Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

1	Star Wars Main Title / Ambush on Coruscant / London Symphony Orchestra 3:46
2	Across the Stars (Love Theme from Attack of the Clones) / London Symphony Orchestra 5:33
3	Zam the Assassin/The Chase Through Coruscant / London Symphony Orchestra 11:07
4	Yoda and the Younglings / London Symphony Orchestra 3:55
5	Departing Coruscant / London Symphony Orchestra 1:44
6	Anakin and Padmé / London Symphony Orchestra 3:56
7	Jango's Escape / London Symphony Orchestra 3:48
8	The Meadow Picnic / London Symphony Orchestra 4:14
9	Bounty Hunter's Pursuit / London Symphony Orchestra 3:23
10	Return to Tatooine / London Symphony Orchestra 6:56
11	The Tusken Camp/The Homestead / London Symphony Orchestra 5:54
12	Love Pledge/The Arena / London Symphony Orchestra 8:29
13	Confrontation With Count Dooku/Finale / London Symphony Orchestra 10:44

Barnes & Noble

Using the familiar epic tunes as a nostalgic lure, John Williams's latest Star Wars soundtrack takes off on a sonic expedition with an irresistible narrative force of its own. The musical quotations bind the score to the series' previous films, but it's the new music introduced on Attack of the Clones that distinguishes it as one of Williams's most inventive recent pieces of work. A new love theme, "Across the Stars," is the most prominent new element - it mixes drama with unrequited melancholy without being the least bit saccharine. The score is cloaked in a shifting array of instrumentation and variation, from ominous distortions in the deep bass range to the lonely, archaic strains of a harpsichord. But Williams, who conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in this recording, is at his very best in the action scenes -- ambushes, chases, escapes -- where he finds clever new ways to evoke danger, adventure, mayhem, and excitement. Some parts of the score have a brittle, edgy feel, thanks to the busy percussion section, while other sections are firmly rooted in the lush romantic style of Tchaikovsky or Sibelius. With more Star Wars installments lurking around the corner, it gives nothing away to mention the score's poignantly unresolved ending, which hints that the film's story line may also leave fans with a cliff-hanger. Collector's note: The disc is available in four different covers. Douglas Adler

All Music Guide

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is the fifth score that John Williams has written for George Lucas' Star Wars series and, by this point, he knows the lay of the land. Not just that, but his themes for the series -- from the main title to the march of the Storm Troopers -- are embedded in the consciousness of any filmgoer, so he could be excused for coasting and delivering simply what is expected of him on this score, given that it arrives five films into the series. But, The Phantom Menace changed that for the entire franchise by not quite living up to expectations. Visually, it was a knockout, but by many standards, it was a flat origin story, highlighted by some great flights of fancy. Judged on its own, however, Williams' score was quite impressive, particularly because it introduced a legitimate new masterwork in "The Duel of Fates" section. Given this, he didn't have much to prove with Attack of the Clones, but he still outdoes himself here (hopefully mirroring the reported rejuvenation of the series with this film), producing a thrilling atmospheric score that is so effective, it feels as if you're watching the film unfold before your eyes, even if you've never seen it before. Williams doesn't broaden his palette the way he did with Phantom Menace, where he spent a lot of time with African drums, but instead consolidates the strengths of the series, occasionally adding an unexpected twist -- such as the squalling electric guitar on "Zam the Assassin and the Chase through Coruscant" -- while developing another seemingly classic theme with its "Love Theme" (perhaps sappy, but effective all the same). This is enough, since it's an exciting, dramatic score that telegraphs the rush of the full film as effectively as watching the film. [Spoiler Warning! Although the track listing doesn't go to the extreme of Episode I, which actually gave away Qui-Gon's death with a track title, the tracks of this album do give away the structure of the film through its titles, even if no explicit twists are revealed.] Stephen Thomas Erlewine