Music for Anime: Cowboy Bebop
By Jeff Wilson
Welcome to the latest installment of Music for Anime, and thanks to
those who sent emails. This time, we look at one of the best series of
the last year, Cowboy Bebop, which is making its stateside debut
on video this summer from Animevillage.com.
The continuing adventures of a pair of bounty hunters, the series features
excellent animation, quirky humor and quality storytelling. Music plays
an important part in the series as well, and the show was fortunate enough
to have fan favorite composer Yoko Kanno do the scoring honors.
Kanno has become one of the most popular composers in anime circles
thanks to her eclectic range and quality work. Her other works include
Macross Plus and The Vision of Escaflowne (which we'll cover
at a later date, once I've had a chance to see the rest of it). Kanno shows
a definite love for western popular music, and that love provides the foundation
for her work on Cowboy Bebop.
Built more or less around bebop (big surprise, right?), the series'
music is kinetic and tailor-made for the sometimes frantic nature of the
show. The jazz motif extends to the design of the first soundtrack disc,
which is made to look like a release from the Blue Note label. Correspondingly,
the liner notes and track titles are mostly in English.
The opening credits theme, "Tank!", begins with bongos over
a descending bass line and kicks into overdrive as the horns begin the
melody. The version on this disc is an extended version of the theme. From
there, we have such delights as "Rush," another bebop piece;
"Bad Dog No Biscuits," a wild piece which blends the bebop sound
with tortured electronic noises before mutating into thumping ska; the
harmonica blues of "Spokey Dokey"; the countryish "Waltz
For Zizi"; and "Piano Black," which blends electronic and
jazz sounds.
For fans of traditional symphonic scoring, this may be somewhat hard
to digest, as the entire disc uses popular forms such as those mentioned
above. For those who are open to these sounds, this disc provides something
different in the world of soundtrack listening. I'm not a jazz fan by any
stretch of the imagination, so when I say that I tend to play this disc
as background music more than something I actively listen to, that should
be taken into consideration.
An EP titled Vitaminless was issued next, comprising eight tracks
of odds and ends not included thus far on disc. The disc begins with the
end title song "The Real Folk Blues," which is neither of those
but instead a driving rock song bolstered by firm brass accompaniment and
strings. The husky vocals of Mai Yamane help enormously as well. More of
Kanno's jazz pieces feature here also, with "Odd Ones" and "SPY"
being standouts. The most interesting pieces on this disc are the weird
ones: the crazy "Doggy Dog," a percussion dominated cue with
a group chanting "we are the doggy doggy dog" every so often.
Then we get "Cats on Mars," which features airy vocals over a
bouncy synth backing. The packaging on this disc is again first rate, with
a thick paper sleeve, and the disc sheltered inside a fabric-like slipcover.
The second full soundtrack disc, titled No Disc, is much more
song oriented, which may or may not appeal to fans of the first disc. The
songs range from dance oriented to blues rock to heavy metal, and they
range from wonderful to the merely listenable. The best is "Green
Bird," which features beautifully layered vocals and solo piano backing.
The instrumental tracks are of the most interest though, and include such
gems as the Middle Eastern flavored "Bindy," and the straightforward
jazz of "Gateway" and "The EGG and YOU." The disc ends
on a pointless, boring dance remix of the opening theme that lacks the
punch and vividness of the original.
If you're only getting one of these discs, the first one should be your
choice for a real representation of the show. At the time of this writing,
a fourth disc, titled "Blue," (VICL 60203) has just come out
in Japan that was unavailable for inclusion here. Fans of Yoko Kanno should
certainly take a look at all these discs, as they cover a variety of her
stylistic interests outside of the symphonic form.
Cowboy Bebop Discs
Volume 1 *** 1/2 VICL 60201 (Victor Entertainment)
Vitaminless EP *** 1/2 VICL 60248
Volume 2-No Disc *** VICL 60202
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