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The son of one of my best friends is a budding John Williams fans, so I went onto Amazon.com last night to buy him the soundtrack from Return of the Jedi (I gave him A New Hope last year, his gran just got him Empire for Christmas). No big deal I thought -- they pressed millions of those things. I figured I could find a used "good condition" copy for peanuts.
I was surprised -- and dismayed -- to discover Jedi appears to be out of print. Amazon does not have the Sony Classical edition in stock, and used copies of the Sony CD start at nearly $69. Someone is selling the RCA edition for about $11 (but most used copies of the RCA Jedi are $50 and up).
But it isn't only Jedi. The Sony Classical A New Hope is "currently unavailable" on Amazon, with used copies going for $55 and up. Used copies of the RCA New Hope start at $33.
The Sony Empire Strikes Back is listed at $40 new on Amazon -- or would be were it not "out of stock". Used copies for that same CD start at $72 on Amazon, and that's "used-good" condition. The RCA Empire is going for $21.85 in "used-good" condition.
And the Arista box set? $33 for "used-acceptable" from an Amazon private seller -- however you can find copies on Ebay for $20. The price ranges on Ebay for all of the later RCA / Sony titles is similar to those on Amazon though.
Bottom line -- if you don't have these scores, I'd go and snatch them up now! (And I know, the idea that any soundtrack collector hasn't owned the Star Wars CDs for years seems ludicrous -- but in my case, I was so fixated on all the limited editions of more arcane titles, I actually didn't get around to buying the expanded SW discs until a few years ago).
Oh, and on a lark I checked iTunes to see if the original trilogy scores are a least still available for download (in case a meteor ever falls on my house and need to replace my collection). Well, iTunes does have listings for all three scores -- but these are only the original, un-expanded releases (including the paltry 40-min. Jedi).
I wasn't expecting the Star Wars CDs to be in print forever, but seriously, we can't even download the expanded editions? I mean this is Star Wars after-all. There is a whole new generation of kids who are just getting into these movies -- and their scores (my friend's son for one).
However, there is a little good news -- a used copy of A New Hope Readalong Storybook and CD will only set you back about six bucks. 
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I have one of those 2CD A New Hope expansions I'd let go for a reasonable price. Just sayin'.
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Their removal from the market is maybe a sign that truly definitive expansions (including the tiny bits of missing music, as well as resolving the sound issues) are coming in the (near?) future? Hopefully.
Yes, hopefully...though Disney don't seem to have much interest in physical media. I have a feeling this is the end of the road as far as CDs of the Star Wars scores (and a lot of other music to which Disney holds the rights).
I can accept the SW scores only being offered as downloads -- but not if the only versions available are the original albums (especially when the "remastered" release of Empire has all the same mastering glitches that afflicted the old LP).
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Let's hope Disney realizes how bad the ESB remix is and commissions a new one.
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You own everything there is to own from the original trilogy, unless you want the older OST releases which are arranged a little differently than the Arista box.
As far as the original albums, while I like having the near-complete music and discrete tracks heard on the Arista and RCA/Sony discs (and believe they should remain available), I honestly prefer some of the editorial decisions John Williams made for the original albums. I like how he combines different cues (and trims some of the "fat"), and generally find them to be a better listening experience.
The original Jedi album is a debacle though!
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