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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Solo John Powell to Score Solo with Theme From John Williams

Discussion in 'Anthology' started by Ren Kylo, Jan 1, 2017.

  1. Joystick Chevron

    Joystick Chevron Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 31, 2017
    I was quite pleased with the score. Has it's issues, but I found it quite memorable at times, particularly 'Meet Han'. As far as Disney Star Wars goes, not as good as Williams' TFA score, but much better than the RO and TLJ scores.
     
  2. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Not even close to either the RO or TLJ scores, I think, but hey. This is all subjective.
     
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  3. The Raddinator

    The Raddinator Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2017
    I was pleasantly surprised! Much worse than any JW score, which is only natural, but better and more polished than the Rogue One score. I also really liked the new Williams theme.
     
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  4. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Loved the score! Much better than Rogue One's!
     
  5. Darth_Accipiter

    Darth_Accipiter Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2015
    The soundtrack overall is pretty good. But I have to mention something about this one track in particular which stuck out like an ugly, soar thumb. This is going to be highly subjective, but I think this is cancer. Please no more "X Character's greatest hits" tracks in future anthology scores. What I think of when I hear this is the OT, it takes me out of the current film almost entirely. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome to hear the tracks in there rescored, but it's playing too much on nostalgia to the point where it detracts from the film. It doesn't help at all that "TIE Fighter Attack" was just used in the last released film. Did Powell/Howard even consider that?

     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
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  6. MotivateR5D4

    MotivateR5D4 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 20, 2015
    I thought the soundtrack was quite good. It definitely has that quality to it that makes the journey seem all badass and like you want to be in it.

    I was also wondering when they were going to put non-classical music into Star Wars that isn't the standard Cantina-esque jingle we get in each film. I could take it or leave it in this one, but I guess now we have our answer.
     
  7. Darth_Accipiter

    Darth_Accipiter Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2015
    I love this, it's classic John Williams. It's Star Wars meets Back to the Future. Simply great.

     
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  8. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

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    Apr 6, 2018
    Liked it much better the second time, but still disappointed in LFL for sticking to orchestral scores for these smaller scale flicks. They need more pizzaz. More spunk and less classic. For Solo, more “the Clash” and less Bach. He’s a criminal just trying to win his freedom. Soaring choruses and all that just don’t fit. Especially not during the train heist...I half expected Maul to jump out then, based on the music.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
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  9. ComfortablyNunb

    ComfortablyNunb Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 21, 2015
    Loved this in-universe pop song as well. Very Cibo Matto.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
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  10. B99

    B99 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2014


    Fantastic!
     
  11. Xinau

    Xinau Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 22, 2015
    Just now having a listen to the soundtrack album.

    This is good stuff, folks. I like it more than I liked the RO score at the same point in its release.

    The new theme for Han is perfect.

    Wouldn't be surprised to see The Adventures of Han show up as a concert piece.
     
  12. MarcelloF91

    MarcelloF91 Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 2015
    I really enjoyed the soundtrack. Overall, I'd say it's the strongest of the Disney-era soundtracks. My favorite being Lando's Closet, which is just amazing. Among the best of Star Wars.
     
  13. TCF-1138

    TCF-1138 Anthology/Fan Films/NSA Mod & Ewok Enthusiast star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    I've been listening to the soundtrack a bit today, and while I absolutely adore the new Han theme, I'm just having a hard time appreciating the soundtrack as a whole. I mean, it's not bad - not by a long stretch - but it's just not as captivating as the JW soundtracks or the RO one.

    To be fair though, I thought the RO soundtrack was pretty bland after watching the film one time and listening to the soundtrack for a day or two too, and now I love it, so perhaps this will grow on me after having seen the film a couple of more times as well.
     
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  14. Howard Hand

    Howard Hand Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2015
    It's a Star Wars movie, not a Merchant Ivory drama or a pretentious student art film about learning to accept loss. These movies have always had scores with strong emotional guiding and busy orchestrations (and were criticized by the critics of the time for similar reasons to the ones you listed).

    I thought this score was quite good. It may not be one of Powell's best but it's better than The Last Jedi and is easily better than Rogue One (which was so bad it made John Williams angry).
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
  15. unlimitedpower

    unlimitedpower Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2014
    A love theme titled "Lando's Closet" just cracked me up. [face_rofl]
     
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  16. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    I must have forgotten the moment where I asked for the kind of score Merchant Ivory dramas and pretentious student art films have...

    In actuality, I was asking for something far less classical, and perhaps even less pretentious than what we got. A funkier score. Something with a bit of guitar, bass and maybe Morricone-esque old Western flourishes. Some outlaw twang, if you will. Why not throw in a banjo too? This orchestral bombast just didn’t fit the smaller scale and tone of the film, IMO. I think the Anthologies need to start branching out, stylistically. And doing Williams-lite for every film will dampen their distinctiveness.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
  17. Bowen

    Bowen Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 6, 1999
    lol some of these comments... Rogue One's score was amazing, it was absolutely fantastic music. So memorable. I saw the movie 42 times in theaters and still had the soundtrack on in the car to and from the movie most of the time, and listened to it a ton outside of that. The first few times I heard the Rogue One score, I was just "meh" on it, but I never hear the music that fully to any film until I see it multiple times. It takes a lot of viewings to appreciate all aspects of a film, bottom line. The first few you're just taking in the main stuff, not able to appreciate the depth and nuance of filmmaking craft.

    So far, I like the Solo score, way too early though after only 2 viewings to say what I think completely. A few moments especially were fantastic, and I'll continue to listen to the rest. My soundtrack from Amazon is apparently 5 days late. Unreal.
     
  18. Zdarlight

    Zdarlight Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2016
    So I'm big on the scores (wrote my dissertation on them, haha), and I enjoyed this one more than Rogue One. I'm a John Williams guy and will be til the death but I quite enjoyed the way Powell's score didn't try to replicate Williams' style too much. It was very original, but kept hints of a few of the original themes where they belonged.

    I think doing a Star Wars score will always be a difficult task for someone who isn't John Williams himself. Williams' score is SO thematic, and his themes are SO firmly attached to their subjects (and mainly characters), that it must be difficult to use any of them in a film without many of those characters to create a familiar score for the casual viewer without using themes out of place.

    On my first viewing, I only picked up the Rebel theme and the Force theme, which I think were well used in their right place, mostly attached to the Falcon. And there were some new themes I enjoyed too. Definitely need to have a better listen on my second viewing.
     
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  19. cwustudent

    cwustudent Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2011
    Agreed. The original content is great.
    That made me chuckle.
    I like when someone can paraphrase Williams' work, not a direct quote. But that might be a Lucasfilm thing, since they've been doing it since AOTC.
     
  20. RavagerFish

    RavagerFish Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2011
    There’s actually a great example of paraphrasing (rather than directly quoting) Williams’ work at the end of the film, when...

    Maul appears and “Duel of Fates” is reprised, but slower and creepier. A great spin on an iconic tune.

    I agree that the “greatest hits” direct quotation was a bit jarring, if only because the rest of the film up to that point had used OT themes just two or three times. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t put a grin on my face, though, and going through the Falcon’s tracks did fit that particular moment.

    EDIT: I should also say I’m really enjoying the soundtrack so far. I also loved VII, VIII, and Rogue One’s scores, for reference. It’ll take me a few days to comb through the soundtrack a little more, but Han’s theme is really sticking with me already, as are a couple other motifs.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
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  21. Zef

    Zef Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Oct 26, 2015
    I really loved the soundtrack especially when the Enfys Nest and the gang arrived.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2018
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  22. Jordan1Kenobi

    Jordan1Kenobi SWC Jedi Draft Champion star 6 VIP - Game Winner

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    I loved the soundtrack. Mostly because of the classic themes from the original trilogy being used. A lot of nostalgia! But the one original score that stood out the most was Enfys Nest’s theme. That was really different than the usual SW soundtrack. Great stuff.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2018
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  23. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Saw the film a third time, and loved it even more. However, my verdict on the score has solidified. It’s incredibly cheesy, and in scene after scene, it threatens to undermine the integrity of the drama and action playing out. One good example is the first private meeting with Vos. That’s a really tense scene with Vos’s threats delivered with a subtlety not usual for SW villains. The crew are in danger of being killed by Vos at every turn in that conversation. And yet, as Beckett is fumbling to provide a compelling reassurance to Vos about compensating for the lost score, with his life on the line after every word, Powell decides to blare this weirdly uplifting hero motif instead of turning the tension and danger screws. It creates this jarring clash, and makes the scene feel oddly vanilla instead of legitimately threatening. This kind of thing happens over and over again, as if Powell simply didn’t trust the excellent actors and well-scripted scenes taking place. The whole time, he was pushing a rousingly hopeful tone with the music, even when the film needed the opposite. It dulled the contrast between scenes and made the whole film seem like a one trick pony, tonally. To me, it’s one of the worst scores I ever heard in an otherwise excellent movie. Not because all the music is bad. But because almost all the scenes and performances in Solo are great, and Powell works against that quality.

    I still love this movie. A lot. It’s risen in my rankings and is now in the top tier. The script is good, the actors are great, the visuals are wonderful, and the world-building is second to none, with Rogue One as its companion in that ranking. But I’m tempted to find a fan edit that replaces the score with something worse.

    And please don’t see this as a judgment on those who liked it. This is all very subjective. I was just knocked over by how Powell seemed to be working against the tone of so many scenes.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2018
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  24. Pro Scoundrel

    Pro Scoundrel New Films Expert At Modding Casual star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    Really? Where'd you hear that? What's the story?
     
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  25. Xinau

    Xinau Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 22, 2015
    I think in the context of the film, his action cues (cf. The Train Heist, and many others) worked better than his underscore, which sometimes seemed a little overwrought (to me). I didn't pick up on any of the tonal contradictions you point out but I'll be interested to watch/listen for them on the next viewing. Purely as music, outside the context of the film, I enjoy most all of the album, and quite a bit more than I enjoyed Rogue One.

    One quality of the score I have some misgivings about is that some cues have a very strong *Disney* franchise feel to them, almost as if you can almost imagine yourself in the cue for the MF ride at Galaxy's Edge, and some of these cuts will be playing over the park speakers. They're very energetic, very exciting, but also just a little bit saccharine.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2018
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