rough cut

Got my copy yesterday! Initially, I thought all the comments regarding the missing teeth was a lot of oversensitive fanboy complaining - I thought I wouldn't mind the oversight... But the second I opened up the set and I saw the toothless T-Rex.... Haha, it cracks me up! And the one tooth they left!  LOL I'm glad it's just the booklet and not the cover! Now - on to the music! 

I was there tonight, sept 4th.  Seing John Williams conduct was breathtaking. Great, great music!

Thanks once again Todd, for your time and effort.
 
Finally got around to the ROTJ suite and, man, it doesn't disappoint! You've hit it out of the park once again. From how you kick it off with the original "Return Of The Jedi" cue (which I've always found to be one of the most unique cues in the Star Wars scores), to your inclusion of "Alliance Assembly" (a sort of hidden gem really) and finally the conclusion with the rebel fanfare.
 
A great experience from start to finish.  You've really managed to put the spotlight on ROTJ and what a great score it is. So many highlights! It's a presentation that truly makes you appreciate the genius of John Williams.
 
Also - and I've mentioned this before - what a great presentation you've put together presenting the six suites. First and foremost, there must have been so much work distilling each soundtrack to a 30-min suite. You've obviously put a lot of thought in choosing which music to include (for example, only including the Main theme in the "Phantom Menace" Suite, which makes sense if all suites are presented as a whole) and trying to find a balance of which cues best represents the "feel" of the score. In addition to the excellent choice of cues and editing, it's obvious that a lot of time has been spent on creating liner notes where you break down what's been included and why. I for one also appreciate the small things like the way you've namned the singles in such a way so that there's a resemblance to the original cues (how "Anakin And The Senator" resembles "Han Solo And The Princess").
 
All in all, a stellar effort and as a whole a great representation of the Star Wars Saga!
 
Thanks once again!

Thanks once again Todd, for your time and effort.
 
Finally got around to the ROTJ suite and, man, it doesn't disappoint! You've hit it out of the park once again. From how you kick it off with the original "Return Of The Jedi" cue (which I've always found to be one of the most unique cues in the Star Wars scores), to your inclusion of "Alliance Assembly" (a sort of hidden gem really) and finally the conclusion with the rebel fanfare.
 
A great experience from start to finish.  You've really managed to put the spotlight on ROTJ and what a great score it is. So many highlights! It's a presentation that truly makes you appreciate the genius of John Williams.
 
Also - and I've mentioned this before - what a great presentation you've put together presenting the six suites. First and foremost, there must have been so much work distilling each soundtrack to a 30-min suite. You've obviously put a lot of thought in choosing which music to include (for example, only including the Main theme in the "Phantom Menace" Suite, which makes sense if all suites are presented as a whole) and trying to find a balance of which cues best represents the "feel" of the score. In addition to the excellent choice of cues and editing, it's obvious that a lot of time has been spent on creating liner notes where you break down what's been included and why. I for one also appreciate the small things like the way you've namned the singles in such a way so that there's a resemblance to the original cues (how "Anakin And The Senator" resembles "Han Solo And The Princess").
 
All in all, a stellar effort and as a whole a great representation of the Star Wars Saga!
 
Thanks once again!

Thanks once again Todd, for your time and effort.
 
Finally got around to the ROTJ suite and, man, it doesn't disappoint! You've hit it out of the park once again. From how you kick it off with the original "Return Of The Jedi" cue (which I've always found to be one of the most unique cues in the Star Wars scores), to your inclusion of "Alliance Assembly" (a sort of hidden gem really) and finally the conclusion with the rebel fanfare.
 
A great experience from start to finish.  You've really managed to put the spotlight on ROTJ and what a great score it is. So many highlights! It's a presentation that truly makes you appreciate the genius of John Williams.
 
Also - and I've mentioned this before - what a great presentation you've put together presenting the six suites. First and foremost, there must have been so much work distilling each soundtrack to a 30-min suite. You've obviously put a lot of thought in choosing which music to include (for example, only including the Main theme in the "Phantom Menace" Suite, which makes sense if all suites are presented as a whole) and trying to find a balance of which cues best represents the "feel" of the score. In addition to the excellent choice of cues and editing, it's obvious that a lot of time has been spent on creating liner notes where you break down what's been included and why. I for one also appreciate the small things like the way you've namned the singles in such a way so that there's a resemblance to the original cues (how "Anakin And The Senator" resembles "Han Solo And The Princess").
 
All in all, a stellar effort and as a whole a great representation of the Star Wars Saga!
 
Thanks once again!

Scherzo for the whip!

Concerning "At the court of Jabba the Hutt"... General thoughts on sound quality is that it all blends together nicely!
 
Thematically, it's a fun listen as well. It plays out like an extended, alernate version of Jabba's theme.

Haha, aborted single or not, I'd still say I was spot on! This was great! I've listened to your edit of "Han Solo & The Princess (Bonus)" a few times now, but still need time to properly point out the differences from the concert arrangements done by The National Philharmonic and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. How did you try to make it different compared to those arrangemenets? How much did you end up using from the original score?
 
On a genereal note regarding your work - There are alot of fan made suites floating around the web, but yours are the only ones I've kept in my library. I have especially appreciated the singles for TPM and AOTC where you have created more complete melodic structures compared to what is offered in the official scores. I also think it's nice that you've taken the time to think about such things as titles: Naming the single from AOTC "Anakin & The Senator" - which is a clear reference to the title "Han Solo & The Princess" (as you also state in your liner notes) - is a nice touch that any JW- or SW-fan can appreciate.
 
Keep the good stuff coming!

Thanx! "Hoth" makes for a good listen. You've selected some good bits and edited them together nicely.
 
As for "Han Solo & The Princess", it's really nice. Excellent work!

Just listened to it and let me tell you... It's fantastic. Thank you most kindly for your hard work and for sharing it!  I hope it gets the praise and appreciation it deserves among JW-fans - new and old a like.

Yeah, I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

Looking forward to Friday then!
 
I'm also looking forward to hearing the new singles that you've put together. Empire especially. Fingers crossed that it is what I hope it is...

Been listening to the Prequel suites this weekend, followed by the Classic Trilogy Preview and the single from ANH... A terrific listen! I was one of lucky ones who's had them since you made them public eight years ago, and I still think enjoy Symphony For A Saga as much now as I did then!
 
I've also been reading your liner notes, and I must say that you've given quite some thought into this project. One can really tell that you've got a good grasp on John Williams' Star Wars music and what the music represents in each scene and how it all connects. Although - it's quite bold of you to state that Across The Stars isn't the love theme from AOTC. 
 
Keep up the good work!

Based on the thread-title (there seems to be some confusion), and in risk of sounding repetetive - I would have much appreciated if the OST had been included on the expanded HA2-soundtrack. That was just a b*tch to put together on my own using edits of the remastered tracks.

Agreed! I'd like to put Home Alone 2 in the spotlight... There's a cut-and-paste job if there ever was one (although not missing any major cues), but a helluva good listen thanks to good album production.

Agreed! I'd like to put Home Alone 2 in the spotlight... There's a cut-and-paste job if there ever was one (although not missing any major cues), but a helluva good listen thanks to good album production.

Thank you, it's really great listen.  I like how you've honed in on a small interlude in the score and expanded it to a very relaxing, mellow piece of music - meditative in it's nature. Anyone who hasn't been joining in is missing out! I've enjoyed your entire "Symphony For A Saga"-project since your first upload back in the day, but I am glad to update to a lossless format since I was only in to mp3's back then.
 
I remember that you updated your original work with a 2.0-version where you tinkered a bit with your original release. I was wondering if these new uploads might represent a "3.0" of sorts?

In the liner notes Mike Matessino mentions that the LP program is "only" remastered (and not rebuilt from scratch) due to the fact that they couldn't locate the original 3-track elements. In the interview with Jay, Mike specifies that the tracks affected were "The Open Sea", "End Title" and "Eddie's Death".
What does this mean exactly? Obviously, that the alternates used for the LP progam for above tracks are not from the original recording session elements, and hence would lose some fidelity compared the score on disc 1.
But since Mike only mentions three tracks in the interview, does that mean that the other tracks on disc 2 are rebuilt from scratch? I have a hard time noticing any actual difference between the score and the OST for say "Ballet For Divers".

That one poor guy who's asking what song's the main title... I feel like just sending him a file of the main titles from ANH. Who knows? It could be his first step towards becomming a JWfan!

Just came back from the theater! First impression is that the score feels more "original trilogy" than "prequel trilogy".
I'm not just saying that because a lot of classic themes make re-appearances, but because of how the music felt when watching the film. It felt as if John was painting with broad brushstrokes. While the choice of having a "leitmotif" always appear in sync with a character can become a bit heavy handed, the way the film was edited gave the music a chance to breathe.
Overall, being more "original trilogy" than "prequel trilogy" is a good thing, at least to me.
Cellar song didn't stand out at all. Definite skip on the OST.

Received my copy today and thought I'd give some quick thoughts.
Yes, sound quality is improved upon compared to the previous release, but the last release was pretty good sounding so that'll tell you that the improvement isn't earth shattering. The fact that the presentation of the score on disc 1 begins with the "Main Title" rather than "Somewhere In My Memory" is a good thing. It's fun to have "Star Of Bethlehem (Film Version)" just to have the complete score and a full set of alternates, but the OST version is superior. Lastly, I'm really liking this new trend with including the OST in remastered form. Hopefully it's a trend that'll last!

Got my CD a couple of days back, and... What a score! Any JW fan who didn't order this is missing out! The score is melodical and easy going without being any less complex than other scores that handles more "heavy" themes.
As a fan of John's more lyrical pieces (as the 'Journey To The Island'-theme from 'JP' (well, the beginning at least - 'Heidi' is not quite as bombastic) or the subtle magic from 'The Flying Sequence' from 'Superman') this score immediately found a place in my heart.
In my mind it seems the origin for that "Williams-sound" and you can definitely hear it's the same man who wrote this who would go on to write 'Close Encounters' (again, I'm talking about the more "sweet" parts - for example the sweeping strings from 'End Titles'. The brooding parts - not so much), and 'Empire Of The Sun'. There are traces of scores he has yet to write all over this album. It's fantastic.
'Heidi' - like 'E.T.' or even 'Star Wars' - is worth listening to again and again!