My first vinyl album was the original Star Wars (1977) soundtrack. On April 11 I had the unbridled pleasure of listening to the Revenge of the Sith CD prior to its May 2 release. What follows is the raw and unrefined first impression of a fan bereft of any objectivity.
01 - Star Wars and The Revenge Of The Sith 7:31
The signature theme (taken from an existing recording) ambitiously segues early into the battle above Coruscant, and the daring rescue of Senator Palpatine from the clutches of Count Dooku. This is the most compelling transition since The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
02 - Anakin's Dream 4:46
Anakin’s fate is unknown. In shades of Schindler's List (1993), Across The Stars is performed underneath a viola and harp solo. Portentous strings interrupt this harmonious (and enigmatic) moment and the suite takes a darker direction as an embattled Force Theme struggles to emerge from beneath dissonant orchestrations.
03 - Battle Of The Heroes 3:42
An emotional and sweeping choral/waltz punctuated by an incomplete rendition of the Force Theme. The opening evokes Danny Elfman’s score for Batman (1989), which was in itself gloriously derivative. A quodlibet to The Phantom Menace's (1999) Duel Of The Fates.
04 - Anakin's Betrayal 4:04
The balance of the force is in flux.
05 - General Grievous 4:07
Obi-Wan buys a single day pass to Jurassic Park!
06 - Palpatine's Teachings 5:25
In a style reminiscent of Trevor Jones’ composition for The Dark Crystal (1982), Williams explores the seduction/deception of Anakin by the Master of the dark side.
07 - Grievous and the Droids 3:28
Drawn from TPM's Trade Federation leitmotivs.
08 - Padme's Ruminations 3:17
The Return of the Jedi’s (1983) darkest moments are revisited within the framework of Minority Report's (2002) ethereal female vocals.
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
John, my first vinyl album was Devo's Freedom of Choice." -- which melted in the car before I got it home.
This now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a place affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.
Even though it is a little delayed, also please let your contact know, if you had one, that this article, is published at one more place. That helps to show they get two?, three? for the "price" of one.
Thank you.
Temple Stark
2 - John Hood
Hi Temple,
Thanks for the response :)
Best wishes,
John