John Williams – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980/2018) [FLAC 24bit/192Hz]

By the end of the 1970s, John Williams was already a legend among filmmakers and film-scoring buffs. But the success of Star Wars elevated him to something he probably could have scarcely imagined-bona fide pop-culture icon. Williams’s masterful score to the first Star Wars sequel (and the chapter many sci-fi fans cite as the series’ most dark, emotionally complex, and satisfying) fleshes out his original character themes with some new ones while painting compelling musical portraits of alien worlds as disparate as the ice planet Hoth and the swampy Dagobah. Notable are the menacing, Prokofiev-inspired “Imperial Theme (Darth Vader’s March)”; the noble “Yoda and the Force”; and Hoth’s “Battle” cues, which are some of the most dramatic action cues ever. This expanded edition also fleshes out the already familiar themes with new tracks that restore the score to its status as a grand galactic symphony. A richly illustrated booklet is included as well, helping listeners place each piece of music in its proper cinematic context. Of his four attempts at coloring George Lucas’s rich stellar saga, this remains Williams’s most consistent and compelling.

Tracklist:
1. Star Wars (Main Theme) 05:46
2. Yoda’s Theme 03:27
3. The Training of a Jedi Knight 03:07
4. The Heroics of Luke and Han 05:49
5. The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme) 02:59
6. Departure of Boba Fett 03:06
7. Han Solo and the Princess 03:27
8. Hyperspace 04:03
9. The Battle in the Snow 03:42
10. The Asteroid Field 04:15
11. The City in the Clouds 06:28
12. Rebels at Bay 05:21
13. Yoda and the Force 04:02
14. The Duel 04:02
15. The Magic Tree 03:33
16. Lando’s Palace 03:52
17. Finale 06:23