The Empire Strikes Back

Yoda's theme, when played slowly, is a mystical lulaby. But when it greets the end credits, it becomes a fast lively affair. What was once calm and serene becomes playful and energetic.

In this soundtrack there is so much to keep you entertained. You'll want to come back, time and again, and with this double cd edition, there's even more for you to listen to.

From one of the greatesr film scorer of all time comes one of his best works so far. Own it today!


The Film in music   January 12, 2000
marcforceone@hotmail.com (London)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is nothing less then the Empire Strikes Back. It is the Film; it does what no other soundtrack can do and take you minute by minute through the story. From the Fox Fanfare to the films climax in cloud city. It is as expressive and beautiful as the film itself. If you like the film or just 'classical' music then you should buy this. It will make you happy. Have fun


Unparalleled.   November 10, 2002
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

What can I say? John Williams wove his spark of genius right into the heart of the Star Wars saga with his glorious scores, and 'Empire' has to be - in my opinion - the best. Just a quite note, however: I have the SW Soundtrack Music Anthology, which is a boxset of four CDs (one on each of the Classic Trilogy scores, and another mix-and-match one), which means that I don't have *every* track in this particular collection, but I do have most; I'll just have to trust that Williams is as wonderful as I think he is!

John Williams works his magic with themes: rich, emotional themes that we can all recognise and associate with a million and one classic moments that Lucas forms for us on the screen and in our hearts. Okay, maybe that wording was a bit too much, but you get the picture, right? This entire score is awash with melodies that we already recognise from 'A New Hope' (and, depending on your time scale, 'The Phantom Menace' and 'Attack of the Clones'), and new ones are formed constantly. Even battle sequences, which I usually judge as being "all the same" and a tedious run of big booms and overdone strings, seem to have been revitalised in this score; Williams adds so much character to everything that he composes that it seems almost fantastical in its very nature! I love it to pieces, really I do...

So, what are the pros and cons of this CD, eh? One pro is definitely the length. Anybody who has bought (or even just looked at) the more recent CD for AotC knows that it is depressingly short, with only 14 tracks (super for a chart album, disgraceful for a Williams-soundtrack). This double-CD has a good range of music, all with the sort of unique personality that even other top-notch composers only manage to fix into their main themes. Each track is so definitive that you can tell exactly where it is in the film and - unlike TPM/Harry Potter and other composers' works - you will be hard struck to find another one like it.

Pros in the way of tracks include the famous 'Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)'. Yeah - we can all sing along to that one. 'The Battle of the Snow' is interesting for a battle track. I'm not quite sure why 'Yoda's Theme' and 'Han Solo and the Princess' were put next to each other (they're of a similar calm, sweet tone and can, at times, blend a little), but they're both excellent. 'The Duel' contains that heart-wrenching moment between father and son, and the 'Finale/End Credits' is even more tear-jerkingly sentimental... (the moment at the end where Luke is hugging Leia gets me every time!).

I can't, honestly, think of any cons, except maybe the annoyance of having to swap between CDs (the day they put every second of SW score onto one music DVD/hard disk will be the day I throw the entire contents of my bank account at Lucas & Co. and be done with it!). My copy even tells you precisely how long each track is - a pleasant triviality.

Basically, this is a collection of some of John Williams' best Star Wars score and, if you're going to buy one of the film CDs, I would recommend this one. There's a bit of everything, wonderfully put together. Very highly recommended.


EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST STRIKE FOR WILLIAMS!   May 30, 2002
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

den-den-den-den den-den-den den-den-den... so goes the spectacular arrival of the Imperial March, and propels this soundtrack into a league all of its own. Yoda's Theme and Han and The Princess are the usual Williams trademark, while Duel of the Lightsabers is truly beyond comparison.
Personally, so far, this has always been my favourite out of the series, and probably, unless eclipsed by the latest Attack of the Clones, will always remain that way.
The Empire may admit defeat this time around, but Williams records a resounding success!


From the best film of the tri comes the best soundtrack too.   May 19, 2001
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I'm not over exagerating either. There are some true emotional tour de forces on this 2 CD, 24 track collection. Contains some of Williams' best work EVER. Close your eyes, sit back, and let the magic take you on a journey...