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The Rise of Skywalker OST Album Discussion


Jay

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Burligame's article says that Williams used a 102-piece orchestra and a 100+ voice choir. So, that would make TROS bigger than the other two ST movies, and his "biggest" score (in terms of ensemble size) since ROTS, right?

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7 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

What's worse, for me, is reading the inevitable Zimmer comments in the vein of "Zimmer and Williams are living legends," "When JW's gone, there'll be Zimmer," etc. Fucking hell, it's like spam. It's so grubby and feculent to read comments invoking the Naked Emperor whenever something JW is posted on YouTube. I haven't checked out Disney's videos for this score, but I fully expect that it'll be the same situation there.

 

Ye gods how dare those grubby and feculent normies like both composers. 

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3 minutes ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

Regarding the Finale, it certainly wasn't the best it could've been, but my initial disappointment is not as great as most's. I mean, after an album that good it didn't really matter to me what happened next. When looked at as the end to the saga it's decent, but it unfortunately doesn't do justice in culminating the sequel trilogy, which would've been preferred. 

It seems like Finale might become one of the most polarizing things JW has written. Myself, I love the separate elements unabashedly, but this is a case where the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. That said, closing the track with the last two minutes of the finale from SW'77 was a masterstroke and well more than makes up for it. JW nailed it right there, in my book.

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2 minutes ago, Dixon Hill said:

 

Ye gods how dare those grubby and feculent normies like both composers. 

If people want to like both composers, that's fine, it's a free country. But the Zimmer comments often seem knee-jerk, like they're an instinctual reaction from HZ fanboys who can't allow a positive comment about JW go unanswered, so they have to shoehorn Zimmer in even though adds nothing to the conversation. (Notice that no one does the same thing with, say, Elfman, Desplat, or Giacchino. Just Zimmer.)

 

I should just try to take some pity on them. Like they say, if you have to brag, it says a lot more about your insecurity than it does about your achievement. 

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Just now, Dixon Hill said:

That's just dripping with pretension mate but hey, it's JWFan.  Always a slice of that to go around. 

I'm not typically pretentious, actually, but OMG there's something about Zimmer and his fanboy army that just makes me want to wring all their necks.

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Reunion... I adore this track. The opening 10 seconds bring James Horner to mind; can anyone explain that to me?? It's bouncy like Rocketeer, but there's also a Glory vibe too.

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I love all the themes in that track, even Yoda. I just kinda wish Rey’s theme didn’t cut off so quickly because it feels like it’s building into what could be the best and most mature statement of her theme, and then it drips away and Luke and Leia comes in

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5 minutes ago, Jay said:

The first 10 seconds of Reunion blew me away when I first listened.  I was like... what IS this, this doesn't sound like the rest of the score at all!

I know, right?? It’s marvelous stuff. 

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I listened to the Finale again, and actually it sounded much better second time around. Better than the credits from the TLJ for sure I’d say. Shorten the performance of the Imperial March and I think it’s fine.

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I'm about to commit a direct violation of conventional fan wisdom. If anyone wishes to object, do so now.

 

Based purely on the OST and FYC, and judging what I probably felt from earlier Star Wars OSTs...

 

I think this is the best Star Wars score in almost 37 years. 

 

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4 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

I'm about to commit a direct violation of conventional fan wisdom. If anyone wishes to object, do so now.

 

Based purely on the OST and FYC, and judging what I probably felt from earlier Star Wars OSTs...

 

I think this is the best Star Wars score in almost 37 years. 

 

 

Whoa! Big stuff. I am going to see how I feel the scores works in the film, but I am enjoying all the music so far. 

 

But 37 years - that's an odd choice since Empire is 39 years old, and Jedi is 36 (and almost 37). So, is your feeling this is better than Jedi, or just the prequels and first two sequels? 

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1 minute ago, lairdo said:

 

Whoa! Big stuff. I am going to see how I feel the scores works in the film, but I am enjoying all the music so far. 

 

But 37 years - that's an odd choice since Empire is 39 years old, and Jedi is 36 (and almost 37). So, is your feeling this is better than Jedi, or just the prequels and first two sequels? 

 

The latter, but in regards to the prequels that's a big "just"!

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There are so many moments where I'll listen and say "Man, when's the last time Williams has done something like that!?" Like the high strings crackling over the Emperor's Theme in the first track, or all that cocky-ass martial music in tracks such as They Will Come, or the dangerous woodwind hits over the tense ostinato close to the end of Speeder Chase.

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It is a great score indeed in its subtleties.  I'll have to take a listen to TFA, ROTS, TPM and ROTJ again before I can make a final determination on where it stands.

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And we already have our first review of the OST! Or kind of...

 

https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1115359-five-thins-we-love-about-the-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-soundtrack

 

Quote

While not an amazing score — at least as heard on the album — The Rise of Skywalker easily marks Williams’ best work on this new trilogy. The lack of fresh themes is disappointing, but the score overall remains a rousing bit of film music that perfectly encapsulates that galaxy far, far away. And really, assuming this truly marks the end of the John Williams-Star Wars saga, what a fitting way to cap off an astounding legacy.

 

I don't know if this guy is an expert or just a "normie" that occasionally listens to film music, but here it is.

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It's not a new pop album, but the last part of an ennealogy (i think that's 9 parts). What are people expecting, a new narrative?

 

Be that as it may, i listened to it twice today and concede, even as someone who isn't the greatest fan of this special kind of bombast idiom, that it's a very well-written, reflective piece of music with great attention to instrumental groupings, even with all the sturm & drang going on (Speeder Chase is certainly this new series' action highlight). It's the first of this new trilogy i would be interested in a longer release (with TFA and TLJ i found already the regular albums a hard slog).

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8 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

And we already have our first review of the OST! Or kind of...

 

https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1115359-five-thins-we-love-about-the-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-soundtrack

 

 

I don't know if this guy is an expert or just a "normie" that occasionally listens to film music, but here it is.

I find the "lack of new theme" critique disturbing (yes, intentional).  It has the same number of new themes as RotJ and RotS.  It is the third is a trilogy and ninth in a 9-logy, 4-5 new themes is not only unsurprising, it is fully appropriate.  

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10 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

Anyone else notice Palpatine's Seduction in the first track?

 

Yes

 

On 12/17/2019 at 12:42 PM, Romão said:

In the opening track there's a string motif from Revenge of the Sith, no?

 

On 12/17/2019 at 1:17 PM, Chewy said:

01 Fanfare and Prologue at 2:41 !!

 

The Palpatine's Seduction little evil motif that we can hear in Revenge of the Sith is back!!

 

This is an amazing connection!

 

On 12/17/2019 at 3:07 PM, dylanskie said:

Oh, and that section of "Palpatine's Seduction" in "Fanfare in Prologue" at 2:42... it was a pleasant surprise.

 

On 12/17/2019 at 3:43 PM, Bilbo said:

love the Palpatine’s Seduction motif inclusion too 😬

 

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5 hours ago, Larry O said:

Whether that's what he meant or not, it was taken to mean Duel of the Fates as well. It's not just a matter of "trailer music on my soundtrack where is it" but people honestly hoping that when Don said something about major themes all getting their opportunity to appear in this score, that it meant Duel of the Fates too. 

There's a lot of unreleased and unused music. It could be that he had Duel of the Fates recorded for a section and then they decided not to use it in favor of something new.

3 hours ago, Bayesian said:

I'm not typically pretentious, actually, but OMG there's something about Zimmer and his fanboy army that just makes me want to wring all their necks.

Please do!

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It just clicked with me what the first 10 seconds of Reunion remind me of - reminds me of John Barry's Dances With Wolves!

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OK. In Farewell, is that a bad edit at around 1.22? It's really odd, the theme doesn't end and it sounds like it is missing something in there. What though?!

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1 hour ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

Anyone else notice Palpatine's Seduction in the first track?

There isn't a cue called that, where is it in ROTS? And what time code in the first track? Thanks

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23 minutes ago, ocelot said:

There isn't a cue called that, where is it in ROTS?

 

There is a cue called that actually, it's 4M3.  It's here:

 

 

 

Quote

And what time code in the first track? Thanks

 

On 12/17/2019 at 1:17 PM, Chewy said:

01 Fanfare and Prologue at 2:41 !!

 

On 12/17/2019 at 3:07 PM, dylanskie said:

Oh, and that section of "Palpatine's Seduction" in "Fanfare in Prologue" at 2:42... 

 

 

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So far I am liking The Rise of Skywalker concert arrangement the least out of the big 3 ST themes. Rey's Theme is an incredible piece with so many interwoven components and has a satisfying conclusion, even if it doesn't quite reach epic heights. I love The Rebellion is Reborn as a pairing of two completely unrelated, musically contracting themes that builds and builds to a grand finish. The Rise of Skywalker sounds a little too simple and a smudge uneven for me. I'm not a fan of how it starts right away with the main melody and no real intro and there are a few transitions that don't sound as smooth as they could be. Within the context of the score, however, TROS theme is far better utilized than either Luke's Exile or Roses' Theme in TLJ. Rey's Theme tops them all in this regard, of course.

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