Six Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/1pqnN3KyoLokUjRjhuJgVv
Mother / Light Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/0759AbPJbiuxnZ0Q4raMgS
Heart of the Island Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/2iYpmltVuLsY6Y0BKDX1Vh
 
Traveling Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/2XQrnWJQm564XQo7RtqIMi
Mystery Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/3jYpKpN3n4rVXnEfKIIGm8
Island Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/1xAxfn1U1GxgPk6vd6JIVO
 
Desmond's Theme (aka Desmond/Penny Love Theme): https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/6ue0fUmF21IYiCH7pmZ6t7
Jacob's Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/2HkgiMB6uPjB9sG8litxQL
Richard's Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/47okI3BrSiwsp7yx75xsHr
Desmond's Mission Theme: https://open.spotify.com/user/1219032234/playlist/6Iop7crCS6jCmFqYQXfSNQ
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yes. But I have been under the impression for years that Williams is an auteur as much as the next artist when it comes to his music. It is his music after all and he wants to signal that it has been written by him, especially on soundtrack releases that put the music in the spotlight. He has been, as far as I can recall, very consistent with this habit. You most often see Williams' orchestrators credited in the film credits in a regular way.
 
There have been special cases where Williams has given greater credit on a soundtrack album of which the best example is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets where he insisted on Music Adapted by William Ross credit from the start and on the Force Awakens both William Ross and Gustavo Dudamel were credited as conductors. I am sure the latter for the sheer publicity but Ross took over some of the sessions because of Williams' health issues when he got his pace-maker. 
 
To add to the grandfatherly good natured image I have to say Williams has always been vocal in his praise for the musicians and crew working on his music and always taking pains to point this out, especially in the recent years. 

I love getting these glimpses into Williams' "secret side", i.e. less of the humble, caring 'grandfather' and more of the uncompromising auteur who likes to control most of the facets of his output. Adds complexity to the persona.

Here you go!
 
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Lord-Rings-Films-Comprehensive/dp/0739071572

Here is my review:
 
https://cinemusicreviews.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story/

People in that reddit thread suggesting that the SW 8 credits music start with Leia's Theme, in place of the fanfare... <shudder>

Sorry. I mean, she definitely was unfairly criticized for various things. I just hate how there has to be a word for everything. Just sounds like SJW-speak.

FYI if you hold your finger over the date a tweet is posted (so 22 Dec in the example above) and copy the link address and paste that here it in a post, the tweet will embed so you don't have to take a screenshot. 

So just saw the film. I had sampled only the suites before watching the film to hear the new themes but did not hear the full score. So this was my first time hearing the score.
 
I think this is a very good score in the movie. Will have to see how it plays on album, but in the film it packed a punch.  There are 5 themes and they all make an impact because of their very clean association. I think in terms of theme associations, this is one of the cleanest big scores in recent memory. We often have discussions about what a theme means or whatever (like enormous discussions for BFG) but here it is crystal clear and that kinda helps with the memorability.
 
I think the theme which made the most impact is Krennick's theme actually. It is I think the most used theme in the score. Second is Jyn's theme. The blind guys's theme was also good.
 
The two themes for the good guys and bad guys respectively are good but not used that much I think. The Hope theme for the good guys plays over the main title and over some climatic scenes but is not used all that much. I think it's kinda a cheesy theme but gets the job done.
 
The theme for the Empire is played to great effect during the first glimpse of the Death Star but again not used all that much thereafter.
 
Also Giacchino exploits every single landscape shot or establishing shot for a huge theme statement so that helps in establishing the themes too.
 
Overall, in the film, it was a satisfactory work. Some of it even sounded like Star Wars! But most sounded like Gia and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

One or two of them are, but aside from them I'm mainly wishing I had the music that plays when they bust Jyn out of the tank on Wobani, when they first arrive at the Rebel base on Yavin 4, the several instances of the Hope theme that aren't on the album (one that comes to mind is the statement when Cassian and the crew of Rogue One approach Jyn after the Rebel meeting), and the elephant-like motif for the AT-ACTs in the battle. AFAIK these aren't on the FYC.

Yeah, that was definitely a stand-out unreleased cue! Used Force theme and rebel fanfare IIRC. 

not targeting you specifically Michael, but this trend of people preferring the trailer music and even expecting it on the OST is worrying. it makes me wonder if some-day Star Wars will be filled with 'epic emotional pieces' that someone cooked up in their computer. some people on 'The Force Boards' Rogue One Music thread even thought the music they played during the Rogue One livestream was from Giacchino's score (it was from Audio Death Machine or somethingorrather) and then complained that they had been misled to believe they were getting that instead of what they deemed ultimately inferior. I do not long for the day where clever thematic and motif construction is not praised.

Not sure if you guys saw this; Giacchino's alt-list of punny track titles.

"It’s an utterly mad and desperate misuse of music, as though the filmmakers felt they had to bully viewers into believing they were watching a masterpiece."
 

Great find. I really wish "Good Luck Little Sister" was on the OST. I vividly remember hearing the ending of that cue in the theater and loved it (probably the wildest version of Krennic's theme); rushed to the OST afterwards to locate it but alas, it wasn't there.

I'm really disappointed that the end credits suite wasn't included on the OST, I really don't understand why they omitted it.  Is this the first Star Wars soundtrack that doesn't include the end credits suite?  I know not all the others included the actual film versions but, they had a version of it, right?  It just makes for an odd ending to a Star Wars album.
 
All the marketing for the film itself did everything under the sun to make the connection to Star Wars but, this OST seems to do everything it can to distance itself from Star Wars.  With all the easter eggs and connections the film makes to ANH, why did they not want the same thing from the score?
 
Yes, I'm bitter about the omission of the full end credits, it's just an odd choice IMO.  Outside of a few moments, it just doesn't feel like a Star Wars album.  I'm not sure what I was expecting but, I'm a little disappointed.

I've been listening to the OST again and it occurred to me that the Imperial theme is very similar in character and tone to the nazi theme from The Last Crusade. The problem therefore is that the Indy movie is lighter in tone and the Empire requires a more malevolent and powerful sounding theme.
 
I think that's one of the reasons the Imperial theme sounds like a misstep to some people.

Before my first listen to the soundtrack, I was reading comments there. I thought the score is awful... And finally I saw the film the day before yesterday. 

What can I say...

I will never EVER argue with people about (so called) "Djatchino" in this thread. The score is simply brilliant (as the movie is). It is filled with drama and epicness, extremely beautiful orchestration. One of my TOP-3 Gia scores. 

As someone who doesn't mind digital ownership at all, I find it very frustrating how inconsistent labels are about including digital booklets with album purchases.

Gordy Haab still manages to get closer to the Star Wars musical aesthetic than Giacchino did. His emulation is really bloody authentic, it's uncanny. 

Shoot me by all means, but I really really like what I'm hearing. 
 
He really knows his Star Wars scores as well. Things like the great little Hoth battle reference at 0:30 in 'AT- ACT Assault.'
 
I know people will reply with things saying I'm an idiot for thinking it's great, but I care not. I am a fan of Giacchino, and I really like his style and this score.

I just got back from the movie. Thought the score was good, surprisingly Star-Warsy. I haven't much liked any of Giacchino's scores for the last few years but this one worked really well in the film for me. Far, far more so than the clunky Jurassic World. Heaps of colourful instrumentation that I wouldn't expect from Gia (especially from the woodwinds). 
 
I'm yet to listen to the score by itself but my initial impression is that it's nowhere near as bad as most of you are saying. Neither is the film for that matter. 
 

My Informal Thoughts
 
I just finished my first listen to the OST a little bit ago. 
 
I loved it, particularly the opening half or so. There were some absolutely glorious moments, and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.
 
I didn't mind the title theme. I actually loved it, to be honest, although, obviously, liking stuff like that may have more to do with the general "awesome march with swashbuckling percussion" aesthetic than any sort of compositional genius. 
 
It's unfortunate to see the reactions from many of the more musically knowledgeable members here. As they put it, at best I'm loving a terrible score, and at worst I'm contributing to the decline of good film music by doing it. 
 
My enthusiasm has massively deflated as I finished up the album and then came over to JWFan, likely due both to losing endurance to finish the score, as happens with any score, and the myriad highly negative posts. 
 
I've almost wondered whether I should avoid saying anything positive, just so a million of you don't start refuting my post sentence by sentence. 
 
But, I will be honest, and say that I loved this score, certainly at least the first half before I started to lose "listening endurance" -- or possibly the music just became worse, or maybe a little of both. 
 
Jyn's theme was marvelous. I actually didn't mind the Yorktown similarity at all. Jyn's theme was actually better IMO, anyway. Several of the early statements really made me go "Wow!!" The Yorktown theme was very nice, but I never really found it completely satisfying, and Jyn's theme took what I loved about Yorktown and added what I'd been yearning for. The orchestration is more interesting too. Wooo! 
 
I actually think fans will love this score for that theme. It's absolutely massive, which, whether you like it or not, might be enough for general SW fandom. It might take time but I feel like it will get a great reaction. 
 
(As a side note, there is a bit of a problem here of Giacchino throwing all sorts of massive thematic statements at us early in the score -- there's not much to build up to, and don't tell me, "It's building up to a rendition with choir!")
 
I do actually like a lot those crescendos that people are complaining about (the ones that sound a little like this Star Trek bit: https://youtu.be/ZJ0lt52_r7E?t=92)
 
I do agree that the Imperial theme sounds a little too comedic, although perhaps its usage in the film will change that (e.g. some people thought the March of the Resistance sounded evil, until they saw the film). But, it was rather catchy, you have to give it that! Of course, it is also kind of bland -- it grows on you the more you listen to it, but it reminds of the Crash Decisions motif in that it's kind of catchy and sufficient, but somewhat bland. 
 
I did have one of the themes stuck in my head a little bit ago. Might be Jyn's theme. If not, it's Chirrut's theme. 
 
Speaking of Chirrut's theme, I didn't really think it sounded like Across the Stars. It was nice. 
 
I was glad that Giacchino largely held the choir back for special moments, rather than littering every cue with grating screeching voices. 
 
I thought the score fit very well with the Star Wars aesthetic. I know that the musically knowledgeable people here will surely vehemently disagree (particularly when you get down to the orchestrational, chord progression, voice leading, etc. nitty-gritty), but I thought the score felt very Williams-y. It really didn't feel all that much like the Giacchino I'm used to, save for a few extremely non-Williams-y but very Giacchino-y moments (for instance, the solo piano bit in the middle of the score), as well as some pedestrian action material (although other action material, such as "Rogue One," was pretty darn great). This score felt better, and more Williams-y. But at the same time, I didn't often notice a "pastiche" quality. It felt fresh, but Williams-y. 
 
There was also a "desert-y" sound to the beginning IMO. Maybe I was just making this up in my head since I was pretty sure that segment of the film took place in a desert ... but in any case I felt that there was a consistent "feel." You can tell you're in a North Africa-like environment, but at the same time rarely is this "shouted out." It's usually more subtle.
 
Williams' themes were used tastefully, and there were some really cool moments with them. Really fun when you suddenly hear the Force theme in a cue! Oh, and rebel fanfare took a while to show up, what was up with that?  
 
On that note, I do need to say that it's possible my positive reaction is due in part to this simply being a SW film and score. I love SW. If this were some random video game score, and also totally avoided Williams theme references (which would bring it out of the SW universe a bit), I'm not sure how I'd rank it. This does not mean I don't stand by my opinion, but rather that I admit to being influenced by context with music, as I'm sure all are, some much more than others. 
 
Moving on, I haven't listened to all that much Giacchino, really, compared to most here. Beyond, Inside Out, Strange, and of course Rogue One for full OSTs, plus bits of the first two Treks, Jurassic World, Tomorrowland, and Zootopia. 
 
Jay has said that the score feels like "same-old" to those who've followed Giacchino for years, and perhaps this is true. Perhaps what feels like a step up to me is merely a return to some old norm. 
 
However, as I listened, I thought that this score is probably the best thing I've ever heard from Giacchino. I was hoping that perhaps the level of compositional intelligence as judged by those who can figure out that stuff would also be higher than ever, but, alas, it seems that Giacchino has received a failing grade as usual. 
 
And, frankly, it's hard to argue with those who can actually write music themselves and/or have listened to thousands more scores than you have when you can barely figure out what instruments are playing, and are a recent entrant to film music fandom. 
 
That's my two cents for now. I'll listen again, and am very excited for the film when I see it Saturday ... but I will say that it's quite deflating when you want to have lots of positive discussion of a score and most people don't like it. This will be no TFA-style discussion, that's for sure. More like The BFG, except possible more negative. 
 
And, unlike with The BFG, I don't have some sort of "high ground" to claim, since apparently Giacchino's level of compositional intelligence here is absurdly low. (I assume it is possible that someone very musically knowledgeable with come out and say they love the score and that it's actually rather intelligent, but I doubt that will happen.)
 
In terms of unreleased music, I have a feeling that there's a ton. Even some of the preview clip stuff is missing, and there's no way the final battle is only made up of a few cues. 
 
Listen two commences now! (although it may finish tomorrow)
 
EDIT: Not sure how well this score will hold up to repeated listens. Perhaps I'm just "music-ed out" for the night, though. 
 
Also, I'm sure seeing the film will put everything in a whole new light, as it always does.