Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 1999 film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, London Voices and the New London Children's Choir with orchestrations provided by Conrad Pope and John Neufeld. The soundtrack album was released by Sony Classical Records on May 4, 1999, two weeks before the film's theatrical release. In anticipation of the long-awaited film, the soundtrack was certified Platinum in the United States where it debuted and peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 3, and certified Gold in the United Kingdom, where it entered the UK album charts at number eight. Three formats were available, and a new one was released in May 2018: None of the releases contain the entire score. Currently, no complete release has been made. The Album and Ultimate Edition each contain music not featured on the other release. Both sets also contain alternate takes of cues, while neither present some of the alternate takes only heard in the film.

Overview

Recorded in Abbey Road Studios over a week, starting on February 10, 1999, performed by the London Voices and London Symphony Orchestra, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars score Williams had composed in over 16 years. Williams produced the recording sessions himself with Shawn Murphy recording and mixing the score. Kenneth Wannberg returned as music editor, having fulfilled this task on the previous three Star Wars scores. Several source cues were also composed by Williams' son, Joseph. The scores of the following two films would rely heavily upon tracking from this score, a decision that Williams and George Lucas had decided upon early into the film's production. No complete score has ever been released, but the majority of unreleased pieces can be heard in various LucasArts video games. After the album's release, the popularity of a more complete bootleg version of the score began to steal profits. In response, Sony released the Ultimate Edition, presenting the score nearly as it is heard in the film while falsely marketing itself as "every note ever recorded."

Track listing

Release history

Ultimate Edition

Differences between versions

In the recording studio, Williams records cues multiple times. A track's film and album versions can be drastically different. One cue can be made up of several takes, putting together the best moments of each, replacing flubbed notes. Since each track is run several times, each performance differs slightly. Occasionally, Williams will change orchestrations right on the spot. The score also makes use of several insert pieces which usually replace certain sections within a cue. Examples of Different Takes:

Track listing

Disc 1

Disc 2

Limited Edition Vinyl Reissue

I Am Shark vinyl re-issue

I Am Shark reissued the original soundtrack to Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace on vinyl in late 2014, making it part one of three planned vinyl re-releases of the prequel trilogy soundtracks. The A.V. Club wrote of the I Am Shark vinyl edition: "John Williams’ score is wonderful, and his use of leitmotif and the way he creates new themes while weaving in existing music from the saga is a treat. Williams is truly a master of Wagnerian-bombast and baroque composition, and when “Duel Of The Fates” kicks in, the Star Wars faithful can just sit there, listening and wishing that the theme was from a much better movie. The vinyl mastering on the release is also very good, and retains that certain warmth that you can’t get from the digital releases." The album was released in a two-LP format, with limited color versions coordinating with characters and elements from the film:

Recording Information

During production, several scenes from the final reel were re-edited and re-arranged. Due to this, several recorded cues did not appear in the film, and are instead replaced by Duel of the Fates.

Cue List

Charts

Certifications