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The fact is, if I had to choose between Fox's fanfare as track one (which lasts for 20 seconds and is ONLY the fanfare) and Vader's theme on the CD, I would opt for Vader. While this album of the soundtrack of the Star Wars trilogy made when people could still act includes many of my favorites, including March of the Ewoks, Forest Battle, Asteroid Field, and of course the infamous Main Theme, I was dejected to find that some very important chunks have been left out: Darth Vader's theme is nowhere to be found, except hidden as a few bars within the Imperial March. This is hardly satisfying to a fan like myself, whether or not that fan roots whenever the black cape appears. It also must be noted that Luke's theme is also missing, though Yoda's and Leia's are present.This CD has been my tie to the epic saga when I am away from the shiny box, and I'm glad I've got it. I think it would be a challenge to find a CD that's close to this one and/or even surpasses it.
I recommend this to anybody who is interested in a slightly different take on the music from the films, and also those who might prefer having most of the famous, important themes all on one disc. "Fight With TIE Fighters" is the same way.
I first picked this CD up way back before the official soundtracks were released on CD in 1997, because it had most of the things I wanted at the time. Since, I have come to appreciate the film score in its entirety, but I still listen to this occasionally.
This CD is a conglomeration of the majority of the most famous themes from the original Star Wars trilogy. In particular, the motif at the very beginning of the first film, when the rebel ship is overtaken by the Star Destroyer, sounds much less muddy and much more menacing on this recording than the film soundtrack.
The audio quality is excellent for such an old recording (it was originally released on vinyl in '83), and in many cases is better than the film versions. Here, the presentation of John Williams' work is more like a concert suite than a movie soundtrack, more deliberate and, in some cases, more grand and sweeping.
A soundtrack for a film trilogy cannot really be condensed onto a single disc and include all of the important themes, but what is here is excellent. It's well worth picking up even for people who already own the official soundtracks.
This is a million times better than the CD by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra. This CD (originally released on Vinyl in 83) covers most of the major themes from the Original star wars trilogy. This recording was done with the blessing of Mr. Side A was star wars and the empire strikes back and Side B was Return of the Jedi. Varujan Kojian and the Utah Symphony Orchestra perform some of the best versions of concert arragements from the original trilogy. Williams and Lucasfilm. I can't think of any single disc star wars compilation better than this one.
If you like the music from Star Wars, then you have come to the right place. You get all of the best music from the first three Star Wars movies, episodes IV, V, and VI including the exciting The Asteroid Field, the classic Main Title, and the famous Imperial March. Ooh, goosebumps. Buy this ASAP.
I got this CD for Christmas a few years back and, being a die-hard Star Wars fan, I really would have liked the bigger version. But John Williams is THE composer of the 20th century and here is no exception. There are classics such as "Imperial March" and the "Star Wars theme" buy it.
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