Solo: A Star Wars Story

On the soundtrack to Solo: A Star Wars Story, John Powell became just the third person to compose a score for a live-action Star Wars film, following in the footsteps of John Williams and Rogue One's Michael Giacchino. Without the burden of the official episode saga installments, Powell took the liberty to experiment with fresh sounds (for the Star Wars universe), delivering the most intriguing and nontraditional Star Wars music to date. Powell employs non-orchestral instrumentation, exciting and unexpected rhythmic percussion, and a choir to great effect (especially as a motif for the newly introduced band of Marauders). After Williams puts his trademark stamp on the project with a lone contribution ("The Adventures of Han"), Powell launches into hyperspace, adapting Williams' familiar leitmotifs ("Meet Han," "L3 & Millennium Falcon," "Break Out," "Reminiscence Therapy," "Into the Maw," and "Dice & Roll") and injecting each composition with flair. The rousing "Corellia Chase" and "Flying with Chewie" swoop and sweep, but it's not until "Train Heist" that Powell truly claims Solo as his own. Funky and primal, "Train Heist" pumps the coaxium hyperfuel into Solo and doesn't look back. The sole pop track on the album belongs to vocalist Baraka May, whose slinky and sultry "Chicken in the Pot" sounds more like a trip-hop Bond theme than a Star Wars cantina tune. It's one of many surprises that make Solo a fun, exciting, and engaging experience. Tasked with filling Williams' iconic shoes, Powell didn't simply mimic the master -- as in Giacchino's case -- but instead charted his own course, capturing the outlaw spirit of the roguish Han Solo himself in the process. ~ Neil Z. Yeung