The Star Wars soundtrack saw subsequent reissues since its initial release. In 2016, the album was re-released by Sony Classical Records on vinyl, CD, and digital formats alongside Williams' other Star Wars soundtracks. The vinyl release is pressed on 180g vinyl and features the original 20th Century Records logo. Unlike all of Sony Classical's previous releases, however, the vinyl version is a remastered version of the original 1977 release, not the Special Edition. Walt Disney Records remastered and reissued the soundtrack on vinyl LP on December 1, 2017, and on CD and digital formats on May 4, 2018.[3][4]
Original 1977 releaseedit
The original 1977 release of the soundtrack, entitled Star Wars - Original Soundtrack, included a poster of a painting by science fiction artist John Berkey, depicting the final battle over the Death Star from the film's end.[5] The album was released as a double LP which was formatted for an autochanger record player; one disc had sides one and four with the other having sides two and three. This allowed a person to stack sides one and two on the player, then flip the stack over for sides three and four, allowing the listener to have over half an hour of uninterrupted music before they needed to flip the discs over.[6]
Track listingedit
First release on LP by 20th Century Records. For the original soundtrack, Williams selected 75 minutes of music out of the 88 minute score. To provide musical variety, it did not follow the film's chronological order.
This track listing is also shared by Sony Classical's LP release in 2016, and Walt Disney Records' LP and CD releases in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
1st Violins: Neville Taweel (Leader), Richard Studt (Principal), Irvine Arditti (Principal), Brian Thomas (Sub-Principal), Stanley Castle, Sydney Colter, Dennis Gaines, Charles Beldom, Robert Retallick, C. Reuben, Norman Freeman, Max Weber, Robin Brightman, Brian Gaulton
2nd Violins: Warwick Hill (Principal), Neil Watson (Co-Principal), Samuel Artis, William Brown, Thomas Cook, Terry Morton, Jack Steadman, Donald Stewart, Thomas Swift, David Williams, R. Clark, Geoffrey Creese, D. Llewellyn, Harry Nathan
Violas: Alexander Taylor (Principal), Brian Clarke (Co-Principal), Peter Norriss (Sub-Principal), Patrick Hooley, Michael Mitchell, David Hume, William Sumpton, Patrick Vermont, William Krasnik, Eric Cuthbertson
Cellos: Douglas Cummings (Principal), Maurice Meulien (Co-Principal), Ray Adams (Sub-Principal), Jack Long, Ken Law, Douglas Powrie, Francis Saunders, Clive Gillinson, Tom Storer, K. Glossop
Double Basses: Bruce Mollinson (Principal), Arthur Griffiths (Sub-Principal), John Cooper, Gerald Newson, Pashanko Dimitroff, Goelson Neal
Flutes: Richard Taylor (Principal), Lowry Sanders, Francis Nolan
Oboes: Roger Lord (Principal), Anthony Camden (Principal)
Clarinets: Jack Brymer (Principal), Ronald Moore, Roy Jowitt
Bassoons: Robert Bourton (Principal), Peter Francis
Horns: David Cripps (Principal), John Rooke (Asst. Principal), Anthony Chidell, Graham Warren, James Quaife, James Brown, S. Reading, J. Butterworth, Terry Johns
Trumpets: Maurice Murphy (Principal), William Lang, Norman Archibald, R. Izen
Trombones: Dennis Wick (Principal), Eric Crees (Principal), Frank Mathison
Tuba: J. Fletcher (Principal), Steven Wick
Timpani: Kurt-Hans Goedicke (Principal)
Percussion: Michael Frye (Principal), Ray Northcott
In 1993, 20th Century Fox Film Scores released a four-CD box set containing music from the original Star Wars trilogy. This release marked the first time that the complete contents of the original double-LP releases of the scores from the first two films became available on CD. Disc one in the set was devoted to Star Wars, with further tracks on disc four.
Since every cue is recorded several times, usually with varying orchestral differences, the final decisions on what takes of cues are used and/or how they are edited to create the tracks was decided by the music editor Kenneth Wannberg. In the time between the original LP release and the Anthology's release, this breakdown was lost. Because of this, many takes of cues used on the Anthology are not the same. This is most obvious on the cue "The Throne Room".[citation needed] Also, the tracks were re-arranged to better follow their chronological order in the film.
"20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension"
0:22
2.
"Star Wars Main Title" (Alternate)
2:16
4.
"A Hive of Villainy"
2:12
5.
"Destruction of Alderaan"
1:31
10.
"Cantina Band"
2:46
12.
"Cantina Band #2"
3:44
15.
"Standing By"
1:14
Total length:
14:05
The alternate version of the Star Wars Main Title can be heard in the end credits for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, and is included in the film's soundtrack.
1997 and 2004 Special Edition reissuesedit
The 1997 and 2004 releases include the complete film score, including expanded and unreleased tracks.
Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
"The Battle of Yavin (Launch from the Fourth Moon/X-Wings Draw Fire/Use the Force)"
9:06
11.
"The Throne Room/End Title"
5:37
Total length:
48:16
2017 and 2018 Disney reissuesedit
Walt Disney Records reissued the original 1977 soundtrack album in digital formats and streaming services on January 1, 2017, and on LP record on December 1, 2017, to coincide with the film's fortieth anniversary that same year. The LP reissue featured a remastered soundtrack, hand-etched hologram art, and a 48-page book containing production photographs, liner notes, and essays on John Williams and the music of Star Wars.[3]
Disney released a newly remastered edition of the original 1977 album program on CD, digital download, and streaming services on May 4, 2018. This remaster was newly assembled by Shawn Murphy and Skywalker Sound from the highest-quality master tapes available, rather than sourced from the existing 1977 album masters.[4] On these reissues, the final track ("The Throne Room and End Title") is presented at the correct speed and pitch, having been sped up slightly on the original LP, CD, and 2016 Sony releases.
Compilations and re-recordings (Selection)edit
Tracks of the soundtrack appear on various Best of Compilations and rerecordings by John Williams.
1983: The Star Wars Trilogy (Return of the Jedi / The Empire Strikes Back / Star Wars)[9]
1990/2001: John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy[10][11]
R1P3 Imperial Attack Pt. II (The War*) (March 8, 1977)
R1P4-R2P1 Imperial Attack (The Escape Hatch*) (March 12, 1977)
R2P2 The Desert (R1P5-R2P1 Desert Song*) (March 12, 1977)
R2P2 The Little People (Not Recorded)
R2P3N The Little People (March 15, 1977)
R2P3 More Little People (Not Recorded)
R2P5R More Little People (March 15, 1977)
R2P4 R-2 (Not Recorded)
R2P4R R-2 (March 11, 1977)
R3P1 The Princess Appears (Not Recorded)
R3P1R The Princess Appears (March 5, 1977)
R3P2 Lost R2 (Not Recorded)
R3P2R Lost R2 (March 8, 1977)
R3P2N (March 15, 1977)
R3P3 The Sand Speeder (Not Recorded)
R3P3R The Land of the Sand People (March 11, 1977)
R3P4-R4P1 The Sandman Attacks (Not Recorded)
R3P4-R4P1R Land of Sand People Pt. II (March 16, 1977)
R4P2 Obi-Wan Kenobi (March 9, 1977)
R4P2A The Force (March 9, 1977)
R4P3 The Princess Reappears (March 11, 1977)
R4P4 A Home Destroyed (March 11, 1977)
R4P4R The Return Home (March 9, 1977)
R5P1 A Hive of Villainy (Not Recorded)
R5P1R A Hive of Villainy (March 15, 1977)
R5P4-R6P1 Monkey Band (R5P3-3A Jolly Jazzers*) (March 10, 1977)
R5P6 The Inner City (Not Recorded)
R5P6R The Inner City (March 12, 1977)
R6P1 Blasting Away (March 16, 1977)
R6P5N The Destruction of Alderon (March 12, 1977)
R7P1N Is It a Bird? (R6P3*) (March 5, 1977)
R7P1 The Hatch Opens (Not Recorded)
R7P2N The Hatch Opens (March 11, 1977)
R7P2 The Mouse Robot (March 9, 1977)
R8P2N More Rescue (March 12, 1977)
R8P2 The Rescue (Not Recorded)
R8P2R The Rescue (New Intro) (March 8, 1977)
R8P3 The Water Snake (Not Recorded)
R8P3R The Water Snake (March 11, 1977)
R8P4 The Walls Converge (March 11, 1977)
R9P1 Ben Creeps Around (March 8, 1977)
R9P2 The Swashbucklers (March 5, 1977)
R9P3-R10P1 Ben's Death (March 5, 1977)
R10P2 The Fighters Attack (Here They Come*) (March 11, 1977)
R10P3-R11P1 Standing By (Stand By*) (March 12, 1977)
R11P2 Approaching the Target (Not Recorded)
R11P2R The Last Battle Pt. II (March 11, 1977)
R12P1 (March 15, 1977)
R12P2 The Throne Room and End Title (End Titles*) (March 12, 1977)
R12P2X (March 16, 1977)
The Princess Theme (March 8, 1977)
*Original cue number/title before revisions
Original recording logedit
The score for Star Wars was recorded over the span of eight days in the month of March 1977. The 1997 Special Edition soundtrack release by RCA Victor included a detailed look at the recording log for all the cues in the film.
^ abcAbramovitch, Seth (29 January 2021). "Hollywood Flashback: John Williams' 'Star Wars' Score Won a Golden Globe and an Oscar". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
^ ab"AFI's 100 years of film scores". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^ abc"Star Wars: A New Hope (original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 3-LP Vinyl Album Boxed Set Of Composer John Williams' Oscar®-Winning Score To Be Released On December 1". Burbank, California: Walt Disney Records. PR Newswire. 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^ abc"Disney Music Group Set To Release First 6 Remastered Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtracks On May 4". Burbank, California: Walt Disney Records. PR Newswire. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
^"John Berkey Remembered". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm Ltd. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
^"John Williams (4), London Symphony Orchestra, The – Star Wars original soundtrack release". Discogs. 12 August 1977. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^"Sony Classical Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars with an 8-CD Collectors Edition Featuring Three of Composer/Conductor John Williams' Original Soundtrack Recordings". Sony Music Masterworks. PR Newswire. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^"Sony Classical Reissues Star Wars Episodes I-VI In Newly Restored Audio Collections". Sony Classical. PR Newswire. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
^The Star Wars Trilogy (Return of the Jedi / The Empire Strikes Back / Star Wars), 1 January 1983, archived from the original on 20 February 2023, retrieved 20 February 2023
^"John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy" von John Williams (in Swiss High German), 6 November 1990, archived from the original on 20 February 2023, retrieved 20 February 2023
^John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy, 6 November 1990, archived from the original on 20 February 2023, retrieved 20 February 2023
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 282. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^"Cash Box Newspaper" (PDF). Cash Box. 1 April 1978. p. 58. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
^"British album certifications – John Williams – Star Wars (soundtrack)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
