First of all, I'd like to point out that all three prequel "albums" are roughly seventy minutes of music, but in my opinion fail to capture the overall scope of John Williams's brilliant scores which run at least double that time. Only Phantom Menace has received the 2 disc "ultimate" edition, and probably the one that least deserved it.
As always, it opens with the traditional Star Wars title theme and then cuts to a totally different cue, Arrival to Naboo: a grandiose motif that's reprised in track 13. Next are two concert pieces for the main new themes: Duel of the Fates and Anakin's Theme. While it's nice to have these stand alone versions of the new themes, they are very similar to their arrangements in the end credits. If the concert pieces are taken out, then there would have been more room for more unique tracks.
Duel of the Fates alone makes the soundtrack worth a listen. Its use of vocals and orchestra is breathtaking. One of my other favorite new themes is the droid army theme, a proto-Imperial March that's also reused as the Flag Parade. Most of the old themes are also present such as: the main theme, the Force theme, and even hints of the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme). The Municipal Band is an unique composition, similiar to Cantina Band, with its fun combination of vocals and percussion that leads into the main theme.
The Phantom Menace is an excellent example of John Williams "lite." There's a lot of solid themes and bombastic sounds, but it just lacks the emotional depth that I expect from Williams and his recent works on A.I. and Minority Report. Anyone who loved this soundtrack should also check out the first Harry Potter score. B
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