Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #428
Written 10/2/96, Revised 4/16/21
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Buy it... if you appreciate Joel McNeely's now-proven talents and
are willing to explore his occasionally impressive and consistently
robust venture into the Star Wars universe.
Avoid it... if you approach this video game score expecting McNeely
to make extensive use of John Williams' established themes, their
applications frustratingly infrequent.
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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
enthusiasts had gotten wind of a second trilogy of films in the
franchise, and enough time had passed since Star Wars: Return of the
Jedi that they were practically frothing at the mouth in
anticipation. With Star Wars: 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 upon 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 it. Their choice was "Shadows of the Empire," a story that
takes place in between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and
Star Wars: 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 the
central planet of Coruscant for the first time and come face to face
with Prince Xizor, a new villain hoping to dethrone Lord Vader as the
Emperor's right hand man and lures Luke by kidnapping Leia. Being based
very strongly in the Star Wars universe, "Shadows of the Empire"
offers a fresh new look at events that devotees 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 its composer was largely unfamiliar to mainstream movie-goers at
the time. Apart from this project, Composer Joel McNeely had already
made a name for himself as a possible successor someday for John
Williams, with his work for "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" serving
notice of his arrival to the industry. It was reported at the time that
John Williams forwarded McNeely's name to the production team, while
others claim that Williams was never consulted about or offered a chance
to score "Shadows of the Empire." Regardless, McNeely was both capable
of providing an appropriate score and was given the right to use
Williams' existing original trilogy material for reference. A vibrant
performance by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and accompanying
chorus gave McNeely a fighting shot at matching the saga's established
sound.
At the very least, "Shadows of the Empire" is an
immensely interesting piece of music. McNeely's take on the music for
the saga ranges from commendable to outstanding, his emulation
capabilities well exercised. On the other hand, criticism aimed at the
score 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 contains only two tracks with substantial references to
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 other 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 universal shame of the composer's approach to "Shadows of
the Empire" is that he didn't make more frequent and subtle
incorporations of those established themes into his original material,
as applied 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 familiar instrumental palette but
presents a more conventional 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 work by McNeely but offers harsh atonality
at lengths that the
Star Wars musical universe isn't accustomed
to. But aside from this point of potential 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 achievement here is
much stronger than anyone could have expected. Long after the 1996 album
went out of print, Varèse Sarabande returned to re-issue the same
product on CD and vinyl in 2020. While "Shadows of the Empire" did not
launch McNeely's career as many would have hoped, Michael Giacchino
instead taking the role of extending Williams' style in famed
franchises, 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 3.14
(in 8,446 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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