Princess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans is a 2017 concept album, combining the music of every song on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with lyrics describing the plot of Star Wars. It was produced by Dan Amrich and Jude Kelley, under the name "Palette-Swap Ninja".
| Princess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Palette-Swap Ninja | |
| Released | 2017 |
| Producer | Dan Amrich and Jude Kelley |
Production
editKelley and Amrich first met when they were in a band together in California. Their shared interest in video games led to a friendship which continued even after Kelley moved to Boston in 2007.[1] At this point, they formed Palette-Swap Ninja, a long-distance musical collaboration[2] originally dedicated to parody songs about video games.[1] They soon realized that their most popular songs were those that had a narrative, and decided to make a concept album which would tell a complete story.[3]
Amrich's original idea was to combine the music from Tommy by The Who, with the plot of the documentary The King of Kong.[3] In 2012, Amrich and his wife Katrin Auch visited Kelley in Boston. While the three were at lunch, Amrich confessed that he could not make the King of Kong/Tommy combination work, at which point Auch said that a successful project of that type would require components that were "bigger (and) more universally beloved," like Star Wars or Sgt. Pepper. By the end of the meal, Amrich and Kelley had devised several of the song titles.[2]
Amrich spent two years writing the lyrics,[3] after which he and Kelley began the task of replicating the music; this primarily involved software, including Logic Pro, but also used some real instruments,[1] including the same model of electric organ that featured in "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".[4]
Amrich and Kelley originally intended to release the album in December 2015, to coincide with the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but felt that it was not ready; they similarly missed the December 2016 release of Rogue One. They finally released the album free online in May 2017, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars and the 50th anniversary of Sergeant Pepper, which coincidentally were less than a month apart.[5]
Reception
editRolling Stone France commended the album as a "surprisingly elegant mixture of two masterpieces".[6] Paste lauded it as "meticulously planned" and "more perfect than it deserves to be."[7] Consequence praised Amrich and Kelley for "having told the film's story in order without futzing too much with each song's cadence and instrumentation."[4]
Io9 felt it was "most impressive" and "really good", and noted the inclusion of themes from John Williams' Star Wars music.[8] Jason Kottke called it "amazing".[9] Slate found its lyrics to be "clever", and observed that the music video begins with its own version of the opening crawl.[10]
Live performance
editIn 2018, Amrich and Kelley — accompanied by the non-profit Awesöme Orchestra Collective — gave a free live performance of the album at the University of California, Berkeley's Hertz Hall.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c These are the droids you’re looking for: Awesöme Orchestra and Palette-Swap Ninja in Berkeley, by Andrew Gilbert; in Berkeleyside; published October 18, 2018; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ a b The five-year journey to create the definitive Star Wars parody of Sgt. Pepper’s, by Julia Alexander; at Polygon; published May 3, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ a b c Things We Said Today #235 - How Sgt. Pepper Met Star Wars with Dan Amrich of Palette-Swap Ninja, at BeatlesExaminer.podbean.com; interview with Amrich begins at 9:52; discussion of how the album was created begins at 11:24; posted July 6, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ a b Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band meets Star Wars in ambitious concept album — listen, by Randall Colburn, at Consequence; published May 2, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ a b That ‘Star Wars’/’Sgt. Pepper’s’ Parody Album Is Coming to Life — With a Full Orchestra, by Steve Marinucci; at Billboard; published October 18, 2018; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ Sgt. Pepper passe du côté obscur, by Jessica Saval, in Rolling Stone France; published May 4, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024; "un mélange surprenamment élégant de deux chefs d’œuvre"
- ^ This Album-Length Mash-up of Star Wars and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is Your New Favorite Thing, by Pete Mercer; in Paste; published May 2, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ Someone Has Turned Every Song on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Into a Star Wars Parody, by Katherine Trendacosta, at Io9; published May 1, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans, by Jason Kottke; at Kottke.org; published May 2, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
- ^ Celebrate May the Fourth With This Brilliant Star Wars–Themed Parody of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, by Marissa Martinelli, at Slate; published May 4, 2017; retrieved May 4, 2024
External links
edit- Princess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans (official download page)
- Playlist of the Princess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans music videos, at YouTube
- The Making of Princess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans at PaletteSwapNinja.com
- Special Episode 1: Princess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans, Amrich and Auch's podcast