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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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9 minutes ago, Blumenkohl said:

I mean how many of us came hard for “No Man’s Land” in War Horse for those very same reasons?

 

"No Man's Land" is quite brilliant.  A score highlight.

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2 hours ago, leeallen01 said:

Others enjoy his RCP percussion, but to me it sounds like a Zimmer-obsessed teenager who wanted to "epic" up Williams original themes. I really really cringed when I heard 'Reminiscient Therapy.' I can't help my dislike for it, it was an immediate reaction of dislike at how Powell handled the many callbacks.

 

...and tell me how trashy Giacchino's score is etc, even though I find his Rogue One score vastly superior to Powell's Solo.

I enjoy the percussion. I find it quite fitting and distinct. I mean, honestly, that Here They Come variation was epic. Reminiscence Therapy is my favourite track. It's nostalgaic beauty, it's a great mix of old and new ( and no, I don't mean that at all like I did when I reviewed TLJ score). It's that awesome callback to the original SW  Hyperspace to open, the Rebel Fanfare/Falcon, awesome Here They Come variation, great Asteroid Field quote, and perhaps my favourite usage of Chewie's theme. Then some Adventures of Han, which is too great to hate, especially since it came out today. It all works out splendidly in my speakers.

 

I too like Rogue One's score, but I cannot help but love Solo so much more. 

 

Your opinion is respected, but mine remains.

2 hours ago, John said:

I fully acknowledge and respect your opinion, but you are wrong.

This.

2 hours ago, TGP said:

Good grief, what is all this about RCP percussion (which I assume means low but boosted surdos, taikos, big bass drums etc.)?  Am I the only one who doesn't hear anything of the sort in this score?  I hear...percussion.  Are some people just allergic to anything with a beat now?

I know, right? I love the percussion. Especially that Here They Come variation that I cannot get enough of.

 

Reminiscence Therapy (which is a funny title, because that is exactly what it is)!!!!!!

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49 minutes ago, Loert said:

 

Not absurd at all, in fact, this is one of the main reasons why he's a favourite of mine. You can tell that he always tries even harder with each new score.

 

Still, HTTYD is better than everything...

Nah, he hasn't topped Horton for me. ;)

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On 25/05/2018 at 5:04 PM, Blumenkohl said:

Yeah those food people are FRIs too. Children are particularly idiotic in this domain.  If you don’t like spinach, it doesn’t mean you won’t like spanakopita. But FRI are ideologically opposed to the very concept of spinach, so they eat the spanakopita with the drive to hate it because it has spinach. They react to the concept rather than the real thing in front of them. 

 

I used to hate guacamole as a kid. Tried it once and thought it was gross. It looked gross. I lived my whole childhood and adolescence just hating guacamole. Hard pass on the guacamole. If I tried it, I knew I didn't like it and that's how it always tasted. I was the only guy around who didn't like guacamole! Then somewhere in my early 20s I decided "You know, life might be more fun if I liked guacamole" and I told myself that maybe actually I was bringing the party down and guacamole was kinda cool. I reconsidered guacamole. Next time I tried it, it wasn't all that bad. Weird. It's not my absolute #1 favorite thing in the whole wide world but if the host comes out with the guacamole, shit bring it on.

 

Same with butter. I hated it as a child and from then on into my teenage years if there wasn't strawberry jelly I would just eat bread and rolls and toast dry, or not at all. My friends would ask if I wanted butter and I would say "Nope, don't like butter. HAHAHA yeah, isn't that weird?! Yep just don't like it! :)" Took me years to realize that not liking butter was...um, inconvenient. One night we went out to eat and I gave buttering my bread another shot. Yeah, guess what, I like butter like everybody else. Not that special.

 

There are dudes who refuse to enjoy a 5-star romcom or ladies who won't get into a really intense game. Or vice versa! Sometimes I find myself wrapping my opinions into my sense of self...becomes irrational.

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I hate The Lost World, John Williams really phoned it in. Such generic percussion, only a composer who has something to hide uses that. I don't actually know what separates generic from non-generic percussion, but I hear a lot of drums and so I instantly know it's bad. 

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3 minutes ago, Arpy said:

Which tracks feature the love theme?

 

"Lando's Closet" is the major one that comes to mind. It's the closest thing you'll get to a concert arrangement of the theme. Also features pretty prominently in "The Good Guy".

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9 minutes ago, DarthDementous said:

EDIT: the moments where Powell goes pure romantic Hollywood are fucking sublime and take me immediately back to the era of the Original Trilogy.

This.

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10 minutes ago, DarthDementous said:

EDIT: the moments where Powell goes pure romantic Hollywood are fucking sublime and take me immediately back to the era of the Original Trilogy.

 

Yep. I assume you're referring to "Lando's Closet"? That's the one that stuck out to me, anyways. Any other spots that come to mind?

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1 hour ago, Breadstick Basilisk said:

Just noticed this great, tragic rendition of the love theme, at 2:44.

 

 

Bloody brilliant.

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Is this related to any theme or just a one-off? I don't really recognize it from anywhere else in the score but I love it haha.

 

 

Maybe actually a little deconstruction on Han's Hero theme? Similar range and rhythmic values. 

 

Han.jpg

 

Powell.jpg

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1 minute ago, mrbellamy said:

Is this related to any theme or just a one-off? I don't really recognize it from anywhere else in the score but I love it haha.

 

 

Maybe actually a little deconstruction on Han's Hero theme? Similar range and rhythmic values. 

 

Han.jpg

 

Powell.jpg

Thats the gang theme by Powell

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1 minute ago, kaseykockroach said:

I hear Chewie's theme in Flying with Chewie, Break Out and Reminiscing Therapy. Anywhere else?

 

 

My favorite's in Mine Mission

 

 

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Yeah thats right! Powell is a really good storyteller, one Powell to unite them all!

 

Gang Theme Variations

 

Yup the gang theme first heard in Flying With Chewie track. I mean by the plot, thats the first time we met the Tobias's gang

 

And it get to its various variations in the track "Train Heist", starting at 1:46 to 2:15 ( this is the Hancock feel im talking about)

 

and then transitioned into its heroic statement at 2:53 - 3-06

 

then to its cheerful mode at4:23 - 4:37

 

.

.

this theme is scattered through track Marauders Arrive, Into The maw in its action/suspense mode

.

 

But it gets into its slow/sad variation in this track at 1:50 to 2:30 ( this is where its gets similar to stoick theme in HTTYD)

 

 

it gets into its "confused"/suspense mode in this track at 00:21- 00:30 ( i love how Powell uses this to that effect because thats whats currently going in the plot)

 

 

 

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Is it weird that the percussion in this and Ferdinand reminds me more of Horner than RCP? 

I don't know, maybe I'm insane. I hear that kind of percussion, I think Horner's Zorro action music (but Powell has a lot more 'oomph' and gusto).

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I don't remember the exact spot it's heard (just got home from work and I'm pooped), but I remember in that cue there was some kind of brass noise that sounded like, well, an incoming train! 

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(Sorry, fixed)

It's especially unique in terms of what's usually heard in the Star Wars music world. The closest I can think of is the end of Phantom Menace. Even then, in this case, the cue isn't carried by the voices, the voices are just adding to the strong rhythm Powell's got going on.

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For those interested, you can pick up the Hi-Res version of the soundtrack on PSM for pretty cheap!

 

https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/20544

1 minute ago, kaseykockroach said:

(Sorry, fixed)

It's especially unique in terms of what's usually heard in the Star Wars music world. The closest I can think of is the end of Phantom Menace. Even then, in this case, the cue isn't carried by the voices, the voices are just adding to the strong rhythm Powell's got going on.

The only disappointment for me for this soundtrack is the lack of concert suites. I would love one for the love theme, the marauders, etc..

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