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Post by janggut on May 19, 2005 6:51:39 GMT
hello! here's a thread on soundtrack reviews so anyone who feels like saying something about their fav soundtrack or wanting to warn people to stay away from the ear-bleeding ones, this is the thread.
For those who are interested in writing reviews, please take note that the reviews must be objective. that means you cannot just say "hey this OST rocks! ch..ch..check it out!"
later on i'll write a simple guideline on review writing. please remember that i'm no professional writer so that's why i call it guideline, not LAW.
anyway ...... on to the review ....
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Post by janggut on May 19, 2005 6:54:41 GMT
Soundtrack Review: Wolf's Rain OST 1
Background info: Wolf's Rain is an anime series set in the bleak future where human civilisation is on the decline & nobilities rule over ordinary people. Wolves are known to have extinct for 200 years though a few suspect & even fewer knew about the wolves' existence, much less the legend that the wolves are somehow related to Rakuen, paradise. It is a story of four wolves' searching for it.
The series is produced by Bones Studio, the same that made Cowboy Bebop the movie & all music are composed & arranged by the ever genius Yoko Kanno, whose works are in Cowboy Bebop series & movie, Escaflowne series & movie, Macross Plus, Arjuna series, Ghost In The Shell series, etc.
The songlist
1. Stray (sung by steve conte) 2. Rakuen 3. Coracao Selvagem (sung by joyce) 4. Renga 5. Pilgrim Snow 6. Leaving on red hill 7. Shiro 8. Dogs & Angels 9. Strangers (sung by raj ramayya) 10. Sleeping Wolves 11. Tiptoe waltz 12. My little flower 13. Could You bite the hand (sung by steve conte) 14. Valse de la lune (sung by ilaria graziano) 15. Hotdog wolf 16. Silver river 17. Sold your soul 18. Visions of a flame 19. Run, wolf warrior, run (sung by joyce) 20. Gravity (sung by mayaa sakamoto) 21. Paradiso
Even without watching the series or be an anime film, the music in this album is pure delight & at the same time heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The music is mostly soft with quite a number of them having latin styled guitar & horn plays. Being typically herself, Yoko Kanno makes music without thought of genre & the music, most of them that actually, can't be pinned down as pop or folk or anything.
For the sake of the review, i shall try to pin down the genre, or at least what seemingly to be it.
Pop-ish or Folk-ish? Tracks 1, 9, 13, 20
The first track is purely pop but nice & sung in english, just like almost all songs with vocals in this album. It is featured as the intro track for the series. The 9th has a very beautiful intro with trumpet playing latin style & i feel this is my favourite vocal track in the album. eveything works beautifully; trumpet solo, soft vocals of raj ramayya, orchestral backing. the beat reminds me of PetShopBoys's Domino Dancing. the 13th track is very stark in the sense that it's only vocal & acoustic guitar but richly layered with mix of strums & plucks. the vocal in the chorus though wonderful may have some people sneer as it's very john meyer though steve conte has been in the music scene longer. Track 20 is straight pop ballad but it's too gorgeous to be called that. Piano, orchestral backing with Mayaa Sakamoto singing, this piece is very moving (or is it just me?) & used in the ending credits.
Folk or Remotely Similar Tracks 3, 4, 15, 16, 18, 19
Track 3 is very latin-styled with lyrics in language that i cannot identify (i dare not assume) & it's just very light, lively but not loud & very catchy. The guitar works are beautiful. Track 4 is also very catchy, lively but soft with amazing guitar work. 15th track is very folkish with cello & guitar accompanying each other beautifully. very lively yet soft & very uplifting. 16th track has that urgency feel to it though it's still light with percussions coming in later on with sparseness that makes the whole track a delight. very latin-feel. track 18 is all percussion & it's very tribal. think red indian. 19th track sounds a lot like a folk song with vocals & choral backing with guitar, flute & light percussion accompanying. listening to the lyrics paints very vivid picture of the wolves' dreams. very calming & nice.
Orchestral & Whatever in Between (These Are Few Of My Favourite Things - Julie Andrews)
Tracks 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 21
Track 2 starts quietly with melancholic piano then orchestra flowed in beautifully. sad yet hopeful. 5th track has oboe, clarinet playing wonderfully together with flutes with orchestra adorning the background. the guitar, accompanied by the orchestra is simply beautiful. very classical. the wind instruments come in later on & make the track richer. urgency feel comes in later with light percussion & lifts up the feeling of anticipation. incredible. the 7th is quite sad with violins, violas & cellos weeping with wind instruments hovering lightly above. Shiro means white in japanese. 8th track has light vocals that actually accompanies the piano rather than vice versa. orchestra comes in later, lifting up the track. it stops for a while then the vocal continues with guitar then the orchestra follows softly. track 10 has ethnic flute solo which is very haunting but oh-so beautiful. the kind of music u should listen to on misty morning or late evening as the sun sets when all alone. 11th track has that chinese orchestra feel to it; light & playful. violins & flute play with one another almost like butterflies among flowers. the 12th track is soft, calming which later on lifts up to a beautiful melody. too wonderful for words. track 14 is weird in the sense that i have no idea what genre it should sit in other than the fact that it's very wonderful in its own way. sung in french & though i am tempted to just dump it in pop dept, its beautiful orchestral backing with incredible 1st violin are too classy for that. track 17 has the orchestra lumbers gloomily then the guitar weeps. those who love beautiful melancholic music will definitely adore this. 21st track has saxophone solo that plays about the same melody as track 2 but it's beautiful in its quiet little way. it feels like holding a secret sadness within that nobody can appreciate. the sax feels like the lilting heart while the piano feels like sad feet stumbling.
Side Dish
The soundtrack is recorded in various parts of the world; japan (my best guess will be the group of people Yoko Kanno worked with for Cowboy Bebop soundtracks), usa (english songs), italy(french song sung by italian, backed by orchestra di roma), brazil (extremely talented folk musicians), poland (warsaw philharmonic orchestra). Yoko Kanno is certainly the most adventurous of all japanese composers & it shows how she travels around to get the kind of sound she wants for her music. & it's no wonder i love every piece of music she made.
Summary
This album is recommended to music lovers who appreciate incredible music, sound & effort. Every song is momentous, lovingly & masterfully crafted & it's a shame for them to be unheard, therefore unappreciated.
Enjoy!
note about the reviewer: once a headbanger (though some call it grunge) who had pop/electronica music as first love then moved to specific classical music (tchaikovsky) that led him to soundtracks. also was a fan of John Williams (Star Wars) & Howard Shore (LOTR) till he heard the music of Joe Hisaishi (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away). now Yoko Kanno is number 1.
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Post by janggut on May 19, 2005 6:58:02 GMT
Review: Wolf's Rain Original Soundtrack 2
Background
This is the second soundtrack album of the anime series Wolf's Rain, made by animation house Bones (Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne) & Keiko Nobumoto (story & screenplay).
The range of songs are almost as diverse as the first soundtrack in terms of genre, or to be more exact; genre doesn't seem to matter at all. Yoko Kanno once again amazes me with incredibly beautiful music.
Songlist
1. Heaven's Not Enough (sung by Steve Conte) 2. Shiro, Long Tail's 3. Cycle (cung by Gabriela Robin) 4. Beyond Me 5. Mouth On Fire 6. Hounds 7. Rain Of Blossoms 8. Separated 9. Escape 10. Face On 11. Tsume's Sand 12. Flying To You (sung by Ilaria Graziano) 13. Night Owl 14. Forest Of Death 15. Indiana 16. Amore Amaro (sung by Franco Sansalone) 17. Friends 18. Tell Me What The Rain Knows (sung by Maaya Sakamoto) 19. Float 20. Trace 21. Sad Moon 22. Cloud 9 (sung by Maaya Sakamoto) 23. To Paradise (hidden track)
As usual, all songs are composed & arranged by Yoko Kanno while lyrics are written by Tim Jensen(1), Gabriela Robin(3), Ilaria Graziano(12), Franco Sansalone(16), Chris Mosdell(18) & Yuuho Iwasato(22).
Once again, to make it easier to digest the review (for readers) as well as writing it (for myself), i shall endeavour to categorise the tracks according to genre/style.
Pop/Ballad/Vocals
- Tracks 1, 3, 12, 16, 18, 22 - The first track is a straight-up pop track though not cheesy as most anime J-pop tracks. There is a variation of it in the anime however, with female vocals. 3rd track is has soft vocal which sings in non-existent language (typical of Yoko Kanno/Gabriela Robin) with music that is may be categorised as pop though it's too weird & wonderful for such shallow categorisation. Track 12 is also another genre defying song which sung in french & has that classical feel to it. 16th track is sung (if i'm not mistaken) in italian by Franco Sansalone, whose low & husky voice lends that romantic feel to the song. A sad but wonderful love song. 18th track is a ballad; soft, floating, sweet, beautiful. Track 22 is a feel-good pop track that's wonderful to listen to.
Synth & Electric Guitar & Orchestral
- Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23 - Although there are tracks with synthesizer & electric guitar as accompaniment, they are still mainly orchestral with the majority classical/folkish. - Track 2 is very moving with violins playing a sad melody in unison which towards the middle of the track turns more dramatic & urgent. Track 4 starts with acoustic guitar playing gently, setting the tone for the whole track which is beautiful. Track 5 is one of my personal favourite. The percussion in the intro is masterfully creative & lively which brought the track to ethnic style music (brazillian?). 6th track is laidback with guitar, light percussion & flute. the kind of song to listen to wind down after a hard day's work. One of the livelier & happier track is the 7th, with orchestra then quiets down to a beautiful end.
8th track is a slow, gentle & slightly melancholic song with guitar plucking in the foreground, backed by orchestra. Track 9 has an urgent feel with fast-paced light percussion & quick guitar pickings as well as orchestral backing. quite a delight. Track 10 starts with synth ambient sounds then electric guitar & drums. once the violins come in with the rest of the orchestra, you know you will be in for a musical treat. Quiet somewhere in the middle of the track just to come back with a beautiful melody, this track is a mix of melancholy & daring to hope. Track 11 starts with electric guitar setting a layer of background rhythm which later on percussion, synth makes it full fleshed. Though it seems like a filler track, it is still quite nice. The 13th track is a quiet, haunting, creepy song that seems to come from a horror film. The wonderful part comes at the later half, bringing dark & moody melody. 14th track is a full-blown 'here comes the enemy' number though it also feels like 'let us get out of here'. For the frantic moments, this is it. Track 15 is a quiet, fleeting song, the kind of song to listen on quiet misty mornings or late evenings, with flute playing solo & accompaniement comes only towards the end.
Track 17 has a piano playing sadly but beautifully. the orchestra comes in later with flute responding to the piano. a heart-melting song. 19th track is orchestral with flute floating above teasingly. another beautiful one. 20th track is dark & sad yet wonderful, played by the orchestra. 21st starts with crescendo to a majestic & wonderful melody then quiets down for wind instrument then violins for closure. 23rd, a hidden track, is almost the same as the second track in the first album, but longer & with ambient sounds. The crescendo towards the end is majestic, triumphant, which quiets down for closure. Beautiful end to the album.
Overall
Most tracks may not stand out as much as the first soundtrack but they are still very very wonderful & among one of the best soundtracks i have listened to. The emotions conveyed in the songs show that Yoko Kanno is just one of the best composers around. If you are a fan of good music, this album is worth its price & more. & you don't have to watch the anime nor learn of the story to appreciate this masterfully crafted album. ENJOY!!
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Post by Tsel on May 19, 2005 11:58:50 GMT
Holy Moses jang! Why are you doing what you do for a living instead of writing for some magazine or newspaper!? Well written. Tsel ;D
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 19, 2005 12:19:50 GMT
That's impressive stuff alright, Janggut
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Post by Shan on May 19, 2005 23:39:53 GMT
Jags, Jags, Jags, we are going to have to teach you about threads around here. ;D You aren't going to get away with holding us to guidelines. We've never heard of staying within guidelines in a thread. Well, except for keeping things PG and playing nice for Elliot. We're good at that. ;D *thinks to herself: Shan keep working on him. You'll get him on the right track eventually. ;D * Now I'm off to find something that rocks or is awesome or that everybody should check out so I can write a review for Jags. ;D Shan
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Post by janggut on May 20, 2005 3:06:05 GMT
thanks for the praises, Tsel & EK & Shan! like i said about guidelines, they're not law so u can go & say "hey this OST rocks! ch..ch..check it out!" ;D just that i feel it'll be very helpful for members who may wonder what it means by rock or rule or check-it-out. like clueless ol' me. ;D i think i will write some more reviews this weekend, God willing! if they are companies willing to send me review discs, i don't mind writing reviews for them. of course, i will not promise writing positive ones if they're not that good. nobody around here likes orchestral/symphonic music?
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Post by Tsel on May 20, 2005 13:21:23 GMT
nobody around here likes orchestral/symphonic music? I do. Tsel
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 20, 2005 13:23:27 GMT
I listen to classical, sometimes Not sure if you'd count that or not
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Post by Tsel on May 20, 2005 13:54:26 GMT
Oh, maybe you wanted me to be more specific. I own a lot of music and my classical library is as vast as my Metal library. Tsel
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 20, 2005 13:57:14 GMT
Mine's nowhere close. I have a few classical albums, more Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, and a pretty darn huge Metal collection
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Max
Chaosite
Imagine all the people...
Posts: 610
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Post by Max on May 20, 2005 20:41:17 GMT
Well, I'm quite fond of John Williams and Danny Elfman's work.
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Post by Shan on May 21, 2005 15:58:33 GMT
If you are talking about classical music when you say symphonies, Jags, I like Beethoven and Mozart especially. I like the full sound of a real good symphony orchestra when I listen to classical music. To tell the truth, it is the only way I will listen to it. Shan
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Post by janggut on May 27, 2005 7:45:07 GMT
hey classical is good! but what classical? so Shan listens to Beethoven & Mozart. any particular likes from them? operattas? one pieces? waltz? actually i hate waltz. very .... 'pop'. any particular composers that u love? mine's Pyotr Tchaikovsky. hmm.... maybe we should have a separate thread on classical/orchestral/symphonic/opera music. & also have reviews as different conductor or orchestra may have a different feel to the music.
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 27, 2005 7:51:55 GMT
If you want Operetta, I am a huge fan of Gilbert & Sullivan No-one else can really stand comparison, though I do like a few others operettas here & there...
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Post by Shan on May 27, 2005 14:48:14 GMT
Oh no, Jags is after another review, Guess I had better go find were I stashed all my awesomes, cools, greats, rocks, and all that stuff. I think I am going to need them. Go for it Jags. Give us an opera review. You write good reviews. Hey, I've been serious here. Shan
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