crocodile 8,012 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 We all know the complete scores is what we want and need. However, some of the soundtrack albums created for SW are really good. How would you rank them? Use whatever criteria you like. It can be just pure musical enjoyment or how they represent music from the film. Make it as subjective as possible. I'm interested in seeing what are JWFan's thoughts on all nine Williams-produced albums. My list: 1. SW 2. TFA 3. AOTC 4. TESB 5. TLJ 6. TROS 7. TPM 8. ROTS 9. ROTJ The first three are really great albums that I enjoy with no reservations. They flow nicely and present the scores well. The next three are albums that are OK but I have issues with them. TESB is 4th on this list but on some days I think it should be no. 6 (due to presentation, not music). The last three I never listen to as they are completely inadequate. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo 3,709 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 1. ROTS 2. SW 3. TPM 4. TESB 5. AOTC 6. TFA 7. TROS 8. ROTJ 9. TLJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,527 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Ooh! More ranking. I love a good rank. In fact, I think I'll have one, now: RETURN OF THE JEDI THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK THE REST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Boy 0 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 For me the ranking is as follows: 1: SW 2: TESB 3: TROS 4: TFA 5: ROTJ 6: TPM 7: ROTS 8: TLJ 9: AOTC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 ESB RotS TFA TRoS AotC ANH TPM TLJ RotJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,441 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 What OSTs are we considering for the OT? The original ones, released on the 70s/80s, the Anthology, the Special Editions or Disney's 2018 new release? Because if it's the originals, then ROTJ is on the last position by far. What a lame, depressingly short album for such a great score (the original releases of ESB and ANH were decent for their time though). wowbobwow and Tiburon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 OST Supremacists will say it's an artistic expression the way it was arranged and all, but c'mon, it hardly represents the score or larger narrative and to add insult to injury, it sounds like Jabba the Hutt shoved the microphone under his rolls of fat and they recorded it like that. Edmilson and crlbrg 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowbobwow 69 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 I'll post my 9 album ranking soon, still feeling out TROS album presentation. Over time I've grown to appreciate the album for Attack of the Clones. My number one would be likely either Star Wars or The Phantom Menace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,441 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 39 minutes ago, Arpy said: OST Supremacists will say it's an artistic expression the way it was arranged and all, but c'mon, it hardly represents the score or larger narrative and to add insult to injury, it sounds like Jabba the Hutt shoved the microphone under his rolls of fat and they recorded it like that. I wonder how, for ANH and ESB, Williams managed to produce releases with two LPs, lasting for 75 minutes of music, while for E.T., ROTJ, the first two Indys, etc., he only released very short LPs, with 40 - 45 minutes each, that aren't very good representations of the scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellosh 3,418 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 OSTs or Expanded, it doesn't factor in for me. I feel as though my mind has been made up on my Star Wars scores rankings. Unlike the Indy scores (Raiders, ToD, LC) which can change order at any given time/mood I'm feeling. 1. Empire Strikes Back 2. The Return of the Jedi 3. A New Hope 4. Revenge of the Sith 5. The Phantom Menace 6. The Rise of Skywalker 7. The Force Awakens 8. The Last Jedi 9. Attack of the Clones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,012 Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 I was listening to Empire on the plane yesterday and thought it was a horrible presentation. Putting Hyperspace in the middle of the album and ending it on The Magic Tree and Lando's Palace? It just makes no sense to me whatsoever. Add to that some of the micro-edits (Mynock cave segment?) that are just bizarre. The whole thing just felt like a collection of random pieces with no structure or flow. Why do you guys like it? Really curious. The Gerhardt album is a much better "OST". Karol Tiburon and Holko 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 5 hours ago, Arpy said: OST Supremacists will say it's an artistic expression the way it was arranged and all, but c'mon, it hardly represents the score or larger narrative and to add insult to injury, it sounds like Jabba the Hutt shoved the microphone under his rolls of fat and they recorded it like that. It still plays miles better than the TPM or ESB OSTs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Well that's the thing, the OSTs in my list are the 2004 editions and not the original program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Cheater! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pellaeon 593 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 6 hours ago, Edmilson said: What OSTs are we considering for the OT? The original ones, released on the 70s/80s, the Anthology, the Special Editions or Disney's 2018 new release? Anthology. Thor said it’s okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,012 Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 59 minutes ago, Arpy said: Well that's the thing, the OSTs in my list are the 2004 editions and not the original program. The 2004 sets are not OSTs. We are talking about the albums released at the same time as their respective films. The 1993 Anthology and 1997/2004 are not that. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 1. ROTJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 1 hour ago, crocodile said: The 2004 sets are not OSTs. We are talking about the albums released at the same time as their respective films. The 1993 Anthology and 1997/2004 are not that. Karol Oh ok. Hmm the original OSTs aren't worth listening to. I enjoy the later expanded releases for their presentation and ability to tell a story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,012 Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 49 minutes ago, Arpy said: Oh ok. Hmm the original OSTs aren't worth listening to. I enjoy the later expanded releases for their presentation and ability to tell a story. I was more thinking about Williams as an album producer. Some of them work quite well. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 5 minutes ago, crocodile said: I was more thinking about Williams as an album producer. Some of them work quite well. Karol I agree, just not the OT scores. I think AotC and RotS whilst missing a few key cues are great listening experiences curated by Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obi 404 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 1-The Empire Strikes Back 2-Revenge of the Sith 3-Star Wars 4-The Phantom Menace 5-The Force Awakens 6-The Rise of Skywalker 7-The Last Jedi 8-Return of the Jedi 9-Attack Of The Clones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,526 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 1 - AotC (and all I need from it actually, decides perfectly what to keep and what to throw in the garbage where it belongs) 2 - TFA (grrreat presentation) 3 - RotJ (for what it is, it works very well) 4 - SW (can't place it any higher for replacing Launch from the Fourth Moon with much less interesting and memorable material) 5 - RotS (many good ideas, don't like the duel blown apart all over and such) 6 - TLJ (parts really slog but that finale!) 7 - TRoS (bit all over the place, obvious third act lead-in in the first third, lacklustre finale, etc.) 8 - ESB (cut up so hard it actually significantly hurts highlight pieces when they're taken waaay out of context) 9 - TPM (a complete horrible overedited random mess) 8-9 are interchangeable. I may find TPM's crime worse because I might like the complete score more than ESB? The Illustrious Jerry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant Burnette 654 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 1. Star Wars 2. The Empire Strikes Back 3. Return of the Jedi 4. The Phantom Menace 5. The Force Awakens 6. Attack of the Clones 7. Revenge of the Sith 8. The Last Jedi 9. The Rise of Skywalker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowbobwow 69 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 @crocodile this thread made me relisten to the ROTJ album. I had forgotten Fight in the Dungeon and the Jabba concert suite are completely missing. I think the release being a single LP (unlike SW and ESB, which were double LPs) put a hamper on the opportunity to showcase the ROTJ music on the album. I would rate it low as well. crocodile 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuhrsy31 18 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 These are so hard to rank. Think about how lucky we are to have nine incredible scores that could easily have won nine Oscars, but if I have to: ANH TESB ROTJ TPM ROTS TROS AOTC TLJ TFA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pellaeon 593 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 My ranking: SW TFA ESB RotJ TPM TRoS TLJ AotC RotS Aggregate of all (complete) rankings in this thread so far: SW ESB TFA RotS TPM (tie) RotJ (tie) TRoS AotC TLJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,631 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Best overall representation of the scores: 1 Star Wars (mainly because there's not much unreleased music) 2 AotC 3 TFA (my least favorite SW score but the album has most of the important music except the cue The Resistance Arrives) 4 TESB Double Album 5 TROS Worst Representation of the Score a lot of highlights missing: 1 RotJ (inexcusable,JW's worst OST of all time with TOD) 2 RotS (I don't know where to begin...) 3 TPM 4 TLJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominicCobb 194 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 1. SW 2. TFA 3. TLJ 4. AOTC 5. ROTS 6. TESB (mess) 7. TROS 8. TPM 9. ROTJ (practically nonexistent) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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