dcoscina
Senior Member
Disclaimer: I haven't seen the film yet, only listened to the soundtrack several times.
When I initially began listening to this soundtrack, my ears were greeted with The Adventures of Han composed by franchise composer and music demigod John Williams. Nice theme, very much stylistically similar to his recent SW fare. Did it grab me immediately like Rey's Theme? No, not exactly. It is good but didn't knock me out.
Then I was onto Powell's original work. The first couple cuts were exciting pieces featuring a lot of orchestral fireworks and the franchise staple brass accents but also fused with Powell's contemporary sensibilities. I liked what I heard and it delivered what I expected. But things got busy for me and I had to amend my listening of the entire soundtrack as I had a couple tight composing deadlines myself I had to work against.
A couple days later, I resumed listening and my experience was totally different. Where I initially had been pleased with how the music sound but slightly ambivalent, tracks from The Marauders Arrive and onward elicited the same enthusiasm and elation that I'd gotten from hearing the original trilogy by Williams. There was still plenty of action writing but thematic writing becomes more omnipresent and the score has a chance to contrast these pulse-pounding moments with quieter dramatic cues like "Lando's Closet". Tracks like "Mine Mission" with its focus on 3 part counterpoint or "L3 and The Millennium Falcon" with one of the most beautiful renditions of the SW main theme display not only a quiet reverence to the franchise musical landscape but balance it with fresh originality.
I've been a fan of Powell's music ever since I heard Face Off back in 1997 and I'm elated that he landed this assignment. It's a great score and one that actually makes me want to see the film (which I had little interest prior to listening to the music).
p.s. Powell's love theme is about as great as "Han & Leia" from ESB and infinitely better than Williams' Across the Stars. It's got that sense of classicism married with the harmonic tapestry of the Golden Age era films. It soars without fallen into contrivance or being saccharine. Really lovely stuff.
When I initially began listening to this soundtrack, my ears were greeted with The Adventures of Han composed by franchise composer and music demigod John Williams. Nice theme, very much stylistically similar to his recent SW fare. Did it grab me immediately like Rey's Theme? No, not exactly. It is good but didn't knock me out.
Then I was onto Powell's original work. The first couple cuts were exciting pieces featuring a lot of orchestral fireworks and the franchise staple brass accents but also fused with Powell's contemporary sensibilities. I liked what I heard and it delivered what I expected. But things got busy for me and I had to amend my listening of the entire soundtrack as I had a couple tight composing deadlines myself I had to work against.
A couple days later, I resumed listening and my experience was totally different. Where I initially had been pleased with how the music sound but slightly ambivalent, tracks from The Marauders Arrive and onward elicited the same enthusiasm and elation that I'd gotten from hearing the original trilogy by Williams. There was still plenty of action writing but thematic writing becomes more omnipresent and the score has a chance to contrast these pulse-pounding moments with quieter dramatic cues like "Lando's Closet". Tracks like "Mine Mission" with its focus on 3 part counterpoint or "L3 and The Millennium Falcon" with one of the most beautiful renditions of the SW main theme display not only a quiet reverence to the franchise musical landscape but balance it with fresh originality.
I've been a fan of Powell's music ever since I heard Face Off back in 1997 and I'm elated that he landed this assignment. It's a great score and one that actually makes me want to see the film (which I had little interest prior to listening to the music).
p.s. Powell's love theme is about as great as "Han & Leia" from ESB and infinitely better than Williams' Across the Stars. It's got that sense of classicism married with the harmonic tapestry of the Golden Age era films. It soars without fallen into contrivance or being saccharine. Really lovely stuff.