Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire [Enhanced CD]

In 1996, even as the 20th Anniversary Special Edition of the Star Wars Trilogy was being prepped for release in early 1997 and pre-production planning for Episode I was starting, Lucasfilm gathered several authors, artists, and representatives from Hasbro and other licensees to discuss a huge multimedia project that was, in short, everything but the full-fledged filmed version of a Star Wars movie. The talented science-fiction writer Steve Perry was hired to write an original novel for Bantam Spectra that would be the core of the project called Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.

The novel would be a stand-alone Expanded Universe novel, the first of the Bantam Spectra series to depict events within the Trilogy's timespan, i.e., between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. All the other products, ranging from Hasbro's Kenner Star Wars action figures to Nintendo 64 cartridges, would use Perry's novel as a starting point and expand the story somewhat, sticking...Read more

This is simply a fantastic CD. It is full of unique, memorable themes and songs, and definitely worth buying. At about an hour in length, it's also twice as long as most film soundtracks released these days. If you simply want a rehash of John Williams' music, don't look here. As Joel McNeely, the composer, says, "The significant contributions of John Williams' brilliant scores have affected nearly everyone who has experienced these films. For a composer of film music to enter into this domain is to tread on hallowed ground. Therefore, rather than tread lightly, I have wandered elsewhere." McNeely's style is unmistakeably his own, and is very good.

From the subtle, ethereal Night Skies and Leia's Nightmare, to the bold Imperial City to the fast paced Beggar's Canyon Chase and wonderful Battle of Gall to the absolutely amazing, choiral, powerful Destruction of Xizor's Palace, these are ten unforgettable, extremely memorable tracks. I often find myself humming them to...Read more

I always liked this soundtrack. But until I heard the Phantom Menace soundtrack I felt that the choral work seemed out of place in the Star Wars universe with the exception of the Emperor's theme from Jedi. Don't get me wrong, I loved the strong vocals, they just seemed not Star Warsish. Then Williams came out with the music for the Phantom Menace and chorals now had a happy and very welcome home in the SW universe! McNeely's work is actually almost like a predecessor to TPM in a way. The music seems similar. I especially like track 10 - Destruction of Xizor's Palace with it's powerful climax and SUPERB variation of Vader's theme! I have heard his theme used as a march, fanfare, intro, close, and even played sad and soft (see Darth Vader's death on the RotJ soundtrack), but until now I had never heard it as pure battle music. A treat to be sure. A new theme found it's way into Star Wars in this soundtrack: Xizor's theme. Although the actual Williams-like theme doesn't...Read more