Whill

Hey folks!
 
I made a few updates to The Music of The Mandalorian back in July, including the addition of revised write-ups for Chapter 5 and Chapter 6. These entries are a continuation of the series of posts which began back in April, with similar reviews having already been added for Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. In addition, the site hosts isolated score videos for notable sequences in Chapters 4, 8, 11 and 16. I hope to do more of these in the future. Of course, for anyone not yet familiar with the score, I recommend glancing through the thematic catalogue, which has been compiled for easy access by several fans of the score over the course of both seasons.
 
As for the remainder of the write-ups and timestamps, I do not expect to chip away at them significantly for some time, as there are still a lot of revisions to be made since they were originally posted nearly two years ago. Wow! Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 will likely take the most time, as my writing on Season 1's two-part finale was particularly extensive. Fortunately, reviews of the two volumes of music for Season 2 are more recent and will be posted promptly thereafter! The goal is to have these entries up in time for the release of The Book of Boba Fett in December. Also, there is what one could call a special feature in the works that I am very excited to share. More on that some other time though! 
 
Thanks for reading and cheers! 

My spreadsheet on the score has the episodes listed.

For those of you that might dig this, I made a playlist of Boba's escapades (I started it with a piece that uses the mystery motif from AOTC). I made it chronologically with the flashback sequences first, and then everything that happens in the present on Tatooine afterwards. Enjoy! 
 

So did I get the chronological order right?
 
Theme presentation
1-17. The Book Of Boba Fett (2:55) Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land
1-01. Rebirth (3:16) 1-02. The Stranger (3:01) 1-03. Normal Day at the Office (2:41) 1-04. Fear Is a Sure Bet (3:48) 1-05. Desert Walk (3:00) Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine
1-06. Boba's Throne (3:45) 1-07. The Twins (4:37) 1-08. Stop That Train (4:06) 1-09. Like a Bantha (2:02) 2-19. Train Heist (6:15) 1-10. The Ultimate Boon (5:07) 2-20. The Bonfire (1:41) Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa
1-11. Aliit Ori’shya Tal’din (6:12) 1-12. Road Rage (4:56) Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm
1-13. The Mod Parlour (3:04) - source music 1-14. Fennec and Boba (2:08) 1-15. You Fly, I'll Shoot (5:34) 2-18. Hit It Max (2:01) - source music 1-16. The Families of Mos Espa (5:33) Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian
2-1. The Underworld (3:19) 2-2. A Cautionary Tale (3:12) 2-3. Faster Than a Fathier (4:58) 2-4. Maiden Voyage (1:20) Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger
2-5. It’s a Family Affair (3:47) 2-6. Life Lessons (3:56) 2-7. A Gift (2:46) 2-8. Teacher’s Pet (6:25) 2-9. From the Desert Comes a Stranger (2:19) 2-10. Two Paths Diverged (2:50) Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor
2-11. In the Name of Honor (3:24) 2-12. Battle for Mos Espa (2:30) 2-13. A Town Besieged (6:46) 2-14. Final Showdown (4:13) 2-15. Goodnight (2:32) 2-16. A Town at Peace (2:21) 2-17. The Reign of Boba Fett (1:21)

I've found a new theme. It represents Jyn and Galen. Like a father/daughter theme.
 
Not sure if we're saying spoilers on this thread but SPOILERS!
 
It appears as Jyn is watching the hologram of Galen here at 1:10 - 2:00 on piano, and then switches to strings from 2:00 - 3:00.
 
 
 
 
Then it appears again, but more emotional, as Galen dies in Jyn's arms here at 5:58 - 6:55.
 
 
 
And appears one final time as Cassian says "your father would be proud," here at 2:46 - 3:16.
 
 
 
It also appears in the suite for Jyn at 1:55 - 2:28.
 

Here ya go - based on the track titles and my recent second watch of the movie. Spoilery
 
 

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

I work at a theatre, and we're showing the movie on seven screens, so I'm constantly walking past one of them.  They're frequently blaring the score -- and I have to say, the more I hear it, the more positive I am about it.

I think that would've been a strength if the themes had their own strength. Correct my music-theory newbness, but he's not into long-line melodies, uses lots of short intervals and repeating phrases in his themes - and they seem to get simpler and simpler. I wish he'd had longer to create, because none of these new themes or their presentation really grab me. And they're merely serviceable in-film. That title card cue could've done with a minor key, or more scattered and challenging orchestration, surely?
 
Personally I enjoyed the inclusion of familiar themes in the score alone and within the film - they were more subtle than they could've been. The tremulous ANH theme for Vader's body-horror shot; the Death Star motif in its hammy glory; Vader's theme (right choice considering the plethora of Imperial imagery); 'Alliance Assembly' shuttle run seemed a true fan's callback; Leia's theme, just; the Rebel Fanfare and the many passages that use its interval and key - the drop from hyperspace fanfare is great (what reason can a Star Wars score fan have for not enjoying that statement?). The only exception I would add is the Force theme: hurried or partial renditions don't do credit to the franchise's most profound piece of leitmotif. Trust Goes Both Ways'  early bungled statement (missing the meter of the phrasing, I believe) still rings sore but I think it just about suits the editing of the take-off scene it accompanies - I wonder if a more satisfying straight-through rendition would've done the same job though.
 
As for all the huffing and puffing about this score: I can understand us geeks' sensitivity to a supreme and beloved set of scores getting blended, shoehorned or mashed into the simpler style of a less-sophisticated composer. The fact that Williams' legacy, and Desplat's potential, are implicated in this score goes a long way to explaining the harsh opinions aired here. There is also a demographic - say, not-quite film-score lovers, but fans invested in 'geek-media' and franchises - who like Giacchino and appreciate his involvement. Their noise about (as one forumite put it well) the 'Golden Boy' will leave a sour taste in the mouth of those who just don't like his music, especially as it is splashed upon the Star Wars universe.
 
I wish he'd had longer to score Rogue One, as I think much of the music would be improved, but honestly, I don't think the overall score would've been a huge amount better. I'm a big fan of Giacchino but musically-literate people here have helped me see his technical shortcomings. I still enjoy plenty of his music.
 
What I'd like less of here is people bluntly stating their opinions (positive, but more pertinently, negative) and thinking they're contributing to a discussion.
 
What I'd like to read more of is actually discussion about the actual music. Argue it's strengths and shortcomings, in detail, so that I can understand what makes a composer good at what they do. Explain to me how Williams can create magic where Giacchino cannot and I'm going to learn from this board and you people - please critique my musical understanding of the score as I have attempted to analyse it. Verbally shit over what you don't like and you'll be as banal and boring as the Rogue One title card fanfare. Ha.

It's tiring to scroll through the incessant complaining on these threads. If I don't like something, I sometimes express it on here, but never personally insult a composer over it. That's just sad. There is an unwritten agreement that if you hate something, then you leave the people who do like it, to discuss it amongst themselves, and not jump in every 5 minutes to tell everyone that what they're talking about it shite because it's terrible.
 
I don't particularly like Zimmer, and think he's pretty bad 70% of the time, but instead of going on Zimmer threads to insult him and his work, I instead focus my time on threads that concern subjects I do like.