John Williams – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – (1980)

Star Wars was huge. It changed western culture forever and the original Star Wars trilogy is widely considered to be one of the best film series made to date. George Lucas, who was the father of the film series, trusted composer John Williams to deliver, who gave the job of the film series score to the London Symphony Orchestra. The result is blissful brilliance. Everything Star Wars was awesome for years, including this recording.

How does it sound? Let’s find out.

We begin with Star Wars (Main Theme), which is an unforgettable and glorious piece conducted perfectly. It sounds like a classical call-to-arms, and is positive and moving. Once you’ve heard this one, you’ll remember it forever. It then leads to the second section, interesting film music, which is part of the opening scenes. Even without the film, it sounds dark and suspenseful. Has not aged one bit. Towards the end, it goes into a rhythmic piece that sounds frenetic. A great start here.

Next is the soothing Yoda’s Theme. This was played in the Yoda sequences of the film. It sounds beautiful and calm. Most decent classical music should be so, and this is no exception. A brilliant sonic journey and still sounds great today. Bliss.

The Training Of A Jedi Knight comes next, played obviously throughout the specific scenes of the film. It is another classic example of musical suspense, which demands close listening, just as much as the film demands attentive viewing. Memorable and full of exciting twists.

The Heroics Of Luke And Han is a dark and yet another suspenseful piece connected with the film. It builds up to an almost horror movie sounding composition, as Luke and Han in the film raced against time to destroy the Imperial enemies. Great stuff to hear. There are many wonderful and intelligently composed sections here. Darth Vader’s theme comes in and out of the composition here as well.

Up next is The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme) which, of course, is the theme of the main villain in this film. It is brilliantly and wonderfully played here by the London Symphony Orchestra, with a multitude of great and energetic sounding sections to listen to. Any villain in a movie needs an original evil theme song to boot, and John Williams does justice here. Well done.

Following is the Departure Of Boba Fett, the bounty hunter employed by the Imperial Forces. It is rather suspenseful, once again, but intelligently so. A great listen, even though the character barely appeared in the film itself. It surprises the casual listener and delivers to all listeners here. Great stuff.

Han Solo And The Princess was an extremely effective and memorable musical score and scene from the movie. No need for spoilers, but the piece is lovely and gentle sounding. It is a magical sounding composition, as is the rest of this recording. It then returns to the Imperial theme as the characters travel through space. It goes into a sad and strange section towards the end.

Hyperspace is just about that from the film and has a brilliant and very fast-paced section done here. John Williams really created a masterwork here, the music alone is wonderful. It goes to and fro from the Darth Vader composition and this one, all in all, a great listening experience. There is a sort of key change in the middle of this piece, adding to the frenzy.

Next is The Battle In The Snow which sounds dark and furious at the beginning. It’s related to the battles in the opening scenes and sounds really well played. Another awesome composition from John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra. It is a fast and interestingly structured piece of music.

Along next is The Asteroid Field, referring to the section of the film about that. It is a mixture of compositions here, mixing in the Imperial themes with other suspenseful melodies. Great stuff, and excellent to hear. It goes into a sweeping melody that fits the film perfectly. It fades out gently.

The City In The Clouds starts softly and has reoccurring melodies throughout. It is so gentle that it really does sound fitting to that part of the movie. It has a very calm and relaxed feeling about it. It goes back and forth between beautiful and dark themes, a nice twist to a film piece. This is very suspenseful to listen to, definitely worth your time. A great musical explanation of the film plot and story.

Rebels At Bay is an uptempo and fast sounding piece for the forces of good in the film. It is done excellently for the plot at hand, and a mixture of different melodies with both light and dark themes. The string and horn sections combine together for full effect. Another awesome piece, and worth hearing. The drums indicate the changes in the music and the fight between good and evil in the film is very well supported by the music here.

Next is Yoda And The Force, which refers to the section in the film where Luke and Yoda work together to improve his skills as a Jedi. Once again, no real need for spoilers of the film here, but the soundtrack is memorable and evocative of the scenes in the film. It climaxes towards the end in a majestic way. There is a long fadeout at the end of this piece.

The most memorable part of the film, and soundtrack piece, is The Duel. This is a dark and rather eerie piece where Luke goes to fight the evil force at hand. The piece here is particularly suspenseful, more than most other pieces in the film. It’s just as good as the other pieces and delivers very well here. This film score of an album is excellent and never fails to interest one upon listening to it.

The Magic Tree refers to the freaky part of the film where Yoda really tests Luke’s patience and practice as a Jedi. It’s a great sonic piece that sounds so dark for classical music, one feels odd in a scary way listening to it. Black Sabbath – scary? No way, this part of this soundtrack is. Proves you can freak one out on a psychological level without distorted guitars. Excellent stuff.

Lando’s Palace refers to the particular section towards the end of the film, but no spoilers of the film are, once again, necessary. It’s a considerably lighter sounding section but brilliantly done. It is image evoking and great to hear. Great music to a great film. Reoccuring melodies are here, but never boring.

Lastly, we have the Finale. This is music to the scene at the very end of the film. It is a mixture of musical themes prior to it. It builds up to another beautiful piece, and we hear the outro film theme music afterward. Brilliant.

If you really love Star Wars stuff, or you want to listen to an album that is a film score which is just as good, start here. Star Wars was and is – legendary. This is no different whatsoever to have in this respect. The music is fantastic here and stands the test of time easily.

9/10