Yoko Kanno - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
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Free Music Notes for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Free Music Review: Excellent *****
Hit: 5 Stars
Every song on this CD is great. I would definately recommend it!Free Music Review: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Hit: 5 Stars
well i like it sounds cool and go,s with the moive tooFree Music Review: Classic Kanno
Hit: 4 Stars
Yoko Kanno has long been one of my favourite Japanese composers since I heard the operatic splendour of 'Macross Plus'.
With GITS: Stand Alone Complex Kanno successfully fuses this same feel with the blues/rock influences previously evident from her work on 'Cowboy Bebop'.
The order in which the tracks are presented do not allow for easy listening but you could always program your CD player to
play any combination you choose.
Tracks such as 'Beauty Is Within Us' are so impossibly hard to listen to (I like to call it Kanno a-la Coldplay or Muse, depressing stuff!!). Whereas, 'Run Rabbit Junk' & 'GET9' are exciting, awe inspiring even after repeated listening. This is a soundtrack with something for all tastes. This should appeal to the more adventurous listeners among you.
I of course come to this particular conclusion because of my strangely mixed musical tastes. I'll listen to Jools Holland (check out his album with Tom Jones if you can) or Ray Charles then listen to Metallica or Black Sabbath before rounding it off with some Bach, Danny Elfman (Batman Returns, etc) or John (Star Wars) Williams.
If you enjoy this then check out the 'Tachikoma' concept album 'Be Human' also by Yoko Kanno.
This audio CD has been mastered incorrectly.
Tracks 8 & 9 'Velveteen' and 'Lithium Flower' run back to back within track 8 on the disc ('Lithium Flower' starts roughly 5:04 within the track). The next 2 tracks are one behind what is stated on the cover. Tracks 11 (labeled 'Inner Universe') and 12 (labeled 'Fish - Silent Cruise') should be one track. 'Fish - Silent Cruise is split into two halves across the two.
From 13 onward the tracks match the track listing/cover.
ACTUAL TRACK LISTING:
1. Run Rabbit Junk
2. Yakitori
3. Stamina Rose
4. Surf
5. Where Does This Ocean Go?
6. Train Search
7. Siberian Doll House
8 Velveteen / Lithium Flower
9 Home Stay
10 Inner Universe
11 Fish (Fish - Silent Cruise Part 1)
12 Silent Cruise (Fish - Silent Cruise Part 2)
13. Some Other Time
14. Beauty Is Within Us
15. We're the Great
16. Monochrome
17. GET9 [TV Size]
18. Rise [TV Size]
I bought the 'OST' and 'Be Human' as part of the Manga/Bandai Limited Editions of 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex' Volumes 1 & 2 respectively.
Highly recommended!!!
Free Music Review: more excellence from Yoko Kanno
Hit: 4 Stars
Yoko Kanno is an amazingly versatile composer, and although she sometimes borrows rather obviously from previously existing material, she seldom duplicates herself. Hence, this disc is not like the blues-jazz-themed Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, the latin-tinged "Wolf's Rain" score, or her more classical album "Songs to Fly." I suppose it most resembles the Sharon Apple pop numbers from "Macross Plus," but even that's a bit of a leap. This album is much more built on heavy metal guitars, dominating synthesizers and much more overstated, grandiose arrangements, the sort that sometimes fall on their face but in this case work to splendidly dramatic effect. The content is engaging, diverse, and often in-your-face. Unfortunately, one trait that is held over from "Wolf's Rain" is that some of the English vocal tracks feature some embarrassingly overdramatic lyrics ("Beauty is Within Us" is the most egregiously unlistenable example) and leave me pining for the quiet beauty of "Is It Real?" from the Bebop movie score. But with 19 tracks at your disposal, one or two duds won't set you back. Another mild gripe is that "Where Does This Ocean Go?" is a flagrant ripoff of Bjork's "Hyperballad," but fortunately it might be better than the original song so all is forgiven. Bottom line, this is another solid and original release that should only fuel the popularity of anime soundtrack music around the world.
P.S. I've never seen a second of Stand Alone Complex and this music is great anyway, so if you're not familiar with the show, don't let that hold you back.
Free Music Review: An exceptional soundtrack
Hit: 4 Stars
The best soundtracks are those that work well on their own. Yoko Kanno does exactly that with the soundtrack for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Although the songs were written for the context of the TV show, this album works well by itself. I watched the whole series before buying the soundtrack. However, it wasn't until I listened to the music separate from the show that I began to appreciate just how good it is.
There is a wide variety of styles present on this album: world / new age, electronica, rock, and classical make appearances, and sometimes blend together to make something that is greater than the sum of its parts, such as the track "Inner Universe." If you need one reason to buy this album, that's it right there. Other notable tracks include "Velveteen," "Lithium Flower," "Rise," and "Yakitori." Surprisingly for a soundtrack, more than half of the tracks have lyrics, in such languages as English, Russian, Italian, Japanese, and Latin. Some of the lyrics are goofy, like in "Lithium Flower," but this doesn't detract much from the quality of the music. The only song that actively annoys me is "Monochrome."
Overall it's an enjoyable set that holds up well under repeated listening. I highly recommend this album.
Note: Earlier reviewers have mentioned mastering problems with this album. The makers have fixed the error on my version; all the tracks are how they are supposed to be.