Before we begin, let me be clear on one subject. What follows
\nwill be an open and frank discussion of the soundtrack. If you wish
\nto not be spoiled for the movie, turn back right now. I know that
\nsome people are trying to save themselves for the movie and that’s
\ncool – some of my friends and family are in that group. But I can’t
\nspeak honestly about the soundtrack without possibly stepping on
\nsome toes. So, you’ve been warned.<\/p>\n
With that out of the way, let me say: Gorgeous. That’s about the
\nonly adjective this soundtrack really needs. Because that’s what it
\nis – absolutely gorgeous. The sound and texture of this music is
\namazing. In fact, let me say another thing: believe the hype. Drop
\nwhatever cynicistic views or jaded outlooks you may have against
\nthis movie. If I could, I would be with those crazy s.o.b.s that
\nare sitting outside a movie theater right now in line for the first
\ntickets. This movie will not be the craze of a few Net-freaks
\n(though that particular demographic is first and foremost). This
\nmovie will appeal to all – young, old, child and adult. The movie
\nwill give you a unique feeling. And the music plays a tremendous
\npart of that feeling.<\/p>\n
(Note: don’t think I’ve seen the movie, cause I haven’t. But the
\nmusic sold me to it. As if it really needed to, though!).<\/p>\n
The soundtrack begins with the world-famous “Star Wars Theme.”
\nThis is recognizable and immediately drops you into that particular
\nuniverse. In fact, several themes and cues will seem familiar
\nthroughout the soundtrack – because they are. Following that comes
\n“The Arrival At Naboo” – which signals the Jedi Knights’ approach
\ninto that planet. Again, the music drops you right into the
\nemotions of the moment. There’s a determination, but with a level
\nof unneasiness.<\/p>\n
After that comes the single, “Duel Of The Fates.” This seems to
\nbe the main theme of the movie and is repeated in a couple of other
\nplaces. There’s a driving quality to it, as the music seems to be
\nheading somewhere. The music goes through a number of changes. And
\nthe title “Duel” seems to fit quite well since the music and the
\nchoir – which is singing Sanskrit – seemed to be fighting for
\nsupremacy in the song. Quite cool.<\/p>\n
However, here comes the soul of this soundtrack – “Anakin’s
\nTheme.” As opposed to the action-driven pieces, this part is quite
\nsoft. But from the middle on to the end, you begin to hear a small
\npiece that doesn’t seem quite right. This is, of course, “The
\nImperial March” or “Darth Vader’s Theme.” This is a perfect way of
\nhinting what will come in the future. Full of hope and wish, this
\nwill remind you of the “Binary Sunset” piece in the original
\nStar Wars<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Following that comes the two-part piece, “Jar Jar’s Introduction
\nand The Swim To Otoh Gunga.” While “Jar Jar’s Introduction” could
\nhave reminded people of another race of aliens – cough*Ewoks*cough
\n– the piece actually is more reminiscent of the introduction of the
\nJawas. Though playful and quirky, there is none of the childish
\nquality that may have alienated some fans. Meanwhile, “The Swim To
\nOtoh Gunga,” is very haunting with a sense of exoticism. You feel
\nlike this is the introduction to a rare, strange, place that you
\nshouldn’t be a part of. “The Trip To The Naboo Temple” and “The
\nAudience With Boss Nass” give you more of this sense of
\noff-worldness. The visuals should be striking.<\/p>\n
“The Sith Spacecraft” signals the arrival of the main villain in
\nthe movie – Darth Maul. With tribal drums and a slow increase, this
\npiece seems to be reaching from the depths of nowhere to pull the
\nmeanness out. “The Droid Battle” is an action-filled piece that
\nquickly pulls you into the fighting. A second piece later in the
\nsoundtrack – “The Droid Invasion” – is just as exciting. It sounds
\nterrific and you can sense that there will be action everywhere
\nwith this piece. Tied to that cue, there’s the awesome “The
\nAppearance of Darth Maul.” A few fleeting flute notes – that sound,
\nlike someone has already stated, like a lone wolf howling in the
\nnight – give way to the Emperor’s theme from
\nReturn Of The Jedi<\/i>. You have a sense of true evil emanating
\nfrom this music. I can already tell you, Darth Maul’s costume will
\nbe the top costume this Halloween.<\/p>\n
There are also some tracks that feature pure exciting abandon.
\n“The Flag Parade” will, without a doubt, remind you of Ben-Hur’s
\nchariot race. Meanwhile, “Panaka and the Queen’s Protectors”
\nfeatures the main “Star Wars” theme and features more action-packed
\nmusic. “Passing Through the Planet Core” combines both the weird
\ncues from the Gungans as well as action packed movement that tells
\nyou some mean stuff is going down. “Qui-Gonn’s Noble End” is both
\naction packed as well as a moment of pure…hmmm…horror and
\ndetermination. Care to guess why? Finally, “Anakin Defeats
\nSebulba,” begins slowly but turns to great action – as it should,
\nfor it’s the climax of the Pod Race.<\/p>\n
Then there’s those more quiet cues. “Kids At Play” feature some
\nquiet and haunting music – you will even notice the “Binary Sunset”
\ncue from the original “Star Wars.” You feel a goodbye is being said
\nhere. In fact – if you’ve seen them – this is the music that plays
\nbehind Shmi Skywalker’s commercial. “The High Council Meeting”
\nmeanwhile brings you “Yoda’s Theme” and the quiet version of the
\n“Imperial Theme” as a sense of both resolution and dread fill the
\nmusic. Following that, “Qui-Gonn’s Funeral” has that haunting piece
\nfrom “Return of the Jedi” where the Darth Vader suit is burned by
\nLuke Skywalker.<\/p>\n
The soundtrack concludes with the fun-filled “Augie’s Great
\nMunicipal Band.” South American drums and rhythms contrast with
\nchildren choirs. The piece sounds like a true celebration. From
\nthere, the “End Credits” feature the original Star Wars credit cues
\nbefore turning to a repeat of “Duel Of The Fates” and concluding,
\neerily enough, with “Anakin’s Theme.” Again, you have a sense that
\nthere’s a hinting towards the coming darkness.<\/p>\n
So, why not give this an A+ – besides the fact we’re not allowed
\nto give that rating on “The Daily Vault”? Three reasons. First, I
\nhappen to think that for all the hoopla Lucasfilms went to hide the
\nsecrets of this film that the tracklist contains way too much
\ninformation. Why? It’s not necessary. For example, “Qui-Gonn’s
\nNoble End” could have been titled “Jedi Vs. Sith” and it would have
\nhidden all the coming surprises. It’s hard to believe that Lucas
\nand Co. just decided to let all this slide by.<\/p>\n
Second problem, all the cues are out of place. Anakin is not
\nintroduced before Jar Jar, yet “Jar Jar’s Introduction” comes after
\n“Anakin’s Theme.” While I know that “Anakin’s Theme” is one of the
\nmajor cues, it’s wrong to flip them like this.<\/p>\n
Finally, where is the rest of the music???? There have been
\nmany, many, quotes that say that the total amount of music recorded
\nfor this movie go from 90 minutes to almost 2 hours. Yet, here’s
\nonly 75 minutes of music. Where’s the rest? I know it’s going to
\ncome to a re-release like the ones that came out for the
\nSpecial Editions<\/i>. I think that’s wrong. They should have
\nhelped the fans and given them the music and all the music.<\/p>\n
Overall, this is a classic now and will be so ten years from
\nnow. The fantasy is beginning once again. Get ready. Here comes
\nStar Wars: The Phantom Menace<\/i>. (Hey! By the way, if there’s
\never a need for a real Anakin Skywalker, my door’s always
\nopen.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":27565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5729],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-38940","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-soundtrack","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38940"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38940"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}