Star Wars: The Force Awakens Soundtrack Review
Composer: John Williams
Director: J.J. Abrams
Release: December 18, 2015
OVERALL SCORE: 7/10
A transitional, rather than transformational, score is served up by Williams as Star Wars returns to the big screen.
(CAUTION: SOME MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE BELOW)
Reviewing a Star Wars score is always a pleasure, simply because John Williams is, at his worst, an excellent musician. Going on 83 years old, he has brought us soundtracks that have defined entire series of movies. Star Wars (1977) is in many ways the soundtrack that put him on the map. Now, nearly 40 years later, he has produced music for the newest iteration in the series: The Force Awakens.
His score was one of the few redeeming qualities of the prequel trilogies released in the early 2000's. While the movies themselves were infamously lambasted by fans, Williams portrayed a very different galaxy with his music and developed some of the most fantastic duel music we have ever seen. The Force Awakens soundtrack is, in its own right, a powerful score when compared to some of the scores released for other movies in the past several years. However, it is inevitably going to be compared to his work for the prior movies. In that comparison, and only in that comparison, does the music in this score sadly fall a bit flat.
TRACK 1 - STAR WARS AND THE ATTACK ON THE JAKKU VILLAGE - 8/10
Diving into the first track put a grin on my face. Star Wars is back! The main titles haven't changed - and that is a good thing. I won't comment on that portion since everyone knows it. However, moving past the main title, there is a fade out as per typical intro fashion, which turns into a militaristic buildup, with a splendid cadence that hearkens back to the Empire. You can nearly see the storm troopers loading into their transports.
The song then dips into a low, mysterious background where I assume dialogue is taking place or something of interest is happening. This is interrupted by the impending arrival of the aforementioned storm troopers, complete with that marching cadence returning. By this point, I assume the "attack" on the village is full underway. At 4:20, the horns begin to blare Kylo's Theme (will get to that later) as he arrives on the scene of the fight.
This song has some prequel-sounding notes, hearkening back to Battle of the Heroes and the music played as Anakin fell irrevocably to the dark side. Overall, this track is powerful and fits well with what is likely going on onscreen. I even get hints of emotion in there with the comparison to Battle of the Heroes. However, given what is happening on screen, the emotions could be evoked a bit more and Kylo's theme is a bit underutilized.
TRACK 2 - THE SCAVENGER - 7/10
Despite coming first on the track listing, this song is essentially a derivative of "Rey's Theme". Derivative tracks can, and often do, improve on their main inspiration. In this case, I would argue that this track does a better job introducing us to Rey than her own theme would have, due in part to the first few seconds which transition us into her theme.
Rey's theme, as you will find, is one of my favorite parts of this soundtrack and as such, this track is rated highly just based on that element being present. Her theme comes in and ends at around 2:45 with a soft rendition that shows a sadness present in her life - a melancholy lament as she "waits" for her family. While as Rey's theme describes Rey, this track introduces us to her.
TRACK 3 - I CAN FLY ANYTHING - 6/10
This track starts off a bit mischievous before diving back into the militaristic horns and drums. This is clearly background to an action scene developing from sneaking around, likely in a First Order Star Destroyer. I have to see how this plays out on the screen to the scene, however this track is pretty typical action scene background fare. There are a few really interesting motifs, such as one right around the 1:00 mark, and another around the 1:18 mark that ends back at staccato strings. These two motifs, which do appear elsewhere in the soundtrack, really portray "hope" during the situation.
The latter quarter of the track is entirely unmemorable, leading to the average score. It may work well with the action in this scene.
TRACK 4 - REY MEETS BB-8 - 5/10
One of the shortest tracks on the album, this track does a good job portraying the mystery and strange friendliness of an unknown BB-8 to Rey. There are hints of some of the Tatooine music from the prequels, and the second half is beautiful and ends on a dark, foreboding note. Someone is clearly watching the meeting.
The track is beautiful, but not memorable. It serves it's purpose in the movie most likely, but will not be a track that is listened to repeatedly by fans.
TRACK 5 - FOLLOW ME - 5/10
This track is a good example of the album as a whole. Overall, it is powerful, clearly a fantastic piece of movie fare done with a live orchestra. However, it simply isn't memorable even while it is clear that it tries to be.
The staccato in this song has us feeling as though we are rushing along with the heroes, however tracks from the OT and prequels had the same effect much more memorably. Take for example the Tie Fighter Attack from A New Hope. Staccato was still present, however it felt more fun. The final few seconds of this song work well, but overall, this one falls relatively flat.
TRACK 6 - REY'S THEME - 10/10 *STAR*
There are four major motifs newly introduced by Williams on this album. This is by far the best of them.
This song combines Rey's whimsical, childlike innocence and longing with a deep, hidden power waiting to be awakened (pun intended). It sounds a bit like William's work for Harry Potter, and the flute at the beginning of the song has been underutilized by Williams in Star Wars as a whole prior to this album. People's primary gripe with this song is that it doesn't "sound" like Star Wars.The bells and the flute do very much to give this impression. However, as you will hear in a later track, combining Rey's theme with the Force Theme is immensely powerful and it shows that Williams put much thought into this track,
Overall, Rey is a fantastic character with a beautiful track to reinforce her journey through this trilogy. I am excited to see how this young track matures in reprises through the next two movies.
TRACK 7 - THE FALCON - 6/10
I must admit, part of my disappointment with this track is that I was expecting it to be a bit more nostalgic, with more memorable cues from scenes like the asteroid belt in ESB and the tie attack in ANH. While there are certainly musical elements carried over from the prequel into this track, and indeed the main theme makes an appearance, it is essentially a reprise of "Follow Me" from above.
One thing giving this track a better score (slightly) is the addition of prequel-and-OT-like cues throughout which make it sound a bit more like Star Wars than Track 5. Overall, not a memorable track, though like some others it may play well in the movie.
TRACK 8 - THE GIRL WITH THE STAFF - 4/10
This track begins with a longing, slower tempo reprise of Rey's Theme which is rather excellent, before transforming into more generic action-background fare. It is also rather short, and not very memorable.
TRACK 9 - THE RATHTARS - 3/10
This is a longer track and is meant to be the theme of a specific band of characters. This track falls flat in particular because unlike some of the other "action tracks", this one is meant to represent a group in the movie. I am assuming based on this track that their introduction is as superfluous as the track itself.
The track ends again with more of the "Follow Me" staccato which, as mentioned above, already doesn't do the album much favors. This is probably my least favorite track on the album.
TRACK 10 - FINN'S CONFESSION - 7/10
This track starts off nearly sounding identical to the High Council Meeting track from The Phantom Menace - and it is part of what I love about it. While I wouldn't say this track is overly memorable or stand-out, it is on-par with a "middle-grade" Williams track from some of the other movies (like the High Council song). When it merges with Rey's theme around 1:05, it continues on softly and beautifully.
This is a feel-good background song, and defined as that, it is excellent and does it's job.
TRACK 11 - MAZ'S COUNSEL - 5/10
This was another track that I went in expecting more. Maz is supposed to be like this movie's Yoda, and her theme should have matched that. Instead, we are given a fairly generic background track until around 2:20, when the Force Theme is played in a delicate, and beautiful way. This is followed by a very tumultuous version of Rey's theme that signifies some sort of discord in her character.
It does what it has to do, but again, is not overly memorable.
TRACK 12 - THE STARKILLER - 7/10
This movie's super weapon gets its own track. This track is much more somber than I expected - similar in tone to "Lament" on the Episode III score.
I'm unsure what happens in the movie at this stage, but it is an unexpectedly sad song, almost remorseful, and I actually like that. It was an unexpected surprise to a song that frankly I thought would be another repeat of the "Follow Me" motif.
TRACK 13 - KYLO REN ARRIVES AT THE BATTLE - 8/10
The track starts with the gentleness of the beginning of Rey's theme, continuing to the strings and then the blaring trumpets reminiscent of Anakin on Mustafar. Around 0:42, the song kicks into high gear and at 0:50, Kylo Ren's Theme (motif) is heard. The staccato works much better in this song, and it is one of the few songs where we get to hear Kylo Ren's motif.
It ends with a sadness that I would expect given Kylo's character. Overall, good middle-grade track for the album.
TRACK 14 - THE ABDUCTION - 6/10
Not much to say about this track. Clearly, it is meant to portray a sadness and hopelessness countered by Rey's hope towards the end of the song around 1:35. It does this well, but without context, it isn't very memorable. It is simply reused motifs from previous tracks, albeit good ones.
TRACK 15 - HAN AND LEIA - 7/10
I was expecting much, much more from this track. It starts off with Leia's theme and then transitions with some beautiful string work into the "Rebel Fleet" track from the end of ESB. This entire stretch, through about 1:10 is beautiful. That is where the beauty and nostalgia of this track ends.
At this point, I would have preferred if they simply reused the Han and Leia theme from the OT in its entirety. After 1:10, the motif changes to "The March of the Resistance", and then remains unmemorable for the rest of the song. However, the inclusion of Han and Leia's motif themes are enough to push it to a 7. If you want to hear those themes on this soundtrack, this is the only place to go.
I do like that they have Kylo Ren's motif toward the end given his role in the movie, and the force theme at the end as well. These are very meaningful cues and I think will make even more sense in context of the scene.
TRACK 16 - THE MARCH OF THE RESISTANCE - 7/10
I am unsure how I feel about this track. On the one hand, it certainly hearkens back to the Droid Army March from the prequel trilogies - a bit too much so, I might argue, given the three degrees of separation this group has from that one. Unless there is something to be said about that comparison?
However, I can't help but feel like this song is in a constant build to a crescendo that never occurs. Overall, it is good in what it is trying to accomplish, but this song almost makes me feel as though the Resistance is ambiguously good which I don't believe to be the case. In any sense, I think it is a good track and one of the only additional "new" motifs added to the series in this album.
TRACK 17 - SNOKE - 8/10
This track conveys the unknown evil of Snoke in a different way than the Emeror's motif. The Emperor's was more regal, as though you can see him sitting on a throne with a choir of dark side apprentices humming. Snoke's theme is much, much more loose and mysterious. It is clear that he is dark, but the nature of that darkness is unknown. All the listener knows is that it is raw, and it does it well.
TRACK 18 - ON THE INSIDE - 7/10
More background music, but mostly consisting of cues from Kylo's theme and at around 1:20 you even get to hear some cues similar to The Imperial March.
TRACK 19 - TORN APART - 9/10
It is rare that a track that starts off so seemingly happy could end so dark, and it speaks to William's mastery. Up until around about 1:27, the song sounds as though it is an upbeat song. Starting right then, the song takes a dark turn, and echoes Anakin's Dark Deeds, building up to a silent crescendo at 2:00.
After that point, after a brief but clear mourning segment, the song goes into some of the best action cues on the album, complete with Kylo's theme and the Force Theme motifs. However, it doesn't quite make it to the unmistakable memorable tracks of Anakin turning dark or Order 66.
TRACK 20 - THE WAYS OF THE FORCE - 7/10
This song is the closest the album has to a "duel of the fates" or "battle of the heroes". Starting with the Force motif, and moving forward into an amalgam of several different character's themes, this song is clearly meant to convey a climactic conflict.
At around 1:52, the force theme plays again, and suddenly the tone of the music returns to an exciting pace, as though a character has had a change of fate. It reminds me of Vader looking at the Emperor and back at Luke before dumping him into the pit. At around 2:56, we get Rey's motif again followed by a soft but abrupt end. Overall, a good track that could have done a bit better to convey what was at stake here. Still a solid track.
TRACK 21 - SCHERZO FOR X-WINGS - 6/10
This is certainly no "Battle of Yavin", but it is clear that it is meant to be "that" part of the movie (due in no small part to the title of the song. Again, it may have to do with the fact that the "Resistance" and "Follow Me" motifs aren't that good themselves, and they are used throughout the track, but the song seems to fall flat of delivering a memorable final battle sequence in comparison to "The Battle of Yavin" or "The Battle of Endor Part III".
TRACK 22 - FAREWELL AND THE TRIP - 9/10
In any other Star Wars movie, this would have been the final track and it would have ended with the Star Wars main theme chiming in. I'm glad that it didn't, but that is a testament to how good this track is even while being primarily a medley. Including Leia's theme briefly was nice, and you can certainly feel that while we have had a victory there is still much to be done.
Around 2:58, when Leia's theme returns, it becomes almost a hand-off, putting the focus on finding her brother from her to the new Rey as evidence by her theme kicking in afterwards at around 4:08.
TRACK 23 - THE JEDI STEPS AND FINALE - 10/10 *STAR*
The beginning of this track is one of the most beautiful additions to the Star Wars score I have heard in a very long time. At around 1:00, it transforms from mysterious to a powerful crescendo before dying down again. At 1:37, the Force Theme is played in one of its most beautiful renditions since ANH with an extended crescendo that leads into the Star Wars main theme. For this movie, they used the "shorter" main theme ending. (If you listen to ANH's version, you can hear the longer one).
After the main theme, as expected, there is a medley of the major themes and motifs introduced from this movie. For your reference, I have bulletted them:
END THEME MEDLEY PORTIONS
- It starts with Rey's theme, and the version played here is concise but just as amazing as the version a few tracks back.
- Kylo's Theme cues in next, starting with a few bars from the end of Snoke's theme and ending with Kylo's theme proper.
- Next is the "follow me" motif, which I believe is Finn's theme.
- This is followed by the Resistance March at around 6:05. *NOTE: The version done in this medley is my favorite version of this song, and in fact had me rethink it. It is better here.
- It ends with a return to Rey's theme in combination with the Force theme. From 7:30 - 7:45 is one of the most beautiful parts of the album, and hearing Rey's theme blend with the Force theme really highlight's William's mastery, as her song blends seamlessly as though it always belonged there in the first place.
KEY NEW THEMES/MOTIFS
- Rey's Theme
- March of the Resistance
- "Follow Me" motif - Finn's Theme
- Kylo Ren's theme (not it's own track, but used throughout the album)
Star Wars is back, and with it some more beautiful music. Having John Williams write the music is essentially cheating, as even the worst track on this album is better than the best on some other soundtracks out there.
The score doesn't transform the world like the prequel soundtracks did, it transitions it from the OT of yore to the new movies and cast. In many ways, the score matches the movie's plot in this sense. In any case, I am happy to have William's back, particularly in his old age, to continue to write such beautiful music for a new generation.
Feel free to email me at chris41336@outlook.com with questions or comments, and follow me on Twitter @chris41336.
