Star Wars Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology turns 30!

[Davis 2,895]

30 years ago John Williams was already 61 years old...

To think that he is still around and in great shape, and could possibly compose another Star Wars score or theme(s) is mind-blowing. 

[1977 1,746]

A bonus I found lurking inside the box:

 

 

Also from Premiere mag, this time 1998.

[Davis 2,895]

7 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

A bonus I found lurking inside the box:

 

 

Also from Premiere mag, this time 1998.

78 minutes of music!  And we were so grateful for it back then!

We have no idea how spoiled we have become with LLL's 153 minute long 2-CD 40th Anniversary Set released in 2017 and reissued in 2022.

JW soundtrack releasing has come a long way in the last 30 years. 

[1977 1,746]

Yup, it sure has! And I've been happily along for the ride all the way

 

I forget, was the Raiders DCC release the next major Williams expansion after the Anthology? And then E.T. thereafter?

 

10 hours ago, JTWfan77 said:

I need to check those too then! Bloody digipaks. 

 

I managed to excavate my copies and checked ANH and ESB, and they fortunately appear fine. Whew! Guess I should move them into spare jewel cases as a precaution.

[mstrox 6,915]

I didn’t have any CDs until the Special Editions came out (my first CD was Shadows of the Empire, in fact! Jurassic Park was the only Williams I had on cassette), so I don’t have much of a relationship with this box.  I ended up picking it up used maybe five years after I had the SEs, mainly for Lapti Nek and Yub Nub. The book is very nice, though - worth the price I paid for it at the time alone.

[Davis 2,895]

1 hour ago, JTWfan77 said:

I managed to excavate my copies and checked ANH and ESB, and they fortunately appear fine. Whew! Guess I should move them into spare jewel cases as a precaution.

What about the TPM UE?

[1977 1,746]

1 hour ago, JTW said:

What about the TPM UE?

Oh yes, I checked that one too and all is well.

[scoreman36 89]

12 hours ago, JTW said:

Would you care to show a photo of it? I’m sure others would be happy to see it. Thanks!

Don’t ask me why I had him sign inside the booklet rather than on the box itself - the folly of youth! 
Really loving everyone’s recollection of this set - what wonderful memories!

[Andy 5,152]

Love @Jay’s post from Lukas on the Usenet groups. Those were the days of Ford vs Lukas and the anticipation of Prequels yet to come. 
 

That must be where I heard of it. I honestly don’t remember.  All I recall is going to my college town record shop, Buzzo’s.  And this was a genuine record store before the vinyl resurgence.  I bought Buzzo’s one and only copy.  It was a lot of bucks for a non-earning college senior, but it was a need and not a want. 
 

It should also be pointed out that this was still the in-between lean years for Star Wars.  For this product to land when Star Trek the Next Generation was getting all my attention made it all the more welcome.  The landscape for any Star Wars product was barren, so this was an absolute gift. 

[scoreman36 89]

Having such fun reliving this anthology set. How good does Jedi sound especially? 

[Tallguy 4,417]

1 hour ago, scoreman36 said:

Having such fun reliving this anthology set. How good does Jedi sound especially? 

 

I'll let someone else answer. I've never had a problem with the sound on the RCA discs let alone the Anthology. Me? I consider that an advantage.

 

Jedi: I don't know what my "ideal" Jedi experience is. The track division is FAR superior on the Anthology than on the SE discs. (For all three films.) The anthology is a solid expression of the score to be sure. The biggest thing I appreciated from the SEs was the additional Jabba music. I can probably say the same for the evolution of the Emperor's theme. I've never thought about this this way but it isn't as episodic a score as Star Wars and Empire. It's not THIS scene and then THIS scene and then THIS scene. Even with 30 years of the Anthology (and 40 years of the film) I can't pick apart a track the same way I can with the other two films. The differentiation of the presentation of the themes is not as sharp as with SW and ESB. In the first two films the themes change. In Jedi they evolve, never going backwards. There's a reason that the presentation of the Emperor and Jaba that made it to the album are their ultimate configurations.

 

Boy, someday I'll stop thinking so much about Star Wars music. That day is apparently not today.

 

2 hours ago, Andy said:

Love @Jay’s post from Lukas on the Usenet groups. Those were the days of Ford vs Lukas and the anticipation of Prequels yet to come. 
 

 

Right?

 

2 hours ago, Andy said:

It should also be pointed out that this was still the in-between lean years for Star Wars.  For this product to land when Star Trek the Next Generation was getting all my attention made it all the more welcome.  The landscape for any Star Wars product was barren, so this was an absolute gift. 

 

Interesting. This was when (for me) Star Wars was kind of showing little signs of life. The week that I got this was about the same time I played X-Wing for the first time. (I'm starting to realize that December of 1993 was an even busier month than I remembered. I finished college, I moved to another state, I got my laser disc player.)

 

There had also been the Timothy Zahn books at this point, the radio plays (Star Wars and Empire) had just come out on CD, and the West End role playing game (kind of the start of the resurgence, really) was going strong. The only thing missing was new movies. (We didn't know how good we had it!)

 

And while Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine were going gangbusters, Kirk and Company had flown off into the sunset at this point. So while I was still enjoying Star Trek (mostly) it wasn't the event in my life that it once had been.

[1977 1,746]

7 hours ago, Tallguy said:

I've never had a problem with the sound on the RCA discs let alone the Anthology.

 

I never had a problem until I read about the SQ issues online. Now I can't unhear it, which is quite frustrating as the Anthology Jedi sounds amazing but misses out on the Jabba material. We needed that 5th disc, dammit!

[Martinland 361]

Very nice thread, this! <3

 

In addition to the Anthology and Close Encounters ads and various German ones I also have this in my Williams binder that I have been maintaining for more than 30 years now and that some of you saw when you added one of the last pages with all your autographs on the Milano programme (<3):

 

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

I'll add my voice in saying this has been a nice trip down memory lane, to a starting point for some of us as serious soundtrack collectors.

[Tallguy 4,417]

54 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

I'll add my voice in saying this has been a nice trip down memory lane, to a starting point for some of us as serious soundtrack collectors.

 

You've taken your first step into a larger world.

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

45 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

 

You've taken your first step into a larger world.

Certainly a more expensive one. 

[Ollie 1,136]

I first saw an advertisement for this in the USA TODAY entertainment section, which was one of my favorite newspapers to read. Unfortunately it was very vague and I just figured it would be the 3 original soundtracks packaged together.

 

However I did mark the date down and went to a mall the day it was released, I believe it was Camelot Music. And they had it upfront with the newest releases. My heart stopped when I read the packaging. Needless to say I grabbed a copy.

 

 

I still have mine, and I had John Williams sign the booklet for me.

 

 

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

Nice autograph, and love the way the "W" is "holding" the lightsaber flare!

 

(Nice Godzilla figures too!)

[Stark 556]

I recently got this set second-hand, while I probably won’t listen often due to preferring complete presentations, I do appreciate its much better sound quality for ROTJ. The alternate takes of ANH are interesting as well.

[rough cut 1,742]

My mom got me the John Williams Conducts John Williams Star Wars The Skywalker Symphony CD during a trip to London back in ’93. I was 13 years old. That was my first soundtrack CD, and my first introduction to proper film scores.

 

Back home in Stockholm, Sweden, my interest in film music took off, and I remember the excitement when I found the Star Wars Anthology Box in the biggest music shop in the city centre at the time. It must’ve been in 1994 or 1995, so I must’ve been 14 or 15.

 

The box set was locked inside one of those glass counters where they kept all the box sets (a rare thing in those days - these days box sets are a dime a dussin).

 

I remember looking at the cover wondering what music was hidden in side that box. All I knew was that there was a ton of music missing from my single Star Wars CD.

I used to visit that shop a lot, and just look at it, my hands pressed against the glass.

 

I remember thinking with anxiety that I would get to the shop one day and that it wouldn’t be there - that it’s been sold to someone else. I was so happy when I saved up enough money to buy it and bring it home.

 

I played those CDs to death. I transferred them to tape and played them in my Walkman all through high school.
 

In many ways, I guess that buying that box was when my true love for soundtracks, and the intricate world that it is, revealed itself.

[ThePenitentMan1 1,017]

14 hours ago, Stark said:

I recently got this set second-hand, while I probably won’t listen often due to preferring complete presentations, I do appreciate its much better sound quality for ROTJ. The alternate takes of ANH are interesting as well.

 

The ANH alternate takes are also on the 2-Disc '97 SE album.

 

The recording sessions of the Main Title are a hidden in the "Binary Sunset (Alternate)" track.

[Jay 39,428]

I think he's referring to the fact that Ford Thaxton didn't always choose the correct film takes when building Disc 1 (and the ANH traks of disc 4) of the 1993 set, so you hear a bunch of alternate performances throughout, that have never been heard again anywhere else

 

(TESB and ROTJ stick to the film takes)

[Andy 5,152]

On 21/12/2023 at 8:54 PM, Tallguy said:

 

This was when (for me) Star Wars was kind of showing little signs of life. The week that I got this was about the same time I played X-Wing for the first time. (I'm starting to realize that December of 1993 was an even busier month than I remembered. I finished college, I moved to another state, I got my laser disc player.)

 

There had also been the Timothy Zahn books at this point, the radio plays (Star Wars and Empire) had just come out on CD, and the West End role playing game (kind of the start of the resurgence, really) was going strong. The only thing missing was new movies. (We didn't know how good we had it!)

 

And while Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine were going gangbusters, Kirk and Company had flown off into the sunset at this point. So while I was still enjoying Star Trek (mostly) it wasn't the event in my life that it once had been.

This was pre-Special Edition… Shadows of the Empire hadn’t landed yet.  The Zahn books were a hit (but objectively they suuuuckked.  Did Luke really fight his own clone named Luuke? Did Leia have twins named Jason and Jayna? Did Zahn have a boner for Spider-Man’s redheaded Mary Jane and change her name to Mara Jade? Good grief.) But I digress.  
 

Dark Empire was bi-monthly, not with Marvel or DC but with the very young Dark Horse publishing.  It was not a large print run at first. 
 

But most importantly, there were no toys on the shelves at this time.  And that is a very accurate barometer of the health of the franchise in 1993. 
 

The flickering flame of fandom was kept alive by the very devout.  Star Wars was still alive, but for the general public in perfect hibernation. 
 

Star Trek was thriving when this box set came out.  The evidence is right in the foreword of the Box Set, written by… Nicholas Meyer. 
 

 

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

But most importantly, there were no toys on the shelves at this time.  And that is a very accurate barometer of the health of the franchise in 1993.

Anyone else remember the line of figures from Suncoast stores that came out in 1993? That was the first sign of life. Then came the first Micro Machines in '94, followed by the Kenner figures in '95. And it never stopped after that!

[Andy 5,152]

Yes those vinyl figures made by Applause. I think I have one still.  I remember the rubber bendable figures beat Kenner to the toy shelves too.   There were also a new series of Topps trading cards by 93.  Star Wars was definitely trying to re-emerge. 
 

But I still say it was Star Trek in the Captain’s Chair, waiting to be dethroned. 

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

52 minutes ago, Andy said:

Yes those vinyl figures made by Applause.

The ones I'm talking about are by a company called "In Character" and were Suncoast exclusives, but very similar to the ones made by Applause later on. I picked up the Darth Vader on a school trip to Washington, D.C., but unfortunately got rid of it during "The Great Collectibles Purge" of 2014.

 

 

[QuartalHarmony 675]

46 minutes ago, Mr. Hooper said:

unfortunately got rid of it during "The Great Collectibles Purge" of 2014.

Dark days.

 

What was her name?

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

11 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

What was her name?

 

My story is unconventional in that it was all my decision. I got into a minimalist lifestyle and only kept the things that I was really attached to, that they'll have to pry from my cold dead hands...

[LongTallJodie 59]

Anthology was one of my most prized possessions in middle school and it's still my favorite soundtrack release of all time.  Is that colored by nostalgia?  I mean, yeah, for sure, but I also really do love the sequencing and the sound.  And I must've read the liner notes a million times.

[Doo_liss 6,421]

On 26/12/2023 at 10:25 AM, Andy said:

Did Zahn have a boner for Spider-Man’s redheaded Mary Jane and change her name to Mara Jade? Good grief.)
 

 

 

More like Black Widow wouldn't ya say?

 

 

On 26/12/2023 at 5:36 PM, Mr. Hooper said:

 

I got into a minimalist lifestyle and only kept the things that I was really attached to

Sure her name didn't end with Kondo?

 

 

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

1 hour ago, Presto said:

Sure her name didn't end with Kondo?

 

I fold my clothes the KonMari way too!

[Tallguy 4,417]

This week I went looking for my old DVDs (Sneakers, specifically.) I think I got rid of them in the move with the thought "If I really want them, I'll re-buy them on Blu-Ray".

 

That's a minimizing choice I'm regretting.

 

But I haven't gotten rid of a single CD. And the Star Wars Anthology is still in it's original box!

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

4 hours ago, Tallguy said:

But I haven't gotten rid of a single CD. And the Star Wars Anthology is still in it's original box!

Although my collection's on my iPod, I made a point of keeping my CDs, and the soundtracks in particular. There are several good reasons to hold onto your physical media, but for me there's also the fact that my soundtrack collection represents a lot of hunting and good memories of having found them.

 

Thanks to this thread, I dug up the Anthology box and opened it for the first time in literally decades. It's in great shape. I saw some alarming videos on YouTube about CD rot (especially those in digipaks) and was glad to see that my collection is still pristine and unaffected by time.

[GlastoEls 565]

1 hour ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Although my collection's on my iPod, I made a point of keeping my CDs, and the soundtracks in particular. There are several good reasons to hold onto your physical media, but for me there's also the fact that my soundtrack collection represents a lot of hunting and good memories of having found them.

 

Thanks to this thread, I dug up the Anthology box and opened it for the first time in literally decades. It's in great shape. I saw some alarming videos on YouTube about CD rot (especially those in digipaks) and was glad to see that my collection is still pristine and unaffected by time.

Did exactly the same!

[Andy 5,152]

Me too.  The photos and art selected were amazing. 

[QuartalHarmony 675]

Did many people discard the outer box and just keep the jewel cases? I certainly didn’t.

 

Those photos of the ANH recording session(s) still give me pangs. What would I give for high-res scans of the lot? A body part?

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

20 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Did many people discard the outer box and just keep the jewel cases? I certainly didn’t.

I can't imagine anyone throwing away that beautiful box.

 

 

[The Lost Folio 186]

3 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

What would I give for high-res scans of the lot? A body part?

 

https://musicbrainz.org/release/0ba1f076-e890-47c9-a479-612e7af7b8ac/cover-art

[Andy 5,152]

I have been collecting rare photos from Star Wars forever. I have never seen this image of Luke Skywalker anywhere but in the box set.  So cool!!!

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

26 minutes ago, Andy said:

I have been collecting rare photos from Star Wars forever.

I've been doing the same for 'Jaws' in particular, and a good source has been Japanese press materials, souvenir programs, and magazine articles. They sometimes feature unusual behind-the-scenes photos.

 

 

Oh the anticipation at reading this...
 

 

[Tallguy 4,417]

10 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Oh the anticipation at reading this...

 

Anticipation? I know (for example) when I got the Star Trek TOS box that I purposefully and meticulously went through disc by disc.

 

That day? Disc 3, track 14 as soon as it was out of the wrapper! THEN I went through disc by disc. Maybe... (I may have hit parts of disc 4 a bit first?)

[Mr. Hooper 3,405]

24 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

Anticipation?

I remember now that after buying it I went back to my school and looked through the booklet in the library, where I read that track description. But the anticipation didn't last long, as I listened to it upon getting home!

[Stark 556]

Unfortunately, the copy I picked up only had the cases, not the box. The cost of being cheap!

[QuartalHarmony 675]

16 hours ago, The Lost Folio said:

 

https://musicbrainz.org/release/0ba1f076-e890-47c9-a479-612e7af7b8ac/cover-art

Hi res scans of the B&W recording session photos, not the anthology booklet! But thanks…

[phbart 634]

From time to time I revisit this wonderful article from Chris Malone about not only the recording process, but how "chaotic" it was to produce this boxset. Very interesting reading...

 

https://www.malonedigital.com/starwars.pdf

 

Makes me sad to think that RotJ could sound terrific in the 1997 2CD set as it did in the Anthology set.

[pete 970]

I still remember my shock and amazement and then running to the nearest ATM when I saw this at a record shop in a mall in Canberra. It was one of those "Am I dreaming?" moments. I was a uni student at the time with not a lot of disposable cash except for beer money, but I couldn't not instantly buy it. Thankfully I had enough.

 

I certainly remember earlier noticing with great sadness and dark-side-of-the-force hatred and anger how much music wasn't included on those single CD releases for Empire and Jedi. I wasn't aware of the 2LP Empire release, and I think by the early 90s, it was probably almost as rare as a dinasaur. I literally couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up that boxset and saw the track list. And it would have been the first time I ever saw an expanded version of a soundtrack release. I think ET was one of the earliest as far as expansions go - around 1996 if memory serves. So this release came totally out of the blue. 

[Gurkensalat 350]

Yes, with it me it was similar; I was giddy with joy when I discovered this box. It was expensive for a student like me, but for this I treated myself. It was during some free weeks between my diploma and the beginning of my doctorate, so I had plenty of time to listen to it. I also discovered some of the flaws like the suddenly reversed channels in the Boba Fett sequence in Empire, but did not mind much. 

[IheartMelissaBenoist 53]

Oh what a giddy couple of days! November 22, 1993 I turned 21 and legally able to drink in my state. So that night, my buddies took me out drinking. The second place we went to, and this around midnight, we find a Doctor Who pinball machine! And it just so happened that November 23, 1993 was the 30th anniversary of Doctor Who (my favoritest TV show ever)! 

 

What does this have to do with the Star Wars Anthology, you ask? We'll, I happened to be working at a music store (CDs, cassettes, etc, not instruments), and that Monday, the 22nd, as usual we received that week's releases. So I may have purchased it on the 22nd, the day before its actual official release. 

 

So it's very possible I might have owned a copy before any of youse guys! 😁

 

And since I was off that 23rd, I was able to enjoy the set all day long. Ah, good times. 

 

(And no, I was not hungover, surprisingly enough, though I expected to be. Must be my Wisconsin blood.) 

 

ETA: Part of the fun of that box set release was playing it over the store's speakers, and every now and then catching the eye of a fellow fan as they heard it and looked over at the counter, perhaps thinking, holy crap, they're playing Star Wars in here! Especially if it was in the disc changer on random with Crowded House or Young MC or Annie Lennox or whatever. 😉

[QuartalHarmony 675]

2 hours ago, schultz.kevin1972 said:

Especially if it was in the disc changer

 

Ah, now that takes me back:

 

[Jurassic Shark 13,158]

Can't wait for Disney to re-release this verbatim, without the bonus disc!