Tom

I think the theme itself, the melody, is quite brilliant. It manages to capture the lonely melancholy, as Holt notes, but it also manages to easily be used as an action/adventure heroic theme. Luke's theme has heroic optimism, Benny's has a worldworn heroic feel.

I have a new appreciation for the concerto--a piece I already really liked. One gripe I have about some of Williams concertos is the lack of thematic developement. The concerto is four movements of variation on the same theme, and each variation is interesting and different. Even if it does not have the transcendent heights of, say Elgar's concerto, it is really good, showcase cello writing.

There is a crazy-level epicness to this piece that I have not heard from Williams in a main theme presentation in a while. In its own way, it reaches DotF-level gravitas. I don't mean to piss people off, but the last two minutes have a (completely Williams-styled) Zimmer vibe to them.

Williams has conducted live things a bit slower lately. I would bet the official recording (whenever it might be released) will be a bit quicker (say 4 minutes total).

When you start humming it, you find it shares some structure with the SW main theme--a nice little tie in.

Those "happy birthdays" are painful. Jaws? Superman?

I love the little hit to open the piece. The brass choir segment is beyond cool. The ostinato at times sounds a bit like Gold's Dr. Who to me--nice, but a tiny bit distracting consequently.

Okay, I take back my claims that Disney doesn't fully see the value of JW. This is as dramatic as it gets.

Perhaps that should be the new name of IV: Star Wars: A New Hope, Sort of.

I am not a big fan. It is good piece, but A) it sounds too similar to Catch me if you can, 2) it has a harpsicord, and D) any genuine, true, authenic, and real fan of Williams wanted him to have Tintin's theme played heroically on trumpet to open the movie.

You're killing me.

Obviously anything can work, given the scene/moment. However, I agree with King Mark that certain instruments have a tendency to diminish a score for me, and the harpsicord is one of those instruments. I struggle with Family Plot for just that reason. I don't like Bach pieces on it either, so it is not just Williams. I will add the piccolo and/or fife. I get the historical use for The Patriot, but they are still annoying.

Hello there.

Ah, the choices of life. Eat right, exercise regularly, a bit of good luck, and one gets a complete SW. French fries and White Russians, no deal, other than a complete and remastered Rogue One.