The Mandalorian: Chapter 1 (Original Score)

Album review

Forging an uncharted pathway in that galaxy far, far away, creator, writer, and show runner Jon Favreau introduced a new character to the Star Wars universe in 2019 with The Mandalorian. Like fan favorite antihero Boba Fett, the streaming television show's protagonist was also a bounty hunter with questionable morals, bound to a professional code that was challenged by a vulnerable target that would change his life forever. Unbound from the restrictions of the decades-long Skywalker film saga and its beloved scores by John Williams, Favreau and composer Ludwig Goransson (Black Panther, Creed) embrace the relative freedom and push the Star Wars limits into fresh visual, sonic, and storytelling territory. For each episode (referred to as "Chapters"), Goransson crafted individual soundtracks that morphed alongside the ever-changing television series format, delving into wildly inventive (for the Star Wars universe) areas that incorporated electronic textures, hip-hop beats, and non-orchestral instrumentation like guitars and synths. In The Mandalorian: Chapter 1, Goransson introduces this new character to the Star Wars canon with an appropriately bombastic theme for the swaggering gunslinger. Both triumphant and instantly memorable, "The Mandalorian" is familiar enough to connect to the rich Williams legacy -- with all the fanfare and strings that entails -- but is just outside-the-box enough to establish a whole crop of future possibilities. Like "Rey's Theme," it's a welcome addition to the 2010s Star Wars era. Elsewhere, "HammerTime" boasts pounding drums and unnerving synth effects, while the tribal "Blurg Attack" harkens back to Goransson's excellent work on Black Panther. The clearest indication of how far the composer is willing to push the limits arrives on the skittering "Bounty Droid," which amplifies the dramatic bombast of the scene's intense shoot-out attack with something akin to '90s electronica mashed with Hans Zimmer's work in the Christopher Nolan movie-verse. This is not your grandfather's John Williams score. Rather, like the show itself, Goransson's work injects a much-needed freshness to the franchise that hints at the possibilities to come once the Skywalker saga ends with Episode IX. Synths, electric guitars, and hip-hop beats are now part of the Star Wars musical canon, bringing these soundtracks into the 21st century with Baby Yoda in tow.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo