A quick search on Amazon will tell you that there are dozens of Star Wars Trilogy compilations floating about; they range from ones done by Williams himself, to disco and jazz interpretations, plus an almost endless number on zero budget labels. However, the first time that music from each of the first three films was gathered together in one recording was on this album, performed by the Utah Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Varujan Kojian on Varese. Kojian and the Utah Symphony made several fine recordings during Varese's early days, notably a superb Adventures of Robin Hood and Sea Hawk composed by the legendary Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Both those, and this album, were produced by Korngold's son, George and are early jewels in Varese's accomplished re-recording crown. This was one of the first albums I ever acquired and so it's something of a treasured possession and while other compilations I picked up in the early days have come and gone, the quality of this collection still stands up today.

Of course, almost no self respecting film music fan will be without at least one version of the original Star Wars scores. I have the 4CD anthology, the Special Editions and the Gerhardt re-recordings, but sometimes it's nice to hear other interpretations and whiz through the some of trilogy's numerous highlights. The selections here are now fairly common film music compilation staples, none more so than the Main Title suite, which never fails to stir and is presented here in a lithe and supremely confident reading. Thoughtfully, Alfred Newman's Fox Fanfare is included, now as much a part of the title sequence as Williams' music. What is most notable here is how vibrant and technically excellent the performances are. Williams rarely writes music that is easy to play and there are enough bad performances, but to hear such great ones is a real treat. Here They Come has all the fire of the original, as does The Asteroid Field. Only Fight With the Tie Fighters is notably slower than the original, but is still exciting and well paced.

About the only surprising inclusion is Darth Vader's Death, which at the time of this recording, was otherwise unreleased. Quite an odd cue to choose, plenty of other great tracks were missed off the original albums, but it's a fine representation of the more sombre side of the trilogy. Again, I must protest the lack of Han and Leia's Theme, plus the Finale is simply the Star Wars end credits, without the Throne Room. Still, somewhat minor quibbles I suppose for an otherwise excellent album. For a collection of music from the original trilogy, Kojian's has yet to be beaten. Williams' own collection with the Skywalker Symphony has a more epic sweep, but Kojian's is leaner, more energetic and more technically accomplished. The early digital sound is terrific; clean, but not clinical and with a good natural sound that eclipses the original score recordings, even the performance is a match for the London Symphony Orchestra. Still the best original trilogy collection around and for the collector in all of us, worth picking up.

Rating ~

1. Fox Fanfare Alfred Newman (0:20)
   Star Wars
2. Main Title (5:12)
3. Princess Leia's Theme (4:22)
4. Here They Come! (2:04)
   The Empire Strikes Back
5. The Asteroid Field (4:17)
6. Yoda's Theme (3:16)
7. The Imperial March (2:52)
   Return of the Jedi
8. Parade of the Ewoks (3:31)
9. Luke and Leia (5:57)
10. Fight with the Tie Fighters (4:31)
11. Jabba the Hutt (3:58)
12. Darth Vader's Death (2:50)
13. The Forest Battle (4:06)
14. Finale (3:11)

Total Time ~ 50:27