[] Turn-A Gundam OST II Dianna & Kihel [KICA-481]

Greetings, fellow GFFers, this is my first time doing this, so cut me some slack of this isn't up to professional standards. And now, the review proper.



Title: Turn-A Gundam OST II Dianna & Kihel
Release Date: Unsure (I will edit this in later if I can find it.)
Genre: Anime Soundtrack
Version: Japanese
Catalog #: KICA-481

Track Listing:

1. Turn A Turn (Opening Version)
2. White Falcon
3. London Bridge Falling Down
4. ALFA and OMEGA
5. Barbarian
6. Moon Flower
7. Ju-Kikai Gaku
8. Pan wo Koneyo
9. Winter Sun
10. Tsuki no Tamashii
11. Kabocha Matsuri
12. Drum Head
13. Triad
14. Jig
15. Lily
16. Puff the Pussy Puzzle
17. Until
18. Blond
19. Uka
20. Morning of NOCIS
21. Mokusei Hikoki
22. She's so High
23. AURA
24. Joy


Wow, where do I begin? I am familiar with most of Yoko Kanno's works, both past and present, works such as Macross Plus, Escaflowne, Earth Girl Arjuna, Cowboy Bebop, GITS: SAC, et al, but in my opinion none of them even begins to approach the wonder, granduer, and creativity of her work on the Turn-A Gundam soundtrack, particularly the second OST. While the entire soundtrack is spectacular, I chose OST II in particular to review because in my opinion it contains the best and most varied music out of all of them. What follows is my attempt at a track-by-track review of the OST. My musical vocabulary is limited, so please bear with me if I run out of adjectives. The music contained within this OST is quite varied, running the gamut from "epic" sounding classical, quiet, nutcracker-esque classical, pop/techno, jazz, and even ethnic Japanese cultural tunes. Truly a marvelous mix of music, and always a joy to listen to.

Before we begin, here is a link to a sampler containing my four favorite songs. This will also give you a good idea of what kind of music to expect from this OST: http://rapidshare.de/files/31212020/...mpler.rar.html

1. Turn a Turn (Opening Version)

I assume this is the second opening song for the series. The most notable feature is the singer's fairly gravelly voice, and what I assume is a loud shakuhachi blast toward the end which sounds as though it was binaurally recorded. I feel the need to look over my shoulder to find the source of the sound every time I hear it. Nice. Otherwise, it is neither bad nor particularly stunning.

2. White Falcon

Now things are starting to pick up. Initially, this song sounds somewhat ominous, but very quickly develops into a energizing fanfare and march which is always a pleasure to listen to. It ends on a more quiet note.

3. London Bridge falling down

I assume that this short track goes with some sort of transition or eyecatch. It is mostly electronic sounds interspersed with garbled radio transmissions. Interesting at any rate.

4. ALFA and OMEGA

Yes! Now things really begin to pick up. This is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is extremely positive and very uplifting. I do not know the context, but it seems to chronicle a return to, or a desire to return to, the planet Earth. The song describes the beauty and splendour of our world with wonderful veres such as:

Quote:

Aaah aah Breathing that pure, fresh air again
Living in mountains, seas, and plains of green...
We long for "Thee"
Our Mother Earth, where we belong
Amongst colours full of life-impression
In vivid harmony...
Your cascades will pour
The water that your clouds will bring
And we'll swim inside your swollen oceans
Reflections of our sun

Go for a walk on a sunny day, and listen to this song. It will really make you feel good inside, especially if there is a large amount of untouched nature where you live. Definitely one of the best songs on the entire soundtrack.

5. Barbarian

A fast-paced track with lots of activity which gradually becomes faster and more intense as it goes along, before ending loudly and suddenly. Always a good listen.

6. Moon Flower

A gentle, mellow track that begins with a clarinet solo with soft piano backing, and gradually evolves into a more complex piece with string accompaniment, while still remaining relaxing throughout. A nice listen while walking at night, as I often do.

7. Ju-Kikai Gaku

This track consists mostly of mechanical sounds, such as metal scraping and tapping sounds, clanking, and other noises, with minimal melody. It is all very discordant, but not unenjoyable, and certainly very unique.

8. Pan wo Koneyo

A very short track, playful and slightly mischievous.

9. Winter Sun

Ah, one of my favorite tracks. It starts with gentle guitar meandering, with short interludes by some kind of woodwind instrument, and gradually evolves into a short solo by one of the guitars, before returning to its initial state. There is a lot going on in this song, but it isn't overly active; on the contrary, it is very relaxing to listen to.

10. Tsuki no Tamashii

Oh hell yes. This is by far one of my favorite songs on any of the Turn-A Gundam OSTs. Listening to it gets me so pumped. It is some sort of Japanese festival/celebratory song. It starts with a man singing in the background with occasional shakuhachi (?) blasts, before erupting into a fountain of pure awesome and win. The hard driving drum beat, the energy and harmony of the singers, the speed of the tempo all come together to create an extremely involving, almost overpowering musical experience that you wish you could just jump into and participate in. I lose myself in the rush of this song every time I hear it. Definitely worth two or three consecutive listens.

11. Kabocha Matsuri

A far more laid back festival-type song. This song is very precussion heavy, starting with heavy drum beats, and later adding a large amount of clapping, accompanied by a slight flute-ish sounding melody. One of my more preferred tracks.

12. Drum Head

This song is very ominous and evil sounding. Parts of it even sound like they could be used as samples in Drag-On Dragoon. I haven't spent a lot of time listening to it, so I will add my thoughts later.

13. Triad

Another serious-sounding song, but with a faster pace. This song's ending is very powerful and energizing, and follows a gradual increase in pace and intensity.

14. Jig

A much less dark song this time around, faster paced with occasional quiet interludes and a satisfying ending.

15. Lily

Ah, how wonderful. A very slow-paced and beautiful song consisting almost entirely of strings. The first half of this song sounds like it could have some from the Nutcracker Ballet, or something like it. It is very subdued and slightly mischievous. The second part is slightly more energetic, with many flowing sting elements, which is always nice. The song ends on a quiet, but satisfying note.

16. Puff the Pussy Puzzle

Ok folks, this is by far my favorite song on this OST. When I first heard it, I must have listened to it ten times in a row. The first half of the song starts with a clarinet duet, and sounds easily as it if could be an old-timey 1930s-ish radio broadcast. The second half kind of breaks down into toneless electronic meandering, which is sad, but the first half of the song is so utterly catchy it more than makes up for it.

17. Until

This very laid back love song also has a very old-timey radio feel to it as well. It could even be a lounge song. The whole song has some kind of filter applied to it to make it sound more "analog". I can't say that it isn't pleasing.

18. Blond

Much more somber and serious sounding than the other songs. It consists almost entirely of strings with a strong violin solo throughout. Although I love the violin and all string instruments, I usually don't pay much attention to this song, because after it comes...

19. Uka

Probably my third favorite song on this OST, it is a quiet, thoughtful waltz with vocals as the primary instrument. The first half of the song is... damn no adjectives... very "meaningful" sounding, but the best part comes just after the two minute mark, beginning with a short miramba solo which leads into the most beautiful string work on the entire album. It tugs at my heart every time I hear it. This gradually leads back into another vocal section, ending peacefully. Wonderful. Go for a walk under the full moon while listening for maximum effect. Just trust me.

20. Morning of NOCIS

Morning is right. I can certainly imagine the sun coming up to this. Dew on the leaves, creatures coming to life. This song starts with a single flute, which gradually leads into a full orchestra, slowly becoming more energetic and heartfelt toward the end of the song, as if we're watching a beautiful sunrise, with glorious light streaming over the horizon, washing over the land.

21. -Mokusei Hikoki

This is a short piece that consists mostly of horn instruments. It isn't bad, but it isn't the best either. It reminds me of White Falcon, only lighter and with much fewer instruments.

22. She's so High

This is a pop-techo version of the wonderful song "Moon" from the first OST, with an acoustic guitar in chief. You should all know the song Moon, if not, you are certainly missing out.

23. AURA (Acoustic version)

A slightly somber sounding vocal song, possibly an ending theme.

24. Joy

Wrapping things up, a very relaxing and laid back piano track. While quiet, it definitely has positive and reassuring overtones, and is a good way to wrap up one of the most awesome anime albums out there.

Well, I know many of my descriptions are lacking, but I am incredibly tired, and I want to go ahead and post this. I will come back when I wake up and fix any errors I see. In the meantime, please forgive my dust.

Most amazing jew boots

it's really nice to see some coverage on Gundam soundtracks, which are very underappreciated.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This is another series that Kanno has composed for in which a majority of the tracks are bordering on perfection in terms of melody and orchestration. The numerous amount me musicals styles represented (mostly Western) adds originality thought This leads to the Jpop OP/ED themes sounding a bit out of place.

A few of my favorites (keep in mind, I have no knowledge of the series or where these themes are used):

02 White Falcon
A pounding, dramatic orchestral introduction gives way to a thrilling trumpet anthem. The flute and horn "march" prevalent throughout the series is then intenerated into the last part of the track.

05 Barbarian
A lightning fast jig, that really gets the toes tapping. The lead is nicely paired with the orchestra, and leads to a sublime build up by the end.

09 Winter Sun
A soft, soothing track that features several acoustic guitars playing the lead. The arrangement is very cohesive, and they manage to create a very dynamic sound when combined with the clarinet and percussion. And of course the very western style of composition is always a plus. I only wish it was a bit longer.

16 Puff the Pussy Puzzle
A jazzy track that features quirky synth sound effects and a bobbing clarinet melody. The second half gets a bit more minimalist and features plucked strings and a synth beat. Original racks like this are one of the main reasons I love her work so much.

18 Blond
A light, flowing orchestral piece that features a gorgeous violin lead. The compositing is very strong here, and manages to stir up a tremendous amount of emotional depth without sounding too sad.

20 Morning of NOCIS
Starting off with a cold, almost errior flute solo accentuated by orchestral swells, which leads into a serene version of "Quiet Landing" (most likely a character theme). This iteration possesses just as much of the power the original had, but the orchestration is a bit more embellished here (resulting in a more "magical" tone.)

22 She's so high
An interesting variation on "Moon" that uses more subdued instrumentation. The vocals are toward the background a bit more, resulting in a more airy take on a great theme. Personally though, I prefer the stern, drum march of the original.

As a whole, this is series represents some of Kanno's best works. It is a rare thing for the level of quality on an album to possess such a consistent degree of quality. It is a shame these albums don't have as much exposure as say "Cowboy Bebop", as they are just about at the same level.

Rating: 4.9/5

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.