Apologies if this has been asked before. I have the 1997 SE Soundtrack to A New Hope. The CD Box cover looks like this. Now the Cantina Band #2 on the CD sounds just like how I remembered it from the film. All the uploads I can find on youtube basically sound identical to the track I have on my CD. The things is, I was watching the 2004 re-release (from the 2008 box-set) and noticed that several extra notes had been added just before the final note of the main theme. I assumed this was some sort of SE change so I went to the same scene on the original theatrical version which is on the bonus disk (I believe it's based on a 1993 laserdisk version) and noticed the same thing. Extra added notes to Cantina Band #2. I then listened to a sample of Cantina Band #2 from the 2004 soundtrack album on Amazon and that did not have the added notes. This is what I know so far: I had a pre-SE version of ANH on VHS and I know Cantina Band #2 did not have those extra notes. The 1993 laserdisk version of ANH (sold as the original theatrical version) does have the extra notes. The 1997 SE soundtrack CD does not have the extra notes. The 2004 soundtrack CD does not have the extra notes. The 2004 re-release of ANH does have the extra notes. Can anybody shed some light on these two different versions of Cantina Band #2?
Apologies for the double post. Too much time had passed for me to edit my original post. I've done a little research and I think I've cleared this issue up. After listening carefully to the scene both from the 2004 re-release and from what is billed as the "original theatrical" movie I can tell that the extra notes have only been added when the music is particularly prominent. When the music is quietened, as Han is talking, then there are no extra notes and the musical phrase is exactly the same as it is on my CD. I had a look on Wookieepedia and found the following about the 1993 Laserdic release: "This version featured the original trilogy on 9 CAV discs, widescreen transfers, THX remastering, audio commentary tracks, assorted bonus features, a copy of the hardcover book George Lucas: The Creative Impulse, and for "Star Wars IV: A New Hope", a new surround sound audio mix." So the audio for the Laserdisc release was remastered. I no longer have my VHS tape of ANH but I looked it up and it looks like it produced in 1992 - therefore meaning it would use the original audio. So my best guess is this: there never was an official alternate version of Cantina Band #2. Rather, the folks who were remastering the audio for the 1993 release decided to tinker a little bit with the song for whatever reason. So from this I think we can assume that no actual recording of the altered song was made and this would explain why the soundtrack CD's have the original version of the track and not the altered version. The fact that this altered version of the song also appears in the 2004 DVD seems to suggest that the audio for the 2004 DVD (and presumably the 1997 SE VHS tape as well) are based on the 1993 remastered audio and not the original audio. Unless anybody can chime in with some extra knowledge, I guess this is case closed.
