Jump to content

The Force Awakens ALBUM Discussion (No Film Spoilers)


rebekahnoelleparker

Recommended Posts

Follow Me, The Falcon, and The Rathtars all blend together for me

Tracks like The Scavenger and The Jedi Steps really stand out

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Follow Me, The Falcon, and The Rathtars all blend together for me

Tracks like The Scavenger and The Jedi Steps really stand out

Funnily those three all feature what I think is Finn's theme, which is the ostinato-figure that also pops up in the Finale suite. I am glad JW gave one of those action ostinatos so frequent in his post-2000 output a thematic significance this time around. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Follow Me, The Falcon, and The Rathtars all blend together for me

Tracks like The Scavenger and The Jedi Steps really stand out

Funnily those three all feature what I think is Finn's theme, which is the ostinato-figure that also pops up in the Finale suite.

And it just makes me grin hearing the Kylo/First Order motif segue into that! I love Williams' sense of humor and optimism there. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finn's theme is fun! I'm guessing the more heroic swell that pops up now and then is Poe's theme?

Oh and apparently the US Army Field got an arrangement of "Scherzo for X-Wings" from John Williams in advance for performance! They're pretty good actually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1M8VEEssc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Woops, I didn't see that! I'm only looking at the "Recent Posts" and trying to catch up on those, and this got drowned by the others.

Ignore my post then :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I'm not mistaken, this is the chronological order of the OST:
01 Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village
02 The Scavenger
04 Rey Meets BB-8
03 I Can Fly Anything
05 Follow Me
07 The Falcon
08 That Girl With The Staff
09 The Rathtars!
17 Snoke
11 Maz's Counsel
10 Finn's Confession
12 The Starkiller
13 Kylo Ren Arrives At The Battle
14 The Abduction
15 Han And Leia
18 On the Inside
19 Torn Apart
20 The Ways Of The Force
21 Scherzo For X-Wings
22 Farewell And The Trip
23 The Jedi Steps and Finale
CONCERT ARRANGEMENTS:
06 Rey’s Theme
16 March of the Resistance

Isn't Scherzo For X-Wings a concert arrangement too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As others have said, I think one key to really enjoying this OST is listening for Rey's theme in all it's forms. The parts are harder to identify than the classic OT motifs but Rey's theme is used extensively thoughout the CD and really gets a good workout thematically. It seems to accompany all sorts of different moods and scenes. Maybe it's a flaw that this theme is not so easy to grasp initially or maybe JW wanted something that is more varied and kind of grows as you listen. I can't say until I see the film later today.

The cue titled Rey's Theme seems to defy JW's usual way of presenting a theme, it's denser and kind of wandering, like the theme itself is trying to convey a journey which would make a lot of sense actually. It is a shame that the best development of Rey's theme (from the abc tv spot) only comes once and at the end. If that was where her theme started out, I think we'd all be having very different reactions to the memorability of this score.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, I totally may have missed someone already pointing this out, but just noticed during the End Credits a small bit that comes straight out of that first teaser from last year (the section right after Finn shows up on screen and on) - it's just a few seconds, but it starts at about 4:57-5:06. Looks like it's developed into what I'm assuming we're saying is Finn's motif (don't see the movie until tonight so I'm going on what everyone else is saying on that one!).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that bit from the TV spot in fact her theme? It didn't seem that way to me.

It definitely sounds related or a new development of Rey's theme to me. Listen to how Rey's theme is presented on The Scavenger and then listen to that bit of music in the final track. It sounds like JW is building on Rey's theme there. I could be wrong, and I haven't seen the film yet.

On another note, it's just so strange to me that thus far, no action cues are among the highlights on this album. Even the X-Wing track isn't doing much for me. I feel like TPM score had very clear, fun to listen to action music while this score's action music lacks some key ingredients. Maybe it will all make more sense in the film though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Follow Me" and "The Falcon" are two halves of one continuous sequence of music.  It's a shame Williams chose not to combine them together for the OST - and not even that, but break them up with a concert arrangement in between!

This makes sense! Gonna swap Rey's theme to the end to listen back to back. The action music keeps getting better and better for me. Liking the Finn stuff a lot. I don't think any of this action music is JW on auto-pilot at ALL. Totally opposite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On another note, it's just so strange to me that thus far, no action cues are among the highlights on this album. Even the X-Wing track isn't doing much for me. I feel like TPM score had very clear, fun to listen to action music while this score's action music lacks some key ingredients. Maybe it will all make more sense in the film though.

I agree with you there. Looking at all the tracks on the CD I like the most, none of them are action tracks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Currently trying to identify the themes featured in the End credits and finding where they appears on the other tracks. That's A lot of new music to digest!

Faleel is your friend:

http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25879&p=1201923

Rough version of TFA:

Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village

0:08 Luke's Theme A Section

0:26 Luke's Theme B Section

0:49 Luke's Theme A Section

4:20 Kylo Ren's Theme

5:32 Kylo Ren's Theme

6:13 Kylo Ren's Theme

The Scavenger

0:38 Rey's Theme?

0:53 Rey's Theme (Intro)

1:31 Rey's Theme (Main Theme)

1:59 Rey's Theme (Intro)

2:54 Rey's Theme

I Can Fly Anything

1:19 Rey's Theme

Rey Meets BB-8

0:00 BB-8 motif?

Follow Me

1:12 Finn's/Action Motif

1:41 Finn's/Action Motif

2:00 Finn's/Action Motif

2:29 Rebel Fanfare

Rey's Theme

0:00 Rey's Theme (Flute Intro)

0:13 Rey's Theme (Intro)

0:33 Rey's Theme

1:00 Rey's Theme (Intro)

1:21 Rey's Theme

1:40 Rey's Theme

1:54 Rey's Theme (Intro)

2:13 Rey's Theme

2:39 Rey's Theme (Intro)

The Falcon

0:08 Rebel Fanfare

0:11 Finn's/Action Motif

0:50 Finn's/Action Motif

1:00 Finn's/Action Motif

1:19 Finn's/Action Motif

2:26 Finn's/Action Motif

2:39 The Snow Battle Reference?

3:06 Finn's/Action Motif (Strings)?

That Girl With the Staff

0:08 Luke and Leia?

0:20 Rey's Theme

The Rathtars!

0:44 Luke's Theme A Section

2:47 Finn's/Action Motif

3:06 Finn's/Action Motif

3:43 Rebel Fanfare

Finn's Confession

0:00 Discussion and Confrontation (Talk of Podracing Reference)

0:48 Rey's Theme

1:00 Rey's Theme

1:17 Rey's Theme

Maz's Counsel

2:14 The Force Theme

2:40 Rey's Theme

Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle

0:00 Dark Side (Carrying Home Mother Reference)?

0:51 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:17 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:29 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:43 Rey's Theme

The Abduction

0:13 Unknown 1 (Starkiller Base)?

0:45 Kylo Ren's Theme

0:57 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:18 The Force Theme (Fragment)?

1:39 Rey's Theme

Han and Leia

0:03 Luke's Theme A Section

0:10 Leia's Theme

0:29 Han Solo and the Princess (Luke To The Rescue Lift)

1:12 Resistance March

2:22 The Force Theme (Fragment)?

2:31 Rebel Fanfare (Fragment)?

3:25 Han Solo and the Princess

3:44 Unknown 1 (Starkiller Base)?

4:02 The Force Theme

March of the Resistance

0:15 Resistance March

Snoke

1:01 Snoke's Theme (Dark Side motif from ROTS?)

On the Inside

0:45 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:04 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:27 Rey's Theme

Torn Apart

1:06 The Force Theme (Fragment)?

2:48 Kylo Ren's Theme

3:13 The Force Theme

3:44 Kylo Ren's Theme

3:52 Rey's Theme

The Ways of the Force

0:13 The Force Theme

0:33 Rey's Theme

0:53 Rey's Theme

1:08 Unknown 1 (Starkiller Base)?

1:21 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:35 Kylo Ren's Theme

1:50 The Force Theme

2:08 Rey's Theme

2:38 The Force Theme

2:52 Rey's Theme

Scherzo for X-Wings

0:14 Luke's Theme A Section

0:32 Luke's Theme A Section

0:50 Luke's Theme A Section

1:04 Luke's Theme A Section

1:19 Luke's Theme A Section (Fragment)

1:34 Luke's Theme A Section (Fragment)

2:03 Luke's Theme A Section

2:07 The Force Theme

Farewell and the Trip

0:11 Rey's Theme

0:47 The Force Theme

1:26 Rey's Theme

1:49 Han Solo and the Princess

2:12 The Force Theme

2:55 Leia's Theme

3:45 Rebel Fanfare

3:51 Luke's Theme A Section

4:03 Rey's Theme (Flute Intro)

4:07 Rey's Theme

4:34 Rey's Theme (Flute Intro)

The Jedi Steps and Finale

0:04 Luke's Theme A Section

0:19 Rey's Theme/Luke's Theme Hybrid?

0:41 Rey's Theme/Luke's Theme Hybrid?

1:10 Rey's Theme/Luke's Theme Hybrid?

1:37 The Force Theme

2:14 Luke's Theme A Section

2:23 Rebel Fanfare

2:29 The Rolling Thunder

2:41 Luke's Theme A Section

2:58 Rey's Theme (Intro)

3:02 Rey's Theme (Flute Intro)

3:11 Rey's Theme

4:01 Rey's Theme (Flute Intro)

4:25 Unknown 1 (Starkiller Base?)

4:45 Kylo Ren's Theme

5:02 Finn's/Action Motif

6:05 Resistance March

7:27 The Force Theme

7:31 Rey's Theme

8:07 Rebel Fanfare

8:22 Rey's Theme

8:34 Luke's Theme A Section

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I LOVE the action version of Rey's theme in I Can Fly Anything

Yeah, right now I Can Fly Anything might be my favorite action cue on the entire album. The use of Rey's theme gives all the music something to coalesce around in a way that even Finn's theme doesn't quite manage. But I just put Follow Me and The Falcon back to back to see if that helps them make more sense musically.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It took me awhile to warm to the action. Finns theme being so busy doesn't help. But once I got used to his and Rey's music, the action tracks have soooo much character.

End credits are perfection in bringing together the entire album.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure I'll like everything more once I see the film.

Yeah a big question is how the music serves the film. I think when we listen to just the CD release we sometimes think JW is just writing Star Wars music on its own but really he's a master of writing the right music for that particular scene. I'm kind of surprised by how many people don't enjoy the Snoke track, considering that scene is likely filled with dialogue, it makes sense that the music has to do less in a sense and yet I love the choral work on that track. It's very menacing and you can actually hear the articulation of the sanskrit words. It's not just a choral drone backing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this album has the best ending of any Williams album. I mean the actual ending, the last bars of the credits. Fantastic coda, very fresh.

It's quite beautiful. If it is indeed Williams' last SW score, that's a wonderful sendoff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished my first listen now. Was extremely busy the last few days had no time at all.

My general impression is that it is slightly disappointing. I don't know what I was expecting, but after four consecutive punches of War Horse, Tintin, Lincoln and Book Thief, this is the first franchise score he has written, so it of course all felt familiar.

None of the new themes immediately grabbed me. Rey's Theme misled us all. I was already so attached to the idea of the TV spot snippet being Rey's Theme that it took me a couple of listens of the track just to get over that. It is a decent theme but strangely sounds like a Marvel theme and somewhat like Menken's prologue theme from Beauty And The Beast of all things!

The Resistance theme as someone stated here came off as a villainous theme to me.

Its good but I don't know. Needs way more listens and the context of the film to fully grasp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had promised I would only listen to Rey's theme, as I'm receiving this for Christmas.

However, that plan went out the window (the 'not listening' part) when, as you said, it turned not to be Rey's theme. I will still wait until the 25th for the CD.

I'd say it's really entertaining for the most part, albeit with a few moments in the middle that don't seem to do much (seems that way with most scores). I'm liking Rey's theme a lot. One disappointing aspect for me is probably the lack of multiple hummable themes besides Rey's and the TV spot one. That may change with further listens.

Right now, not having heard the full album yet, it's 4/5 stars from me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't get the hype for Scherzo For X-Wing. It's main theme fragments connected by random Williams action music.

As a whole, it's a better franchise score than Crystal Skull was because it's more consistent, but Crystal Skull has better themes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I'm not mistaken, this is the chronological order of the OST:
01 Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village
02 The Scavenger
04 Rey Meets BB-8
03 I Can Fly Anything
05 Follow Me
07 The Falcon
08 That Girl With The Staff
09 The Rathtars!
17 Snoke
11 Maz's Counsel
10 Finn's Confession
12 The Starkiller
13 Kylo Ren Arrives At The Battle
14 The Abduction
15 Han And Leia
18 On the Inside
19 Torn Apart
20 The Ways Of The Force
21 Scherzo For X-Wings
22 Farewell And The Trip
23 The Jedi Steps and Finale
CONCERT ARRANGEMENTS:
06 Rey’s Theme
16 March of the Resistance

I know that the beginning of Rey Meets BB-8 is used later in the film as part of Farewell and the Trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The greatest legacy of this soundtrack will be, or at the least should be, that the real way of film scoring can still be compatible with the modern cinematic style. I hope it inspires some young classical music students to bring their knowledge and write traditional symphonic music for Hollywood, a la James Horner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had an Awakening with this film. I saw it before I heard the score, first time in my life. I am going to do it that way every time from now on.

It's a first for me too. And it was a good call. I came back from the midnight screening, went to sleep, and the soundtrack arrived first thing in the morning. Just perfect.

Karol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The greatest legacy of this soundtrack will be, or at the least should be, that the real way of film scoring can still be compatible with the modern cinematic style. I hope it inspires some young classical music students to bring their knowledge and write traditional symphonic music for Hollywood, a la James Horner

what he said

t

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Listened to Ren's Theme on my walk to work this morning. It has a few similarities to Victor Navorski's Theme from "The Terminal" and Going to School from "Memoirs of a Geisha".

I haven't heard the whole album yet, but I thought it was mentioned a few months back that Williams had an operatic song for the film. Is there anything else besides "Snope's Theme" that features vocal parts?

In the second trailer we had the force theme with high voices - were those all sythesized just for the trailer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't heard the whole album yet, but I thought it was mentioned a few months back that Williams had an operatic song for the film. Is there anything else besides "Snope's Theme" that features vocal parts?

It appears that was bullshit. Sounded cool, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.