ABC

In order to make a correct edit of the Empire Strikes Back’s score from all the available editions, one must take into consideration some specific particularities on each of those:
1. The SE’s have a lot of tracks with a narrow or spoiled stereo.
2. The Anthology has two tracks (segments more precisely)  with the stereo channels inverted (thanks GooMusician ;) )
3. The Anthology is entirely inverted (the frequencies have their head down, which can be an issue once you have to edit a track with the SE or the RSO).
4. The RSO 1st CD edition, behind the lack of care about the mixing, is awesome.
5. General: to notice the score is composed with a lot of material from the recording sessions wich edited together may sound different.

After that, only a careful listen after having managed the abuse (or not) of EQ’s on each of those can let you decide wich version shows the best for each track.

On this edit, all have been remixed separately (originally edited segments from a same cue), to obtain the most accurate volumes and equalizations settings before editing.

Here’s the detail this edit so far:

CD1:

1. Main Titles / The Ice Planet
· 0’00” - 1’31” | RSO CD
· 1’31” - 2’29” | RSO CD
· 2’29” - 2’45” | SE
· 2’45” - 2’54” | Anthology
· 2’54” - 3’15” | RSO CD
· 3’15” - 3’31” | RSO CD
· 3’31” -  3’45” | RSO CD
· 3’45” -  8’12” | Anthology

2. The Wampa’s Lair
· SE (+ Anthology clean fade out)

3. Vision of Obi-Wan
· 0’00” - 0’15” | SE (“Rebel Base” insert originally outro of “Probe Droid”)
· 0’15” - 3’35” | SE

4. Snowspeeders
· Anthology
· layered with RSO LP transfer (at corrected speed) for better depth and percussions details.

5. Aboard The Executor
· SE

6. Drawing The Battle Lines
· 0’00” – 2’01” | SE
· 2’01” – 2’40” | SE
· 2’40” – 4’04” | Anthology
· Stereo recentered (each part)

7. The Battle In The Snow
· RSO CD
· restored lack of volume from 1’43” to 1’50” (RSO only)
· rearranged the clumsy original cut (a repetition)  at 2’28”

8. Luke’s First Crash
· Anthology

9. The Rebels Escape
· Anthology
· RSO LP transfer from 2'05 to 2'07 (missing bit)

10. The Asteroid Field
· RSO CD

11. Crash Landing On Dagobah
· 0’00” – 2’37” | SE
· 2’37” – 3’30” | SE
· 3’30” – 3’35” | Anthology fade out

12. A Familiar Place
· SE

13. Luke’s Nocturnal Visitor
· 0’00” – 1’37” | RSO CD
· 1’37” – 1’47” | Anthology (missing bit)
· 1’47” – end | RSO CD

14. Han And Leia / Vader And The Emperor
· 0’00” – 1’31” | RSO CD, restored hiss on 1 or 2sec at 1’19” with the SE
· 1’31” – End | RSO CD
Two “big” hisses remain unrestored… but this version is irreplaceable.

15. Jedi Master Revealed / Mynock Cave
· SE, fully reedited. The end of “Jedi Master Revealed” has been composed to match the beginning of mynock Cave – before they edit the Vader fanfare on the SE like it is in the film. Also, the repetition of the thrilling part in “Mynock Cave” in the complete score is ‘imo’, a wrong add. It is far more natural that way. ‘Don’t mind if it doesn’t make a “complete” score anymore :).

16. The Magic Tree
· Anthology
· RSO LP transfer for synth part layer (1’58” – 2’16”) at corrected speed

17. Attack Position
· Anthology
· Three electrical noises/dropouts restored with the SE
· Stereo recentered

18. Yoda And The Force
· RSO CD, unrestored weird synth noise on the end fanfare, but it’s your only chance to listen this ending in its full power, as to have the original sequence untouched. They’ve only cut it on later releases, so they haven’t restored it.

19. Imperial Starfleet Deployed
· SE

20. City In The Clouds
· 0’00” – 0’09” | Anthology
· 0’09” – 0’35” | RSO LP transfer
· 0’35” – 1’26” | Anthology
· 1’26” – 2’29” | SE
· 2’29” – 3’40” | RSO LP transfer
· 3’40” – End | Anthology

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CD2 (76:56):

1. Lando's Palace / Luke's Promise
· 0’00” - 1’21” | Anthology (+LP layer on 4sec from 1'13" for better percussion depht)
· 1’21” - 2’24” | Anthology
· 2’24” - 3’51” | Anthology
+ Stereo balance corrected

2. Leia's Worries
· 0’00” - 0'14” | SE
· 0’14” - 1'00” | SE

3. Lando And Han
· SE (... quite a corrupted track)

4. Betrayal At Bespin
· SE

5. Captives
· SE

6. Deal With The Dark Lord
· 0’00” – 0'48” | SE
· 0'48” – 2’34” | SE (... Hard to deal with, indeed).

7. Carbon Freeze
· 0’00” - 0'23” | Anthology
· 0'23” - 1'16” | Anthology
· 1'16” - 1'34” | Anthology
· 1'34” - 2'38” | Anthology

8. Darth Vader's Trap / Departure Of Boba Fett
                  (Darth Vader's Trap)
· 0'00” - 0'55” | Anthology
· 0'55” - 1'30” | Anthology
· 1'30” - 2'06” | Anthology
· 2'06” - 3'30” | Anthology
· 3'30” - 3'49” | Anthology
· 3'49” - 4'51” | Anthology + Noise restoration at 7'37" on 1 sec.
                  (Departure Of Boba Fett)
· 4'51” - 4'57” | SE (for correct stereo junction, and better roll on the drum)
· 4'57” - 7'27” | Anthology + LP layer for the flutes (8'41" - 9'12")
· 7'27” - 8'26” | Anthology + wrong cut rearrangement at 10'47
(+ Stereo balance corrected on Carbon Freeze and Departure Of Boba Fett)

9. The Duel
· 0’00” - 0'27” | Anthology
· 0'27” - 1'33” | RSO CD
· 1'33” - 2'49” | RSO CD
· 2'49” - 4'06” | RSO CD

10. The Revelation / Escape From Bespin
· Anthology + Stereo balance corrected

11. Hyperspace
· Anthology (sped up at LP speed) + Stereo balance corrected
· Layered with RSO LP transfer

12. The Rebel Fleet / Finale
                  (The Rebel Fleet)
· 0’00” - 1'47” | RSO CD (base remix)
· 1'47” - 1'57” | RSO CD (saturation correction re-EQ)
                  (Finale)
· 1'57” - 2'06” | RSO CD (saturation correction re-EQ)
· 2'06” - 3'42” | RSO CD (base remix) + "tape crash" restoration at 3'08" with Anthology
· 3'42” - 3'51” | RSO CD (re-EQ)
· 3'51” - 4'28” | RSO CD - from the "Imperial March" track
· 4'28” - 4'37” | Anthology - from the "Film Version" bonus track (saturation correction re-EQ)
· 4'37” - 5'47” | RSO CD (saturation correction re-EQ)
· 4'47” - 6'25” | RSO CD (base remix)
+ Stereo balance corrected for all the track

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK MUSIC SUITE
(Tracks 13 to 16 written and adapted by John Williams for concert performance)

13. The Imperial March
· RSO CD + Stereo balance corrected
14. Yoda's Theme
· RSO CD + Stereo balance corrected
15. The Asteroid Field*
16. Han Solo And The Princess*
17. The Magic Tree*

ALTERNATE / UNUSED MATERIAL

18. Main Title / Probe Droid Overture (Film Version)
· RSO CD | SE | Anthology

19. Snowspeeders (Film Version)
· Anthology
Multi-segment edit from "Hyperspace" and "Snowspeeders"

20. Trapped In Carbonite (Unused)
· SE
Alternate composition for the beginning of "Darth Vader's Trap"

21. Departure Of Boba Fett
· Anthology + RSO LP flutes layer
Multi-segment edit from this cue

22. Training Of A Jedi Knight (Unused)
· 0'00” - 0'44” | RSO CD
· 0'44” - 1'38” | SE

23. The Rebel Fleet / Finale (Film Version)
· Same as track 12, expended with intro from "Yoda And The Force", the "Imperial March" is replaced here with its alternate from the film version End Titles (Anthology bonus track).
... Thanks msycamore for the info about that one ! ;)

* Performed by the National Philarmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Gerhardt (1980). I personnaly find the sound of this recording unbearable when its quality is at the top, so these tracks have been remixed too.

NOTE: All is 100% lossless, including the NPO tracks.

... Yeah, Memorex made me bad jokes too a while ago... The only "memory" remaining of my first infographic works is in my head !

I now use Sony discs and they seem very good to me, never lost something. About the burning speed, for my mixed pieces of music I burn at... 1x150Ko/s!  Never get rid of good old material :)

Hey ! One of the best thread around !!! But... Did the last post kill it ? :)

Ghost said:

 

   It would be cool to see some trees fall and see leaves shaking when Yoda is lifting the ship with the force.  The same thing happend in AOTC when Dooku and Yoda were having their force battle.  Debris was falling from the ceiling.  It would be cool to see the branches shake and some trees fall.  It would really add to the scene. 

Want to add some chaos to harmony... ?(!)

Restoration and mixing details on Post 2

Hi folks,

I plan to “restore” the sound of the entire ESB score from all the editions available, track by track, segment by segment, as to reedit a few missed tracks as notably the end titles. This work is not meant to be another version of the previous OT Soundtracks Salvage as the material is a bit different here. Its goal is to show the more details as possible, trying to get rid at maximum of the saturation present on on a lot of tracks on every release, even the RSO recordings though this one was better managed.
 

In details, so far…

WHAT IS THE PROJECT:

• To restore of the original sound as close as possible for each cue and bring back the depht of the orchestra

• Take the best recording of a cue (details, stereo) - whatever it may sound at first glance (the RSO CD looks sad when it’s the one with the best potential) - to reveal all that can be.

• If cues I choosed are incomplete, remix the missing part(s) from an other recording to fit the more exactly to it

• In the same idea, correct the sound of each different segment of a cue when you can hear the track is edited from different recording sessions takes

• Restore some lacks or faults when I can use another recording and editing procedures

• And perhaps most of all, to get rit of the noise to have only the music.

WHAT IS NOT THE PROJECT

• To Remove all pops and clips if the version I choosed to work with still have some (as mostly the RSO CD and the Anthology)

So my way is to search through the mixing abuses or lacks of both the Anthology and the SE’s, as to enhance the potential of what the RSO should have been.
 

THE SOURCES:

ESB SPECIAL EDITION (RCA Victor) - 1997

ESB from the STAR WARS SOUNDTRACKS ANTHOLOGY (Arista/Fox)- 1993

ESB first CD Realease (RSO) - 1985

ESB double LP Realease (RSO - here from “SeventiesFilmNut” transfer) - 1980

_________________________________________________________________
 

SAMPLES (Wav or Flac - From “Versions 2,3 & 4”):

CD1:

• “Main Title / Ice Planet” RSO 1st CD edition + SE + Anthology, remixed, final. (v.2)

• “The Wampa’s Lair” SE + RSO LP multi-layer + Antho fade out, remixed, final. (v.4)

• “The Rebels Escape” Anthology + RSO LP missing bit, multi-layered EQ’s (Antho), frequencies shifting correction + RSO LP layer (light), final mix. (v.4)

• “Jedi Master Revealed / Mynock Cave” Part 1 SE layered with RSO LP (medium freqs) / Part 2: SE begining, RSO CD completed and restored with SE, entirelely remixed before editing as always, final. (v.4)

CD2:

• “The Duel” (RSO 1st CD edition + Anthology begining), remixed, from version 1. (Redone/speed & pitch corrected on version 4). (here, v.3)

• “Finale” (RSO 1st CD ed.), 1st mixing, before restorations.

• “Finale” (RSO 1st CD ed. + Antho bit), restored, final. (v.2)
   

THE SET:

OPTIMUM EDITION 2009 (Version 1)

OPTIMUM EDITION 2009 (Version 2)

OPTIMUM EDITION 2010 (Version 3)

AUDIOPHILE EDITION

Ripplin said:

Is that to artificially make the sound field wider?

 Yes, A kind of algorythmic effect I think. Makes the sound "sweat".

if you think you can get it sounding better, great!

It's not only a matter of sound, it' s also a matter of details ! :)

Hi again,

As I said in the very first post of this topic, I never was 100% pleased with my Empire Strikes Back Remaster. Listening carefuly both the Anthology and the SE's these days and tinkering with the sound I found out much better can be done from this score (and I think from ANH too)...

By the way my last post was wrong: the SE's are not so "over". A lot is over on them, but there's a lot of material to be taken there. Some of the tracks have not the stereo corrupted and once remastered the music instruments sound ace !The Anthology is not better on all points I must say: they've done only the half of the job... And I begin to wonder if they just discovered the stereo enlargment filter, sounds like it sometimes.

...

Edit: OK, let's go for it: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/THE-EMPIRE-STRIKES-BACK-Score-Restoration-Project/topic/10927/ !!! :)

GoodMusician said:

I do have some news, I'm still working on the set...and plan to send some over to a friend for some tinkering and hopefully a soon release.

;) By the way, you're working the TPM in lossless, are you ?

alek2702 said:

ESB at first didn't strike with that much differences from the SE. Then I compared both versions directly and how wrong was I!

BTW, thanks but the SE's are over... They were dealed the wrong way.

If you want to compare them, you'd better take the Anthology because I worked mostly from it... And enjoy !

VincentSmalls said:

Though does look like a movie in which Boba Fett leads an army of biker scouts against the dastardly Nazis and their russian counterparts... in the Temple of Doom!

 Mwwhaha !... True.

Hey Vincentsmalls,

If your search skills have increased, maybe you may find a high res version of this one for RotJ... It may fit well with the others...? Don't know...

Sluggo said:

Bingowings said:

Sluggo said:

Bingowings said:

I noticed that this Treadwell might as well be called Deadwell, It's just sitting in the middle of the hanger not moving or working on anything, doesn't it know there is a war on?:

 

 Not a bad idea.  Maybe a different color than the orange to distinguish it from that was seen everywhere on Tatooine.

To paraphrase Lady Bracknell "the colour is immaterial" I was refering to the fact it was a dead prop.

I don't know if it was meant to be moving but broke down or not but stuck where it is, it does look a bit of a strange place for the droid to power down.

Maybe just adding a bit of movement or removing/replacing it could be a possible solution.

 I'm agreeing with you.  I'm just thinking if Ady does go ahead and add a little movement, maybe it could also include a change of the color.

 Another dead prop is... The snow!!! There's no snow in a hangar, whenever it is in Norway or in Groenland. :)

Good to read some more positive feedbacks between off-topic posts. Thanks !

VincentSmalls said:

Oh yeah, I'll post Hi-Rez for anyone who wants a copy. The images for the covers of ANH & ESB were both not particularly amazing quality either... had to be blown up... but not as much as the ROTJ one. It gives the images a softness, but actually i quite like that.

 So, you may search again because I searched and found a lot of high res images last week and I found a big one for the one you used for ESB. Unfortunately I've already cleared out my files... Not sure but I think this big one was on impawards.com

Cheers.

Edit: Yes, not as big but big enough: http://www.impawards.com/1980/empire_strikes_back_ver7_xlg.html

Savage said:

I suppose that depends on which version of the films you have watched at home.  If you're in a a PAL country, the video and audio of the Star Wars films are sped up and subsequently at a higher pitch.  If you're in a NTSC country, then the audio will be at the correct speed.  The soundtrack releases should match an NTSC release, but will be slower than a PAL release.

 Wow ! So strange. Thanks for the reply ;)

Hi there,

Can Ady, or anyone, answer to that question:

I worked a 1980 film version score edit for ESB (see in the new preservations threads) and I noticed the music on CD wasn't accorded the same way than the music in the film - I can't say it a better way in English, sorry.

Then here's the question: Did they change the speed, the pitch, or what ?

Thanks ;)

Indeed. Perhaps I should make it bigger ? J

Thanks for helping, DJ !

Edit:

IrishLuck1980 said:

Am I missing something?

... Well, since the mentioned topic about the OT scores salvage work has been here for some time from now, I owe on you to tell me if you miised something until now or not... Please. :)

Here is a better backcover (I think), the one I wanted to make... Here. And, an ultimate one here.

... And sorry for my twin profiles ! :)

Ripplin said:

Those are the ones you meant, right?

Ohh yep ! Then... I guess I've said something wrong. ;)

Though, the source that reminded me about the tabloid was Wikipedia, and it said it contained dates for each take on RotJ too.

Ripplin said:

I'm looking through the Empire SE booklet and the only thing it has as far as individual recording dates is "Recorded at Anvil Studios, Denham, England and at EMI/Abbey Road Studios, London, England December 27, 28, & 29, 1979 and January 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, & 18, 1980"

Is that the sort of thing you're looking for? (I can write out the Jedi one too, if you want) That's as specific as it gets.

P.S. What's with the __________ in the thread title? Kinda weird. ;)

 Thanks, but those infos are already written on my backcovers... I would have been honored if you took a look at them I must say. :)

The RCA 1997 booklets, and only those, should have a tabloid of the recording dates ( I only had ANH from this first pressing) and it indicates wich takes were choosen to make the soundtracks. I wonder if the *good* tracks of RotJ are from the same dates. That would explain some things (and would answer a little to a question you once asked).

Anyway my friend, the project I was talking about in the last post has no interest anymore. I think I enhanced some of the tracks still on RotJ, but some others have a fragile equilibrium that  is now easy to spoil with new settings. And honestly, in addition of the will to save my time, I realized through the compilation I tried that I prefer listening to the whole soundtrack as it is.

PS: You said Weird ?... Strange !

Edit: ... You were right, better that way ;)

EDIT: By the way, can someone report the recording dates of the choosen takes for RotJ and ESB (from the RCA 1997 SE's booklets) please ? Scans may be fine too. Thanks.

Bingowings said:

ESB finally enhanced with exciting CGI...

 Awesome ! (Of a really good taste)

Make Vader shouts (a "Ouch !") when Solo shots in his hand in ESB.

Still in ESB, why not include some water closet noises when Vader is in his meditation room... ?

Wow! I never checked that thread before... The 16mm restoration samples I just watched are beautiful, really ! The non-glossy image gives all another dimension to the world depicted. Bravo !

Nice Cloud City Vaderios !