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John Powell's SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) - Deluxe Edition 2020 / Intrada 2-CD edition October 31, 2023


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7 minutes ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

It seems to me that the Rebel Fanfare is now the Falcon's theme more than actually representing the Rebels. Which makes sense given its previous history. The Rebel Fanfare shows up in bits and pieces throughout ANH, but it really gets its due during TIE Fighter Attack, which, of course, heavily features the Falcon. It appears other places, but is most prominent in the OT when TIE Fighter Attack returns to score the Falcon's harrowing journey through the interior of the Death Star II. Its next prominent quote is in TFA, when it is boldly stated when the Falcon appears onscreen for the first time during "The Falcon." And now, here, during Solo, Powell quotes it all the time when they're in the Falcon.


So what do we think? Is it the Falcon's theme now? It at least seems heavily associated with the Falcon at this point.

 

JW told JP that the Rebel Fanfare was a theme for the Millenium Falcon from the beginning. JP said so in an interview (can't remember which one now).

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Just now, Loert said:

 

JW told JP that the Rebel Fanfare was a theme for the Millenium Falcon from the beginning. JP said so in an interview (can't remember which one now).

Really?? So much for my inventive theory. I did not know that!

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24 minutes ago, DominicCobb said:

I'd definitely like to see another composer take the next non-Williams SW film, though if they do a sequel to Solo I really want Powell back. I'd rather SW not fall into the Marvel trap of "new composer, new themes for all the characters!"

 

Judging by the box office numbers, I don't think you will see a Solo sequel anytime soon. 

 

I really like the idea of hiring a different composer for each spinoff. 

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That idea gels with just about every score except for The Empire Strikes Back. The Rebel Fanfare doesn't coincide with any scenes or shots of the Falcon. And there are the cameos of the theme in TPM and RotS, if you want to count them.

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Listening to the opening of Reminiscence Therapy makes me want a re-recording of the OT soundtracks. Maybe that would also solve the remastering issue once and for all. (half joking)

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1 hour ago, Henry Buck said:

That idea gels with just about every score except for The Empire Strikes Back. The Rebel Fanfare doesn't coincide with any scenes or shots of the Falcon. And there are the cameos of the theme in TPM and RotS, if you want to count them.

 

Even on the original Star Wars, its mostly used with the Rebels. The Falcon only merits two or three statements or so. In Return of the Jedi, the Rebel Fanfare is used more liberally in general, but its still used more for the Rebels than for the Falcon, per se.

 

I dunno what Williams said (its worth noting that hearing Powell's account of what Williams said is not the same as hearing a direct quote from Williams), but I'll take 1977's Williams' word: in the Liner Notes he specifically refers to it as the "Rebel spaceship fanfare".

 

I'm fine with it changing association: It happened with Ben's theme, and with Luke's theme; no reason it can't happen to the Rebel Fanfare; but let's not delude ourselves that "it was always intended for the Falcon", now, shall we?

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Its intended specifically for the spaceship at the top of the film, and than extrapolated to relate to the Rebels in general.

 

Quote

I use the Rebel spaceship fanfare at the appearance of the Rebel blockade runner[...]the music [for the Imperial Attack] is based a great deal on the Rebel spaceship fanfare.

 

That it is a "spaceship fanfare" would make the transition of association to the Falcon more palatable. It probably suits the Falcon more, in terms of the musical quality of the motif, than Ben Kenobi's theme suits the concept of The Force.

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It just wouldn't work with this film.

 

The Force Theme represents all that which is mythic, time-worn and melancholic about Star Wars. Again, very much because it was originally the theme of an old knight hanging unto the memory of a Republic long-gone, and not so-much that of an all-encompassing Force that is above such sentiments.

 

Solo, I hear, doesn't dabble in any of those.

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Well yeah, Han thought the force was a load of mumbo-jumbo, so it really wouldn't have fitted terribly well at all

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1 hour ago, Chen G. said:

I dunno what Williams said (its worth noting that hearing Powell's account of what Williams said is not the same as hearing a direct quote from Williams), but I'll take 1977's Williams' word: in the Liner Notes he specifically refers to it as the "Rebel spaceship fanfare".

 

I'm fine with it changing association: It happened with Ben's theme, and with Luke's theme; no reason it can't happen to the Rebel Fanfare; but let's not delude ourselves that "it was always intended for the Falcon", now, shall we?

 

Perhaps Williams originally conceived it as a leitmotif for the Falcon in the early stages of scoring ANH, and then decided to extrapolate it into a generic Rebel spaceship fanfare in the final product.

32 minutes ago, Fal said:

 

The love theme is notated wrong. Downbeat is on the first B.

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Its just transformed: it started as a theme for the Rebels and was re-purposed for the Falcon in the sequel trilogy.

 

Not out-of-character for Star Wars.

 

Leia's theme was originally a Luke-and-Leia love theme!

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20 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

Its just transformed: it started as a theme for the Rebels and was re-purposed for the Falcon in the sequel trilogy.

 

It's still fits in with Williams' 'Rebel Spaceship Fanfare' title. In the sequel era, the Falcon is the last surviving warship of the Galactic Civil War, having played integral roles in the destruction of the two Death Stars. It's THE Rebel Spaceship.

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Sure.

 

But there's little doubt that it wasn't the original association of the fanfare.

 

I'm not saying that the transformation is inappropriate. I'm just saying we better not delude ourselves that it was "always for the Falcon."

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1 hour ago, Loert said:

The love theme is notated wrong. Downbeat is on the first B.

 

Correct. And I believe it should be in 3/4. The first note should occur on the "&" of beat 2. The one notable exception in the score is at 1:26 of "Lando's Closet", when it appears to be a single measure of 2/4 with the first note of the theme occurring on the "&" of 1. And then the following bars are back in 3/4. Would you agree?

 

EDIT: Also, the main theme is much better (and more correct, judging from the sheet music pic) written in 9/8, than in 3/4.

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@kaseykockroach I just caught up with this thread, did I read correctly that you deleted the Williams piece? What in the flying fugue would you do that for?

TAOH serves as a fairly important introductory piece to the rest of the score and manages to work as it's own thing, how could you be so foolish?

 

Argghh! I'm dying! I can't take this... blasphemy! 

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It's OK, I'm sure it's sitting in the Recycle Bin somewhere.

 

@Breadstick Basilisk

You are correct about the time signature for the love theme and TAOH. I dont know about the 2/4 measure though, i am not at liberty to check atm. But I can imagine what you mean and i think i remember something like that (like a sudden accelerando).

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I love the last minute or so of Reminiscence Therapy, that intricate suspense build-up that gleefully clues you in that the action is far from over...immediately followed by Into the Maw exploding onto the scene, a gloriously insane action cue if I've ever heard one.

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A brass-playing friend of mine noticed a classical piece that John Powell may have been referencing. Gustav Holst, a late 19th century composer, wrote a number of suites for military bands. His second suite contains a movement called "Song of the Blacksmith." The entire vibe of Powell's "Mine Mission," starting at 0:15 through around 3:20, is exactly the same as Song of the Blacksmith! The militaristic beats and instrumentation are quite similar (although Powell also adds strings), and you can really hear the similarities!
 

Why would Powell do this? Well, Holst's piece is about a blacksmith, and in it, you can hear the percussion of him hammering away with his tools. "Mine Mission," it will come as no surprise to learn, takes place on Kessel, where miners are using hammers and other tools to chip away at the rock. Powell evokes the sound of the blacksmith because the miners are doing something very similar!

Check it out.

 

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Powell also has a rare talent of not just capturing the atmosphere of a sequence, but capturing and enhancing every little moment from shot to shot, in an energy I haven't heard since Goldsmith. That he doesn't just look at the scene as a whole, but every little individual moment, what's going on at this exact moment, what's this character thinking right now, so on.

Such as, to name a random example, the insanity of Into The Maw's action smoothly cutting to the "gang" theme for a moment, to capture the group thinking on their feet and quickly coming up with a plan as they frantically evade the pursuing beast. Thinking like that is what gives even his most frantic action music a drive, flow and purpose that no one else seems capable of nowadays. 

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I love this section from 2:28:

 

 

The Tibetan chanting and alto flute together create a beautifully exotic texture. A sharp contrast from the chaotic screaming in the previous track!

Reminds me of this track from "The Road to El Dorado", a film which Powell also worked on, with Zimmer:

 

 

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I didn't like the movie, but the score is FANtastic.  If only you could hear it more in mix....

 

Definitely going to be spinning this soundtrack for many months to come.

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7 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Oh that would be the "secrets" motif that Powell mentioned in several interviews. It's in the score quite a lot.

 

Karol

Yep, I know, I just like hearing it as the Jurassic theme about to start. :P

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1 minute ago, kaseykockroach said:

Yep, I know, I just like hearing it as the Jurassic theme about to start. :P

Yeah I know. I was thinking the same thing when I first heard it.

 

Karol

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Powell has said there is one final unidentified motif - the "Coaxium riff". Here are all the themes I've found - can anyone find an example of the unidentified one?

 

Han hero theme

 

Han searching/longing theme

 

Chewbacca theme

 

Gang theme

 

Love theme

 

Enfys Nest theme

 

L3 theme

 

Secret motif

 

Coaxium riff - ???

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@Fal I don't recall hearing that anywhere else. Powell has said the Coaxium riff is "everywhere". I'd expect to hear it in virtually every instance it's featured in the plot.

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They mentioned coaxial in every scene! I think Kathleen Kennedy told Ron Howard to reshoot lines for every scene where they mention it.

 

Anyway, the score was alright. Powell certainly handled Williams' music better than Giacchino ever could.

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