‘Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire’ Original Video Game Soundtrack to be released on LP for the first time via Varèse Sarabande Records
(May 4, 2020—Los Angeles, CA)— May the 4th be with you! In celebration of Star Wars Day, Varèse Sarabande Records is thrilled to announce the upcoming special release of the Original Video Game Soundtrack for Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire by GRAMMY®-nominated composer Joel McNeely. The soundtrack will be released for the first time on LP and reissued on CD on August 7, 2020, exclusively from Varèse Sarabande Records. Pre-order for LP and CD are available now. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was developed and published by LucasArts for Nintendo 64 on December 3, 1996, and sold one million copies in its first year. A version for Microsoft Windows followed in 1997, and sold out reissues have kept the game alive amongst the Star Wars fan base since its release over 20 years ago.
As part of the Shadows of the Empire multimedia project, a full soundtrack was composed by Joel McNeely and recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Samples of the soundtrack were used in both versions of the game, with the Windows version containing many of the full tracks. The album art features the main Star Wars characters and was created by legendary illustrator Drew Struzan (Blade Runner, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future).
In the game, which serves as backstory between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the player controls the mercenary Dash Rendar in his efforts to help Luke Skywalker and rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor.
PRE-ORDER
ABOUT JOEL MCNEELY
Joel McNeely is an Emmy® Award-winning composer and conductor with more than 100 motion picture and television credits. As a composer for film and television, McNeely has worked with such respected filmmakers as James Cameron, John Lasseter, Seth MacFarlane and George Lucas, among others. McNeely received the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.” He was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction (“The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”) and received a GRAMMY® nomination for Outstanding Classical Crossover Album for “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”
TRACK LISTING
Side A:
- Main Theme from Star Wars and Leia’s Nightmare (3:41)
- The Battle of Gall (7:59)
- Imperial City (8:02)
- Beggar’s Canyon Chase (2:56)
- The Southern Underground (1:48)
Side B:
- Xizor’s Theme (4:35)
- The Seduction of Princess Leia (3:38)
- Night Skies (4:17)
- Into the Sewers (2:55)
- The Destruction of Xizor’s Palace (10:44)
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ABOUT VARÈSE SARABANDE RECORDS
Founded in 1978, Varèse Sarabande is the most prolific producer of film music in the world, releasing the highest quality soundtracks from the world’s greatest composers. From current box office hits and top television series to the classics of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Varèse Sarabande’s catalog includes albums from practically every composer in every era, covering all of film history; from Bernard Herrmann, Alex North and Jerry Goldsmith to Alexandre Desplat, Michael Giacchino and Brian Tyler. Varèse Sarabande is a part of Concord.
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