Light & Magic – Original Soundtrack LP
The history of Industrial Light & Magic, the foundational and legendary effects house, is at the center of this 6 part documentary series: how it continues to shape and revolutionize the industry, starting with how it was born from the needs of a little effects-heavy film from 1977 called Star Wars.
Grammy® and Emmy award winning composer James Newton Howard has never scored a Star Wars film (yet), but he and long-time collaborator, director Lawrence Kasdan (who himself wrote the legendary sequel The Empire Strikes Back) are perhaps the best duo to tackle the subject matter. Kasdan approaches candid and honest retrospectives from legends and titans like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Kathleen Kenedy, Phil Tippet, and so many more, while JNH’s soundscape creates a jazzy, dream factory-like aura around the narrative – appropriate, as the imagery these wizards created are nothing short of magic.
This limited edition vinyl set features all new liner notes by Brandon Wainerdi (Talking Bay 94 Podcast) and is pressed on 140g Mondo exclusive Splatter vinyl (also available on 140g Black Vinyl) with package design by Mondo Senior Creative Director Mo Shafeek.
This brand new release (announced on May 4th) just arrived and of course found it’s way straight onto my record player. Paying tribute to the behind the scenes heroes of Industrial Light and Magic with his score for Disney Plus 6-part documentary, James Newton Howard’s uplifting music brings a sense of inspiration, innovation and ingenuity with every track, making me want to watch the documentary series once again.
There are moments which remind me of the mesmerising soundscapes created by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, whilst Howard also seems to draw inspiration from the iconic John Williams.
Overall, this soundtrack is an absolute joy to listen to.
TRACKLIST
Side A
Light & Magic 0:41
Scale & Focus 1:44
Building Technologies 1:47
Wonder 1:18
Team Assembles 4:09
The Paintings Inspired Me 2:21
1000x Exciting 0:58
Separate Ways 0:48
I Wasn’t Invited to Go 2:36
The Train of Drama 2:22
Indistinguishable from Reality 1:54
Side B
Not Happy 0:42
Lucky Guy 1:19
Secret Special Effects People 2:19
A Form of Alchemy 2:45
Potatoes 2:04
Family 1:56
Optical Printer 1:33
Final Assembled Product 2:27
Ingenuity 2:45
Never Grow Up 2:4
Listen to this special episode of Making Tracks as Mark chats with ILM legends Rose Duignan and Hal Hickel.
