Royal Scottish National Orchestra - Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire [Enhanced CD]
![Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire [Enhanced CD]](/images/Star-Wars-Shadows-Of-The-Empire-Enhanced-CD-B0000014YD-L.jpg)
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Free Music Notes for Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire [Enhanced CD]
Free Music Review: Return to the Star Wars Universe, with a twist
Hit: 4 Stars
Ever wished you could enter and explore the world of the Star Wars characters all over again? With the Shadows of the Empire soundtrack, you can get just a tad bit closer before the prequels are released...Joel McNeely offers up a mixed bag of musical treatments on events and characters taken from the novel, and the results are interesting...McNeely's musical style clearly differs from John Williams, though it's obvious that parts of Williams work served as inspiration. Play the CD after listening to the Special Edition Soundtracks and there is an obvious change in composition and style...but it still works. While this is definitely orchestral music and suites, <obviously NOT from a movie>, in some sections I would have to say McNeely does rival some of Williams original music...particularly the powerful "Night Skys", based on Williams work.
A must have to the Star Wars aficianados collection...
Free Music Review: Not too shabby!
Hit: 4 Stars
Considering all the hype and moola that went into the non-Star Wars Star Wars, Shadows of the Empire made for a couple of neat toys, a so-so book, and awesome art by the Hildebrandts. Joel McNeely's score on the other hand is intense, bold, and very fresh! I could have used just a dash more of the Star Wars theme itself, but on the whole the soundtrack was very original and still Star Warsy. The "Beggar's Canyon Chase" was a worthy action piece and "Imperial City" was a grand tour of a domain we only see briefly in "Phantom" and "Jedi". My favorite piece was track 8, "Night Skies". It is a thoughtful theme, nicely weaving the core of "Shadows" themes in with "Vader's theme" and "The Force theme". All in all...good stuff!Free Music Review: Texturally rich
Hit: 4 Stars
An interesting piece in the impressionistic vein. While it's called the "soundtrack" to the book, it's not a scene-by-scene interpretation; some tracks are, to be sure ("Beggar's Canyon Chase"; "The Battle of Gall"), many of the other tracks are orchestral suites based on the characters of the (rather mediocre) book. "Xizor's Theme" is quite good, and "The Seduction of Princess Leia" (written as a waltz) has a very 'slavic' feel to it. And finally, the purely impressionistic "Imperial City", with massive dynamics from almost silent to booms and crashes worthy of any Romantic Composer. Williams' themes make brief cameos here and there, some more obvious than others. All in all, a very pleasant album.Free Music Review: Creative, as "Original" as John Williams, but Different
Hit: 4 Stars
This soundtrack, drawn from the themes that typify John Williams' music for the Star Wars cycle, goes far beyond. It open the door to Williams' use choral motifs so effectively in Star Wars Episode One's Duel of the Fates.
McNeely follows Williams' habit of drawing upon the compositions of Shostokovich and other Russian composers of the late 19th and early- to mid-20th century. In particular, the distinctive waltz theme in The Seduction of Leia is drawn directly from Aram Khachaturian's Masquerade: Waltz & Mazurka. This is a well-established tradition, enjoyed by most of the film composers of the last 50 years.
A welcome addition to the Star Wars canon!
Free Music Review: Good Music, but definitely not exactly from Star Wars
Hit: 4 Stars
When I first listened this CD at January of 1997 I said "This is the first time I hear music that claims to be of Star Wars which has chorus", the music is very good it's composed for a novel, how original!, however the chorus has nonsense lyrics, some sort of alien language developed by Ben Burtt, (well at least the Duel of the Fates lyrics are in sanscrit) that's why I give this CD 4 stars. I liked the end of the CD with it's triumphal fanfare, the music is very dark but sometimes doesn't respects the original Star Wars's style, I feel that this one uses to much the chorus, almost abuses of it, and still doesn't reach the beauty of Duel of the Fates.