According to the liner notes, when recording the original Star Wars scores, George Lucas promised John Williams that one day he'd "build a recording studio with a sound as live as if it were inside a cathedral." The result was Skywalker Sound, which tags its name onto a good number of films these days (although usually doing the sound effects) and this album was done by Williams to take advantage of Lucas' new recording stage. If it weren't for the fact that it's conducted by Williams, an album that featured the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra would sound suspiciously like a third rate ensemble on some zero budget label. However, in this instance, it's a pick up orchestra comprised of the "best talent from the Bay (San Francisco) area" and on Sony Classical. Pretty much every track is a concert arrangement or somehow altered from the original cue, but this meant to be more of a Star Wars Trilogy concert than a suite from the scores.

Naturally enough, things kick off with the Star Wars main theme, comprising the opening scrawl, the music for the Star Destroyer scene and the segue into the end credits. It becomes obvious early on that this is being recorded in quite a large space. The reverb isn't excessive, but there's certainly a lot of atmosphere to soak up some of the orchestral detail. This is especially obvious in the more exciting tracks, particularly The Asteroid Field and Here They Come! both of which are more rounded and epic than the tight, concise originals. The acoustic suits the quieter tracks and both Princess Leia's Theme and Luke and Leia both sound lovely. Again I'm frustrated by the omission of the Han and Leia concert arrangement, which is the one very major theme that isn't included, especially since there is a very fine concert arrangement. It's certainly more interesting than Jabba the Hutt, which sounds more comical than ever due to some vibrato heavy tuba playing. Similarly, the inclusion of The Little People seems a touch strange and a curious selection of sound effects mars the end of a perky version of the Cantina Band music.

Of course, the spacious acoustic makes the Throne Room and Finale even more impressive, especially since the former is the extended arrangement Williams made as he liked his Walton style ceremonial tune, and quite right too. The playing is generally fine, although not as crisp as that of the Boston Pops or original London Symphony Orchestra performances and on a few occasions, the brass get carried away and there are some distinctly overblown notes that go rather sharp. It seems curious these weren't corrected - maybe they were left because they added character?! Williams doesn't usually over-interpret his own music, preferring to conduct performances that are ostensibly similar to the originals and lets his concert arrangements and amendments do all the work. However, there are a few passages where he is more liberal with his tempos than otherwise (generally slowing things just a touch), but nothing shockingly different. Most of these have been performed and recorded with the Boston Pops and if you have those, the album is probably a trifle redundant, but a pretty decent introduction to the Star Wars scores.

Rating ~

1. Star Wars Main Theme (5:51)
2. Princess Leia (4:43)
3. The Little People (5:15)
4. The Imperial March (3:03)
5. Yoda's Theme (3:15)
6. Parade of the Ewoks (3:47)
7. The Asteroid Field (4:34)
8. Luke and Leia (4:59)
9. The Cantina Band (2:16)
10. Here They Come! (2:16)
11. Jabba the Hutt (3:07)
12. The Forest Battle (4:20)
13. Throne Room and Finale (7:57)

Total Time ~ 55:46