The Non-JW Star Wars Music Thread

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

By popular request!

 

I have nothing to contribute at this time... 

[Brando 1,864]

That “Opera House source” from Revenge of the Sith is really something ain’t it?

[Jay 37,373]

My favorite non-JW Star Wars music

 

 

[artguy360 1,844]

Yes! My prayers for this thread have been answered. 

 

I think one of the best modern SW scores is for The 9th Jedi from Visions by Nobuko Toda. It is perfect. It has a distinct main theme, good action music that has some JW stylistic touches, and just quality music all around. I don't know that it's underrated, I think it hasn't been given the exposure it deserves.

 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_moefxNZq2xlz749liCnNgZbCHHr88IrNY

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

4 hours ago, artguy360 said:

Yes! My prayers for this thread have been answered. 

 

I think one of the best modern SW scores is for The 9th Jedi from Visions by Nobuko Toda. It is perfect. It has a distinct main theme, good action music that has some JW stylistic touches, and just quality music all around. I don't know that it's underrated, I think it hasn't been given the exposure it deserves.

 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_moefxNZq2xlz749liCnNgZbCHHr88IrNY

Yes, indeed very good.

I didn't like all the scores from Visions, but The Ninth Jedi & The Twins are both spectacular!

[DarthDementous 1,059]

I think I know how to get the ball rolling a bit. What are your favourite non-JW statements of JW themes?

 

This rendition from Solo is in my all time favourites of the Imperial March, it’s so kinetic (those string runs!) and bombastic. It was actually used in an animated fan-film I saw that covered a scene from the old X-Wing novels where a massive Super Star Destroyer bursts forth from Coruscant city, and I had to do a double-take because I thought it actually was from The Rise of Skywalker:

 

[GerateWohl 4,373]

Probably this.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Before it was probably this, before someone here made me aware that this is more or less stolen from Prokofiev:

Spoiler

 

 

 

[DarthDementous 1,059]

3 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

Probably this.

 

  Hide contents

 

 

That track is lovely but where’s the statement of a John Williams theme?

[GerateWohl 4,373]

5 minutes ago, DarthDementous said:

That track is lovely but where’s the statement of a John Williams theme?

Oh sorry. was not intended as direct reply to your post. Just non-Williams Star Wars music.

[Edmilson 7,473]

Eagerly awaiting the inevitable "too many Star Wars threads" and "I want a separate Star Wars subforum!" whines. 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

16 hours ago, artguy360 said:

Yes! My prayers for this thread have been answered. 

 

I think one of the best modern SW scores is for The 9th Jedi from Visions by Nobuko Toda. It is perfect. It has a distinct main theme, good action music that has some JW stylistic touches, and just quality music all around. I don't know that it's underrated, I think it hasn't been given the exposure it deserves.

 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_moefxNZq2xlz749liCnNgZbCHHr88IrNY

 

And don't forget about Kazuma Jinnouchi, I hear his style creeping in often! 

[DarthDementous 1,059]

3 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

And don't forget about Kazuma Jinnouchi, I hear his style creeping in often! 

From his Halo scores I could just tell he was chomping at the bit to write a Star Wars score 

[DarthDementous 1,059]

13 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Before it was probably this, before someone here made me aware that this is more or less stolen from Prokofiev:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

My god that section at 2:25 that goes fully lush and romantic is absolutely sublime. Thank goodness The Orville is giving Joel McNeely a chance to flourish his seriously underrated skills, it's a consolation for him being bafflingly ignored for any future Star Wars projects

[mstrox 6,651]

 

[artguy360 1,844]

11 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

And don't forget about Kazuma Jinnouchi, I hear his style creeping in often! 

Yes, absolutely! My mistake. Great work from both composers.

[Jay 37,373]

It took 6 posts in a specifically non-JW thread to bring up composers using JW's themes, not bad

[mstrox 6,651]

Solo is the gold standard for me (even subtracting the Williams stuff).  I’d probably put Mando below that, and then all the rest of the recent live action non-Williams output (Rogue One, Boba, Obi-Wan) on even footing slightly below that.  I enjoy them all though!

 

I think the Haab et al stuff from recent games is pretty good as Williams pastiche if you listen to isolated tracks, but if I sit down with any of it for more than 20 minutes I find it a pretty unengaging listen.

[Jay 37,373]

7 minutes ago, mstrox said:

I think the Haab et al stuff from recent games is pretty good as Williams pastiche if you listen to isolated tracks, but if I sit down with any of it for more than 20 minutes I find it a pretty unengaging listen.

 

I agree with Ms Trox

[JNHFan2000 2,968]

Bit of a long post. Thought I'd cover some of the scores in one post.

 

Game scores by Haab

Spoiler

I still think that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order's album is waaaaay too long. I think it should not be any longer than 2 hours. I've never actually finished the whole album. I have that with a lot of game scores.

 

I really like Haab's two Battlefront scores. I've made my own playlists which I really like.

Squadrons is good, but it's a bit much sometimes. I think I've listened to it twice when it came out.

 

Kevin Kiner's work on the animated series

Spoiler

I like large parts Kiner's music for the animated shows. His themes for Ahsoka, The Bad Batch & Omega I'm especially fond of. Some of the music is a bit clunky though.

 

Michael Giacchino's Rogue One

Spoiler

I'm one of the people who really likes Rogue One, but I am a Giacchino fan, so that's probably why. His Jyn & Guardians Of The Whills themes are beautiful. And the action music is always a blast. The expansion released earlier this year for me was a real treasure and I'm very very happy with it.

 

Ludwig Göransson's The Mandalorian & Boba Fett

Spoiler

I feel parts of Göransson's music for The Mandalorian is utter genius, but there are also some parts that just meander about a bit. The theme though, I feel is an instant classic. And once you hear that recorder you know for who it is.

I like that he really did his own thing on the series, but still in a way that you can hear it belongs in the SW universe.

 

I can't get enough of the theme he wrote for Boba Fett. The vocals are just terrific. I'm always singing along. The rest of the score, and Shirley handling of Göransson themes, is all very well done. A bit too much electronic/dubstep sometimes.

 

I've talked enough about Obi-Wan's music in it's respective threads.

 

For me, like some already said, Solo for me is the best non-Williams SW score.

• Big fan of Powell, so thats's one thing
• His themes for Chewie, Beckett, Enfys Nest, L3-37 & love theme are all terrific themes which all get lot's of play time and variations.
• His orchestrations are very good. You can hear all the instruments. And some of the 'solos or highlights' of instruments are also fantastic.
• The action scenes, Train Heist, Mauraders Arrive, Mine Mission, Breakout, Into The Maw & Testing Allegiance are some of the best action music I've heard. It's all just teriffic stuff.

For me Solo is a perfect score. I wouldn't change a thing about it. And the Deluxe Edition released only further enhances my love for the score

[DarthDementous 1,059]

10 hours ago, Jay said:

It took 6 posts in a specifically non-JW thread to bring up composers using JW's themes, not bad

You can blame me for that as I was originally going to set up a thread specifically about that topic because I was keen to bring to light how other composers have interpreted the iconic themes

Also apparently Joel McNeely has provided music for Young Indy? Even more reason to properly watch that show, I was rather smitten by the few episodes I did see

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

1 hour ago, DarthDementous said:

Also apparently Joel McNeely has provided music for Young Indy? Even more reason to properly watch that show, I was rather smitten by the few episodes I did see

 

I've never seen the show, and don't know much about it, but I've heard some of his music and it's damn good.

[Brando 1,864]

24 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

I've never seen the show, and don't know much about it, but I've heard some of his music and it's damn good.

If you are interested, or anyone else for that matter, there is this YT channel I found a while back who restores the episodes to how they appeared on tv (George Lucas had certain parts of some/maybe all episodes cut out for some reason). But he's uploaded the entire show I think, I've been wanting to go and watch thru it all at some point. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaeMV8OeMJZz2zl7YpHTj1Q

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

1 hour ago, Brando said:

If you are interested, or anyone else for that matter, there is this YT channel I found a while back who restores the episodes to how they appeared on tv (George Lucas had certain parts of some/maybe all episodes cut out for some reason). But he's uploaded the entire show I think, I've been wanting to go and watch thru it all at some point. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaeMV8OeMJZz2zl7YpHTj1Q

 

Yeah I found that channel a while back too! I had skimmed through an episode or two to look for some of McNeely's cues I liked. Might be worth watching through at some point, even if it ends up not being very good. 

[DarthDementous 1,059]

21 hours ago, Brando said:

If you are interested, or anyone else for that matter, there is this YT channel I found a while back who restores the episodes to how they appeared on tv (George Lucas had certain parts of some/maybe all episodes cut out for some reason). But he's uploaded the entire show I think, I've been wanting to go and watch thru it all at some point. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaeMV8OeMJZz2zl7YpHTj1Q

I just watched the first episode and wow those production values! At times it really felt like I was watching another Indiana Jones movie, this show must've been pretty expensive but then again it's probably flushed with that Lucas money. Pity he never got to make another TV series again, Star Wars Underworld would've been very interesting

I very much enjoy the template of 'young Indy bumps into all these historical figures' and telling a story across multiple years of his life is pretty neat. Doesn't seem very watered down either, people get horribly burned and shot with visible blood. Hilariously it might actually be more visceral than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[Brando 1,864]

11 minutes ago, DarthDementous said:

I just watched the first episode and wow those production values! At times it really felt like I was watching another Indiana Jones movie, this show must've been pretty expensive but then again it's probably flushed with that Lucas money. Pity he never got to make another TV series again, Star Wars Underworld would've been very interesting

I very much enjoy the template of 'young Indy bumps into all these historical figures' and telling a story across multiple years of his life is pretty neat. Doesn't seem very watered down either, people get horribly burned and shot with visible blood. Hilariously it might actually be more visceral than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I remember when this was on Netflix(a veryyyyy long time ago, my family actually had a Netflix disc for the Wii and that's how we accessed Netflix for a short time), and I remember watching some but not all episodes. I won't spoil it but there is a president young Indy meets and the president tells him to learn the language from every country he travels to IIRC. Thought that was a nice little addition. 

[Pellaeon 593]

 

[Groovygoth666 672]

I know this doesn't quite fit the topic, but the use of Williams Jaws music in Rebel's is probably my favourite non Star Wars but still Williams music 

 

 

 

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

Is anyone worried about the Ahsoka show not using the themes established on the animated series?

 

Saw's theme from Rebels didn't show up in Fallen Order, nor any of Clone Wars motifs. The Death Watch theme wasn't used by Goransson. The Grand Inquisitor theme wasn't used by Holt, nor the motif for the Fortress Inquisitorius from Fallen Order.

 

Being a continuation and having so many characters that have themes from Rebels, it would be logical to hire Kiner and co. or just, use those themes.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

Usually there is zero continuity between the works of non-Williams Star Wars composers, so I never expected any of Kevin's material to show up in anything he and his team didn't score (or vice versa).

 

However given what this project entails, I'm thinking they might get Kevin to score it, or if not maybe someone in his camp. If not then I expect very little continuity, except for maybe a reference or two at most (like Ahsoka's theme showing up very briefly in Mando S2).

[DarthDementous 1,059]

5 hours ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

Is anyone worried about the Ahsoka show not using the themes established on the animated series?

 

Saw's theme from Rebels didn't show up in Fallen Order, nor any of Clone Wars motifs. The Death Watch theme wasn't used by Goransson. The Grand Inquisitor theme wasn't used by Holt, nor the motif for the Fortress Inquisitorius from Fallen Order.

 

Being a continuation and having so many characters that have themes from Rebels, it would be logical to hire Kiner and co. or just, use those themes.

Ngl, I didn’t realize Saw even had a theme 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

I didn't either. The only ones I was aware of was Ahsoka and Death Watch. I recall listening to a piece not long ago that people were saying was an "inquisitor theme" but I don't recall there being anything motivic, just a mashup of random non-thematic cues.

[DarthDementous 1,059]

13 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

I didn't either. The only ones I was aware of was Ahsoka and Death Watch. I recall listening to a piece not long ago that people were saying was an "inquisitor theme" but I don't recall there being anything motivic, just a mashup of random non-thematic cues.

I believe this is the Grand Inquisitor theme, usually heard with accompanying dark choir:

It's used mostly like this:

 

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

On 16/07/2022 at 9:35 PM, DarthDementous said:

Ngl, I didn’t realize Saw even had a theme 

 

 

And here at 1:50.

 

The Bad Batch version is probably my favourite quote of this theme for the inclusion of the female vocalist (which in it self could be a musical reference to his sister whose funeral was scored with a female vocalist).

[Andy 4,141]

I'm not kidding when I say the Ian Fraser material is a bit of a Holy Grail for me.  Like the Radio Drama Additional Music Suite, it takes me back to the days when there was just one Star Wars movie - Star Wars.  The link below has a drop down of all the individual cues.  Here's Fraser's reworking of the counterpoint of the Main Title to close it out.  Nice.  

 

Come on, Mike Matessino.  Make it happen. 

 

The Star Wars Holiday Special music by Ian Fraser.  Give it a listen with an open mind.

 

 

We also need the Ewok movies by Peter Bernstein with their nice TMP borrow.

 

 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

The Holiday Special unironically has some interesting renditions of music from the first film that I'd love to hear clean. Idk if those tapes would even exist anymore though!

 

The Ewok films definitely need a CD/digital release since all there is now is the original vinyl album, plus there is a lot of unreleased music that's actually pretty good.

 

I think a lot of people ignore the music from them simply because the "films" themselves aren't all that great (that's an overstatement for the Holiday Special! ) But I've always judged them on their own merit.

[DarthDementous 1,059]

3 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

The Holiday Special unironically has some interesting renditions of music from the first film that I'd love to hear clean. Idk if those tapes would even exist anymore though!

 

The Ewok films definitely need a CD/digital release since all there is now is the original vinyl album, plus there is a lot of unreleased music that's actually pretty good.

 

I think a lot of people ignore the music from them simply because the "films" themselves aren't all that great (that's an overstatement for the Holiday Special! ) But I've always judged them on their own merit.

It also doesn’t help that when I hear ‘Star Wars Holiday Special Music’ all I can think about is Bea Arthur

[Brando 1,864]

1 hour ago, DarthDementous said:

It also doesn’t help that when I hear ‘Star Wars Holiday Special Music’ all I can think about is Bea Arthur

“Stir, whip, whip whip stir”

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

Nah man, that's Harvey Korman! 

[Andy 4,141]

Hey, Bea Arthur sang us the lyrics that accompany a ragtimey version of Cantina Band. 
 

“Goodnight, Friend

But not Goodbye…”

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

22 hours ago, Andy said:

Here's Fraser's reworking of the counterpoint of the Main Title to close it out. 

Hum, I stay away from anything Holiday Special related because of it's "fame". Perhaps I was wrong to do so, thanks for the share!

Did Williams like this arrangement or did he tell Fraser to never touch his themes ever again? 

[Brando 1,864]

57 minutes ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

Hum, I stay away from anything Holiday Special related because of it's "fame". Perhaps I was wrong to do so, thanks for the share!

Did Williams like this arrangement or did he tell Fraser to never touch his themes ever again? 

It's a must watch

[Andy 4,141]

9 hours ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

Did Williams like this arrangement or did he tell Fraser to never touch his themes ever again? 

 

I doubt it.  I'm pretty sure Williams and Fraser were good friends after their association with Leslie Bricuisse on Goodbye, Mr. Chips.  If I recall correctly, Mike Matessino said it was Williams who recommended Ian Fraser for the job of scoring the Holiday Special.

[Groovygoth666 672]

After re-listening to the Rebels soundtrack, can't believe I forgot to mention these two as well 

 

 

 

Theres loads of great stuff in the animated shows, but sometimes they can rely on Williams theme's a bit too much, any original theme's tend to be sparse but to me work within the Star Wars sound.

On 16/07/2022 at 8:13 PM, Gabriel Bezerra said:

Is anyone worried about the Ahsoka show not using the themes established on the animated series?

 

Saw's theme from Rebels didn't show up in Fallen Order, nor any of Clone Wars motifs. The Death Watch theme wasn't used by Goransson. The Grand Inquisitor theme wasn't used by Holt, nor the motif for the Fortress Inquisitorius from Fallen Order.

 

Being a continuation and having so many characters that have themes from Rebels, it would be logical to hire Kiner and co. or just, use those themes.

As you say there's not much musical continuity between all these shows (did Boba's theme from Empire turn up in BOBF at any point?). Would be a shame to not at least reference Ashoka, Ezra, Sabine and Thrawn's themes from Rebel's in the show, perhaps there's no one on the creative side that's even aware these past themes exist and so no one's asking the composer's for them?

[artguy360 1,844]

I forget Bea Arthur is a part of Star Wars history. 

[Gabriel Bezerra 302]

16 hours ago, Groovygoth666 said:

Theres loads of great stuff in the animated shows, but sometimes they can rely on Williams theme's a bit too much, any original theme's tend to be sparse but to me work within the Star Wars sound.

Season 1 it's probably 60% Williams, it's laughable. But around Season 2 (probably because of the Clone Wars characters, and Sean Kiner entering the mix) there was a lot more original music and themes, Seasons 3 and 4 has some absolute bangers, I have no idea why they haven't release it officially yet.

 

16 hours ago, Groovygoth666 said:

As you say there's not much musical continuity between all these shows (did Boba's theme from Empire turn up in BOBF at any point?). Would be a shame to not at least reference Ashoka, Ezra, Sabine and Thrawn's themes from Rebel's in the show, perhaps there's no one on the creative side that's even aware these past themes exist and so no one's asking the composer's for them?

I think Filoni spoke about it once or twice, Ahsoka's theme was on Mando so who knows, but also she is his baby basically, so I don't doubt it that at least her theme will show up. But the themes exclusively from Rebels... I can only hope.

 

I found this doc about the score for Rebels, so at least someone gave it enough attencion for this to happen:

 

Best case scenario continues to be hiring Kiner and co. for the show.

[Jay 37,373]

 

[Groovygoth666 672]

12 hours ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

Season 1 it's probably 60% Williams, it's laughable. But around Season 2 (probably because of the Clone Wars characters, and Sean Kiner entering the mix) there was a lot more original music and themes, Seasons 3 and 4 has some absolute bangers, I have no idea why they haven't release it officially yet.

That's a fair assessment. It's certainly an odd choice, seasons 1 & 2 were just digital releases, perhaps they didn't make as much money as the higher ups would have liked? But at least starwars.com put out a track as an episode aired, then all the composer's have uploaded some tracks to their own websites, so there's some stuff out there.

 

12 hours ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

I think Filoni spoke about it once or twice, Ahsoka's theme was on Mando so who knows, but also she is his baby basically, so I don't doubt it that at least her theme will show up. But the themes exclusively from Rebels... I can only hope.

You wouldn't happen to have an idea where he might have spoke about it? (Would like to see what he has to say). Suppose it'll depend on who ends up scoring the show.

 

13 hours ago, Gabriel Bezerra said:

I found this doc about the score for Rebels, so at least someone gave it enough attencion for this to happen:

 

Best case scenario continues to be hiring Kiner and co. for the show.

Not heard of this doc thanks for sharing 

 

Well Kiner has confirmed he's coming back to score something Star Wars related, but is most likely the Tales of the Jedi animated show, which could mean the powers that be are only interested in having him score the animated side of things.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

18 hours ago, Groovygoth666 said:

Well Kiner has confirmed he's coming back to score something Star Wars related, but is most likely the Tales of the Jedi animated show, which could mean the powers that be are only interested in having him score the animated side of things.

 

Didn't he say not long ago that he scored something Star Wars non-animation related? I may be misinterpreting what he said, or misremembering. I remember there was some hullaballoo not long ago about something though.

[Groovygoth666 672]

21 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

Didn't he say not long ago that he scored something Star Wars non-animation related? I may be misinterpreting what he said, or misremembering. I remember there was some hullaballoo not long ago about something though.

Is it this you're thinking of? 

 

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

1 hour ago, Groovygoth666 said:

Is it this you're thinking of? 

 

 

Yep I was misremembering. The "hullaballoo" I was thinking of was the full orchestra being used, not the show being live-action.