But they did not join us. Rather, we joined them. They seem to have been the spearheading the effort all along.

Varese Sarabande records are responsible for bringing impossible-to-find and unreleased music to the masses since before 1977. You love the Hitchcock film music of the 60's? Yep, they've got 'em. Looking for some Alfred Newman music from the 1930's? Uh-huh. Need the music from the series Amazing Stories? It was just released. Some obscure movie that you liked but you thought it didn't qualify for an album? Look no further than Varese Sarabande. They seem to have it all.

Star Wars fans should recognize the label by now, for they produced not only the potentially risky soundtrack for Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, but also the television soundtracks of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

At the risk of boring readers, I have a short story to tell. Bear with me, I do have a point.

My first tape ever was the complete Polydor soundtrack from The Empire Strikes Back. When this tape snapped after six months and never-ending play, I screamed bloody murder. The tape was no longer manufactured, and being only fifteen years old, I did not have a CD player. (The Polydor CD of ESB only had a fraction of music from the film anyway- eight songs out of the original double vinyl format of seventeen). This was a crisis!

My only hope lay in bargain record marts, which abound in Center City Philadelphia. Unfortunately, at age fifteen, I had neither the time nor the transportation nor the finance for such a massive search effort.

One year later, I was shopping for an upcoming cruise to Bermuda with my parents. I casually meandered into Sam Goody in The Gallery, Center City. There, before me, on the soundtrack rack, was a cassette of The Empire Strikes Back. The sight made my heart leap. But it was not the ESB that I had remembered. No, this was something different ... strange. The artwork was original, with Luke and his tauntaun on the case, in muted colors. What was this?

Varese Sarabande had apparently released this soundtrack in 1980, on Chalfont records, performed by the National Philharmonic and conducted by Charles Gerhardt. It originally had been released on vinyl, but I never knew it (I still have yet to stumble upon a vinyl copy). Will wonders never cease? I asked myself, and bought the tape.

Alas, this tape was destined not to be mine. As I rushed home via elevated train (or just "El" to all Philly natives) I had only listened to a few songs when I stepped off the train in my neighborhood. Soon after I took an ill advised shortcut through an abandoned area, I was confronted by five young hoods lying in wait for me. "You know what we're here for ... " commented one, with a wicked grin on his face.

Yeah, I knew. They wanted my headphones.

Empowered by John Williams's music, I fought it out ... for about eight seconds before I was overpowered, sucker-punched, and rolling down a gravel slope, sans stereo headphones and my coveted tape.

And that was that.

I always wondered if they felt robbed when they saw that the headphones were of the cheap-o kind you buy at Radio Shack and that the tape inside was the music to The Empire Strikes Back. They also must have thought I was a tremendous dork. And they should have asked for payment for the valuable lesson they taught me that day -- never take shortcuts!

Varese Sarabande never took a shortcut, that's for sure. Today, after twenty years of diligence, of obscurity, of pumping out soundtrack after soundtrack, they are respected. Varese now has more soundtracks than anyone else on the market, and soundtracks are a hot commodity.

I bought another copy of Varese Sarabande's The Empire Strikes Back (while watching my back, just in case) shortly before I enlisted in the U.S. Navy, January, 1995. But by 1993, Lucasfilm and 20^th Century Fox music had released the Star Wars Anthology, and I had forsaken all other Star Wars music knockoffs for the original. The Varese Sarabande version went unheard, and lay in its original crystal in my parents' home. Last year, during an impromptu visit, I found my hidden cache of abandoned and forgotten compact discs, and The Empire Strikes Back was among them. Now, reunited with my music from almost a decade ago, I felt a surge of power, of strength, enough to take on an army of headphone deprived hoodlums. Bring 'em on, baby!

It's difficult to assess music. One person's melody may be another's headache. When you first listen to the alternate versions of Star Wars by Varese, you will be tempted to say that the performances are second-rate- too fast, too slow, or too long. Remember, though, variety is the spice of life.

The performances are not inferior, they're just different. After three years of being spoiled with every scrap of music ever composed and recorded for the original films, fans will find it even more difficult to judge the sound, but the soundtrack for ESB is worth it.

The CD (and cassette) of The Star Wars Trilogy boasted songs from the trilogy in slightly different form. One example is the song "Here they Come," which is a concert arrangement of "Ben's Death and TIE Fighter Attack" from the original soundtrack. It totally removes the prologue, leaving only the fast paced theme. Concert arrangements are to the point, and this is no exception. This is the type of music to expect, however, and it can be jarring because it is so completely different.

Other songs on this CD are "The Asteroid Field", and "Han Solo and the Princess." These songs are expanded for the concert hall, and also found on the ESB soundtrack. "Han Solo and the Princess" is a delight for all who hear it, for it is a departure from the short theme composed for the film.

Return of the Jedi was covered with music never before released, such as the concert adaptation of "Jabba the Hutt," "Fight with TIE Fighters," and "Darth Vader's Death," which were orchestrated directly rather than kinetically (as in the film).

This was the first time these songs were ever presented to the public, in any medium, save for concert performances.

Varese Sarabande's take on ESB was so original and performed so well, Williams himself is shown discussing the score on the liner notes with producer George Korngold (who is, incidentally, the son of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the composer of "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" and "The Sea Hawk." Williams himself credits Erich Korngold for the musical inspiration and style in Star Wars).

The sound is decidedly brassier and less rounded, but it also sounds more brutal when it matters, like The Imperial March at the tail end of "Luke's First Crash," or at the beginning of "The Duel." There are also some surprises that I won't give away.

"The Rebels Escape Again" is one track that I do not hesitate to say that it is better than the original version. I do not say this lightly. Here it is fast, frightening, unforgiving and ultimately heroic. The final triumphal blast of percussion and brass will send any rational person over the edge.

"Lando's Palace/The Duel" has been modified to highlight Lando's baronial theme, which is prominent in the former and appears in a more urgent tone in the latter.

Han's theme here both gallant and desperate, as the rebels struggle to escape Imperial Stormtroopers. It appears as the passionate theme at first, and then changes to strident rage as Leia and Chewbacca blast the enemy.

The "Finale" begins with the Star Wars end theme, rather than the closing scene music. It then follows through as it does in the film. The end is different. It is slow, drawn out, wistful, and somewhat repressed at first, but then it becomes increasingly dramatic in the final coda. I have heard it before, I will hear it again, and every time I hear this version, it breaks my heart.

I have been literally brought to tears by the music on this album. The energy in which it is performed overwhelms me every time I listen to it. It floods over me in such a way that it is almost impossible to describe. I can only say it surpasses heroic aspirations, it makes me feel as if there is urgency, power, and beauty- and that it exists right now, at this moment.

The ease in which Joel McNeely assumed the mantle of Star Wars is scary, because he does it with flawless grace, as if Williams himself is channeled through him, as if he were anointed with the same oil.

The novel, Shadows of the Empire, is agreed upon by many fans to be less than inspiring, yet the music composed is thoughtful, atmospheric, and in certain parts, epic. There is, of course, the thematic material composed by Williams, but it is arranged and augmented in such a way to sound almost completely original. Several original songs blast out in a way that send a listener's spine tingling, such as "Beggar's Canyon Chase" (which introduces the short but courageous Dash Rendar's theme).

"Xizor's Theme" is in two parts. The first is brutal and startling, with staggered trumpets and mixed male and female voices in a cruel tribal chant. The second is evilly romantic, astounding, and hair-raising. The string section seems to have been pushed to the limit of their abilities; the instruments could go no further.

"Into the Sewers" is a brilliant track which combines the use of horns, drums, piccolos and strings to create an "olfactory" sound. It may remind the listener of a nightmare he or she had once.

"The Seduction of Princess Leia" has a romantic waltz sound, yet its broad strokes of trumpet echo as if one were at a carnival.

Regardless if you read the novel or played the video game, Shadows of the Empire is another essential item to own if you believe in Star Wars.

Varese Sarabande definitely has commissioned excellent work in the arena of movie music. It has been one of the first companies to provide fans with the original music that Lucasfilm made us wait almost fifteen years for. And they continue to give movie fans what they want: the music you can't find anywhere else. So check out their website, www.varesesarabande.com. You'll definitely find something you like. And remember: support those who brought Star Wars music to you first.

(Gregory Ellis spends half his waking hours speaking about the Star Wars films to the uninitiated. So far he has brought five converts to the light side of the force.)