enderdrag64's Star Wars Cue by Cue

[Holko 10,401]

On 14/09/2024 at 6:25 PM, enderdrag64 said:

 

The cue ends with a bang at 1:31 when Luke splashes back to the surface.

Not quite, and I noted this already when I synced this up just for myself years ago - not sure if intended as such or just the result of cuts post-scoring, but the final satisfying bang is not when Luke splashes up, but when Han successfully catches him.

[enderdrag64 913]

#1.30 SW (1977) - 9m1 The Walls Converge (Wook link)

Spoiler

Hello and welcome to this week's installment of Cue by Cue.

 

Today we're going to be listening to 9m1 The Walls Converge.

 

Similarly to last week's cue, this week's was rebalanced from 8m4 to 9m1, although the scans I have aren't final and only show 8m4. The cue list I have shows 9m1 however.

 

This cue is 56 bars long and was orchestrated by Herbert Spencer. 

 

Here's what the top of the conductor's score looks like:

Now let's listen to the cue together:

At 0:00 the cue begins with hints of what's to come as we get some repeating brass figures, not too different conceptually from the ones used in last week's cue. The ones in this week's cue are different because the individual figures are descending instead of ascending, and they're also faster paced.

 

After a good amount of tension-building as the walls begin to close in, the music changes at 0:40 to steady woodwinds as we get a shot of C-3PO's communicator resting on a table.

 

Once the door opens to reveal stormtroopers we get some Imperial theme at 0:47 with some brass and military drums. 

 

At 1:02 the rest of the orchestra joins in for another statement as the stormtroopers leave to chase after C-3PO's false information. The music fades back to steady woodwinds at 1:12 as the droids talk their way out of the room.

 

At 1:31, the repeating brass figures return as the heroes are struggling against the closing walls. These figures are the same as the ones earlier in the cue, but louder, and with some woodwind accompaniment.

 

The music quiets down briefly at 1:56 for a brief shot of the droids attempting to locate them, before returning in full force at 2:06. We get another cutaway to the droids at 2:16, but the music continues to build in intensity as 3PO remembers to answer his comlink. 

 

The music enters a final phase at 2:37, as it seems all is lost and the walls can't close much further. We get some loud repeated ascending brass figures with a backing drum, which continue until the walls stop moving at 3:00. Thus, the cue ends...

 

 

This cue is used almost exactly as intended in the final cut, however the opening 40 seconds are replaced with silence. My guess is that the filmmakers felt the tension worked better if it was built up continuously, rather than having a large break from 0:40-1:31. 

 

Personally I can see both sides of this, the opening 40 seconds are unnecessary but they're not necessarily harmful either. The film edit doesn't sound bad at all since it's a natural separation point in the music, so I'm happy to listen to either version. 

 

I'm curious to know what you think in the comments, was this a good change?

 

 

This cue was recorded on March 11, 1977, the fifth day of the recording sessions. It was the fifth cue recorded that day. Eight takes were recorded, numbered 98-105. According to the 1997 take log, the performance edit used takes 101 and 102.

 

This cue has been officially released on four different albums:

 

1) In 1977 on 20th Century Records' OST album

2) In 1993 on Arista Records' 4-CD Anthology box set

3) In 1997 on RCA Victor's 2-CD Special Edition set

4) In 2018 on Walt Disney Records' Remastered album (remastered OST rebuilt from scratch from the session masters)

 

More specifically, 9m1 The Walls Converge can be heard:

 

From 0:00-2:58 of track 13 "The Walls Converge" on the 1977/2018 albums

From 0:00-2:58 of disc 1 track 12 "The Walls Converge" on the 1993 album

From 0:00-end of disc 2 track 7 "The Trash Compactor" on the 1997 album.

 

All sets have the clean opening, however only the 1997 set has a clean ending. The 1977 set is of course a remix and should be avoided. The 1993 set contains completely different takes from the film. The 1997 set is completely brickwalled, and is also the wrong pitch/speed. In audacity I had to multiply it by 0.991 in order to get it to sync with the other sets. 

 

For the edit above I ended up using the 2018 set for everything but the ending, which came directly from the film audio. I found the 1997 set to be unusable due to the brickwalling, there was no way for me to splice it with the 2018 set where it wouldn't be noticable. 

 

That's all I have for today, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any comments or questions.

Next week we'll be listening to 9m2 Ben Creeps Around. See you then!

 

[Tallguy 4,568]

My favorite thread.

[kingpiranha 31]

Again, great post! 

 

Just want to add a few things regarding some changes done during the recording:

• Bars 1-12 and 31-53: The bass drum's part was changed to quarter notes to be played on just beats 2 and 4 in these bars. 
• Bar 13: This was changed in the parts to a 2/4 time signature bar. 
• Bar 30: The bass drum's part was changed from a roll to just a quarter note hit on beat 3.
• Bars 51-52: These bars was marked with a repeat sign in the parts. 
• Bars 54-55: These were likely deleted during the recording session (or perhaps edited out during the music editing).

[Doo_liss 6,639]

@enderdrag64 have you tried Terry West's ReLife plugin on the brickwalled versions?

[ThePenitentMan1 1,064]

4 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

Again, great post! 

 

Just want to add a few things regarding some changes done during the recording:

• Bars 1-12 and 31-53: The bass drum's part was changed to quarter notes to be played on just beats 2 and 4 in these bars. 
• Bar 13: This was changed in the parts to a 2/4 time signature bar. 
• Bar 30: The bass drum's part was changed from a roll to just a quarter note hit on beat 3.
• Bars 51-52: These bars was marked with a repeat sign in the parts. 
• Bars 54-55: These were likely deleted during the recording session (or perhaps edited out during the music editing).

 

[ThePenitentMan1 1,064]

8 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

• Bars 1-12 and 31-53: The bass drum's part was changed to quarter notes to be played on just beats 2 and 4 in these bars. 

 

So...  looking at the notation (with my novice sheet-music-reading eyes)...  Is the original bass drum part for these bars a crescendo roll followed by a hit on beat 3 or 4?  And it appears to do this at different pitches throughout the cue?

 

8 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

• Bar 13: This was changed in the parts to a 2/4 time signature bar. 

 

Simple enough to do with some editing.  (I'm doing these with the '93 album's alternate take, btw)

 

 

8 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

• Bar 30: The bass drum's part was changed from a roll to just a quarter note hit on beat 3.

 

Also pretty straightforward.  (Though I'm still only at the editing stage, and am not able to demonstrate that yet...)

 

8 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

• Bars 51-52: These bars was marked with a repeat sign in the parts. 
• Bars 54-55: These were likely deleted during the recording session (or perhaps edited out during the music editing).

 

After looking at the bars, my first reaction was pity for the lungs of the brass players who would've had to have played that.

 

EDIT:

V2 with the bass drum at the start of Bars 54 and 55 as in the sheet music:

 

 

Of course, I realize at this point that this edit would be as if Bar 53 was played reeeeeal slowly, and without the bass drum hit, and Bars 54 and 55 were played really quickly.  I'll get it completely right eventually...  but for today, this is good enough.

[kingpiranha 31]

1 hour ago, ThePenitentMan1 said:

So...  looking at the notation (with my novice sheet-music-reading eyes)...  Is the original bass drum part for these bars a crescendo roll followed by a hit on beat 3 or 4?  And it appears to do this at different pitches throughout the cue?

Well yes, it's a half note roll with cresc. followed by a quarter note rest and a hit on beat 4. 

Usually a bass drum has only one pitch (or indefinite pitch), so here I just think that any changes in pitch on the staff is just a mistake or lack of consistency on Spencer's part. 

[Tallguy 4,568]

I'm following along and doing my own edits with the sources @enderdrag64 calls out. I'll post later about The War / The Escape Hatch. I think there are a few edits in the film that you missed or didn't mention. It doesn't change any of your details about the cues, but it hit my OCD.

 

I totally see the difference in The Little People on the non-2018 version but for the life of me I cannot HEAR it.

 

The Princess Appears. That's... Weird. Looking at the waveforms the film appears completely different. (Although I certainly haven't developed the eye for this that some of you have.) But at around 0:14 there is the same faint little WHINE that is only on the 1977 LP. It's even called out in the liner notes of the 1993 Anthology as having been specifically corrected. So whenever you dismiss the original LP, just remember: It's the ONLY release that has this priceless detail!

 

[enderdrag64 913]

13 hours ago, The Great Gonzales said:

@enderdrag64 have you tried Terry West's ReLife plugin on the brickwalled versions?

I have, yes, on @Manakin Skywalker's recommendation. It definitely generates some impressive results.

 

I didn't try it for The Walls Converge because I wasn't sure that it would help with splicing with the 2018 set. If it is accurate enough though it might be a better solution than the film audio

[enderdrag64 913]

#1.31 SW (1977) - 9m2 Ben Creeps Around (Wook link)

Spoiler

Hello and welcome to this week's installment of Cue by Cue.

 

Today we're going to be listening to 9m2 Ben Creeps Around.

 

Similarly to last week's cue, this week's was rebalanced from 9m1 to 9m2. Unlike last week, I actually have scans of the final version that shows the number change. 

 

This cue is 53 bars long and was orchestrated by Herbert Spencer.

 

Here's what the top of the conductor's score looks like:

 

This is not the first cue we've looked at that's had it's title scratched out and replaced with an album title, e.g. 3m3R had its title ("The Sand Speeder") scratched out and replaced with "The Land of the Sand People", which was the title of the track it was edited into on the OST.

 

This is a weird one though because it's scratched out and replaced with "The Princess Appears", which is not the OST track that this cue appears in. This cue appears in the OST track "The Last Battle", while the OST track "The Princess Appears" is made of cues 3m1R and 3m2N.

 

Perhaps there was an earlier draft of the OST where this cue was included in that OST track? Either that or it's a mistake, but it seems to be a pretty egregious one.

 

With all that out of the way, let's listen to the cue together:

 

The cue begins with some soft strings as Ben approaches the tractor beam controls. As he gets closer, around 0:08, some backing harp begins. This leads into a percussion hit for the wide shot at 0:18, emphasizing the height of the platform.

 

The strings and harp continue, with another percussion hit at 0:33 when the first control is lowered.

 

At 0:40, two more harp hits for the next control being turned, followed quickly by a few hits of the military drum for the display showing the power turning off. 

 

The instrumentation changes up at 0:45 for the scene change. Instead of high pitched violin/viola, we get woodwinds, and the accompanying harp is replaced by horns and a cello. 

 

The horns repeatedly play the same note 3 times in short succession, sort of as an ominous reminder of the looming danger, while the woodwinds sort of meander around through the argument, not going anywhere in particular. 

 

At 1:24 we return to the Ben instrumentation, beginning with a single piano key hit a few times as the stormtroopers approach. The viola/violin starts up again, and we get a percussion hit at 1:29 when Ben touches the last control.

 

More piano at 1:31 for the stormtroopers, and the harp begins again shortly thereafter. At 1:48, for the final shot of Ben's escape, a marimba kicks in, doing the same repetition as the horn earlier but with 4 notes instead of 3. 

 

At 2:01 the music changes completely, and we get a heroic statement of Luke's theme as the heroes approach a window overlooking the docking bay where the Falcon is landed. Rather than concluding, the statement holds around 2:05, building to a second statement at 2:11.

 

This leads to some exciting ascending brass at 2:18, which builds through the end of the cue as Han and Chewie run off after the stormtroopers. There is a cool moment here at 2:24 where the beat syncs with the shot changes for the closeups to the trooper and Han.

 

This leaves one last string note held as Luke and Leia run off in the other direction. Thus, the cue ends.

 

 

This cue was recorded on March 8, 1977, the second day of the recording sessions. It was the fourth cue recorded that day. Three takes were recorded, numbered 51-53. According to the 1997 take log, the performance edit used just take 53.

 

This cue has been officially released on four different albums:

1) In 1977 on 20th Century Records' OST album

2) In 1993 on Arista Records' 4-CD Anthology box set

3) In 1997 on RCA Victor's 2-CD Special Edition set

4) In 2018 on Walt Disney Records' Remastered album (remastered OST rebuilt from scratch from the session masters)

 

More specifically, 9m2 Ben Creeps Around can be heard:

From 1:58-4:26 of track 15 "The Last Battle" on the 1977/2018 albums

From 1:58-4:29 of disc 1 track 15 "The Last Battle" on the 1993 album

From 0:00-2:34 of disc 2 track 8 "The Tractor Beam/Chasm Crossfire" on the 1997 album.

 

Only the 1997 has the clean opening, and no set has a clean ending. The 1977 set is of course a remix and should be avoided. All takes appear to be the same. The 1997 set is brickwalled, and both the 1997 and 2018 sets are the wrong pitch/speed.

 

For the video above I primarily used the 2018 set, but I used the 1997 set for the clean opening, and for the ending. The clean ending in my edit is faked, I just looped the available clean material from the 1997 to match the audible length of the full ending. 

 

In order to splice the 1997 and 2018 sets, I needed to sync them, since as I mentioned they're both the wrong speed. In Audacity the 2018 set needed to be slowed by -0.110, and the 1997 set needed to be slowed by -0.007. Additionally, one of the channels on the 1997 set was inverted compared to the 2018 set and film. I fixed this by inverting the right channel of the 1997 set. Lastly, I also noticed that the left and right channels on both sets were out of sync with each other. To fix this I separated the left and right channels of the 1997 set and manually synced them with the left and right channels of the 2018 set before recombining them. It was quite the mess to figure out, but hopefully the end result sounds seamless.

 

That's all I have for today, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any comments or questions.

 

Next week we'll be listening to 9m3 The Swashbucklers. See you then!

 

[tranders65 77]

On 23/09/2024 at 8:59 PM, Tallguy said:

I'm following along and doing my own edits with the sources @enderdrag64 calls out. I'll post later about The War / The Escape Hatch. I think there are a few edits in the film that you missed or didn't mention. It doesn't change any of your details about the cues, but it hit my OCD.

 

I totally see the difference in The Little People on the non-2018 version but for the life of me I cannot HEAR it.

 

The Princess Appears. That's... Weird. Looking at the waveforms the film appears completely different. (Although I certainly haven't developed the eye for this that some of you have.) But at around 0:14 there is the same faint little WHINE that is only on the 1977 LP. It's even called out in the liner notes of the 1993 Anthology as having been specifically corrected. So whenever you dismiss the original LP, just remember: It's the ONLY release that has this priceless detail!

 

 

And for the life of me, some 47 years after I started listening to the LP score release, I STILL wait to hear that little whine even when I'm listening to the cue from the 1997 release. 

[Tallguy 4,568]

29 minutes ago, tranders65 said:

 

And for the life of me, some 47 years after I started listening to the LP score release, I STILL wait to hear that little whine even when I'm listening to the cue from the 1997 release. 

 

Do you actually make the sound? I actually make the sound.

 

This led me down a bit of a rabbit hole searching this board for The Princess Appears. It turns out I have written about that whine on several occasions. To me it is apparently an important whine. So I was thrilled to know that it is in the film mix.

 

 

[ThePenitentMan1 1,064]

On 23/09/2024 at 5:59 PM, Tallguy said:

The Princess Appears. That's... Weird. Looking at the waveforms the film appears completely different. (Although I certainly haven't developed the eye for this that some of you have.) But at around 0:14 there is the same faint little WHINE that is only on the 1977 LP. It's even called out in the liner notes of the 1993 Anthology as having been specifically corrected. So whenever you dismiss the original LP, just remember: It's the ONLY release that has this priceless detail!

 

 

Could you care to post a clip of it from the Polydor release?  How long does the whine last?

 

I've assumed up until now that the 1977 OST used the same take as the Anthology and SE, but now I'm starting to wonder if the '77 OST take and the film take are actually one and the same.  I mean, the easiest and most likely way for the Anthology to "fix" that noise would be to use an incorrect take, right?

[Tallguy 4,568]

What's a good way to share this? Soundcloud cut me off the moment I uploaded it. The whine is a little less than a second. You know the noise Artoo makes when Threepio says "I don't like you either"? It sounds almost just like that.

 

Actually, in @enderdrag64's youtube upload you can hear it. It's at about 0:14 seconds. It's while the strings are being all suspenseful right after the first little bit of flutes.

 

 

I went back and looked at the 1993 liner notes. I could have sworn that it was mentioned there. I was not on The Internets yet back then so now I'm wondering where I read Lukas' comment. I didn't start reading whatever the soundtrack newsgroup was for another two years. But maybe I read it there and I'm mixing my memories.

[tranders65 77]

16 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

Do you actually make the sound? I actually make the sound.

 

This led me down a bit of a rabbit hole searching this board for The Princess Appears. It turns out I have written about that whine on several occasions. To me it is apparently an important whine. So I was thrilled to know that it is in the film mix.

 

 

 

Sometimes, lol.   

50 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

What's a good way to share this? Soundcloud cut me off the moment I uploaded it. The whine is a little less than a second. You know the noise Artoo makes when Threepio says "I don't like you either"? It sounds almost just like that.

 

Actually, in @enderdrag64's youtube upload you can hear it. It's at about 0:14 seconds. It's while the strings are being all suspenseful right after the first little bit of flutes.

 

 

I went back and looked at the 1993 liner notes. I could have sworn that it was mentioned there. I was not on The Internets yet back then so now I'm wondering where I read Lukas' comment. I didn't start reading whatever the soundtrack newsgroup was for another two years. But maybe I read it there and I'm mixing my memories.

 

I'm thinking maybe it's the Film Score Monthly that covers the Anthology where Lukas talks about the whine, but I'd have to go find it to remember 100%.

[ThePenitentMan1 1,064]

55 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

What's a good way to share this? Soundcloud cut me off the moment I uploaded it. The whine is a little less than a second. You know the noise Artoo makes when Threepio says "I don't like you either"? It sounds almost just like that.

 

Actually, in @enderdrag64's youtube upload you can hear it. It's at about 0:14 seconds. It's while the strings are being all suspenseful right after the first little bit of flutes.

 

 

Ah, I think I can hear it now, in the right channel!  (It actually sounds a little lower-pitched than R2's little whine after the end of the cue)

 

Can you confirm if the Polydor track is the same take as enderdrag's upload of the film take?

 

[Jay 39,761]

The 1977 LP exactly matched the film takes, because Wannberg cut the performance edits right into the first gen tape

[Tallguy 4,568]

So is the issue with the 1977 lp that it is mixed differently?

[Jay 39,761]

I wouldn't call it an "issue" at all but yes, the first gen multitrack master (which again had all the performance edits already cut into it) was given to John Neal and he remixed and mastered the audio for the LP

 

The 1993 Arista box set version was sourced from a secondary 1st gen element (35mm mag) of a live stereo mix every raw take, and Thaxton didn't bother matching to the takes used the in film or LP which is why so many wrong take portions are heard there.  Though he might have taken Princess Leia's Theme right off the LP master, I don't remember.

 

The 1997 set was sourced from the same element, I think? Maybe that combined with a different element that had the old binary sunset on it.  But they tried to recreate the film performance edits, though I don't recall off the top of my head if they all match exactly or not

[ThePenitentMan1 1,064]

16 minutes ago, Jay said:

I wouldn't call it an "issue" at all but yes, the first gen multitrack master (which again had all the performance edits already cut into it) was given to John Neal and he remixed and mastered the audio for the LP

 

The 1993 Arista box set version was sourced from a secondary 1st gen element (35mm mag) of a live stereo mix every raw take, and Thaxton didn't bother matching to the takes used the in film or LP which is why so many wrong take portions are heard there.  Though he might have taken Princess Leia's Theme right off the LP master, I don't remember.

 

The 1997 set was sourced from the same element, I think? Maybe that combined with a different element that had the old binary sunset on it.

 

Thanks for the info, Jay!

 

16 minutes ago, Jay said:

But they tried to recreate the film performance edits, though I don't recall off the top of my head if they all match exactly or not

 

I know for a fact that there's a thread somewhere on this forum that managed to prove that not all of them quite match exactly.  I wish I could find it, though...

[enderdrag64 913]

19 minutes ago, Jay said:

The 1997 set was sourced from the same element, I think? Maybe that combined with a different element that had the old binary sunset on it. 

Yep the original 3m2R Lost R2 came from the multitracks.

 

And while there's no official confirmation, based on the presence of wrong takes and the fact that the mix is identical I would say it's very likely that the 2018 set used the same 35mm mag element as well

[enderdrag64 913]

#1.32 SW (1977) - 9m3 The Swashbucklers (Wook link)

Spoiler

Hello and welcome to this week's installment of Cue by Cue. Apologies for no post last weekend, I was super busy.

 

Today we're going to be listening to 9m3 The Swashbucklers. This is one of my favorite cues in the entire score.

 

Similarly to last week's cue, this week's was rebalanced from 9m2 to 9m3, and the scans of the final version show the number change.

 

This cue is 96 bars long and was orchestrated by Arthur Morton.

 

Here's what the top of the conductor's score looks like:

You can see that not only was the cue number rebalanced, but the overall sheet number was also changed from 30 to 31, I believe this occurred when 8m2 New More Rescue was written, all the cue numbers after it being rebalanced (as well as it's title) seem to indicate that it was a late addition.

 

With all that out of the way, let's listen to this cue together:

 

At 0:00 the cue begins with some repeating strings as Han chases the stormtroopers down the hall. They are joined shortly by some drums and then by a hint of the Imperial theme on the brass at 0:03.

 

Then at 0:05, the brass ascends as Han turns around and starts getting chased by the stormtroopers he had believed to have cornered. 

 

At 0:11 the Imperial theme material returns, played on multiple slightly overlapping instruments. The final statement as 0:16 builds into some ascending brass again, peaking at 0:24, when Luke and Leia appear trapped in the chasm with the retracted bridge.

 

At 0:24, some ominous brass for the wide shot of the chasm, as Luke and Leia look around and see no escape. 

 

The stormtroopers catch up at 0:27, and the repeating strings return with them, subsiding with some percussion at 0:31 when Leia closes the door. 

 

More ominous music as the stormtroopers reach the closed door, and Luke shoots the controls in desperation. before the music starts to turn hopeful at 0:38. The music continues to slowly ascend until Luke thinks of an idea at 0:47.

 

Before he can execute his plan, the action music returns at 0:49 as more stormtroopers enter the chasm from a different door and start shooting. We get a wonderful rousing rendition of Luke's A theme as he fires back, continuing again at 0:57. 

 

Then we get some of Luke's B theme at 1:06, as the stormtroopers retreat and Luke begins preparing to throw his grapple. This continues as another trooper arrives and Leia starts shooting to cover Luke.

 

Then at 1:19, some ascending orchestra before the low brass kicks in with Luke's A theme again at 1:24. At 1:29, more ascending orchestra, and then a short hint of Leia's theme at 1:33 as the grappling hook connects. 

 

A big swell at 1:38 for the big swing, and then the repeating chase strings start up again at 1:43 as the heroes run off. This fades away for some woodwinds Ben Kenobi sneaking music at 1:48, similar to some of the material from last week's cue. 

 

This then leads to a slower and calmer rendition of Luke's A theme as we check in on the droids again at 1:57. 

 

At 2:08, a return to the aggressive repeating chase strings, as Han and Chewie are still being chased down a hallway. These get more aggressive at 2:10 for the closeup of the stormtroopers, followed immediately by the return of the Imperial theme. Some ascending woodwinds at 2:19 for the door closing behind them, and then some relative silence for the "Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors!" joke.

 

At 2:24, we get some timpani as Ben Kenobi walks down the hallway with his saber hilt drawn. Some ominous woodwinds to accompany Vader's drawn saber at 2:28, and then some more timpani for his approach. Thus, the cue ends....

 

 

This cue was used almost entirely as intended in the final film, except for one edit at 2:10, you'll notice in my video there's a short 1 second black screen there, that's because half a second of music was trimmed there in the final cut. I'm not certain exactly what shot this would have scored, but presumably the Han/Chewie shot was originally longer and got shortened in the final edit.

 

 

This cue was recorded on March 5, 1977, the first day of the recording sessions. It has the distinction of being not only the first cue recorded that day, but the first piece of Star Wars music ever recorded. Seven takes were recorded, numbered 1-7. According to the 1997 take log, the performance edit used takes 5 and 7.

 

 

This cue has been officially released on four different albums:

1) In 1977 on 20th Century Records' OST album

2) In 1993 on Arista Records' 4-CD Anthology box set

3) In 1997 on RCA Victor's 2-CD Special Edition set

4) In 2018 on Walt Disney Records' Remastered album (remastered OST rebuilt from scratch from the session masters)

 

More specifically, 9m3 The Swashbucklers can be heard:

From 2:05-end of track 7 "Rescue of the Princess" on the 1977/2018 albums

From 2:05-end of disc 1 track 11 "Rescue of the Princess" on the 1993 album

From 2:34-end of disc 2 track 8 "The Tractor Beam/Chasm Crossfire" on the 1997 album.

 

All sets have the clean ending, but none of them have a clean opening. The 1977 set is of course a remix, and should be avoided. The 1997 set is heavily brickwalled, and the 1993 set has wrong takes. 

 

For these reasons, in the video above I primarily used the 2018 set, although I used the film for the clean opening. Technically, the film makes the same crossfade that the 1997 set does, however 9m2 is substantially more quiet in the film than it is on the album, and I was able to remove it completely via the Audacity noise reduction tool.

 

That's all I have for today, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any comments or questions.

 

Next week we'll be listening to 10m1 Ben's Death. See you then!

 

[oierem 185]

11 minutes ago, enderdrag64 said:

#1.32 SW (1977) - 9m3 The Swashbucklers (Wook link)

  Hide contents

Hello and welcome to this week's installment of Cue by Cue. Apologies for no post last weekend, I was super busy.

 

Today we're going to be listening to 9m3 The Swashbucklers. This is one of my favorite cues in the entire score.

 

Similarly to last week's cue, this week's was rebalanced from 9m2 to 9m3, and the scans of the final version show the number change.

 

This cue is 96 bars long and was orchestrated by Arthur Morton.

 

Here's what the top of the conductor's score looks like:

You can see that not only was the cue number rebalanced, but the overall sheet number was also changed from 30 to 31, I believe this occurred when 8m2 New More Rescue was written, all the cue numbers after it being rebalanced (as well as it's title) seem to indicate that it was a late addition.

 

With all that out of the way, let's listen to this cue together:

 

At 0:00 the cue begins with some repeating strings as Han chases the stormtroopers down the hall. They are joined shortly by some drums and then by a hint of the Imperial theme on the brass at 0:03.

 

Then at 0:05, the brass ascends as Han turns around and starts getting chased by the stormtroopers he had believed to have cornered. 

 

At 0:11 the Imperial theme material returns, played on multiple slightly overlapping instruments. The final statement as 0:16 builds into some ascending brass again, peaking at 0:24, when Luke and Leia appear trapped in the chasm with the retracted bridge.

 

At 0:24, some ominous brass for the wide shot of the chasm, as Luke and Leia look around and see no escape. 

 

The stormtroopers catch up at 0:27, and the repeating strings return with them, subsiding with some percussion at 0:31 when Leia closes the door. 

 

More ominous music as the stormtroopers reach the closed door, and Luke shoots the controls in desperation. before the music starts to turn hopeful at 0:38. The music continues to slowly ascend until Luke thinks of an idea at 0:47.

 

Before he can execute his plan, the action music returns at 0:49 as more stormtroopers enter the chasm from a different door and start shooting. We get a wonderful rousing rendition of Luke's A theme as he fires back, continuing again at 0:57. 

 

Then we get some of Luke's B theme at 1:06, as the stormtroopers retreat and Luke begins preparing to throw his grapple. This continues as another trooper arrives and Leia starts shooting to cover Luke.

 

Then at 1:19, some ascending orchestra before the low brass kicks in with Luke's A theme again at 1:24. At 1:29, more ascending orchestra, and then a short hint of Leia's theme at 1:33 as the grappling hook connects. 

 

A big swell at 1:38 for the big swing, and then the repeating chase strings start up again at 1:43 as the heroes run off. This fades away for some woodwinds Ben Kenobi sneaking music at 1:48, similar to some of the material from last week's cue. 

 

This then leads to a slower and calmer rendition of Luke's A theme as we check in on the droids again at 1:57. 

 

At 2:08, a return to the aggressive repeating chase strings, as Han and Chewie are still being chased down a hallway. These get more aggressive at 2:10 for the closeup of the stormtroopers, followed immediately by the return of the Imperial theme. Some ascending woodwinds at 2:19 for the door closing behind them, and then some relative silence for the "Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors!" joke.

 

At 2:24, we get some timpani as Ben Kenobi walks down the hallway with his saber hilt drawn. Some ominous woodwinds to accompany Vader's drawn saber at 2:28, and then some more timpani for his approach. Thus, the cue ends....

 

 

This cue was used almost entirely as intended in the final film, except for one edit at 2:10, you'll notice in my video there's a short 1 second black screen there, that's because half a second of music was trimmed there in the final cut. I'm not certain exactly what shot this would have scored, but presumably the Han/Chewie shot was originally longer and got shortened in the final edit.

 

 

This cue was recorded on March 5, 1977, the first day of the recording sessions. It has the distinction of being not only the first cue recorded that day, but the first piece of Star Wars music ever recorded. Seven takes were recorded, numbered 1-7. According to the 1997 take log, the performance edit used takes 5 and 7.

 

 

This cue has been officially released on four different albums:

1) In 1977 on 20th Century Records' OST album

2) In 1993 on Arista Records' 4-CD Anthology box set

3) In 1997 on RCA Victor's 2-CD Special Edition set

4) In 2018 on Walt Disney Records' Remastered album (remastered OST rebuilt from scratch from the session masters)

 

More specifically, 9m3 The Swashbucklers can be heard:

From 2:05-end of track 7 "Rescue of the Princess" on the 1977/2018 albums

From 2:05-end of disc 1 track 11 "Rescue of the Princess" on the 1993 album

From 2:34-end of disc 2 track 8 "The Tractor Beam/Chasm Crossfire" on the 1997 album.

 

All sets have the clean ending, but none of them have a clean opening. The 1977 set is of course a remix, and should be avoided. The 1997 set is heavily brickwalled, and the 1993 set has wrong takes. 

 

For these reasons, in the video above I primarily used the 2018 set, although I used the film for the clean opening. Technically, the film makes the same crossfade that the 1997 set does, however 9m2 is substantially more quiet in the film than it is on the album, and I was able to remove it completely via the Audacity noise reduction tool.

 

That's all I have for today, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any comments or questions.

 

Next week we'll be listening to 10m1 Ben's Death. See you then!

 

 

This cue is also the first time the Star Wars Main Theme was played - ever. Williams has often mentioned that the first thing they ever recorded for SW was the Main Titles (Maurice Murphy's first day with the LSO...), but he is wrong, of course.

[Holko 10,401]

It's also one of my favourite cues!

I have to wonder how strategic it was to record this as the first take - how strategic recording order is in general? Did JW want to immediately give a taste of different big action styles, rouse everyone? Or was he unsure of how heroically he scored a desperate shootout and wanted heads an early opportunity to reject it, possibly tell him to alter other cues too before recording if he wrote them this big?

[Tallguy 4,568]

Going from memory and not thinking THAT hard, is this the only statement of the B theme in the film?

 

I adore this cue. I told my kids "This is the music. This is the build up. This scene was on the posters. There are behind the scenes clips of making the scene. It was a feature of the Death Star playset. They reprise it in Return of the Jedi.

 

And look! They swing! From there. To there.

 

Movies were different then."

[BrotherSound 2,295]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

Going from memory and not thinking THAT hard, is this the only statement of the B theme in the film?

Well, it does also show up as the B-theme for the throne room sequence. In fact, I seem to recall it may have originally been be written for the throne room first and then repurposed as the main theme B-theme later on.

[Chen G. 4,719]

10 hours ago, Holko said:

Or was he unsure of how heroically he scored a desperate shootout and wanted heads an early opportunity to reject it, possibly tell him to alter other cues too before recording if he wrote them this big?

 

I think its something to that effect: we know some of the musicians - and even Lucas listening in - thought the music was possibly overly-swashbuckling. This is one of those cues that clarifies that its more than a little tongue-in-cheek in doing so. So it will have set a certain tone to the recording sessions that will have quietened such snide.

[Tallguy 4,568]

30 minutes ago, BrotherSound said:

Well, it does also show up as the B-theme for the throne room sequence. In fact, I seem to recall it may have originally been be written for the throne room first and then repurposed as the main theme B-theme later on.

 

Good grief. You're absolutely correct, of course. Is there another?

 

24 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

 

I think its something to that effect: we know some of the musicians - and even Lucas listening in - thought the music was possibly overly-swashbuckling. This is one of those cues that clarifies that its more than a little tongue-in-cheek in doing so. So it will have set a certain tone to the recording sessions that will have quietened such snide.

 

Interesting. How do we know this? (Not doubting, just wondering.)

[Chen G. 4,719]

16 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

How do we know this?

 

There were some comments made in retrospect by some of the orchestral musicians:

 

Quote

I once interviewed Richard Studt, one of the London Symphony Orchestra’s four concert masters during those sessions, and he recalled that the orchestra had been unsure whether the music would work. “We thought it was far too swashbuckling. The style of it was harking back to Korngold’s film scores of the 30s and 40s."

 

And its a sentiment Lucas himself admitted to in 1977. Not that those interviews are free from apocrypha but in this particular case they read more genuine than the later, amended account where he says the score is the one part that exceeded his expectations:

 

Quote

I really expected to get devastated in terms of people saying, “Oh, my God, what a stupid, old-fashioned thing and how corny can you get?” I am amazed that people just said, “Gee, that’s fine”. I really expected to get trounced very badly about the whole thing. And Johnny did too, a little bit. A lot of the lines in the movie are sort of  . . . I wince every time I hear them.

 

You mean you expected to get trounced on everything? I thought we were just talking about the score.
I expected to get trounced on everything. Especially in the end when it came down to the score, which was romantic and dramatic. Not only a slightly corny dialogue here and a very simplistic, sort of corny plot. . .

 

[BrotherSound 2,295]

On 12/10/2024 at 9:54 AM, Tallguy said:

Good grief. You're absolutely correct, of course. Is there another?

No, apart from the main title and end credits, of course. ESB, ROTJ, and TROS also have one actual film use of the B-theme each, though ESB’s was dialed out.

[Doo_liss 6,639]

Where in Jedi?

 

EDIT: Oh right, Into the Trap

[BrotherSound 2,295]

3 minutes ago, The Great Gonzales said:

Where in Jedi?

At about 1:15 in ‘Into The Trap’: 

 

 

[enderdrag64 913]

11 hours ago, BrotherSound said:

No, apart from the main title and end credits, of course. ESB, ROTJ, and TROS also have one actual film use of the B-theme each, though ESB’s was dialed out.

TPM has one too I thought, in Anakin is Free

[Doo_liss 6,639]

13 minutes ago, enderdrag64 said:

TPM has one too I thought, in Anakin is Free

There is a bit that sounds very similar yes.

[Tallguy 4,568]

Interesting that the B theme is never played for just Luke. In Empire and Jedi it isn't played for Luke at all!

 

Star Wars:

• Luke and Leia
• Everyone (with kind of a focus on Artoo)

Empire (dialed out):

• Chewie

Jedi:

• The Rebel fleet

[Ludwig 1,169]

On 12/10/2024 at 12:22 PM, BrotherSound said:

Well, it does also show up as the B-theme for the throne room sequence. In fact, I seem to recall it may have originally been be written for the throne room first and then repurposed as the main theme B-theme later on.

 

Yes, here's a snippet of an interview that @Sunshine Reger posted here a few years ago, where the maestro himself says he wrote that B-theme for the Throne Room then applied it to the main title afterward (the relevant portion is from 1:07 on).

 

https://vocaroo.com/856a8uo8HcN

[kingpiranha 31]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

Interesting that the B theme is never played for just Luke.

This is why I've never really looked at this theme as a second, or B-theme, for Luke. If anything, I find it reminiscent of the Princess Theme (Leia's Theme). The repeating of notes in succession, a leap up a sixth (although a minor and not a major sixth), and the overall sweeping and stepwise shape of the melody really reminds me of Leia's theme. (It also plays right when Leia is given the blaster and become the focus of the scene).

 

Also, in the original LP liner notes JW says this about the track in which this cue is a part of: "This music is a kind of swashbuckling version of the Princess' theme. It is a little bit tongue-in-cheek in tone with a very strong 'Erroll Flynn' flavor, like the music from a late 1930s adventure film".

It is though unclear exactly what part of the LP track he's refering to, but the way he describes it does, at least to me, really fit this part of the cue. 

 

This would also explain why JW says this about the Main Title: "Musically, it begins with Luke's Theme. The Princess' theme appears briefly". 

I know it could refer to the piccolo solo after the crawl (though I have another theory for that solo phrase), but I really think he could be refering to this B-theme. 

[Chen G. 4,719]

Quote

This is why I've never really looked at this theme as a second, or B-theme, for Luke.

 

Ah. "The Wonderful Land of Theme-Names"! 

 

While its true that, certainly in the original film, the theme of the crawl has a strong association with Luke, its also true that its the main theme (at least nominally) of both that film and of the series as a whole. Therefore it, and any detachable phrase from it, can be used for Luke, for Leia, for the rebellion at large, for Poe, for the Jedi cleaning house at the beginning of Episode I...

 

But really, we're getting into the sticky business of how far do you pick melodic-harmonic complexes apart into individual leitmotifs? So you can treat the titles as one long tune in ternary form (ABA) or rigorously as two leitmotifs. If you'll indulge me in some Wagner comparisons, for the Blood Brotherhood in Gotterdamerung, Paul Heise lists four leitmotives, JK Holman lists three, Barry Millington lists two and Warren Darcy lists all four as one. In his analysis of the Star Wars scores, Frank Lehman had opted for an approach more along the lines of Darcy, which I think is apposite. When we start picking stuff apart, we get a nice, big list but we also make the score seem like ever more of a patchwork.

[kingpiranha 31]

I agree @Chen G.

But, I don't see a problem with making it seem more like a patchwork. Because that's more or less what the music to Star Wars was.

In the interview with JW by Derek Elley from 1978, he explain the process like this: "After I've spotted the film and broken down the action on cue-sheets I then begin to write, first finding my thematic material for character and locales, etc, and proceeding from there. When I've got the material organised I then do specific sequences, not before. In the case of Star Wars, for example, I first had all the tunes (the Starship tune, the Leia theme, the march, the Little People, etc) laying on the piano; I then fitted them to individual sequences".

[Doo_liss 6,639]

1 hour ago, kingpiranha said:

 

 

Also, in the original LP liner notes JW says this about the track in which this cue is a part of: "This music is a kind of swashbuckling version of the Princess' theme. It is a little bit tongue-in-cheek in tone with a very strong 'Erroll Flynn' flavor, like the music from a late 1930s adventure film".

It is though unclear exactly what part of the LP track he's refering to,

Yeah no it isn't

[enderdrag64 913]

2 hours ago, Ludwig said:

 

Yes, here's a snippet of an interview that @Sunshine Reger posted here a few years ago, where the maestro himself says he wrote that B-theme for the Throne Room then applied it to the main title afterward (the relevant portion is from 1:07 on).

 

https://vocaroo.com/856a8uo8HcN

Wow this is awesome! I'd never heard this interview before, do you have a link to the original thread about it?

[Ludwig 1,169]

5 minutes ago, enderdrag64 said:

Wow this is awesome! I'd never heard this interview before, do you have a link to the original thread about it?

 

Sure thing! See below. I'd never noticed how much the B section of Luke's theme is motivically related to the A section of the Throne Room theme, so I posted a bit of analysis in that thread to show the close relationship. Williams saying this totally blew me away too!

 

[Chen G. 4,719]

It's not unheard of to take a phrase from one melodic passage and fit it into another: The Blood Brotherhood I cited is a good sequitur in that it incorporates a snippet of the Curse ("Kein froher soll seiner sich freun / Keinem Glucklichen lachend sein lichter glanz").

[Tallguy 4,568]

17 hours ago, Doo_liss said:

Yeah no it isn't

 

Luke, Han Solo and Chewbacca are trapped in the Death Star detention area corridor after they free Princess Leia from her cell. The group fights with the Imperial stormtroopers. The Princess blasts the garbage chute grating and the group finally escapes down the chute. The music segues to Luke and Princess Leia being chased by stormtroopers. Suddenly they are trapped at the Death Star's central core. Luke throws out a rope and they swing across the deep chasm to escape. The music segues to Han and Chewbacca being chased by stormtroopers. They escape through a rapidly closing blast door.

 

This music is a kind of swashbuckling version of the Princess' theme. It is a little bit tongue-in-cheek in tone with a very strong "Erroll Flynn" flavor like the music from a late 1930‘s adventure film. (4:46)

 

It's clear which part of the track he's talking about? Is he talking about the part from 1:00 to 1:30 when Leia takes action and gets them all into the garbage chute? Or are we assuming that he's talking about the part that we now know is called "The Swashbucklers"? But that would mean that he's only talking about a small part of The Swashbucklers and we're assuming it's the B theme because we know that the A theme is "Luke's Theme".

[Doo_liss 6,639]

He is talking about "For Luck" and the swing.

[Tallguy 4,568]

4 minutes ago, Doo_liss said:

He is talking about "For Luck" and the swing.

 

Very possible. Likely even. (Since that is a quote of the Princess Theme.) It's just a weird way to describe the whole track. Or even just the scene.

 

Man, can you imagine getting the unedited interview? I'm assuming Lippencott wrote from notes or even tape.

[enderdrag64 913]

#1.33 SW (1977) - 10m1 Ben's Death (Wook link)

Spoiler

Hello and welcome to this week's installment of Cue by Cue.

 

Today we're going to be listening to 10m1 Ben's Death.

 

This is the final cue to have undergone rebalancing from this score, simply going from 9m3-10m1 to 10m1. From this point onwards there was no need for rebalancing since the cue numbers have synced up.

 

This cue is 56 bars long and was orchestrated by Herbert Spencer.

 

Here's what the top of the conductor's score looks like:

 

Now let's listen to the cue together:

 

 

At 0:00 we get the first phrase of Ben's theme on a horn, followed by an abrupt note at 0:06 for Ben's death, followed immediately by the rest of the orchestra joining in, building to a sweeping version of Leia's theme at 0:11.

 

This is one of the most interesting scoring choices in the entire film - we're at the most dramatic point, our mentor has died, and our main character is recklessly shooting without cover out of anger. Yet rather than scoring this with a sad version of Ben's theme, or an angry version of Luke's theme, instead we get a desperate version of Leia's theme. 

 

Williams had this to say about the choice back in the 1977 liner notes:

 

"For Ben's Death, I used part of the Princess theme in the beginning. I felt it had the most sweeping melody of the themes in the score. This wildly romantic music in this tragic setting represents Luke's and the Princess' reaction to leaving Ben behind."

 

At 0:36, once Luke finally decides to run, the music changes into the Rebel theme rhythm, with the Rebel theme kicking in at 0:39. A more powerful statement at 0:48, as the Falcon finally pulls out of the Death Star. It marks an interesting parallel to the Rebel theme statement used when the Falcon first arrived at the Death Star back in 6m3 Rev. Is It A Bird?. 

 

Once they're finally clear of the Death Star at 0:57, the Rebel fanfare gives way to a sad version of Ben's theme as Luke and the droids stare at the table in mourning. Leia does her best to comfort him.

 

At 1:32 the music abruptly changes as Han runs into the room, exclaiming that there are TIE fighters on their tail. We get some bouncing woodwinds with some accompanying plucked strings and percussion. 

 

The woodwinds slowly ascend, building to a climax at 2:02. This is intended to segue immediately into 10m2 Here They Come, but we'll look at that cue next week...

 

 

This cue has two minor edits in the final cut: A 7 second loop at 0:37, and a 1 second loop at 1:43.

 

The 7 second loop seems to have been introduced in order to accommodate extra footage of the falcon escaping, while it's unclear exactly which shot was added, in my edit above I removed the last shot of the Falcon leaving at 0:57, as this shot matched the length of the snipped section and seemed to me to be the least important.

 

The cause of the 1 second loop is far less obvious, the looped section is very short and the scene is made of lots of intercutting. In my edit above I removed the shot of Chewie and Leia in the cockpit at 1:56, as it seemed to be the least important for the continuity of the scene. This was purely a guess though, I'm not certain what the actual added footage was that led to the loop.

 

 

This cue was recorded on March 5, 1977, the first day of the recording sessions. It was the fourth cue recorded that day. Five takes were recorded, numbered 11-15. According to the 1997 take log, the performance edit used takes 13 and 15.

 

This cue has been officially released on four different albums:

1) In 1977 on 20th Century Records' OST album

2) In 1993 on Arista Records' 4-CD Anthology box set

3) In 1997 on RCA Victor's 2-CD Special Edition set

4) In 2018 on Walt Disney Records' Remastered album (remastered OST rebuilt from scratch from the session masters)

 

More specifically, 10m1 Ben's Death can be heard:

From 0:00-2:03 of track 5 "Ben's Death and TIE Fighter Attack" on the 1977/2018 albums

From 0:00-2:03 of disc 1 track 13 "Ben's Death/TIE Fighter Attack" on the 1993 album

From 0:00-2:03 of disc 2 track 9 "Ben's Death/TIE Fighter Attack" on the 1997 album.

 

All sets have the clean opening, but none of them have a clean ending. The 1977 set is of course a remix, and should be avoided. The 1997 set is brickwalled, and both the 1993 and 2018 sets have wrong takes.

 

More specifically, the 1993 set has wrong takes from 0:29-0:37 and 1:32 to end, and the 2018 set has wrong takes from 0:00-0:27 and 0:37-1:32. 

 

Additionally, on the 1997 set, one of the channels is inverted, and the track needs to be sped up by 0.19.

 

For the video above, I used the following sets:

0:00-0:29 : 1993 set

0:29-0:37 : 1997 set

0:37-1:32 : 1993 set

1:32-end : 1997 set

 

The 2018 set could also be used in place of the 1997, however the 1997 wasn't brickwalled in those spots so I went with it instead.

 

That's all I have for today, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any comments or questions.

 

Next week we'll be listening to 10m2 Here They Come. See you then!

 

[kingpiranha 31]

10 hours ago, enderdrag64 said:

This cue was recorded on March 11, 1977, the fifth day of the recording sessions.

I believe you may have mixed up this cue with the next one, because the recording log says this was recorded on the first day (March 5, 1977), and that the recorded takes was 11-15. 

 

Also, I know due to the leaked sheet music of this cue is incomplete we can only make out that there were 56 bars of music for this cue, but the cue in the recording continue past these 56 bars. I count 7 more bars after the 56 visible bars, therefore a total of 63 bars.

But, in the production used cue sheet (made by copyist Ernie Lockett) it says that this cue has 67 bars. Maybe this ending, before the segue, was originally a few bars longer? 

[enderdrag64 913]

2 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

I believe you may have mixed up this cue with the next one, because the recording log says this was recorded on the first day (March 5, 1977), and that the recorded takes was 11-15. 

Oh whoops good catch, fixed.

2 hours ago, kingpiranha said:

Also, I know due to the leaked sheet music of this cue is incomplete we can only make out that there were 56 bars of music for this cue, but the cue in the recording continue past these 56 bars. I count 7 more bars after the 56 visible bars, therefore a total of 63 bars.

But, in the production used cue sheet (made by copyist Ernie Lockett) it says that this cue has 67 bars. Maybe this ending, before the segue, was originally a few bars longer? 

Oh interesting. I did notice the last page of the sheets had a giant blank sheet pasted over the bottom half of the instruments, I thought it might've been to end it early or something but I wasn't really sure. The LTP has 71 bars, but of course those are with the loops