John Powell's SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) - Deluxe Edition 2020 / Intrada 2-CD edition 2023

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

polyamorous

So she's a shapeshifter?

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

This leaves me in awe and ecstasy every time I hear it.

[King Mark 3,223]

The more I listen to this, the less I like the heavy percussions. JW would never use anything like this.

 

 

Horner did something similar in his Spiderman score and I didn't like it

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

Maybe that's why John Williams music has gotten so boring lately. 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,479]

Horner didn't do a Spider-Man score.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

Sure he did! He did the only one with a decent love story (which got pooed on in the Zimmer-scored sequel anyway). 

[BTR1701 55]

9 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

Maybe that's why John Williams music has gotten so boring lately. 

 

Yeah, that's it. Not enough endless looped booming electronic drums! Williams' problem is that he just hasn't made his music generic and repetitive enough.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

I find it very intriguing that the instsnt someone throws down percussion, the words "generic" and/or "repetitive" get used. Is it people thinking the percussion defiles the "purity" of The Orchestra (Blessed Be)? Also, John Williams uses tons of ostinati in his work.

[SteveMc 2,672]

Contemporary classical music is quite enamored with percussion, so its mostly a reaction against Zimmer's style, and the use of electronics.

In moderation, I find it fine.

[Disco Stu 15,475]

Mason Bates is great

[Nick Parker 3,034]

3 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said:

so its mostly a reaction against Zimmer's style, and the use of electronics.

 

Rather kneejerk at that, it seems, yeah? People hear, but do they listen?

[BTR1701 55]

6 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

I find it very intriguing that the instsnt someone throws down percussion, the words "generic" and/or "repetitive" get used. Is it people thinking the percussion defiles the "purity" of The Orchestra (Blessed Be)? Also, John Williams uses tons of ostinati in his work.

 

Percussion, when used effectively and musically, is wonderful. ('Desert Chase' from RAIDERS, for example) But when it's just one big copy/paste, often from an a loop library, it's *is* generic and repetitive and boring.

[SteveMc 2,672]

Unless it is pasted with care.  Solo does it with taste.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

Listen to that obnoxious percussion, especially the snare drum...god, what did Williams do, Ctrl+C and V a bar loop until he dragged it through most of the piece? 

 

[BTR1701 55]

11 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

Listen to that obnoxious percussion, especially the snare drum...god, what did Williams do, Ctrl+C and V a bar loop until he dragged it through most of the piece? 

 

 

 

Well, he used real snares, for one thing. Not drums created by a computer and played by a computer with none of the human quality a real player brings to a performance.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

Just now, BTR1701 said:

 

 

Well, he used real snares, for one thing. Not drums created by a computer and played by a computer with none of the human quality a real player brings to a performance.

 

Your rhetoric is becoming a little unstable, please be careful. 

[Loert 2,331]

4 minutes ago, BTR1701 said:

Percussion, when used effectively and musically, is wonderful. ('Desert Chase' from RAIDERS, for example) But when it's just one big copy/paste, often from an a loop library, it's *is* generic and repetitive and boring.

 

Powell's percussion is actually less repetitive than you might think. If you listen closely, you will hear that the percussion is constantly changing, measure by measure, to support what's going on around it at that moment. It's a mistake to think that, just because Powell uses what SOUNDS like a percussion loop, means that it is strictly a percussion loop.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

Just now, Loert said:

 

Powell's percussion is actually less repetitive than you might think. If you listen closely, you will hear that the percussion is constantly changing, measure by measure, to support what's going on around it at that moment. It's a mistake to think that, just because Powell uses what SOUNDS like a percussion loop, means that it is strictly a percussion loop.

 

Indeed.

[BTR1701 55]

2 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Your rhetoric is becoming a little unstable, please be careful. 

 

So we've reached the ad hominem part of the discussion already, have we? Well, that was quick. You have fun with that. I'm out.

[SteveMc 2,672]

Just now, BTR1701 said:

 

So we've reached the ad hominem part of the discussion already, have we? Well, that was quick. You have fun with that. I'm out.

Do read Loert's comment before you go.

[BTR1701 55]

1 minute ago, Loert said:

 

Powell's percussion is actually less repetitive than you might think. If you listen closely, you will hear that the percussion is constantly changing, measure by measure, to support what's going on around it at that moment. It's a mistake to think that, just because Powell uses what SOUNDS like a percussion loop, means that it is strictly a percussion loop.

 

I wasn't talking about this film specifically, but rather the modern trend in general, i.e., any of the Marvel film scores.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

Just now, BTR1701 said:

 

So we've reached the ad hominem part of the discussion already, have we? Well, that was quick. You have fun with that. I'm out.

 

Ad hominem is when a person goes after the other personally. I said nothing  disparaging of you, or indeed anything of you at all, only the rhetoric you used in your claim.

[Loert 2,331]

11 minutes ago, BTR1701 said:

 

I wasn't talking about this film specifically, but rather the modern trend in general, i.e., any of the Marvel film scores.

 

Why else would you have written this:

 

51 minutes ago, BTR1701 said:

 

Yeah, that's it. Not enough endless looped booming electronic drums!

 

after kasey's post referencing King Mark's post? Come on now. You were lumping SOLO in with the "rest".

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

42 pages and the whole EWWW THIS SCORE USES PERCUSSION IN A COOL WAY HOW DISGRACEFUL thing's still going? I wonder if the Mission: Impossible thread is still in argument...

-takes a gander-

Hot dang, this forum can get monotonous. 

I do kind of wish the album got to end in a suite of some sort (there's room for such once you take out the Williams demo), but in the long run it's not a big deal, as I love ending the listening with Chicken in the Pot anyway. Still, that's the one single advantage Fallen Kingdom's album has over this one.

[Nick Parker 3,034]

1 hour ago, kaseykockroach said:

Hot dang, this forum can get monotonous. 

 

We're just emulating Powell and his drum library loops.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

Spoiler

 

Mmmm oh yeah, gimme those drums, Powell you naughty composer...

 

 

[SteveMc 2,672]

Ye Mods!  

[BTR1701 55]

7 hours ago, Loert said:

 

Why else would you have written this:

 

 

after kasey's post referencing King Mark's post? Come on now. You were lumping SOLO in with the "rest".

 

7 hours ago, Loert said:

 

Why else would you have written this:

 

 

after kasey's post referencing King Mark's post? Come on now. You were lumping SOLO in with the "rest".

 

*That* post was about SOLO. The subsequent post referencing RAIDERS and talking about the use of percussion in general was not.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

Spoiler

 

Anyone else prefer From Beyond to Re-Animator?

 

 

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

Update on the Solo piano solo book; for the most part, it's great! They actually tried their best to transcribe the complexity of Powell's action into a piano solo part . . . which is why there isn't a whole bunch of action in this book. But the action they do have is great. Adventures of Han is a great transcription, better than the Samuel Fu one in many ways, I think. Same for Meet Han. They didn't transcribe all of Corellia Chase, but probably two or three minutes worth of it. Not sure why they even bothered with Train Heist; they only arranged the quiet part at the beginning and just ended it there without getting to the six further minutes of action music. Also unsure of why they even tried to arrange Chicken In The Pot for piano; there's no way to accurately transcribe it and have it sound remotely accurate. Lando's Closet is arranged well, although it skips the first ten or so seconds and includes needless triplet arpeggios in the second statement of the love theme. The Mine Mission arrangement is, by far, the highlight of the book. It's a complete transcription in all its fugal glory, and it sounds fantastic. I'm trying to learn that one first since it was already my favorite track from the soundtrack. From there we go to The Good Guy, which is also not a complete arrangement. It stops short of the grand statement of the Marauders theme. The last solo featured in the book is Savareen Standoff, which is fine, but not a whole lot happens.

 

To sum up: Most of the arrangements are fantastic; they manage to capture all of the insanely complicated chords that Powell throws at us. All of the arrangements are very advanced, which I also love. However, some of the arrangements cut the best part of the track out and others are just uninteresting choices. I would've loved to get a Flying With Chewie, Break Out, or Testing Allegiances. Recommendation also: Samuel Fu did great transcriptions of L3 & Millenum Falcon and Reminiscence Therapy if you want to supplement the book with those.

 

All in all, though, I'm very pleased with the book.

[Loert 2,331]

On 6/4/2018 at 6:12 AM, Manakin Skywalker said:

Anyone a fan of shitty old DOSBox games?

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LiJhR2HlA0MpkMF8nKLqrbMcziHyounK

 

 

Coincidence? 🤔

[A. A. Ron 1,012]

That's awesome!

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

On 8/23/2018 at 10:57 AM, Loert said:

 

 

Coincidence? 🤔

Is this from the Mr. Sunday Movies Scenes In 8-Bit video?

[mstrox 5,876]

In the end it's probably not a huge deal, but is there any way the half naked women in this Star Wars thread could be hid behind spoiler tags or something.  I keep accidentally clicking it at woik!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

Okey dokey, I'll edit the post. 

[mstrox 5,876]

Thanks pal!

[Guest]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 10:57 AM, Loert said:

 

 

Coincidence? 🤔

 

That hack Powell is ripping me off! 🤣

[crumbs 12,961]

This has been bugging me for days! What is this short little transitional idea at 0:59 taken from? I'm certain it's from something Williams did in one of his Star Wars scores, maybe Empire or one of the prequels??

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,475]

First re-recording from this score that I know of.  You'll never guess who the orchestra is...

 

 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

THAT IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWESOME. 😍 I'M TEARING UP HEARING THIS. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU OH MY LORD AND SAVIOR THIS IS DELICIOUS WHAT A PERFORMANCE IT'S DIFFERENT BUT STILL FREAKING ENERGETIC AND HAPPY AND AWESOME IN ITS OWN WAY

[Will 2,130]

It's terrific to hear another interpretation. Thanks for sharing, @Disco Stu. 

 

That said, is that even a real orchestra playing here? If it is, it's a pretty synthy-sounding orchestra.  This, uh, does not exactly measure up to the OST version... 

 

 

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

6 minutes ago, Will said:

That said, is that even a real orchestra playing here? If it is, it's a pretty synthy-sounding orchestra.  This, uh, does not exactly measure up to the OST version... 

 

 

That is what I was wondering, the City of Prague is a real orchestra, but this almost doesn't have their characteristic sound (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24JZnunFJbk).

[Nick Parker 3,034]

If that's what samples sounded like then orchestras would indeed be in a good deal of trouble!

[Kasey Kockroach 2,312]

WHO CARES, IT SOUNDS COOL, I DON'T NEED IT TO MEASURE UP TO THE ORIGINAL BECAUSE I'VE GOT THE ORIGINAL RIGHT HERE. IN FACT, I (accidentally) BOUGHT IT TWICE. 

[Nick Parker 3,034]

You also accidentally left Caps Lock on.

[Arpy 4,087]

I've often found City of Prague's re-recordings to be a bit sloppy, but I have to say that their performance of 'Corellia Chase' is actually rather good! I want to hear what they do with 'Flying with Chewie' or 'The Marauders'!

 

Or if 'The Marauders' used a traditional choir instead of the strange chanting or whatever they used!

[Pellaeon 580]

41 minutes ago, Arpy said:

I've often found City of Prague's re-recordings to be a bit sloppy, but I have to say that their performance of 'Corellia Chase' is actually rather good! I want to hear what they do with 'Flying with Chewie' or 'The Marauders'!

 

Or if 'The Marauders' used a traditional choir instead of the strange chanting or whatever they used!

 

Yes! I was listening to the OST day before yesterday and just thinking of how great a re-recording would be. My wishlist is:

 

1. Cool it on the percussion (check)

2. Slower tempo on Reminiscence Therapy

3. Healthy vocal technique

 

By the way they also have the TLJ Finale and TFA Farewell and The Trip on this album.

[Arpy 4,087]

I don't have much of a problem with the percussion as some do, but it is prominent and different from the usual sonic landscape we're accustomed to for Star Wars. It's part of Powell's apparatus and what he has made a staple in his scores so it's understandable. Perhaps just a difference in mixing is the case?

[Disco Stu 15,475]

4 hours ago, Arpy said:

I've often found City of Prague's re-recordings to be a bit sloppy

 

You wanna hear sloppy?  Check out their performance of “Finale” from The Last Jedi on the same album

 

Yuck

 

 

Also, see my post of Leigh Phillips working on the “Corellia Chase” transcription back in May.  It’s clear now it was for this album

 

On 5/31/2018 at 8:51 AM, Disco Stu said:

Wow!  Leigh Phillips for the win, as always.

 

 

 

[A Farewell to Kings 3,786]

16 hours ago, Arpy said:

Or if 'The Marauders' used a traditional choir instead of the strange chanting or whatever they used!

You mean the Bulgarian Women's Choir?

 

Quote

The distinctive sounds of women's choirs in Bulgarian folk music come from their unique rhythms, harmony and vocal production. Characteristic polyphony, such as the use of close intervals like the major second and the singing of a drone accompaniment underneath the melody, are especially common in songs from the Shope region around the Bulgarian capital Sofia and the Pirin region (Bulgarian Macedonia).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Bulgaria#Folk_music