Music Album Review: 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Original Soundtrack' PolyGram Records CD

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(C) 1980 RSO Records and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)
In 1985, after buying out the disco label RSO Records, British record company Polydor acquired the entire RSO catalog, which included the original two-record soundtrack for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, which featured selections from the score composed and conducted by John Williams. 

Polydor, through its PolyGram Records arm, had also acquired the rights to Williams' 1977 soundtrack from Star Wars, which had been released by the now-defunct 20th Century Records, a division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. So when Polydor released the Star Wars soundtrack on the then-still new compact disc (CD) format from the analog recordings, the resulting album was a relatively faithful replica of its best-selling vinyl precursor. (The only differences between the long-play [LP] album and the 2-CD edition, other than format, were that the liner notes from the LP were not included and the 1977 gatefold's photos were presented in black and white in a booklet.)

Now, for some reason - perhaps a purely economic one, because aesthetically it didn't make sense - RSO decided to release a one-record version of Empire's soundtrack in the United Kingdom, rather than replicate the 75-minute-long 2-LP U.S. edition. As a result, British and Irish Star Wars fans who could not get their hands on the American soundtrack had to settle for a 42-minute-long recording that consisted of only 10 tracks. 

And to add insult to injury, Polydor rearranged the track order so it looked like this:

  1. The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)
  2. Yoda's Theme
  3. The Asteroid Field
  4. Han Solo and the Princess (Love Theme)
  5. Finale
  6. Star Wars (Main Theme)
  7. The Training of a Jedi Knight
  8. Yoda and the Force
  9. The Duel
  10. The Battle in the Snow
(Note: In the LP, the tracks were equally divided in groups of five on the A and B sides of the record.)

Apparently, someone at Polydor thought it would be a good idea to release the CD edition based on this abridged version rather than the pricier two-record album. So, when PolyGram Records released the Empire soundtrack on compact disc in 1985, this is what consumers got:

The reverse side of the album package which contained PolyGram Records failed attempt to bring Empire's awesome score to life as a compact disc. (C) 1985 PolyGram Records and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)


My Take

I have reviewed the more complete Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back -Original Soundtrack Album (Special Edition) elsewhere; there's no need for me to repeat my remarks about John Williams' skills as a composer/conductor or the London Symphony Orchestra's peerless performance of the score in this space. 

Instead, I'll confine my comments to this lackluster recording by saying, "Don't buy this album unless the seller only asks $1.00 for it at a garage sale." 

Seriously. It's really that bad.  The producers and engineers at Polydor/Polygram should have at least asked someone to get the original recordings of the 2-LP album and given the Empire soundtrack the same level of attention to detail that they gave to the 2-CD album of Star Wars music. Certainly, someone had access to the complete master tapes from the 1980 recording sessions. Otherwise, how could soundtrack specialist Nick Redman have restored the scores to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in 1993 for the The Star Wars Trilogy: The Soundtrack Anthology for Arista Records and later for RCA Victor's 1997 Special Edition albums? 

I am a huge John Williams/London Symphony Orchestra fan. I'm also, in case you just happened to start reading my blog, a die-hard Star Wars fan. So for me, this recording was an insult, not just to my intelligence as a soundtrack aficionado, but also as a consumer. (The CD came wrapped in that thin plastic shrink wrap that covers all brand-new jewel cases; this one also had a round "Super Saver Price" sticker affixed.) I only own it because it was the only edition that was available when I was starting my CD collection back in 1990.

Now, this edition of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Original Soundtrack is no longer "in print," as they say in the industry. It was supplanted long ago by the more complete versions released by Arista Records, RCA Victor, and Sony Classical. 

And even the new (2018) Walt Disney Records digitally remastered re-issue of the 1980 album, which doesn't contain Williams' complete score but replicates the 75-minute vinyl edition, is better than this CD. 

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