First off, a great big thanks to Gordy (and LucasArts) for making the music available!
In a painfully realistic sketch from BBC's comedy "That Mitchell and Webb Look", Robert Webb portrays a film mogul asking a writer to alter a script. He offers concrete suggestions (add a scene, change a character, add a plot twist), then follows up with "well, not exactly that... but, well, yes, that.", eviscerating the entire script and producing typical Hollywood pablum.
While I have no evidence that a similar conversation took place, one can imagine someone at LucasArts outlining requirements to composer Gordy Haab for new musical tracks for the new Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings game. "Make them just like William's best tracks from the films, but, well, different. So just like 'Desert Chase' and 'Belly of the Steel Beast' and 'Slave Children's Crusade'. In fact, here's a list of the tracks we like. But we want new tracks, so not just like them. But, well, yes, just like these." One therefore shouldn't fault Haab for staying close to John Williams' work - he was almost certainly handed a palette and told to paint... and practically given a paint-by-numbers sheet follow. Almost every track is a very recognizable adaptation of one or more of the themes from the films. This makes perfect sense when considering that the tracks will be mixed in with Williams' original film scores for certain scenes in the game, and the desire is to retain a consistent theme within each scene. It could have been a disaster.
That's the down side. The up side, however, is that we are all fans of
the original scores, and this is a chance to revel in familiar themes in distinctly new clothing. Within those constraints, Haab did a masterful job. As was mentioned earlier in this forum thread, it is possible to mistake any of the tracks for Williams' work, and while this doesn't highlight the composer's unique strengths and inspirations, it does show his skill, care and attention to the task at hand.
Most of the tracks are clearly adapted from favorites - old and new - from the film scores. Here's my list of noticed correlations:
The Sea Bed Chase - LC "Scherzo For Motorcycle And Orchestra"
Nazi Battle - ROTLA "The Fist Fight/The Flying Wing"
Fight in the Desert - ROTLA "Desert Chase"
Cable Car Chase - TOD "Fast Streets of Shanghai"
Magnus Theme - LC "Belly Of The Steel Beast"
Elephant Chase - LC "Indy's Very First Adventure"
Chinatown Alley Fight - TOD "Slalom On Mt. Humol" / "Slave
Children's Crusade"
Jungle Encounter - KOTCS "Grave Robbers"
Confession: I haven't played the game. However, it is easy to imagine the eponymous beast lumbering around to comedic effect in "Elephant Chase", echoing the themes of a young Indy aboard the circus train. Everyone loves "Steel Beast" so the "Magnus Theme" is something to sink into like a comfortable pair of shoes, and you know there is a mean Nazi and some heavy machinery trying to squash our intrepid hero when that track plays. And even Crystal Skull gets a nod, with one of the most distinct and creepy tracks.
In every case, Haab's tracks feel like a fresh return to the Williams original. This should please many music fans, who snatch up "lost" recordings by famous artists, wait for remastered editions, and lament when their favorite band suddenly gets a "new sound".
Not on my list above, "Fight in Panama" contains a few notes of the "Raiders March" theme (just enough to avoid stepping on toes, I guess), and IMHO is the most unique track. I am reminded of the adventurous and jazzy theme to the 1960's cartoon "Johnny Quest" by Hoyt Curtin.
Is it a unique theme like Clint Bajakian's work on Emperor's Tomb, or a radical re-imagining of the original scores? No, but those weren't part of the goal. Judged on the merits of the project itself - an homage to the beloved, exciting and familiar without straying too far at all - it succeeds well.