Memories CD Soundtrack

MEMORIES
JVC Musical Industries, Inc.
JNA-1503-2
77:19 (38 tracks) $17.95

Copyright © Mushroom/Memories Project

-- by Keith Rhee

1. Chorale 3:45

2. Cosmos 5:19

3. Madama Butterfly 3:50

4. Memories 4:21

5. Sickness 5:43

6. Radio-Mad Butterfly 4:19

7. Emily 4:29

8. End 0:24

9. Chorale (Reprise) 4:27

10. Nobuo's Groove I 4:23

11. Capsule of Blue 4:13

12. Sketchs of Smell 0:41

13. Six Steps To Heaven 1:55

14. Nobuo's Groove II 1:15

15. Mad Funny Balance Town 1:14

16. Five Steps To Heaven 1:19

17. Nobuo's Groove III 1:11

18. Walkin' 1:06

19. In A Smell Way 1:49

20. Workin' 1:27

21. Four Steps to Heaven 1:23

22. Battle Dance 3:07

23. At the Corner 1:14

24. Someday Our Prince Will Come 2:45

25. Relaxin' 1:36

26. Ants 1:40

27. A Boy and a Portrait 0:22

28. Morning in the City 1:49

29. Song of the Soldiers 0:35

30. A Boy's Dream 0:53

31. The Cannon's Fanfare 4:06

32. Gun Crew's March 2:13

33. Lunch Time 1:50

34. The Cannon's Fanfare (Reprise) 0:28

35. Disciplinary Measures 0:37

36. Evening Falls 0:39

37. A Boy and a Portrait (Reprise) 1:20

38. In Yer Memory 6:33

Otomo Katsuhiro's stories have always struck me as unusual in their look and feel as well as their tone. His recent movie MEMORIES, a collection of 3 short stories, looks almost like an animated version of a Twillight Zone episode. The MEMORIES CD soundtrack is an equally eclectic affair, with its diverse music style ranging from an opera singer's aria to jazz to fast-paced techno music.

The Japanese release of the soundtrack is 80 minutes long and consists of one full-length CD and one CD single, but the domestic release comes only on one CD. As it turns out, about 2 minutes of a continuously repeating coda was cut from the end of the last track, "In Yer Memories," and though the remaining tracks were left intact, this comes as a slight disappointment. The case design also falls short of the artfully done Japanese release, which had a 3 way foldout, a beautifully rendered scene from Magnetic Rose (one of the 3 shorts in the film) visible through a transparent tray, and several cels comprising the cover. It wouldn't be the first time a domestic release fell short of the original in terms of packaging.

Each of the shorts in the movie comes with its own distinctive music style. The music for Magnetic Rose is directed by critically acclaimed Kanno Yoko (of Macross Plus and Escaflowne fame), and starts out with a church choir singing "Chorale," a piece which strongly reminds me of the theme song to the movie "Mission." Accompanying Kanno Yoko's music yet again is Gabriella Robin, who lends her rich and beautiful soprano voice to the opera tracks in this segment. On the whole, the music for Magnetic Rose is haunting, mysterious, and beautifully done.

The music for Stink Bomb segment consists mostly of jazz, as shown in the various renditions of "Nobuo's Groove," and most of the other tracks are permeated with jazz horn blasts, though several songs stray from this theme -- while "Capsule of Blue" sounds middle-eastern (think "Prince of Persia"), "Relaxin'" sounds like the soothing elevator music played in malls, and the two "Steps to Heaven" tracks have a military march feel to them.

The tracks for the third story, "Cannon Fodder", seem geared towards evoking thoughts of military, sliding metal, steam, and heavy machinery, with most tracks featuring a strong emphasis on fast-paced synthesizer music strewn with rhythmic drum beats. Even with the slower tracks, the constant rhythmic beats and thrumming serve to remind you of the militaristic setting.

Last but not least comes the ending theme "In Yer Memories", a fast-paced techno track that sounds like something straight out of the futuristic Playstation game "Wipeout." The church chorale from Magnetic Rose is mixed in with part of this track, but the two entirely different music styles somehow manage to blend together very well.

The soundtrack is meant to serve as background music, and does a great job of setting the mood for the 3 short stories in the film. The tracks are artfully crafted, sophisticated, and definitely not the run-of-the-mill sugary music most average anime titles are peppered with. I personally don't like jazz very much, so many of the tracks for Stink Bomb don't strike me as the kind of music I'd listen to on its own, but personal tastes aside, the CD as a whole is very solid, and most tracks can be enjoyed as a standalone (something that can't be said of many of the tracks on the Evangelion CD soundtracks).

If you haven't seen the movie, I'd definitely try before I buy. The music styles are diverse, and as sophisticated as they are, you may not find them to your liking. Those who liked the movie for its music, however (and don't mind the lackluster packaging of the domestic release) will definitely want to get this CD.