The Daily Spin, October 22
John Williams | Star Wars: A New Hope OST
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
Artist: John Williams
Link:
Is there a score better known than this? I don’t think so.
From the very first notes, it’s deeply and beautifully clear what a fantastic arrangement this is, setting the tone for this space opera absolutely impeccably. It’s almost a challenge to look at this outside of the cultural impact of the score, one I won’t even attempt to undertake.
That’s the thing with this album - it’s through Williams’ instrumentation that we get the joyous oddity that is ‘jizz’ music and the Cantina Band theme, the same way the regal solemnity of Leia’s theme highlights in an instant how important her character is, as the bombastic opening notes of the main theme make it clear the stature of the epic you’re about to look at.
And yet, the grander impact is arguably in the lasting impact of his themes on this entire series. Though it’s not in the plans for The Daily Spin, you can’t talk about Star Wars without mentioning the Imperial March, maybe the most iconic single piece from a cinematic score - but even under the all-stars, there’s a fantastic supporting cast that so delightfully underscores each and every moment throughout all of these films, and that’s absolutely undeniable.
Rating: 8.3/10
Best Tracks: Main Title; The Return Home
Worst Tracks: Inner City