Meco - The Empire Strikes Back - 1980 (not available)
It was as inevitable that Meco would return to Star Wars as it was that George Lucas would. But this time, Meco changed tactics. In 1980, disco wasn't exactly dead, but it was certainly on the operating table. Meco had already done Star Wars disco, anyway, and it was time for something new. So this would be the first Meco album without arranger Harold Wheeler. Meco instead went to his guitar player, Lance Quinn, for the new arrangements.
The result is pretty damn good. It's a completely different sound for Meco, much more rock 'n' roll than disco; like an orchestral rock band with a horn section and sound effects. The sound effects, by the way, are the real deal this time around, and not approximations like on Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk. Lucasfilm had seen that record sell through the roof, and this time they were getting in on the deal and provided Meco with the actual sound effects he wanted.
Another good step is that this album--all of four tracks--only contained music from The Empire Strikes Back. None of that filler garbage on the B side like Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk and Superman and Other Galactic Heroes.
The A side starts off with "The Empire Strikes Back (Medley): Darth Vader's Theme/Yoda's Theme," which is, like the movie itself, a darker than the original. Vader's theme especially sounds awesome on electric guitars, and the second half of the track, when the horns bring up Yoda's theme, it's actually kind of thrilling. Surprisingly, it only last 4 minutes and 6 seconds; I'm so used to Meco's movie tracks going on for a quarter of an hour. The track is tight and exciting. The second track, "Battle in the Snow," is drum-heavy, but it's drumming for real, not those damn snare drums from before. Drums and electric guitar and keyboards and Star Wars themes.
The B side is just as good as the A, starting with "The Force Theme" and ending with "The Asteroid Field/Finale." "The Force Theme" is kind of like a funky version of the great theme, real saxophone-heavy and very eighties. It's glorious trash. "The Asteroid Theme/Finale" is like a cross between a video game soundtrack and epic orchestral rock. I can't think of any other way to describe it. It gets a little bit repetitive, but just as it starts to wear out its welcome, the guitars pick up and Vader's theme comes back into it, and the track slows down for a nice, soft rendition of my personal favorite theme from the score, the Han Solo/Princess Leia theme. It carries off into the finale, even adding echoes of the Throne Room theme, which even John Williams didn't do in the Empire finale.
This is a brilliant album, and it's a shame it's never been re-released in its entirety.
Grade A+
A Side: "The Empire Strikes Back (Medley)"
BlindSides: "Battle in the Snow," "The Force Theme," "The Asteroid Field/Finale"
DownSide: Not a one.
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