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Slow Reviews Soundtracks: A NinSheetMusic Column

Started by SlowPokemon, August 13, 2011, 07:36:18 PM

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SuperFireKirby

Until Slow reviews a score by Jeremy Zuckerman or Howard Shore, this thread is MEH.

Quote from: Mashi on March 26, 2013, 05:54:37 PMAfter viewing both FMA:Brotherhood and Naruto Shippuden, it would be frivolous to even consider watching an anime as unbearably mediocre as Melancholy. NARUTOxHINATA 4 LYFE!!!

SlowPokemon

Quote from: SuperFireKirby on June 27, 2012, 09:38:39 PMUntil Slow reviews a score by Jeremy Zuckerman or Howard Shore, this thread is MEH.

Ahem.

Quote from: Arceus79 on June 27, 2012, 08:26:11 PMPointing back to a while ago, I just found your review on the PMD: EoS soundtrack.  I love the mention you gave to some of my favorite songs from the game, such as "In the Sea of Time" and "Dialga's Fight to the Finish!". In your list, although you didn't mention it in your review, you labled song 141: Life Goes On! (Ending) as an excellent song, and I completely agree! After giving notice to others of my favorite songs, such as "Temporal Tower", I'm surprised you didn't add them to your list.

You're right! I think that while some songs were clever and showed impressive ambition, I only marked them as "excellent" when they stood out to me personally as fantastic.
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

SlowPokemon

#107
Soundtrack Review: Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer

So here we are at another Zimmer review. I've been meaning to write a review of this score for quite a while, but somehow never got around to it. Ah, well. So this is a classic Zimmer soundtrack, which I'd classify as having about twelve to fifteen tracks, all of the tracks being named after random phrases from the movie, and having one super long "suite" track. This habit of naming the tracks after random movie lines is amusing to look at, but also makes it incredibly difficult to locate where in the film anything is played. I'm pretty sure he just writes this and then has a really long spotting session with the director and places different bits of the music in places where it seems to fit. Meaning, of course, much of the soundtrack album isn't even in the film (a la The Dark Knight).

But, enough ranting about the artist. Let's look at the album. We have twelve tracks, which is few enough that I can take it on a track-by-track basis. So without further ado, the first track, "Discombobulate." This is obviously the main theme of the film, and it's also the best track on the album. It was smart of Zimmer to place the main theme at the front (rather than The Dark Knight where we had to wait until the very end to hear it); this grabs the listener's attention and makes him want to hear more. The opening theme itself is a good summary of the score. The infamously broken-down piano, squeaky violins, and generally off-kilter and quirky style bring life to the film, complementing Holmes's character surprisingly well. Only a few notes make up this truly discombobulating theme, but it's very well done. A++.

The next track, "Is It Poison, Nanny?", is also decidedly good, but has a painfully slow start. We hear eerie music for the first section of the piece, with a strange strumming instrument and squeaking violins as well as moody string and brass movements. At around 1:30 it picks up to a faster pace, but it isn't until 1:55 that we hear the next central theme for the film, which is repetitive but also suits the movie well. I think of it in my head as a "danger theme" of sorts. It shows up in other places and is easily listenable, giving Holmes another distinct sound.

"I Never Woke Up In Handcuffs Before" is arguably the strangest track on the album. It is oddly out of place, even for a score so bizarre. A painfully shrill violin and later an entire ear-piercing string section carry variations on the main Discombobulate theme as other instruments produce a polka-like bass melody. It's a bit headache-inducing, to be honest, but you can tell Zimmer really had fun with it.

"My Mind Rebels At Stagnation" is firstly a fun reprisal of the Discombobulate theme, trading the jarring aspect of the theme for a more gentle version that becomes more Holmes as it develops. This goes on until roughly 1:55, at which point it becomes entirely creepy and eerie, contrasting with the fun and bounciness of the first part. At about 2:28 we hear a clashing brass note repeated several times, which is a foreshadowing of what I call the "horror theme" of the score. Shortly after 3:00 we hear the "mournful theme" which is represented by a violin. This constitutes the rest of the piece, which I feel would have been more successful if it were divided into two tracks.

"Data, Data, Data" is distinctly Arabian sounding at the beginning, with a few flute notes that eerily introduce the piece. Soon it becomes more of a tango than anything, restrained by the flute notes occasionally but also carried through a dance by a violin. This foreshadows his later work for the piece "Angelica" in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

"He's Killed The Dog Again" begins softly with a few scattered notes from the Discombobulate theme. At about 0:50 we hear the mournful theme in a fast paced tempo, soon underscored by heavy pounding drums. At 1:43 there's a fast-paced rhythm, with heavy strings and brass carrying the Discombobulate theme almost unrecognizably. At 2:14, though, heavy drums and random string notes move the piece along with the same heavy instruments playing the main theme underneath everything before it abruptly ends.

"Marital Sabotage" begins uneasily with a barely-detectable melody amidst lots of low strings. 35 seconds in, we hear the familiar Discombobulate motif reprised. This sounds honestly like Holmes aboard a train. That's what I could best compare it to. It fades out and then picks up sporadically throughout the piece. This track best works as film underscore, not listening apart from the film.

"Not In Blood, But In Bond" begins with a truly painful violin solo, mournful and weeping. At 1:05 we finally bring in other parts of the orchestra, but it only produces eerie string movements. Arguably the weakest track on the album.

"Ah, Putrefaction" has a similar feel to the main Discombobulate theme, but instead brings in a relatively original theme. It's rather refreshing and one of the highlights amid the less listenable tracks that appear. I'd give it a listen, the string movements in the latter half are actually quite moving.

"Panic, Shear Bloody Panic" is quite effective, using the mournful theme briefly at the beginning before gradually building up to a great reprise of the Discombobulate theme in near full. It's thoroughly enjoyable and a nice reminder of what's good about this score.

"Psychological Recovery... 6 Months" is a monster. At 18:18, it's the longest song I have on my iPod and as such it's easy to get lost among the various motifs and themes represented. To help you listen to this, I've broken it down as best I could. The results are as follows:

0:00 – We hear a tense string instrument before hearing the danger theme heard earlier in "Is It Poison, Nanny?"
0:25 – Creepy strings abound before settling into complete silence briefly
0:46 – A string movement which is vaguely similar to Discombobulate, but in a mournful vein, appears
1:15 – The danger theme appears in a very menacing incarnation
1:57 – The danger theme is underscored by the same heavy instruments with the main theme heard in "He's Killed The Dog Again"
2:30 – We hear a tipsy, off-balance version of the Discombobulate theme briefly
3:00 – A thoroughly enjoyable remix of the Discombobulate theme takes inspiration from the style of Zimmer's work on Pirates of the Caribbean
3:20 – A banjo carries Irish-like variations on the main theme
4:11 – We hear the first hints of a menacing variation on the classic clock tower theme, representing time running out; this was incredibly clever of Zimmer to implement this
4:52 – A very menacing motif vaguely takes inspiration from the mournful theme
5:35 – The heavy Discombobulate theme underlies the main action again
6:01 – A serious, solemn string movement carries the piece
6:39 – We hear tiny hints of the danger theme before back to the mournful theme
7:00 – A sad version of Discombobulate is heard
7:20 – We hear the danger theme on a low piano and hints of the main theme briefly
8:03 – Alternates from quiet to dangerous before bringing in the heavy Discombobulate theme again
8:30 – Finally we hear the clock tower motif repeated a few times, more fast-paced and dangerous
9:11 – First a slowed-down clock tower reprise, then the mournful theme reappears with the clock tower again
9:48 – A tense, high-maintenance Discombobulate theme
10:30 – A string instrument carries a fast rhythm while the clock tower is heard, very drawn-out
11:05 – Very, very eerie, sad theme based on the main theme
11:47 – Horror theme finally appears, jarring and frightening with clashing brass everywhere
12:10 – More clock tower briefly, then a sort of mix with the mournful theme
12:45 – Danger theme is heard
13:00 – Contrabass is barely audible with the clock tower theme
13:38 – Horror theme and the sad clock tower theme alternate clashingly
14:32 – The mournful theme is heard on the violin, and a gradual crescendo takes place
15:26 – A climax of sorts takes place
15:40 – Clock tower is heard underneath what sounds like epic fight music, then silence
16:06 – A sad violin is heard with vague references to "Data, Data, Data"
16:26 – Menacing brass notes lurk underneath
16:50 – Sad piano version of Discombobulate; quite moving
17:33 – A minimal reprise of the danger theme, strings join in
Ends with very minimal danger theme

"Catatonic" opens creepily with a pitchy violin before a banjo and piano/brass carry the Discombobulate theme minimally. Then a faster version, with more suitable instruments. Moving strings underlie the theme, then take the theme entirely, very slowly and fairly menacingly. The instruments alternate this mournful version. At 2:25 we hear a waltz version of theme which carries on for some time. At 3:17 it changes pace to a fast, creepy drum motif with a vague reprisal of "Ah, Putrefaction," which gradually crescendos before abruptly ending.

Overall, this score is entirely unique and quite a strange effort. It was nominated for an Academy Award, though I suspect this is mainly because the Academy loves Zimmer, rather than because they were overtly impressed with the score. Really, your love for this score depends on your ability to handle or tolerate weirdness—or your love for Zimmer, for despite everything, his touch is utterly unmistakable.

Rating: ***

Track list (excellent tracks in red):
1. Discombobulate
2. Is It Poison, Nanny?
3. I Never Woke Up In Handcuffs Before
4. My Mind Rebels At Stagnation
5. Data, Data, Data
6. He's Killed The Dog Again
7. Marital Sabotage
8. Not In Blood, But In Bond
9. Ah, Putrefaction
10. Panic, Shear Bloody Panic
11. Psychological Recovery... 6 Months
12. Catatonic
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

MaestroUGC

Try to do everything; you're bound to succeed with at least one.

SlowPokemon

IS THAT WHAT THAT THING IS CALLED?!?!?! I had NO IDEA and it was bugging the hell out of me
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

MaestroUGC

You don't listen to enough Eastern European music.
Try to do everything; you're bound to succeed with at least one.

SlowPokemon

Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

SlowPokemon

#112
Soundtrack Review: The Dark Knight Rises by Hans Zimmer

Alright, so I'll come out and say it: I like Hans Zimmer's work on the Dark Knight trilogy. I'm not a Zimmer fanboy, but I'm sure as hell not a Zimmer basher either. In case you weren't aware, there is something of an ongoing feud between the so-called "fanboys" and "haters." Zimmer can do no wrong as far as the former are concerned, and he has no true musical talent as far as the latter are concerned. Filmtracks, a website that publishes film score reviews, is particularly infamous for over-the-top biased reviews against Zimmer. This would be the site that called the piece "Why So Serious?" "unlistenable" and "nine minutes of your life you'll never get back." The reviewer in question continues to argue that "intellectuals" can clearly see Zimmer is talentless and has introduced nothing worthwhile in any of his Batman scores. I tend to disagree. It's true Zimmer's theme for the dark knight is repetitive and fairly simple, but it works. What is the big deal whether it's "intelligent music" or not? I find it fairly intelligent music myself, and I appreciate that each composer has a radically different style. I have no qualms saying the previous installment's piece "A Dark Knight" is one of my favorite pieces of music I've ever heard. That being said, the trilogy as a whole is not the best film music out there.

Alright, now that I've tried to prove I'm not biased by saying that people on both extremes annoy the hell out of me, let's get to the actual score. I'll take it on a track-by-track basis--this usually helps me understand the score better. In this album, however, you'll probably miss the change to the next track if you aren't watching for it, as nearly ll of the tracks simply segue into one another with no gap at all. This was great album mixing and serves the score well as it appears as a full suite rather than multiple bite-sized pieces. The album begins with the 37-second track "A Storm Is Coming." Beginning with the signature "swooping" sound effect heard in all three films, then diverging into eerie music, it's the perfect length to introduce us to this dark, hopeless film. It segues into the second track, "On Thin Ice," whose high-pitched quavering synthesizers and strings portray the main theme in a chilling and elegant tone. "Gotham's Reckoning," however, is where things really begin to heat up, with Bane's theme and the infamous chant. For those of you who don't know, six or seven months ago, Zimmer (always looking to do something different) collected recordings of people chanting from all around the world. The result is something brilliant and terrifying, rather like Bane himself. The insistent pounding of the kettle drums and chanting combine to make this one of the better new additions. The chanting, incidentally, is "deh-shay, deh-shay, bah-sah-rah, bah-sah-rah," which is Moroccan for "he rises, he rises."

Following this is the theme for Selina Kyle (better known as Catwoman), "Mind If I Cut In?" This track begins with suspicious strings before getting to insistent tambourine and mysterious, elegant piano notes which carry throughout the piece. I enjoyed this piece despite its repetition. After this track is "Underground Army," which is basically a bunch of ominous strings and synthesizers. I didn't enjoy this track as much as others on the album, and it runs a bit too long for what it is, but it was great underscoring for the film. Odds are you won't get much out of this track, though. "Born In Darkness" is mournful and depressing, fitting for the film, but not quite as moving as it could be, with no clear motif. However, the next track, "The Fire Rises," which is another variation on Bane's theme, really shows what Zimmer can do with an action scene. It begins with a bang and doesn't really let up, enduring through the blasting brass, frantic strings, relentless kettle drums and chaotic chanting until the very end with only a small stagnant section in the middle. "Nothing Out There" finally gives us the familiar Batman theme sixteenth notes in all their glory before becoming Selina Kyle's theme in a lightly pouncing movement. In the second half, a mournful piano and string theme appears, offering an idea of the senseless tragedy that has befallen Gotham. "Despair" marks the return of the swoop effect underlying fast-paced strings and the D-F brass movement of the Batman theme which makes its first appearance here. Somewhere in the middle, the synthesizers take over completely which does get a bit tiresome but it is immediately followed by the heroic brass again. Before long, it reaches the version of the theme heard at the beginning of the end credits for the first two, which is a welcome return. But it's all too brief, making this track more underscore than listening material.

"Fear Will Find You" begins with a chaotic rendition of the theme heard in "The Fire Rises," with Batman's two heroic brass notes appearing before the chanting kicks in again. At 0:46, we hear the Batman theme kick in briefly, and at 1:10, we hear the movement used ever so sparsely throughout The Dark Knight. Again, it's a welcome throwback and does something new with a theme that should really be quite old by now. "Why Do We Fall?" is really an excellent piece. The tragedy is acknowledged, and risen above, and before the end it returns to the original Batman theme. I predict that this will become one of the more popular pieces on the soundtrack. Abruptly ending, it leads to the 23-second "Death By Exile" which is a bit terrifying in all honesty. This comes to "Imagine The Fire," which is about seven and a half minutes of pure epicness. It's new material over the chanting and it takes a while to really get going, but just go with it and I think you'll like what you hear. Walk down the street listening to this, you'll probably feel like you're off to save the world from a terrorist, maybe one wearing a mask which keeps him alive. "Necessary Evil" is shorter but just as effective, with slow eeriness mixing with the Batman theme for an effective conclusion to Bane's character. "Rise" is the best track on the album, starting with the chaos theme but soon becoming a painstakingly slow remix of a beautiful, poignant, tragic motif heard in "A Dark Knight" from the previous film. The whole track is beautiful and emotionally moving, and if you were to download just one track, I'd recommend this one.

As a whole, the score works for me. I enjoyed it wholeheartedly, and if you liked what you heard in the first two films, there's likely a lot for you in this score; the last five or six tracks, especially, will most likely capture your interest.. If you did not, do not buy this album by any means, because the style is essentially more of the same.

A side note: I didn't review any of the bonus tracks, because I'm really annoyed at the way they handled them. If you bought the CD album (like I did), you can go online to verify your purchase and receive the three tracks "Bombers Over Ibiza (Junkie XL Remix)", "No Stone Unturned," and "Risen From Darkness." However, if you download the soundtrack digitally via iTunes, you receive the remix track and two tracks called "The Shadows Betray You" and "The End." What's more, another bonus track, "All Out War," was given to you if you bought tickets for the movie via movietickets.com. It's essentially a cash cow on the part of Warner Bros. and, like the previous soundtrack, you must buy multiple albums in order to get the complete score. I'm giving a review of the essential album, because that is the main attraction in my opinion and I don't want to say one set of bonus tracks are better than the other. I got the album for $11.99 ($1.55 as I had a gift card) and I wouldn't spend more money on iTunes just for a few bonus tracks. I think they should have done what they did with Inception, where the bonus tracks were available online for anyone to download. It sure would make it easier.

BUY IT: If you were impressed with the first two scores, or liked them on any level. The style is the same, though the material is largely new.
DON'T BUY IT: If you're a Zimmer hater, or didn't think the first two scores were as good as they could have been.

Rating: ****

Track listing (excellent tracks in red):
1. A Storm Is Coming
2. On Thin Ice
3. Gotham's Reckoning
4. Mind If I Cut In?

5. Underground Army
6. Born In Darkness
7. The Fire Rises
8. Nothing Out There

9. Despair
10. Fear Will Find You
11. Why Do We Fall?
12. Death By Exile
13. Imagine The Fire
14. Necessary Evil
15. Rise
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

SlowPokemon

Oh, also, I finally fixed all the weird symbols after the forum update, and I added a table of contents to the first post for those of you who actually read these and want to find a specific one. :)
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

Jub3r7

It's dangerous to go alone, take me with you! [JUB has joined the party.]

MaestroUGC

I'd just like to comment on what was said about "intelligent music."

There is no such thing. Music, above all else, like all arts, a designed to serve whatever context and ends they were written for. All music is written for a reason, and as such must serve to define, defend, decry, celebrate, etc whatever was designed for. In serious classical music, as such as it has been defined, more often than not, every piece has a reason. There's a point, a means for which it was written, or an end it is supposed to serve. Even if it was written just to make a quick buck (I'm looking at you, Donizetti), it was written for a reason.

With film, music has a clear role in the process; to serve either the story or action. The better film scores are able to do both within the span of the score. However the composer chooses to achieve this is up to him, but it's success depends on how it serves the story/action. Scores that serve the action more than the story don't usually find much success outside of the film it was written for; scores that serve the story usually find greater success. And I believe I can tell you why: Scores built on the story often use motifs, these motifs link an idea to a distinct sound, thereby resonating with the audience far better. This is the same reason Video Game sountracks enjoy great individual success.

Intelligent music is usually connected to classical music, which is what I'm assuming the commenter in question was implying. The problem with that is that it implies all other music is not intelligent, which is flawed for multiple reasons but there's a major one that I want to focus on. Folk music has a long, proud history, with each culture having its own, distinct style. Implying that folk music is not intelligent also implies that everything derived from folk music is not intelligent; this means blues and everything derived from it, such as rock and jazz, most notably. Those genres have produced several, intelligent acts and composers. But folk music was also adopted by other forms, such as classical. Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, the list is endless. Nearly every singe major composer has used folk music to some capacity, hell it even constitutes some composers' entire libraries, such as Bartok. Saying that these composers, and their works in question, aren't intelligent, or at least their music, means that the very foundation of intelligent music doesn't exist. Now as both a listener and collector of classical music, and a composer of the same, I will be the first to say that there is no such thing as "intelligent music".

I realize that this really as nothing to do with the film score in question, but I couldn't let that comment slide. I may not be a big purveyor of film music, but I do enjoy the music in it's function, and I've often found myself humming a couple of motifs every now and then.
Try to do everything; you're bound to succeed with at least one.

SlowPokemon

You do realize I hold every belief you just mentioned, right? If you'd read closely, you'd see I was annoyed by reviewers who hold such standards. Look at this review and how biased it is--this is the one I was referring to: http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/dark_knight_rises.html

I hate people who consider certain types of music "intelligent" over others. It's snobbish and foolish. I really want to punch that reviewer in the face; he sounds arrogant and he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

So yeah, read closely before you start crucifying me. Film music is often simplistic, but it's also my favorite type, so I wouldn't call it--or really any type of music--unintelligent.
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

MaestroUGC

I wasn't talking about you, at no point was that ever directed toward you.
Try to do everything; you're bound to succeed with at least one.

SlowPokemon

Ah, it seemed that way. Yeah that comment had me outraged as well, though.
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

SlowPokemon

#119
Soundtrack Review: Nintendo DS Pokémon Black 2 • White 2 Super Music Complete by Jun'ichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Hitomi Sato, Teruo Taniguchi, Shota Kageyama, Minako Adachi, Morikazu Aoki & Satoshi Nohara

Wow, that's a ton of artists who worked on this thing. Okay, the deal with this album was interesting—a four disc set, the first three discs were dedicated to all the new music of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, while the fourth contained previously unreleased music from Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Platinum. On the day of this album's release, it and all other Pokémon "super music complete" sets were released digitally on iTunes, meaning that if you live in Japan you can now download all the Pokémon music from iTunes. Hooray! This also means that for all Pokémon games to date, there is an official album and as such no gamerips are necessary. BIGGER hooray! Note that Pokémon Gold and Silver have no album, but as the Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver album contains all the GB Sounds tracks, all of the originals are available. I'll only be reviewing the first three discs, as you probably know by this point the highlights of Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Platinum—though I admit, it was a lot of fun to go through those tracks and remember them as they came along.

Concerning the artist situation—the bulk of the tracks were composed and arranged by Ichinose and Sato. Masuda composed nothing new for this soundtrack, and what remixes he did compose, Ichinose and Sato handled the arrangements. His influence is clear in many of the pieces, however. Kageyama, from what I can tell, didn't compose anything new either, besides a couple bonus musicals that are available in Black and White. He is credited as composing a few remix tracks, but he didn't handle any of their arrangements. It's funny how he went from major sound director/composing everything to this. However, all of the old towns, cities, and routes retain their original music, making his music prominent throughout the game. Newcomer Teruo Taniguchi is credited a mere six tracks, all of them brief jingles, for a grand total of 35 seconds on the album. I'm interested to see a new name under the album notes and am also interested to see what this person will go on to do in the future. Minako Adachi is credited only with one of the bonus musicals, and Morikazu Aoki and Satoshi Noharu are credited only the Emerald/Platinum disc.

I would like to take this moment to apologize to all my readers and personally to Ms. Hitomi Sato. Yes, MISS Sato. All of my previous reviews have referred to Ms. Sato as a male. It's quite embarrassing. I apologize if I confused anyone. xS

Now, on to the review.

Remember how I said that the music in the first Black and White games felt more "electronic" than previous Pokémon installments? This applies less so, and more so, to Black 2 and White 2. The music as a whole feels more orchestra and less synthesizer—barring the battle music. The battle music is so electronic it's almost headache-inducing. I preferred the "blaring trumpet" battle themes to the "blasting synthesizer" themes that wreak havoc throughout Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. This style is more appropriate given the atmosphere and the growing technology that this generation focuses on, however. The "Battle! Trainer" and "Battle! Wild Pokémon" and "Battle! Gym Leader" themes, revamped, are better than ever before and are my favorite versions of the themes. But whereas the "Battle! Ghetsis" piece from the original Pokémon Black and White was beautifully, elegantly terrifying in its excessive timpani and haunting chorus, this game's remix of that piece nearly gives me a headache listening to it.

But we'll get to remixes later; first, I want to talk about the brand new music. First, the new town music. Ichinose kicks it off with "Aspertia City," the theme for the first town. It's beautiful and I honestly find myself wondering how the sound team can consistently come up with such nostalgic themes for the player's hometowns. Ichinose's "Sangi Town" uses panpipes and occasionally an accordion in a lilting waltz melody to simulate a merry-go-round, while its counterpart "Sangi Ranch" is an unabashed accordion polka. It's a lot of fun and I can't help listening to this without smiling. I also feel need to point out "Yamaji Town," which is exotic salsa music that you're sure to enjoy. "Segaiha City" is also compelling, a carefree rhythm done in the style of Opelucid City (which is one of the best tracks on the Black and White soundtrack).

As far as route themes, "Route 19" is suitably fun and happy as it bounces along, a departure from typical route themes. "Route 22" is more adventurous and feels like a classic Pokémon game. "Route 23" was apparently written to resemble the style of "Route 26" from Pokémon Gold and Silver, although I don't see many similarities. This route feels less awe-inspiring and more fun and reckless.

The four new battle themes are interesting, and feel very much a different style—the reason for this being, of course, that Jun'ichi Masuda did not compose them. Go Ichinose handles the techno rival battle, which is a great catchy theme for the rival, and the Black Kyurem/White Kyurem battle. The latter tends to especially annoy me because of its disorienting right ear-left ear alternations, and neither are up to par with Masuda's themes. Hitomi Sato's themes fare slightly better—"Battle! Colress" is quite annoying with the voice counting down throughout and no solid melody to carry it, but "Battle! Champion Iris" more than makes up for it in its cute style. And Colress's theme definitely fits his unpredictable, all over the place character.

But the true star of the first disc especially is the PokéStar Studio section. All of these tunes are memorable and fun, not a single one boring. I especially love the off-kilter piano in "Shooting in the PokéStar Studios!"

As far as remixes go, there are a LOT of remixes to be heard in this soundtrack. Less than half of the material is brand new, never-before-heard material. The good side to that, though, is that most of the remixes are thoroughly enjoyable. Every single Gym Leader battle theme and Champion battle theme to date (barring Alder's theme) is given a remix on this album, as the Pokémon World Tournament allows you to fight Gym Leaders and Champions from previous games as a welcome throwback. And the Champion theme from Pokémon Red and Blue is given two remixes, as the remix that was used during the world championships is on this album. Of all of these remixes, a few stood out to me. All of these themes are memorable and great, but it was one of the lesser-remembered themes, "Battle! Gym Leader (Hoenn)," which wowed me with its slightly classical instrumentation. It is an interesting remix, and one I won't easily tire of hearing. The Champion. Another one is "Battle! Champion (Sinnoh)," which surprised me mostly because it was still an effective remix after just hearing this theme remixed in Pokémon Black and White. This is my favorite version of the theme currently, and I'm impressed with it. As for the others, they struck me as standard remix fare—fun to listen to, but nothing outstanding.

"Underground Ruins" is a remix of the haunting "Sealed Chamber" from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, in a brilliantly orchestrated track. I was even impressed by "Heart Cave," the subtly frightening revamp of the lake cave theme from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The battle remixes for the Sinnoh Legendary Pokémon, Uxie/Mesprit/Azelf and Regirock/Regice/Registeel were entertaining, but again I felt like these were standard remix fare.

And in case you didn't know, all of the Gyms get their own theme. They're all variations on the classic theme, and they're all very clever. I won't say much about them because I don't want to spoil these, but I will say that a few which that stood out to me in particular were "Virbank Gym (Perfomers • DOGARS)," which is one of a few tracks to use vocals, and "Mistralton Gym," which indeed sounds like flying. The catchiest has got to be "Driftveil Gym," though.

As far as the original Black and White themes go, however, the remixes were wonderful. I'll name a few here. First and foremost, and most impressive to me, was "Title." This borrows heavily from the title theme of Pokémon Black and White, but it was expertly altered to make this the best title theme of the series thus far. I was also happily reminded of what was so great about the first Black and White games in "Bianca's Theme," "Cheren's Theme," and "N's Theme." These are hands down the best remixes on the soundtrack, and N's Theme even gets a happy section after his signature minor key waltz (according to the composers, this was intended to remind the player of the protagonists of the original game). It's worth noting "N's Castle," which has a flickering noise in the background of the minimalist remix, and "N's Room," which somehow got even more terrifying in the time period between the games. The chimes are broken and off tempo this time, and it's a brilliant remix.

I haven't come close to mentioning everything the album has to offer, but I can't do that or the review will get even more long winded. But I can say that those of you who enjoyed the first Black and White soundtrack should definitely check this out, either now or after you play the game. It's essentially more of the same, with more Ichinose and Sato, and less Kageyama. You'll enjoy it a lot even if you enjoy it half as much as I did.

Rating: *****

Track listing (excellent tracks in red):

DISC 1
1. Opening
2. Title
3. Signs of the Beginning
4. Aspertia City
5. Bianca's Theme
6. Route 19 (Spring~Summer)

7. Battle! Wild Pokémon
8. Sangi Town
9. Sangi Ranch
10. Rival's Theme
11. Battle! Rival

12. Virbank City
13. Virbank Gym (Performers • DOGARS)
14. Team Plasma, Again
15. PokéStar Studios
16. Shooting in PokéStar Studios!

17. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Confrontation
18. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Glory
19. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Defeat
20. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Invasion
21. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Success
22. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Defeat
23. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Strange
24. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Love
25. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Sorrow
26. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Horror
27. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Purification
28. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Fear
29. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Humor
30. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Despair
31. PokéStar Studios • Theme of Shock
32. Statue was Built in PokéStar Studios!
33. Castelia Sewers
34. Castelia Gym
35. Eye Contact! Clown
36. A Fes Mission is Being Held!
37. United Tower
38. Colress's Theme
39. Battle! Trainer

40. Join Avenue
41. Join Avenue – Level Up 1
42. Join Avenue – Level Up 2
43. Join Avenue – Greeting!
44. Nimbasa Gym • Runway
45. Eye Contact! Beauty
46. Nimbasa Gym • Stage
47. Battle! Gym Leader

48. Victory is Right Before Your Eyes!

DISC 2
1. Driftveil Gym
2. Pokémon World Tournament (PWT)

3. PWT Venue
4. Battle! Gym Leader (Kanto)
5. Battle! Champion (Kanto)
6. Battle! Gym Leader (Johto)
7. Battle! Champion (Johto)
8. Battle! Gym Leader (Hoenn)
9. Battle! Champion (Hoenn)
10. Battle! Gym Leader (Sinnoh)
11. Battle! Champion (Sinnoh)

12. PWT Finals!
13. PWT Victory!
14. Won the PWT!
15. Underground Ruins
16. Battle! Regirock • Regice • Registeel

17. Plasma Frigate • Deck
18. Zinzolin's Theme
19. Cheren's Theme
20. Mistralton Gym

21. Medal Rally – Finish!
22. Medal Box Renewal!
23. Yamaji Town
24. The Road to Rebirth Mountain
25. Rebirth Mountain (Black)
26. Rebirth Mountain (White)

27. Stranger House
28. Battle! Legendary Pokémon (Sinnoh)
29. Opelucid Gym
30. Assault! Opelucid City
31. Frozen Town
32. Eye Contact! Team Plasma
33. Battle! Team Plasma
34. Shadow Triad's Theme
35. Marine Tube
36. Segaiha City

37. Segaiha Gym
38. Route 22 (Spring~Summer)
39. The Plasma Frigate Takes Off

DISC 3
1. Infiltrating the Plasma Frigate!
2. Battle! Colress
3. Awakening
4. Confrontation
5. Absorption
6. Coalescence
7. Battle! Black Kyurem • White Kyurem
8. Battle! Ghetsis
9. Route 23
10. N's Castle
11. N's Room
12. N's Theme
13. Battle! N

14. Unova Link
15. Live Caster Minigames!
16. Live Caster • Game Start!
17. Live Caster • Won the Game!
18. Route 19 (Autumn~Winter)
19. Heart Cave

20. Battle! Uxie • Mesprit • Azelf
21. Black Skyscraper • Entrance
22. Black Skyscraper
23. White Tree Hollow • Entrance
24. White Tree Hollow
25. Tympole Choir
26. Route 22 (Autumn~Winter)
27. The Habitat Picture Book was Filled!
28. Collected All the Medals!
29. Battle! Champion Iris
30. Staff Roll
31. THE END

32. Musical "Lovestruck Munna"
33. Musical "Pokémon Party"
34. Musical "The Fashionable Pokémon Center"
35. Musical "MELOETTAAA!"
36. Pokémon World Championships Final
37. Relic Song
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.