The Empire Strikes Back (soundtrack)

Star Wars Trilogy – The Original Soundtrack Anthology: "The Empire Strikes Back"
Film score by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra
Released	1993
Recorded	1980
Genre	Classical
Label	Arista Records on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Film Scores, a Bertelsmann Music Group Company
Producer	Nick Redman

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
	Cover of the original vinyl edition
Soundtrack album by John Williams
Released	May 16, 1980; 1997; 2004; 2018
Recorded	December 27–29, 1979 and; January 7–10, 17 & 18, 1980
Studio	Anvil Studios, Denham
Genre	Classical
Length	74:34
Label	RSO
Producer	John Williams, Nick Redman (2004)
John Williams chronology
Star Wars soundtrack chronology

The score from The Empire Strikes Back, composed by John Williams, was recorded in eighteen sessions at Anvil Studios[1] over three days in December 1979 and a further six days in January 1980 with Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, Williams had also worked with the London Symphony Orchestra for the scores to the films The Fury, Superman and Dracula. The score earned another Academy Award nomination for Williams. Again, the score was orchestrated by Herbert W. Spencer, recorded by engineer Eric Tomlinson and edited by Kenneth Wannberg with supervision by Lionel Newman. John Williams himself took over duties as record producer from Star Wars creator George Lucas.

The soundtrack was first released in the United States as a 75-minute double LP five days before the film's premiere but the first Compact Disc release ran only half the length of the 2-LP set. Re-recordings of the score even included music that was not on the original CD soundtrack. A remastered version of the soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on May 4, 2018.[2]

Overview

In 1980, the disco label RSO Records released the film's original soundtrack in a double-album, with two long-playing (LP) records. Combined, the two records featured seventy-five minutes of film music. This double LP package also included a booklet presentation with pictures of the main characters and action sequences from the film. Featured at the booklet's end was an interview with John Williams about the music and the new themes, such as "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" and "Yoda's Theme". It also included a brief explanation of each track. The front cover artwork featured Darth Vader's mask against the backdrop of outer space; and the back cover featured the famous "Gone with the Wind" version of the poster art. As a side note, this package marked the final time a double LP soundtrack set was ever issued (Episode VI, the final film to have an LP soundtrack released, had only a single disc, also released by RSO Records). A double-cassette edition was also released.

In the U.K., a single vinyl album and cassette were released in 1980 by RSO Records. This comprised only ten tracks, which were also re-arranged differently. For instance, the first track on the U.K. release is "The Imperial March" instead of the "Star Wars Main Theme". This track listing would be used for the album's first international CD release in 1985. Also unlike the U.S. version, this release did not have a booklet but the information (and some photographs) were replicated on the inner sleeve.

In 1985, the first Compact Disc (CD) release of the soundtrack was issued by Polydor Records, which had by that time absorbed RSO Records and its entire music catalog. As with the album's original U.K. vinyl and cassette release, this CD release reduced the music content from the seventy-five minutes featured in the 1980 U.S. double-album down to forty-two minutes.

In 1993, 20th Century Fox Film Scores released a special four-CD box set: Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology. This anthology included the soundtracks to all three of the original Star Wars films in separate discs. The disc dedicated to The Empire Strikes Back restored almost all of the original seventy-five minutes from the 1980 LP version and included new music cues never released before for a total of nineteen tracks. On the fourth bonus disc, five additional tracks from Empire were included in a compilation of additional cues from the other two films. This CD release also marked the first time that the famous "20th Century Fox Fanfare" composed by Alfred Newman in 1954 was added to the track listing, preceding the "Star Wars Main Theme".

In 1997, RCA Victor released a definitive two-disc set coinciding with the Special Edition releases of the original trilogy's films. This original limited-edition set featured a thirty-two page black booklet that was encased inside a protective outer slipcase. The covers of the booklet and the slipcase had the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition poster art. This booklet was very detailed, providing extensive notes on each music cue and pictures of the main characters and action sequences from the film. The two discs were placed in sleeves that were on the booklet's inside front and inside back covers. Each disc had a glittery laser-etched holographic logo of the Empire. The musical content featured the complete film score for the first time. It had all of the previously released tracks (restoring the Mynock Cave music which was left off the 1993 release), included extended versions of five of those tracks with previously unreleased material, and six brand new tracks of never before released music for a total of one hundred twenty-four minutes. All the tracks were digitally remastered for superior clarity of sound. They were also re-arranged and re-titled from the previous releases to follow the film's story in chronological order. RCA Victor re-packaged the Special Edition set later in 1997, offering it in slimline jewel case packaging as an unlimited edition, but without the original "black booklet" version's stunning presentation and packaging.

In 2004, Sony Classical acquired the rights to the classic trilogy scores since it already had the rights to release the second trilogy soundtracks (The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones). And so, in 2004, Sony Classical re-pressed the 1997 RCA Victor release of the Special Edition Star Wars trilogy, including The Empire Strikes Back. The set was released in a less-than-spectacular package with the new art work mirroring the film's first DVD release. Despite the Sony digital remastering, which minimally improved the sound heard only on high-end stereos, this 2004 release is essentially the 1997 RCA Victor release.

In 2016, Sony Classical released a remastered version of the original 1980 release as a two-disc LP, copying all aspects of the original RSO release, down to the labeling.

On May 4, 2018, Walt Disney Records released a newly-remastered edition of the original 1980 album program on CD, digital download, and streaming services. This remaster was newly assembled from the highest-quality tapes available, rather than sourced from the existing 1980 album masters. This release marks the first release on CD of the complete 1980 soundtrack album.

Release history


Title	U.S. release date	Label	Format
The Empire Strikes Back–Original Soundtrack	May 16, 1980	RSO	Double-LP
The Empire Strikes Back–Original Soundtrack	1986	Polydor	CD
Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology	1993	Arista	CD
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)	1997	RCA Victor	Double CD
	2004	Sony Classical	Double CD
The Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition[3]	November 6, 2007		CD
Star Wars: The Ultimate Soundtrack Collection[4]	January 8, 2016		CD, LP, digital
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[2]	May 4, 2018	Walt Disney	Remastered CD, digital

Track listing for the first U.S. release on LP

First release on LP by RSO.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Star Wars (Main Theme)"	5:49
2.	"Yoda's Theme"	3:24
3.	"The Training of a Jedi Knight"	3:17
4.	"The Heroics of Luke and Han"	6:18

Side two
No.	Title	Length
5.	"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)"	2:59
6.	"Departure of Boba Fett"	3:30
7.	"Han Solo and the Princess"	3:25
8.	"Hyperspace"	4:02
9.	"The Battle in the Snow"	3:48

Side three
No.	Title	Length
10.	"The Asteroid Field"	4:10
11.	"The City in the Clouds"	6:29
12.	"Rebels at Bay"	5:23
13.	"Yoda and the Force"	4:01

Side four
No.	Title	Length
14.	"The Duel"	4:07
15.	"The Magic Tree"	3:32
16.	"Lando's Palace"	3:52
17.	"Finale"	6:28

Total Time: 74:34

Charts

Chart (1980)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5]	58

Track listing for the original U.K. release and first international release on CD

First release on CD by Polydor.

"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" – 3:00
"Yoda's Theme" – 3:27
"The Asteroid Field" – 4:10
"Han Solo and the Princess" – 3:26
"Finale" – 6:25
"Star Wars (Main Theme)" – 5:48
"The Training of a Jedi Knight" – 3:05
"Yoda and the Force" – 4:02
"The Duel" – 4:03
"The Battle in the Snow" – 3:48

Total Time: 41:23

Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology

In 1993, 20th Century Fox Film Scores released a four-CD box set containing music from the original Star Wars trilogy. Disc two in the set was devoted to The Empire Strikes Back, with further tracks on disc four.

Disc Two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension (Alfred Newman, 1954)"	0:22
2.	"Main Title/The Imperial Probe (Extended Version)"	7:58
3.	"Luke's Escape"	3:34
4.	"Luke's Rescue"	1:45
5.	"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)"	2:59
6.	"The Battle in the Snow"	3:45
7.	"Luke's First Crash"	4:12
8.	"The Rebels Escape Again"	2:59
9.	"The Asteroid Field"	4:14
10.	"Yoda's Theme"	3:26
11.	"Han Solo and the Princess"	3:26
12.	"The Training of a Jedi Knight"	3:13
13.	"The Magic Tree"	3:32
14.	"Yoda and the Force"	4:02
15.	"City in the Clouds"	6:50
16.	"Lando's Palace"	3:52
17.	"The Duel"	4:14
18.	"Hyperspace"	4:03
19.	"Finale/End Credits"	6:18

Disc Four
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Drawing the Battle Lines/Leia's Instructions"	4:02
8.	"Attack Position"	3:04
9.	"Crash Landing"	3:34
17.	"Carbon Freeze/Luke Pursues the Captives/Departure of Boba Fett"	11:08
18.	"Losing a Hand"	1:14
21.	"Ewok Celebration (Film Version)/End Titles (Film Version)"

Note: Parts of tracks six and seventeen on this particular set have their left & right channels reversed).

The first part of track twenty-one, "Ewok Celebration (Film Version)", is from Return of the Jedi.

Track listing for the Special Edition reissue

In preparation for the 20th anniversary Special Edition releases of the original trilogy's films, 20th Century Fox spent four months, from April to July 1996, transferring, cleaning and preparing the original soundtracks for special two-disc releases. The original release, by RCA Victor in 1997, consisted of limited-edition books with laser etched CDs inside the front and back covers with each book. In the case of The Empire Strikes Back, the discs are etched with the logo for the Empire. The discs were given an unlimited release in a two-disc jewel case, also by RCA Victor later that year. They were again re-released in 2004 by Sony Music, with new artwork paralleling the original trilogy's first DVD release.

Disc One
No.	Title	Length
1.	"20th Century Fox Fanfare" (Alfred Newman (1954))	0:22
2.	"Main Title/The Ice Planet Hoth"	8:08
3.	"The Wampa's Lair/Vision of Obi-Wan/Snowspeeders Take Flight"	8:44
4.	"The Imperial Probe/Aboard the Executor"	4:24
5.	"The Battle of Hoth" I. "Ion Cannon" II. "Imperial Walkers" III. "Beneath the AT-AT" IV. "Escape in the Millennium Falcon"	14:48 4:02 3:37 4:03 3:06
6.	"The Asteroid Field"	4:15
7.	"Arrival on Dagobah"	4:52
8.	"Luke's Nocturnal Visitor"	2:35
9.	"Han Solo and the Princess"	3:26
10.	"Jedi Master Revealed/Mynock Cave"	5:44
11.	"The Training of a Jedi Knight/The Magic Tree"	5:16
Total length:		62:41

Disc Two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)"	3:02
2.	"Yoda's Theme"	3:30
3.	"Attacking a Star Destroyer"	3:04
4.	"Yoda and the Force"	4:02
5.	"Imperial Starfleet Deployed/City in the Clouds"	6:04
6.	"Lando's Palace"	3:53
7.	"Betrayal at Bespin"	3:46
8.	"Deal with the Dark Lord"	2:37
9.	"Carbon Freeze/Darth Vader's Trap/Departure of Boba Fett"	11:50
10.	"The Clash of Lightsabers"	4:18
11.	"Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace"	9:10
12.	"The Rebel Fleet/End Title"	6:28
Total length:		61:42

Recording Information

Cue List

1M1 Main Title (2)
1M2 The Imperial Probe (3)
1M2 New Start
1M2 Insert Bar 80
1M2 Insert #2 Bar 109
1M3/2M1 Luke's Escape
2M2 Ben's Instructions
2M3 Luke's Rescue
2M4 The Probe Scanner
3M1 Drawing The Battle Lines
3M2 Leia's Instructions
3M3 The Snow Battle
3M4/4M1 Luke's First Crash
4M2 The Rebels Escape Again
4M3 The Asteroid Field
5M1 Crash Landing
5M2 Yoda Appears
5M3 Yoda's Entrance (4)
5M3 End Fix
5M4/6M1 Solo And The Princess
6M2 Yoda's Teaching
6M3 This Is Not A Cave
6M4 Training A Jedi
6M5/7M1 The Magic Tree
7M2 Attack Position
7M3 Yoda Raises The Ship
7M4/8M1 Vader's Command
8M2 City In The Clouds
8M3 Lando's Palace
9M1 Luke To The Rescue
9M2 Vadar Shows Up
9M3 Putting ThreePio Together
9M4 Trouble In Prison
9M6/10M1 Carbon Freeze (5)
9M6/10M1 Insert Bar 57
10M2 Luke Pursues The Captives
10M3 Chewie Chokes Lando
11M1 Through The Window
12M1 Losing A Hand
12M2 To Hyper-Space
12M3 Finale (6)
12M4 End Credits (7)
12M4 End Credits Insert

References

"Recording the Star Wars Saga" (PDF).
"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. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
"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. November 7, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
"Sony Classical Reissues Star Wars Episodes I-VI In Newly Restored Audio Collections". Sony Classical. PR Newswire. January 8, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 283. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[anvil-1] "Recording the Star Wars Saga" (PDF).

[:1-2] "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. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.

[3] "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. November 7, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2018.

[4] "Sony Classical Reissues Star Wars Episodes I-VI In Newly Restored Audio Collections". Sony Classical. PR Newswire. January 8, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2018.

[aus-5] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 283. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

John Williams
Discography List of compositions Awards and nominations
Soundtracks	Jaws (1975) Star Wars (1977) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Superman (1978) The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Return of the Jedi (1983) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Empire of the Sun (1987) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Home Alone (1990) JFK (1991) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) Jurassic Park (1993) Schindler's List (1993) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) Angela's Ashes (1999) The Patriot (2000) A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) Catch Me If You Can (2002) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) Munich (2005) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Compilations	John Williams Greatest Hits 1969–1999 (1999)
Compositions	"Star Wars (Main Title)" "The Imperial March" "Ewok Celebration" "Duel of the Fates"
Songs	"Nice to Be Around"
See also	Music of Star Wars Music of Superman Music of Harry Potter
Category

Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
1959−1980	Duke Ellington – Anatomy of a Murder (1959) No Award (1960) Ernest Gold – Exodus (1961) Henry Mancini – Breakfast at Tiffany's (1962) No Award (1963) John Addison – Tom Jones (1964) Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman – Mary Poppins (1965) Johnny Mandel – The Sandpiper (1966) Maurice Jarre – Doctor Zhivago (1967) Lalo Schifrin – Music from Mission: Impossible (1968) Dave Grusin & Paul Simon – The Graduate (1969) Burt Bacharach – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1970) The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr) – Let It Be (1971) Isaac Hayes – Shaft (1972) Nino Rota – The Godfather (1973) Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1974) Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch – The Way We Were (1975) John Williams – Jaws (1976) Norman Whitfield - Car Wash (1977) John Williams – Star Wars (1978) John Williams – Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1979) John Williams – Superman (1980)
1981−2000	John Williams – The Empire Strikes Back (1981) John Williams – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982) John Williams – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1983) Giorgio Moroder, Laura Branigan, Keith Forsey, Irene Cara, Shandi Sinnamon, Ronald Magness, Doug Cotler, Richard Gilbert, Michael Boddicker, Jerry Hey, Phil Ramone, Michael Sembello, Kim Carnes, Duane Hitchings, Craig Krampf & Dennis Matkosky – Flashdance (1984) Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain (1985) Marc Benno, Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey, Micki Free, John Gilutin Hawk, Howard Hewett, Bunny Hull, Howie Rice, Sharon Robinson, Danny Sembello, Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen & Allee Willis – Beverly Hills Cop (1986) John Barry – Out of Africa (1987) Ennio Morricone – The Untouchables (1988) David Byrne, Cong Su & Ryuichi Sakamoto – The Last Emperor (1989) Dave Grusin – The Fabulous Baker Boys (1990) James Horner – Glory (1991) John Barry – Dances with Wolves (1992) Alan Menken – Beauty and the Beast (1993) Alan Menken – Aladdin (1994) John Williams – Schindler's List (1995) Hans Zimmer – Crimson Tide (1996) David Arnold – Independence Day (1997) Gabriel Yared – The English Patient (1998) John Williams – Saving Private Ryan (1999) Randy Newman – A Bug's Life (2000)
2001−present	Thomas Newman – American Beauty (2001) Tan Dun – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2002) Howard Shore & John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2003) Howard Shore, John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) & Peter Cobbin (engineer/mixer) – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2004) Howard Shore, John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) & Peter Cobbin (engineer/mixer) – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2005) Craig Armstrong – Ray (2006) John Williams – Memoirs of a Geisha (2007) Michael Giacchino – Ratatouille (2008) Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard – The Dark Knight (2009) Michael Giacchino – Up (2010) Randy Newman – Toy Story 3 (2011) Alexandre Desplat – The King's Speech (2012) Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2013) Thomas Newman – Skyfall (2014) Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel (2015) Antonio Sánchez – Birdman (2016) John Williams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2017) Justin Hurwitz – La La Land (2018) Ludwig Göransson – Black Panther (2019) Hildur Guðnadóttir – Chernobyl (2020)