The Story of Star Wars/Return Of The Jedi – Star Wars Vinyl Part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Story Of Star Wars Side 1
The Story of Star Wars Side 2

The Story of Return of the Jedi Side 1
The Story of Return of the Jedi Side 2

Ah, abridged movies on LPs, it’s amazing how far we would go to relive our favorite movies before the age of VHS isn’t it?

Both of these albums are pretty impressive in that they manage to condense an entire theatrical film into a 50 minute LP, thanks in large part to some amazing narration, which is what I’m going to talk about tonight, because I really have nothing of note to say about the Star Wars movies (hey, I like them a lot).

The Story of Star Wars was narrated by the late Roscoe Lee Brown. You may not recognize his name, but you’ll surely recognize his voice from the first second you hear it. Throughout his career, Brown was the voice of the Kingpin in the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon; and also did voiceover work for the Babe films, Oliver & Company and the Yu-Gi-Oh! series, just to name a few. In addition to his voiceover work, he was an accomplished actor, appearing in countless film and television shows, including Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Mrs. Doubtfire, Topaz, and The Cosby Show. The dude’s voice carried gravitas like nobody’s business, but it was also soothing and relaxing when the need arose. It’s no wonder that he did so many kids’ shows. I wonder if he narrated any children’s books, he would be the best bedtime storyteller EVER.

Chuck Riley did the narration for The Story of Return of the Jedi, and he’s another voice you’ll recognize in a heartbeat even if you can’t place his name. Riley’s voice is probably even more recognizable than Brown’s, as he served as the narrator for countless trailers, commercials, and radio programs during his life. The dude had the kind of baritone that you think would only be possible if someone injected themselves with 500 doses of testosterone while smoking whiskey coated cigarettes. If he was still alive today I’d pay him to record my outgoing voicemail message. I’d miss calls on purpose so people would be able to hear that shit.

Enjoy the albums! I’ll have more voyage to a galaxy far, far away later this week.

And hey, if you happen to have the audio for The Story of Empire Strikes Back, let me know.

 

11 Responses to “The Story of Star Wars/Return Of The Jedi – Star Wars Vinyl Part 2”

  1. Hi there. Have you seen this ?

  2. Lost Turntable says:

    Nice! Thanks for the tip.

  3. Tim says:

    Roscoe Lee Brown also acted in another great 1970’s S/F film, “Logan’s Run.” He played Box.

  4. Homer Jay from the UK says:

    I’ve got the both the Story Of Empire Strikes Back & Return Of The Jedi-both gr8 albums. But never got round 2 ripping them-so glad 2 hear especially the New Hope one !
    Keep up the good work.

  5. Jeff says:

    I still have both The Story of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back LPs. I listend to them CONSTANTLY growing up. They are a wee bit scratched up now.

  6. KL says:

    Thank you so much for these. My 4 year old daughter is going nuts for the Original Trilogy (non-special editions!!) and I really wanted to rip my LPs to CD for her to listen to, like I obsessively did 35 years ago.

    You have saved me the trouble, as I really wasn’t sure how to go about doing it!

    Eventually I’ll set up the turntable for her to listen to the original records too, but I want to prevent any possible accidents at this stage.

    Thanks, KL.

  7. Tim says:

    One of the interesting things about the Star Wars one is that, if I recall correctly from listening to it as a boy, is that it has slightly different sound effects at certain points.

    The movie originally came out in 70mm to very limited screenings as not every city (or every state) had a theatre with a 70mm projector. Lucas & company were still tweaking the movie and the 35mm release had some slight differences, the sirens on the blockade runner in the beginning for example. I believe that the story of album was sourced from one of the earlier sound mixes of the movie, perhaps a bigger SW geek than I could confirm this.

  8. Elliott says:

    Please somebody-
    Get “the story of the Empire Strikes Back”
    To lost turntable!
    P.S.
    Get Adywans Star Wars revisited- it will blow your mind!

  9. rossdawg says:

    Are the mp3 or other ripped versions of the Story of LPs still here somewhere? I have been trying to find them for my youngling.

  10. korhan says:

    can you reupload the trilogy link please?

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