The single disc Phantom Menace soundtrack is a mess

[milo bloom]

Is the 2 disc ultimate edition any better?

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

I recently decided to grab the soundtracks to all 6 SW movies, and give them a listen in the car and this first one wasn't a great start.

tks

 

[JarodRussell]

Well, the Ultimate is the complete soundtrack, in film order. So if you liked what you heard in the movie, you'll probably like that.

 

[Bishop76]

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

They must have been trying to make you feel like you were watching the movie that was all over the place and didn't make sense when they put this disc together.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

You don't purchase very many soundtracks -- let alone John Williams soundtracks -- do you?

 

[Mooch]

I like the Ultimate Edition except they could have combined some of the tracks. The prequel soundtracks in general are pretty heavily edited and rearranged into "suites". Then again, the original ones were like that too, when they were originally released. I think it's a John Williams thing.

 

[Admiral_Young]

As was pointed out already the Ultimate Edition soundtrack is the complete score and ten times better than the single disc release. There are rumors that we are getting complete releases for Episode II and III as well. If you search around the net you can find fan made rips of these in various places. Some of them very good and with minimal sound effects.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

It's definitely a John Williams thing. The thing with the PT and the soundtracks is this: What you hear in the films is a very heavily edited version of what Williams recorded and intended the score to be. Lucas (and more critically Ben Burtt) butchered Williams' recordings for the final cinema releases. What you hear on the discs (TPM: UE notwithstanding) is, more or less, what Williams decided is the best representation of his work.

The TPM: UE gives you more music from the original recordings, but it also presents it in the clumsily edited format we heard in the film. The deluxe 2 CD sets from the OT, however, are exceptional in both the quantity and quality of the music.

 

[Gaith]

I generally love suites, and while I like the straight music just fine, am often missed if there are no suites at all... is that an unpopular position amongst soundtrackistas?

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I generally love suites, and while I like the straight music just fine, am often missed if there are no suites at all... is that an unpopular position amongst soundtrackistas?

Keeping in mind that single-CD soundtrack releases must, necessarily, leave off a significant number of cues then my personal opinion is that if Williams believes that suites are the best representation of his work, then that's just fine by me.

 

[Stevil2001]

I generally love suites, and while I like the straight music just fine, am often missed if there are no suites at all... is that an unpopular position amongst soundtrackistas?

I have no problem with them. I enjoy the TPM soundtrack; it's probably the best of the prequel ones.

 

[Gaith]

Cool. I've got the Mummy Returns soundtrack, which has many wonderful themes, but since all but one are non-suite cuts, you'll have one or two minutes of loud music followed by one or two of extremely quiet (but still interesting) music, with abrupt shifts between the two which can blast one's eardrums if one isn't careful. Hence my love of suites.

 

[Capt_Pickirk]

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

They must have been trying to make you feel like you were watching the movie that was all over the place and didn't make sense when they put this disc together.

Best comment ever

 

[RandyS]

Is the 2 disc ultimate edition any better?

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

I recently decided to grab the soundtracks to all 6 SW movies, and give them a listen in the car and this first one wasn't a great start.

tks

I don't know if you're old enough to remember, but the original soundtracks of the OT films were the same way, as are the CD's to ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH.

The Ultimate Edition IS much better yes. And personally, I wish they'd give CLONES and SITH the 2 disk treatment as well, the music being my favorite part of the films.

 

[Brikar99]

The Ultimate Edition is good if you're interested in hearing essentially an isolated score track from the movie, full of jarring edits that were usually glossed over by dialogue and sound effects. The single-disc soundtrack is a much smoother listening experience, and designed as such.

 

[milo bloom]

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

You don't purchase very many soundtracks -- let alone John Williams soundtracks -- do you?

No, I don't buy a lot of soundtracks but the majority of my soundtrack collection is Star Wars. I have the old two disc set for the ANH, the four disc longbox set with the big book, the 2 disc book versions from the SE's and then the Charles Gerhardt recording of The Empire Strikes Back. Also the soundtrack for Shadows of the Empire. For the prequels I've just got the single disc releases.

The Ultimate Edition is good if you're interested in hearing essentially an isolated score track from the movie, full of jarring edits that were usually glossed over by dialogue and sound effects. The single-disc soundtrack is a much smoother listening experience, and designed as such.

Hmm, thing is I've watched the movies so many times (even The Phantom Menace) that I'm used to the music being in certain places. If the "isolated score" effect is a little closer to the movie sequence, than I'd probably prefer that. Wish there could be some better option, like the full pieces in the order that they would have been in, not withstanding the edits and such you mentioned.


I'll keep an eye out for the TPM two discer, and I'll watch for the others down the road. At some point I could just rip them all to iTunes and fix the order there.

tks



Edit: And this is my thousandth post, what a way to make Fleet Captain

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I mean the tracks were all over the place, and sometimes "suites" were created that didn't make sense.

You don't purchase very many soundtracks -- let alone John Williams soundtracks -- do you?

No, I don't buy a lot of soundtracks but the majority of my soundtrack collection is Star Wars. I have the old two disc set for the ANH, the four disc longbox set with the big book, the 2 disc book versions from the SE's and then the Charles Gerhardt recording of The Empire Strikes Back. Also the soundtrack for Shadows of the Empire. For the prequels I've just got the single disc releases.

It sounds like you've been a bit spoiled by the special releases of the Star Wars OT soundtracks (not a bad thing, really). Generally speaking, films rarely -- if ever -- get the kind of comprehensive treatment the OT scores received (the LOTR: Complete Recordings, for example, are an exception, rather than a rule). Instead, what you usually get is a sampling of what is heard in the film. And, oftentimes, OSTs will feature cues that end up being removed from the film due to last-minute edits and such. Sequencing can also be an issue for similar reasons. The result is that OSTs don't usually match the cinematic experience. Add to that Williams' proclivity toward recording "suites" as showcases for prominent themes, and the experiences become that much more different.

The thing is, though, the OST for TPM is actually a very good release for a single-CD offering. It features a diverse array of cues and themes and has the potential to be a very satisfying listening experience. The 2-disc TPM Ultimate Edition provides a lot more (though not all) of the music recorded for the film. And it, essentially, follows the film's chronology. But it also is heavily edited, leading to some noticeably awkward transitions -- which has the potential to make it an uneven listening experience.

 

[Set Harth]

Nobody's going to mention that the track listing on the back cover of the CD spoiled Qui-Gon's death?

 

[Bishop76]

I don't think anyone was spoiled by it. They introduced a completely expendable character no one had ever heard of before into the movie and no one I know thought he was going to make it through the film.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Qui-Jon was Obi-Wan's master. We know that he's not around in the OT. Therefore one could logically surmise that he wasn't going to make it. Besides which I'd read the plot of the movie about three months before the film came out so I already knew. I could see how it could be a big deal for others though.

 

[Thestral]

It's entirely plausible somebody going into it with little knowledge could've been spoiled and disappointed. I mean, Obi-Wan's master could've died at any point in the first three movies, there's no reason it had to be the first.

Anyway, I'm a fan of the Phantom Menace soundtrack. It's a fond bit of teenage-ery for me.