Although I hold the score to The Empire Strikes Back dear to my heart, I must say that Return of the Jedi is at the same level of superiority. It is special because it includes all of the themes written by Williams for the trilogy, and regardless of the childish Ewok music, the themes are all great.
As with all of the other soundtracks to the Trilogy, this one was released numerous times in the past as well. However, this Special Edition release is almost comprehensive, with more music in length than the film itself. The music missing not sorely missed as it is the two alien themes that were so hated by many people, especially the Lapti Nek song. Almost a 30 minute (previously unreleased) segment of music from the middle of the film has finally been included. With all the new tracks comes a more dominant influence of the Imperial March, which appears much more frequently in this release. The original Emperor's Arrival added later in the score, the Forest Ambush sequence (which was sorely missed), and the meeting between Vader and Luke on Endor.
Two newly recorded tracks are split between the two CDs. Jedi Rocks, which replaces Lapti Nek, is a slight improvement. I sometimes wonder if Lucas specifically asked his composers (in this case, Jerry Hey) to write an annoyingly bizzarre song for Jabba's scene. Victory Celebration, written for the added scenes of fireworks from around the galaxy, is a much better piece than the original celebration music. Since the scene doesn't focus only on the celebration on Endor, the theme was changed to be more universal in its joy. And it does just that.
In a move that seems very similar to a Hans Zimmer soundtrack, many of the tracks have been combined into long sequences under one track. The anthology set released in 1993 was gracious enough to divide the tracks up, so the average track was 3-4 minutes long. On this release, five tracks are about ten minutes long. It makes your task difficult if you're hoping to avoid certain portions of the score but at least now everything is arranged chronologically and the longer passages keep the action going just like in the movie. Sound (recording) quality by 1983 was much improved, and Return of the Jedi sounds the fullest of the Star Wars scores. Overall, I recommend this CD set over the other two simply for the quantity of material provided. And because it is a classic!
Total time: Disc 1: 73:15; Disc 2: 74:45
DISC 1
1: 20th Century Fox Fanfare (Alfred Newman, 1954) (0:22)
2: Main Title/Approaching The Death Star/Tatooine Rendezvous* (9:21)
3: The Droids Are Captured* (1:17)
4: Bounty for a Wookiee* (2:50)
5: Han Solo Returns** (4:01)
6: Luke Confronts Jabba*/Den Of The Rancor/Sarlacc Sentence* (8:51)
7: The Pit of Carkoon*/Sail Barge Assault (6:02)
8: The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan's Revelation* (10:58)
9: Alliance Assembly* (2:13)
10: Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor (4:09)
11: Speeder Bike Chase*/Land of the Ewoks* (9:38)
12: The Levitation*/Threepio's Bedtime Story* (2:46)
13: Jabba's Baroque Recital* (3:09)
14: Jedi Rocks* (2:42)
15: Sail Barge Assault (alternate) (5:04)
DISC 2
1: Parade of the Ewoks (3:28)
2: Luke and Leia (4:46)
3: Brother and Sister/Father and Son*/The Fleet Enters Hyperspace**/Heroic Ewok (10:40)
4: Emperor's Throne Room (3:26)
5: THE BATTLE OF ENDOR I (11:50)