City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra: Star Wars Saga (2LP, soundtrack) [DIGGERS FACTORY]

Why you'll love it

This deluxe 2LP set gathers 16 cues from the first six films, from "Cantina Band" to "Battle of the Heroes," in concert-hall performances of Williams' scores.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Deluxe edition

About the album

John Williams built the Star Wars scores on the leitmotif, giving characters, places and ideas their own themes, and over the years he wrote somewhere around sixty or seventy of them. The original recordings featured the London Symphony Orchestra; here the City of Prague Philharmonic takes them on in a collection produced by James Fitzpatrick for Silva Screen.

Side A opens with the main title from A New Hope and runs through "Princess Leia's Theme" and "The Throne Room," while side B is mostly Empire territory, with "The Imperial March," "Han Solo and the Princess," "The Asteroid Field" and "Yoda's Theme" before Return of the Jedi's "Forest Battle." The prequels get the second disc: "Anakin's Theme," "The Flag Parade" and "The Adventures of Jar Jar," then "Duel of the Fates," "Across the Stars" and a closing "Battle of the Heroes." It's a fine way to hear how the themes grow and change from one trilogy to the next.

Rick Clark mastered the set and wrote the sleeve notes. Nobody at the shop has yet managed to play "The Imperial March" without walking about a bit more ominously.

Also at Kops: more City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra on vinyl · browse Soundtracks

Tracklist

Listen

On Silva Screen.