Star Wars Ultimate Edition Soundtracks coming Jan. 2016

The track listings are there under "Track Listings" - click "See all items".

If these are correct, they do match the double-disc RCA track listings for IV, V, VI. I don't have I, II, II so I can't verify them.

Found this pdf a while back ... who knows how accurate it is.

http://www.malonedigital.com/starwars.pdf

 

Mea culpa - thats what I get for not looking at the page more thoroughly. If the CD track listing is right it seems odd that it should differ from the vinyl and download contents. Assuming that it is right the options seems to be vinyl box set (if they do a hi-res download), hi-res download if available or iTunes.

And whilst I'm not in a position to ascertain the accuracy of the PDF, it makes for a superb listening guide to the various releases of the original trilogy scores and was single handedly responsible for my tracking down the 4CD Anthology set. Since then I can listen to the 2CD Polydor, the Anthology set and the 1997 RCA set interchangeably for the first film - 2CD Polydor for the nostalgia fix, RCA for completeness and Anthology for sound quality. For Empire & Jedi the 1997 RCAs are an unsatisfactory listen for the compromised sound quality and all the monkeying with sources, music as-not-heard-in-the-film about the PDF documents. In those cases the Anthology set is an incomplete but utterly listenable replacement. Plus Anthology has Lapti Nek and Yub-Yub! If anyone hasn't read it yet, make some coffee and settle down to read the PDF - it's a wonderful read.

I've toyed with picking up the original LP on CD for Jedi but the prices have been fairly high. Not sure about the original Empire score on CD. The new Ultimate Edition collection will be a prime chance to pick up (hopefully) better masterings of the 77-83 soundtracks as originally issued.

Also worthy of attention is the Skywalker Symphony CD conducted by Williams. From what I remember of the liner notes it was the inaugural recording made in the then new scoring suite at Skywalker Ranch. Fantastic sound quality and a full blooded run through of some of the better known concert pieces from the originally trilogy scores. Still known to play The Imperial March and Leia's Theme from this disc as they're so damned good.

 

Sourced from the masters of the original LPs. Don't the OT LPs all have bad sound or am I mistaken? People could just pick up an original for a few bucks and not pay the crazy price for the new set. Episode 1-3 on Vinyl is neat though.

 

The 77 soundtrack on Polydor 2CD isn't the absolute best but it's far from unlistenable. I suspect the original LP masters were transferred to CD for the 1986 issue. Just running the existing LP master tapes through a better DAC will help. I've never got to play my 1983 1LP of Jedi on a decent system; given the state that my vinyl copy is in it's probably for the best. Never got to hear the original Empire LP or CD.

 

I have two sets of Original Trilogy (77/83) CDs, US and European releases, both pressed by PDO/Polygram. They sound good, specially Return Of The Jedi.

 

I have the 2004 box set with 2CD editions of movies IV-VI, which I don't see mentioned much in reviews of various releases. Anyone know how those measure up? And I wonder if this new Ultimate Edition set will be an improvement? I tend to go for original release LPs (I have IV-V), but it would be cool to have the whole series. The CD set is tempting (cheaper!) and includes the Harrison Ford and John Williams interview disc.

 

Looks like the MECO Star Wars album is also getting a new vinyl release

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-361524...ar-wars-and-other-galactic-funk-vinyl-lp.aspx

 

Of course it would be far too much to hope for to have Sony release these on SACD, even with their invention of the format, and the format's recent resurgence...

 

The 2004 2CD editions are essentially the same tracks, running order and masterings as the 1997 RCA 2CD editions. On the plus side they're the most complete versions of the scores and Star Wars (aka A New Hope) sounds reasonably good. Things go downhill sound quality wise with Empire and hit rock bottom with Jedi.

As far as we can tell at this moment in time the vinyl set has the original 1977, 1980 and 1983 LPs remastered as does the iTunes MFiT version. The CD set for some reason seems to have the 1997 RCA 2CDs substituted in, at least according to the track listing on Amazon.

No idea if the new sets will be an improvement. There are no previews up yet on iTunes nor, as far as I'm aware, has anyone heard either the new vinyl or CDs yet. Barring a retransfer of the tapes, the CDs look likely to be a repackage of the 1997 RCA masters with all of their limitations and drawbacks.

Hopefully either more info or previews will be forthcoming before the release date. I'm not set up for vinyl (however much I'd like to be my Mrs will go spare) so it's either CD and/or download. I've already got the 1997 RCAs in the deluxe mini hardback books, so no sale there. If they prove to be CD equivalent of the vinyl set I'll likely buy as I only have the 1977 album on CD - never go the 1980 or 1983 albums on CD, despite the 1983 LP being a fave back in the 80s.

If al else fails, I'll take a download.

 

I will have to get it. I just ordered a copy of Christmas In The Stars off eBay. Not sure how I missed that one as a kid.

 

I don't understand why they didn't include the Episode VII soundtrack in this box set.

Here's the Amazon listing with a photo of the box and individual discs:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ndtrack box&qid=1448553194&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

 

Before and after Disney...

 

Ah! So it's a licensing thing? Okay, I get it.

 

They're clones of the 1997 editions.

EDIT: I see @coffeetime beat me to it.

 

Aren't the first 3 (IV - VI) currently available for pocket change?

 

Yup.

 

Hoping the high-res downloads are available to purchase separately, and not just if one buys the vinyl set or something. Really, there's an appalling lack of information been released about what exactly one is getting in each instance. What mastering has occured ("up to" 24/192 - what the heck does that really mean?!). They also haven't been all that forthcoming about the fact the CD sets contained the (1997 era mastering) RCA releases, and the vinyl and download sets the original album programmings. Hope more care has gone into the mastering than the marketing in evidence here.....

 

Quite. The Sony Classical website has been 'coming soon' for months now, with not even any placeholder information for new and upcoming releases in place. If this is Sony's last throw of the dice with regards the SW soundtracks, here's hoping that the next incumbents can do a better job (cf Disney vs old Lucasfilm with the films themselves).

 

Don't think this has been posted here yet, but here's a sneak peek at the vinyl set below. Looks like Star Wars to Jedi is from freshly minted 24/192 transfers from the LP masters, but they avoid going into details about Phantom to Revenge of the Sith. As the original press releases stated, 'up to 24/192' I'm assuming those three are at a lower resolution, which is a bit of a pity. No word on the included downloads, whether they're merely MP3s are 24/192 lossless. Attention to detail on recreating the original LP releases looks great! Confusingly they mention the CD releases to, but not that they're merely re-releases of what we already have, as opposed to the original LP programming for the original trilogy:

 

Cool!

What about this bit:

"We did do a little bit different approach to the recording and mixing of each of those in terms of the equipment that was available. The one thing that I can say is that the first two were done with analog recorders and the third was done with a Pro-Tools at 192K because we could not obtain enough analog tape to record the third one completely. That was the interesting anecdote of Star Wars 3, that by 2005, there was not a universal availability of analog tape that we could actually buy enough reels of any one kind of tape. We were looking from Ampex 456 and we needed about 150 reels and we couldn't get them. " ~ Shawn Murphy

 

Man, that is sad!

 

Too Much Tape There's no such thing as too much tape

 

My personal bet is that we will get (as a digital download) the first three films soundtracks at 96 Khz/24 bit (even if Revenge Of The Sith was tracked at 192/24, it may have been mixed at 96/24), ant the three Original Trilogy soundtracks will be at 192 Khz/24 bit mastered from the analog masters tapes.

 

I'm not sure - I can't help feeling the free downloads that come with the LPs will be MP3s only. Star Wars is always about milking the cash cow afterall. I assume they'd want fans to pay extra for high-res lossless versions, though I'd LOVE to be proven wrong here, and it would create good will & word of mouth for them to include genuine high-res download links with the vinyl set. My Sister & her husband very generously pre-ordered the vinyl set for me as a Christmas present, so I'll know in a couple of weeks

One other thing to mention, in a couple of websites that contain the press release for this set, the mention of 'high resolution downloads' is hyperlinked. Clicking upon it takes one to the iTunes store... One hopes their definition of high resolution downloads truly is that, and not lossy AAC or MP3s.

 

Have free downloads ever not been lossy?