Soundtrack Review: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Posted by Jon Blough

August 23, 2009

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This is a review of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi by John Williams.

“Nothing less than a stunning close to one of the most powerful musical sagas ever composed.”

With two masterpieces already achieved with A New Hope (SW4) and The Empire Strikes Back (SW5), can anyone think of a more anticipated score than Return of the Jedi? Maybe Phantom Menace has a case, but regardless Return of the Jedi was never going to live up to expectations unless it became the finest score ever written. Between the multiple new main themes and the interpolations of previous motifs Williams had to juggle over ten major themes, the resulting effort does lose a bit of the consistency that gave SW5 its extra brilliance. Yet despite that VERY minor disappointment, is anyone going to argue the score is less than brilliant? Yeah, didn’t think so.

Fresh Music

What still (astoundingly) keeps the music fresh are the four major thematic additions. The one that always comes to mind is the Ewok theme. Some think it too cutesy, but I enjoy its bouncy jubilance, especially in the joyous concert performance. The emperor’s theme uses a dark choir to evoke the saga’s first authentic sense of dread, getting near apocalyptic in “The Battle of Endor II”. The memorable theme for Jabba (while furthering the mistaken notion that tuba=fat) is exceptionally pompous and will probably make some listeners bounce around amused. Less laudable are the source songs for Jabba’s section of the score. I can’t imagine any scenario where the atrocious and annoying “Jedi Rocks” will inspire any feeling other than a desire to chuck the album against a wall, and it’s to the rest of the score’s credit that the album rating doesn’t dip. The final major new theme is the beautiful melody for Luke and Leia, one that receives only two performances in the body of the score. True, the score is already crammed with other ideas, but the theme is so lush and gorgeous that not hearing more of it in the second half is a slight bummer.

Variations on Themes

Also impressing are the variations on previous themes that still refuse to become rehash. The swirling power behind the Imperial march in “Approaching the Death Star” represents one of the best starts to any album, remaining both menacing while signaling much more sweeping things to come. Yet even better is the theme’s light, redemptive incarnations in “The Battle of Endor III”, giving the theme a depth not thought possible after SW5. Also amazing is the emotional final explosion of the Force theme in “Light of the Force”. Kudos to those who notice the return of Death Star motif. Only the use of the love theme from SW5 disappoints slightly, as its performances here sound a bit weaker and feature little of the sweeping grandeur that made many of the theme’s highlights in the past score. The droid motif from SW5 remains absent, though any more themes probably would have made the score explode. As usual, I do not have the space to embrace all the highlights, but know that tons more exist.

Exciting Highlights

The action does not reach the same consistent level of, say, the “The Battle Of Hoth”, but that is understandable given how the accompanying scenes jump around and how many themes have to be referenced. The highlight stretch would obviously be the Battle of Endor cues (which I view as one continuous cue separated into four suites) that accelerate the same heightened sense of drama that the climactic final cues of the saga’s other scores achieved. Too many exciting highlights exist here to be fully listed, but most listeners will agree the choral theme in “The Battle of Endor II” has enough emotional resonance to rank near the top. With such a torrid and exciting stretch, it’s amazing that other parts can stand out, but the brass in “Den of the Rancor” is perhaps the most drivingly dark action of the trilogy and “Sail Barge Assault” is an fun expansion on “Tie Fighter Attack” (its alternate is also superb). Only “Speeder Bike Chase” disappoints due to its brevity.
Conclusion

Most importantly, SW6 retains four defining qualities of its predecessors. The recording quality is superb. The rich orchestrations still give it a definitive, nearly timeless air. The moments absent the admittedly fantastic themes excel, like the playful last 2:30 of “Tatooine Rendezvous”, the celebratory send-offs in “Sail Barge Assault” and “The Fleet Enters Hyperspace”…again, too many to list. Lastly, the score builds up its emotion, drama, and excitement right until the final moments, helping make the score an independent musical story. Some days I think it’s better than SW4, some days it’s the other way around, but regardless of where the score ultimately ranks, it makes for nothing less than a stunning close to one of the most powerful musical sagas ever composed.

Album Situation: 1997 and 2004 albums are virtually the same. The earlier are superfluous and probably impossible to find (not that I think you would try to do that)

2-Disc Album (148:01)
Disc One
1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare (0:22)
2. Main Title/Approaching the Death Star/Tatooine Rendezvous (9:21)
3. The Droids are Captured (1:17)
4. Bounty for a Wookiee (2:50)
5. Han Solo Returns (4:01)
6. Luke Confronts Jabba/Den of the Rancor/Sarlacc Sentence (8:51)
7. The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault (6:02)
8. The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan’s Revelation (10:58)
9. Alliance Assembly (2:13)
10. Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor (4:09)
11. Speeder Bike Chase/Land of the Ewoks (9:38)
12. The Levitation/Threepio’s Bedtime Story (2:46)
13. Jabba’s Baroque Recital (3:09)
14. Jedi Rocks (2:42)
15. Sail Barge Assault (Alternate) (5:04)

Disc Two
1. Parade of the Ewoks (3:28)
2. Luke and Leia (4:46)
3. Brother and Sister/Father and Son/The Fleet Enters Hyperspace/Heroic Ewok (10:40)
4. Emperor’s Throne Room (3:26)
5. The Battle of Endor I (11:50)
6. The Lightsaber/The Ewok Battle (4:31)
7. The Battle of Endor II (10:03)
8. The Battle of Endor III (6:04)
9. Leia’s News/Light of the Force (3:24)
10. Victory Celebration/End Title (8:34)
11. Ewok Feast/Part of the Tribe (4:02)
12. The Forest Battle (concert suite) (4:05)

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