Track Listing

1. Star Wars Main Title and Ambush on Coruscant
2. Across the Stars (Love Theme)
3. Zam the Assassin and The Chase Through Coruscant
4. Yoda and the Younglings
5. Departing Coruscant
6. Anakin and Padme
7. Jangos' Escape
8. The Meadow Picnic
9. Bounty Hunter's Pursuit
10. Return to Tattooine
11. The Tusken Camp and The Homestead
12. Love Pledge and the Arena
13. Confrontation with Count Dooku and Finale
14. On the Conveyor Belt (Bonus Track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19574 in Music
• Released on: 2002-04-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack

Amazon.co.uk Review
With George Lucas' Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones impressively showcasing rich drama beyond the customary eye-popping spectacle, long-time franchise collaborator John Williams' score follows suit with a rewarding and compelling mix of tragedy-tinged romance and epic action, enveloped in a pervading air of approaching doom. Dispensing with The Phantom Menace's exuberant, youthful orchestrations, more at home in E.T., Attack of the Clones pleasingly mirrors Williams' work on franchise zenith The Empire Strikes Back.

Fans will delight in the increased appearance of the series' classic themes, underlining the wider saga and tantalisingly foreshadowing future events while, like a Bond score, retaining the series' beloved musical signature. Williams frames the film's tragic romance with a beautiful love theme, "Across the Stars". A sweeping epic with a melancholic edge, it's the strongest track, the "threatened romance" theme further showcased in "Anakin and Padme" and "The Meadow Picnic". Yet, the action cues find Williams on equally glorious form. "Jango's Escape" and "Bounty Hunter's Pursuit" are thoroughly exciting fare while "Zam the Assassin" is a breathless 11-minute epic, with Williams exploring new ground, with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-esque percussion and, surprisingly, electric guitar. The forbidding atmosphere reaches a deliriously thrilling crescendo with "Return to Tatooine", "The Tusken Camp" and "Love Pledge and the Arena", a heart-rending collision of romance, action and inescapable dread, interwoven with a plethora of the series themes. When "The Imperial March" makes a full-blown appearance in "Confrontation with Count Dooku"--as a victorious fanfare, no less--it recalls the best heart-stopping moments of Williams' original Star Wars orchestrations.

Coming so far in to such a distinguished career, this is an impressive, memorable work that once again showcases Williams' virtuoso affinity with cinema and, beyond that, a magnificent fifth segment in his eventual Magnum Opus. --Danny Graydon

Customer Reviews

Exciting, Haunting, and Definitely Star Wars!
I like it, I like it a lot! The soundtrack mixes new themes of Episode 2 with old favorites like Imperial March and Duel of the Fates. In many ways it makes the connection between the new and classic trilogies. Highlights are Across the Stars and Confrontation with Count Dooku. Now for a quick track by track review.

1. SW Main Title and Ambush on Coruscant - The traditional start to any SW soundtrack. You can almost picture the opening crawl and Amidala's ship flying through space. Like the plot of the film, the tone gets darker as it proceeds.

2. Across the Stars - The tragic theme of Anakin and Amidala's forbidden love. One of the most memorable pieces on the disc, it's theme repeats throughout the soundtrack. Like Duel of the Fates, I think that this will be a haunting and memorable addition to SW canon.

3. Zam the Assassin & The Chase Through Coruscant - I hate to say it, but this was my least favorite track on the disc. It starts off fast and tense, but at 11:07 minutes in length it starts to drag in the middle. Two other oddities: clapping and electric guitar. It's ok, but not something I'd listen to again and again.

4. Yoda and the Younglings - A lighthearted piece that brings the pointy-eared green guy to mind. The love theme makes an appearance here, and after some choral background the track end with the Force theme.

5. Departing Coruscant - A fast track (1:44) echoes the Force theme, but it's almost an intermission. Nothing too special here.

6. Anakin and Padme - Starting with light flute, this track quickly becomes heavy, dark, and slow. The love them makes yet another appearance, and the track ends with a dramatic flourish that fades to silence.

7. Jango's Escape - A fast-paced theme that comes to a sudden halt, then comes surging back. At the end it switches to some strange Arabic source music, then finishes with the harp.

8. The Meadow Picnic - This track starts with a mildly Arabic feel, then switches to the love theme. It's feel changes as it progresses. Happy light music, then an occasion shift to the Dark Side. I liked it.

9. Bounty Hunters Pursuit - Not much to say here. This track is a fast paced accompaniment to Jango's Escape. Nothing too memorable here.

10. Return to Tatooine - This track's mood hovers between playful, tense, and finally searching. It switches to the SW music of A New Hope where Luke is scanning the horizon, then it plunges in Duel of the Fates. A fun track.

11. The Tusken Camp and The Homestead - Dramatic music from the scene where Anakin takes his first major step towards the Dark Side. At first the track is sneaky, then pensive, and finally the Imperial March roars to life as Anakin begins his descent.

12. Love Pledge and The Arena - Throughout this track the love theme repeats. At first it is soft and sweet, but as the track proceeds it switches to a march feel. From love to war. The final battle of the Jedi. One of my favorite tracks.

13. Confrontation With Count Dooku and Finale - Remember Duel of the Fates? Here, Williams recreates the feeling of awe for the final duel involving Anakin, Obi-wan, Yoda, and Dooku. It's a mix of the original theme, Episode 1 music, and a haunting choral background. At the climax the Imperial March comes to life, followed by the tragic love theme. The track ends with the familiar finale music of the credits. This was my favorite track, mixing new and old music for the final battle.

14. On the Conveyor Belt (Bonus Track) - An urgent theme supported by the clicking of battle droid feet. Picture the scene where Anakin and Amidala are running through the droid assembly line. Chronologically, I think it should be between 12 and 13 in the film.

It Gets Better and Better and Better!
Yet again John Williams has shown why George Lucas has entrusted him with the soundtrack to the Star Wars Saga and after the excellent Phantom Menace soundtrack which gave the world the fantastic Duel of The Fates, which makes a welcome return in Attack of The Clones, yet again another song has been selected and given a music video to accompany it in Beyond The Stars (the lovetheme). In the film, I was pleasantly surprised when The Imperial March, my personal favourite of all Star Wars tracks returned along with certain elements of Episode IV: A New Hope. I really rate this highly along with The Raiders of The Lost Ark and the upcoming sci-fi film The Minority Report soundtracks, the earlier which has become a classic in my eyes as well as the Main Title Track, played at the start of every Star Wars movie while the famous yellow script scrolls up the screen. A soundtrack that I'm sure everyone will get used to over time and grow to like more and more, just like the movie

Another Musical Masterpiece by John Williams
Is that an electric guitar I can hear in '' The Chase through Coruscant'' ? It can't be Star Wars- But Samuel L Jackson's holding a lightsaber, even if it is purple...
Yes, we finally have our grubby paws on the soundtrack to the next Star Wars film, and another work of art it is by J T Williams.
The Old Republic crumbles, Skywalker veers ever closer to the dark side, and lightsabers are turning purple. And dang and blast, Jar Jar Binks hasn't been killed yet.
The music presents an excellently varied theme- exhilerating battles across the dark skyways of Coruscant with somewhat frantic percussion, the menacing showdown with Bounty Hunter Jango Fett- which to me seems to take elements from John Williams' theme for the Lost World: Jurassic Park (T-Rex chases, anyone?) and the eerie strains of a confrontation with latest Dark Jedi/Bad Guy Count Dooku (played by Christopher Lee, Saruman to Lord of the Rings fans and Dracula to older readers)I could almost imagine the set and nature of this battle just by the mood of the music. And the heart-moving ''Across the Stars'' which complements the relationship between Anakin and Padme (Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman) and then to the landing on Tatooine, a piece which even sounds barren, while still excellent...somehow, punctuated with a short interlude of big-hit ''Duel of the Fates'' and that old classic ''The Imperial March ''.
Overall the best tracks were Across the Stars and The Chase through Coruscant. I liked this because Williams finally gets to express his true talent and variety in this, so absent in previous all-action themes for the franchise.Five outta five.
P.S. No doubt the critics will have a field day when AotC arrives on a cinema near you, but if it's anything like as good as the soundtrack then we can tell them where to put their reviews.