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| McNeely |
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire: (Joel McNeely)
There was a time in the early 1990's when die-hard
Star Wars fans
had gotten wind of a second trilogy of films in the franchise, and
enough time had passed since
Return of the Jedi that they were
practically frothing at the mouth in anticipation. With
The Phantom
Menace still several years away, fans were treated at the time to
the first novels authorized to take place in the
Star Wars
universe, and as their popularity continued to grow, Lucas and his
creative teams decided on an unprecedented event to take place in 1996.
They chose one of the novels to adapt into a video game and commissioned
a fully orchestral score to accompany the former. Their choice was
Shadows of
the Empire, a story that takes place in between
The Empire
Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi, with the rebels on the
run, Han Solo lost, and Luke attempting to come to grips with his
newfound family member. As readers and players, we encounter the
Imperial City on Coruscant for the first time and come face to face with
Xizor, a new villain hoping to dethrone Lord Vader as the Emperor's
right hand man. So, while being based very strongly in the
Star
Wars universe,
Shadows of the Empire offers a fresh new look
at events that we would not otherwise see directly on screen. The
soundtrack release was a much hyped part of the media blitz for the
combination of
Shadows of the Empire products, though it had a
largely unfamiliar name attached to it. Composer Joel McNeely had
already made a name for himself as a possible successor someday for John
Williams (apart from this project even), with his work for "The Young
Indiana Jones Chronicles" serving notice of his arrival to the
mainstream. Some have mentioned that John Williams forwarded McNeely's
name to the production team, while others claim that Williams was never
offered a chance to score
Shadows of the Empire. In either case,
McNeely was both capable of providing an appropriate score and was given
the rights (obviously) to use Williams' material for reference. A
vibrant performance by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and
accompanying chorus would give McNeely a shot at matching the saga's
established sound.
At the very least,
Shadows of the Empire is an
immensely interesting piece of work. Consensus between John Williams'
Star Wars fans seems to be that McNeely's take on the music for
the saga ranges from commendable to outstanding. At the very worst,
criticism against McNeely comes in the form of a blanket "...but it
isn't John Williams" statement, which does an injustice to McNeely's
worthy interpretation. The soundtrack really contains only two tracks of
material containing Williams' themes, including the opening cue, which
is a straight arrangement of the title theme and the carbon freezing
chamber cue from
The Empire Strikes Back. The only cue to contain
significant adaptations of Williams' themes is "Night Skies," which not
only intrigues in its usage of the Imperial March and Force Themes, but
also shows that McNeely is very capable at skillfully interpreting those
themes. The only universal shame with
Shadows of the Empire is
that McNeely didn't make more subtle incorporations of those established
themes into his original material, as we hear in the latter portions of
the final cue. That said, McNeely's own action material is often very
strong, opting out of Williams' tactic of producing frenzied dissonance
mixed with his highly dense structures. Instead, McNeely maintains the
same instrumental palette but presents a more straight forward action
style that, combined with a decent sized choir, provides some very
attractive pieces (highlighted by "The Battle of Gall," a cue worthy of
any
Star Wars scene). One praised aspect of
Shadows of the
Empire that comes under some scrutiny is the dominant
percussion-laced theme for the reptilian Xizor, which is well
incorporated throughout the score by McNeely, but offers harsh
dissonance at lengths that the
Star Wars universe isn't
accustomed to. But aside from this complaint, as well as a wish that
McNeely had included more thematic interpretation along with his strong
use of Williams' styles (some
Indiana Jones mannerisms have
carried over in early cues), McNeely's overall work here is much
stronger than anyone could have expected. While
Shadows of the
Empire did not launch McNeely's career as many would have hoped, the
score remains a hidden gem for
Star Wars fans to discover and
enjoy.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Joel McNeely reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.38
(in 16 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.07
(in 7,743 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes detailed information about the project.
