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Charted: June 18, 1977

Rating: 4.355 (average of 6 ratings)

Genre: classical soundtrack

Quotable: “reviv[ed] symphonic film scores in Hollywood motion pictures” – National Recording Registry

Album Tracks (1977): *

  1. Main Title
  2. Imperial Attack
  3. Princess Leia’s Theme
  4. The Desert/ The Robot Auction
  5. Ben’s Death/ Tie Fighter Attack
  6. The Little People Work
  7. Rescue of the Princess
  8. Inner City
  9. Cantina Band
  10. The Land of the Sand People
  11. Mouse Robot/ Blasting Off
  12. The Return Home
  13. The Walls Converge
  14. The Princess Appears
  15. The Last Battle
  16. The Throne Room (End Titles)
* Original track listing; see Notes for more details.

Album Tracks (1997), Disc 1: **

  1. Main Title / Rebel Blockade Runner
  2. Imperial Attack
  3. The Dune Sea of Tatooine / Jawa Sandcrawler
  4. The Moisture Farm
  5. The Hologram / Binary Sunset
  6. Landspeeder Search / Attack of the Sand People
  7. Tales of a Jedi Knight / Learn About the Force
  8. Burning Homestead
  9. Mos Eisley Spaceport
  10. Cantina Band
  11. Cantina Band #2
  12. Binary Sunset (Alternate) (Archival Bonus Track)
** 20th anniversary reissue; see Notes for more details.

Album Tracks (1997), Disc 2: **

  1. Princess Leia's Theme
  2. The Millenium Falcon / Imperial Cruiser Pursuit
  3. Destruction of Alderaan
  4. The Death Star / The Stormtroopers
  5. Wookie Prisoner / Detention Block Ambush
  6. Shootout In The Cell Bay / Dianoga
  7. The Trash Compactor
  8. The Tractor Beam / Chasm Crossfire
  9. Ben Kenobi's Death / TIE Fighter Attack
  10. The Battle of Yavin (Launch From the Fourth Moon / X-Wings Draw Fire / Use The Force)
  11. The Throne Room / End Title
* 20th anniversary reissue; see Notes for more details.

Sales:

sales in U.S. only 1 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 1 million

Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 2
peak on U.K. album chart 21

Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Star Wars (Main Title) (7/9/77) #10 US, #4 AC

Notes: When the original Star Wars movie was re-released in 1997, the soundtrack was re-released as well, and one look at the track listing suggested quite an overhaul. It now boasted 23 cuts over 2 CDs, with some titles now changed or absent, and a running order in sync with the movie.

Awards:

Rated one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database. Click to learn more. Grammy Hall of Fame. Click to go to Grammy.com HOF page. In the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Click to go to Website.

Star Wars Soundtrack
John Williams (composer)/
London Symphony Orchestra (performers)
Review:
“Today, this…set seems a quaint anachronism out of a generally silly decade, though much of the music – including the opening fanfare, the music associated with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Ben Kenobi, and the Death Star motif – still resonates 30 years later, so iconic has it become” (Eder), “its themes well remembered and often quoted” (NRR). “When the blockbuster motion picture was released in 1977, home video did not exist. It was the soundtrack recording which enabled audiences to evoke images from the film in their living rooms” (NRR). “At the same time, the Star Wars score stands up very well as a piece of music on its own” (Williams).

The Star Wars soundtrack “revolutionized the field of contemporary movie music” (Eder) by “reviving symphonic film scores in Hollywood motion pictures” (NRR). “Music for movies was getting simpler and the soundtrack albums cheaper and shoddier in design and more disposable by the year. Additionally, the old guard among Hollywood’s top orchestral composers was virtually gone by 1976” (Eder). “Then came Star Wars” (Eder), composed by John Williams and “played by the London Symphony Orchestra, handsomely designed and looking expensive and important, which matched the sound of the music” (Eder).

Williams “uses few major themes (mostly tied to specific characters, signaling when they appear on the screen or do something important), [but] there’s also enough variety in the incidental music to keep things interesting. From the instantly recognizable opening music to…the closing credits, this is excellent work that perfectly captures the innocence and sense of adventure of the film” (Williams).

Review Source(s):

Last updated November 21, 2008.