About the Soundtrack: A new era is under way with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the first of many animated adventures that will be soon be coming to a movie theater and HD TV near you. With this new direction comes a new composer for the series, Kevin Kiner, who has been given the unenviable task of following a composing legend, John Williams. To his credit, Kiner does not rehash familiar themes but creates a fresh take on the music from a galaxy far, far away.

Most impressively, the soundtrack release by Sony Classical exceeds expectations by delivering nearly 70 minutes of Kiner's score, which is reassuring in that the music wasn't abbreviated to turn a quick buck. Those who purchase this album will truly get their return on this investment based on the generous amount of material on the album. In all, there are 32 tracks on the disc, and while the performances of each aren't exactly LSO worthy, the overall result is above average.

What You Need to Know: John Williams fans, take a deep breath and a step back -- this is a different, if welcoming and familiar, Star Wars score. Kevin Kiner boldly goes in a new direction with the music for this Star Wars feature, and you know what? It perfectly fits the new tone set in place by this animated take on the saga. If you place the work of Williams aside and approach "The Clone Wars" with an open mind, you will find that an extremely well written and highly original soundtrack experience awaits you.

The first track kicks the adventure off with a new variation of the opening crawl's theme that we've come to know and love in the movies. Kiner's take, for the lack of a more sophisticated word, is very cool! Any time a composer can spin an iconic theme in a new and effective direction is a welcome sound to my ears. From the brief, innovative take on the main theme, the music shifts its focus to the "Battle of Christophsis," a vigorous cue that presents a new theme in the saga that is heroic and noble. In short, I really loved it. The uplifting nature of it is pure Star Wars. It was at this point that I knew that Lucas and company picked the right composer for the job.

The tone that "Battle of Christophsis" sets in place is indicative of what's to come. In line with its name, the music offers a distinct military flavor to the Clone Wars saga. There are many tracks that feature pulsing, march-like movements powered by percussion, brass and choral support. While these action based styles don't lend themselves too well to a leitmotif style of writing, it's engaging music nevertheless. Ultimately, the challenge with this type of music being so prominently featured is that some of Kiner's themes become a bit obscured by these intense sections of action music. But fear not, on repeat listens, these themes emerge with more clarity.

True to his word, Kiner was correct when he said that this Star Wars score will offer quite of bit in the way of ethnic-inspired influences. George Lucas, long known for his inspirations from "The Seven Samurai," finally had an opportunity to let a composer develop Asian styled motifs for his Star Wars saga. Overall, I found this direction to be interesting and appreciated the new wrinkle. Kiner's implementations of exotic vocals and instruments certainly branches the music off into a different direction from what we were used to in this saga. Additionally, the use of guitar for Ahsoka's theme, which falls in more of a "modern" category as opposed to the "exotic", furthers this new Star Wars sound with even more diversity. The best part about all of these new components, however, is that it all works well in the context of the score.

While I found this dynamic soundtrack to be both exciting and interesting, the only disappointment I felt is that Kiner should have perhaps implemented the Williams themes a bit more than he did. While there is a legitimate Star Wars "feel" to the music, the addition of some of the more prominent themes and motifs from Star Wars lore would have been a nice perk. For instance, there were many moments that the "Force" theme was on the cusp of being stated in full, but Kiner never pulled the trigger on it. As it is, I appreciated the more subtle styles and references that reminded me of the universe that I love so. Specifically, the underscore that was often heard in the original movies during hangar bay sequences, scenes featuring droids, etc. are there to be found in the score. While these are notes that won't jump out and grab you, having these familiar passages made a big difference in bringing home the connection. Even better, astute listeners will also find a brief but near exact reference to an obscure set of notes from "The Phatom Menace," which made for a rewarding discovery that only Star Wars fans can appreciate.

The soundtrack closes out with the classic Star Wars "end credits" theme, which like the opening titles, was interpreted in a new manner. This fresh approach closes out the album impressively, but the length of the final track is painfully short. Kiner's re-imagining of the original material is so strong that I was hoping for an extended end credits suite to hear some more of his ideas play out. Thankfully, he's on board for the television show so it will be interesting to hear what further directions he chooses to explore.

Final Score: "The Clone Wars" is a legitimate success and should be welcomed enthusiastically to the catalog of Star Wars music. The only pre-requisite that the listener will need to accept is that this soundtrack should be appreciated for what it is, a fantastic score for the animated version of Star Wars and not that of the original saga. If you can listen to the score with that concept in mind, than you will get a kick out of this energetic new direction in this Clone Wars adventure.

As a Star Wars fan himself, it's certainly a job well done for Kevin, who should be proud of facing this great challenge head-on and delivering terrific results. He didn't score this thing scared, he crafted it with his own style in mind yet stayed true to the tenor of the original. Such a blend couldn't have been an easy thing to bring together, but he did it. Great work, Kevin.