Many describe this soundtrack as a disappointment, but I believe that it's a matter of what your expectations were from the start. If you were expecting each track to be like "A New Hope" (crammed with old themes), then yes, you'll be disappointed with this score. My only expectation was that Williams would, like the previous movie, do something completely different than his previous score. And in that aspect, Williams did not disappoint.
Rather than relying heavily on themes, Williams took the much harder task of using more nonthematic music. His use of themes in the score, or at least the measily seventy minutes (out of rumored 140 minutes he wrote), are more subtle and fragmented. Again, this left fans without a score oozing the Imperial March and the Emperor's theme. I was personally happy just to hear him use the main theme (Luke's theme) in the actual score again. ("Grievous and the Droids" and "A New Hope")
Also, Revenge of the Sith presented Williams with a chance to try some new sounds, especially the ambient droning in "Palpatine's Teachings." Unfortunately, some of his cues sound similar to already existing scores, most notably "Padme's Ruminations" which is commonly compared to Hans Zimmer's "Gladiator." Some have even flat-out accused Williams of stealing from his contemporaries. While I find that unlikely, I believe that Williams, with less experience creating such sounds, just ended up creating music that was not up to his usual standards and therefore sound similar to other scores. (Either that or Lucas tracked the music over Williams' original music.)
This album is for us diehard music fans. Those who just gloss over it, expecting easy themes to recognize and enjoy, will not like this music. Williams has woven a complex web of music, and I enjoy listening to it, time and time again, picking up those little jems: hints and fragments of past themes. And while more new themes would have been nice, the Battle of the Heroes theme and Grievous' motif easily kick musical butt.
To sum up, Revenge of the Sith isn't a perfect score and barely contains any new themes. But it's still the best prequel score. Williams seems to have really pulled out all the stops in trying to create the best music for the last Star Wars movie. And here's the reason why I'm giving this an A: I have always found that the two previous prequels scores have sounded a little flat. That the orchestra just doesn't sound the same as in the original trilogy. But the Revenge of the Sith score is vibrant and has that energy I usually associate with John Williams. A
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