| | image | artist/title (release year), memo |
| |  | Akira Ifukube/Millennium Godzilla Best (1954-1975)
A compilation album that contains the Japanese contemporary music composer, Akira Ifukube's masterpieces for Toho's special-effects monster films, such as 'Godzilla, King of the Monsters' (1954), 'Rodan' (1956), 'The Mysterians' (1957), 'Varan The Unbelievable' (1958), 'King Kong Vs. Godzilla' (1962), 'Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero' (1965) and others. Impressive and thrilling music featuring simple rhythms in march style and pan-Asian melodies. All the music composed and arranged by Akira Ifukube. Pseudo-stereo sound based on the original mono master tapes. The sound quality is good. |
| |  | Miles Davis/Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud (1958)
The original soundtrack of the French film "Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud/Elevator to the Gallows" directed by Louis Malle. Played by Miles Davis (trumpet) with French jazzmen, Pierre Michelot (bass), René Urtreger (piano), and Barney Wilen (tenor sax), and an American drummer Kenny Clarke. Cool and moody hard bop. Based on the fragments of melodies previously composed by Miles, but the music itself was made by improvisation. Tense performance which boosts suspenseful mood of the film. |
| |  | Henry Mancini/Greatest Hits (2000/1958-1977)
A single-disc compilation (RCA) that includes 22 well-known pieces (digitally remastered) composed by Henry Mancini, an American composer, conductor and arranger known for his film and television scores. Romantic and jazzy orchestral pop in the easy-listening/lounge style. Features movie themes, "Moon River" (from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"), "Experiment in Terror", "Baby Elephant Walk" (from "Hatari"), "Days of Wine and Roses", "The Pink Panther Theme" and others. A theme from TV drama "Peter Gunn" has been covered by lots of jazz/blues/rock artists, and the cover of Art of Noise with Duane Eddy is famous. |
| |  | John Barry/The Film Music of John Barry (1988)
The best compilaton album that includes the 17 main pieces from the 1960s works produced by John Barry, the great soundtrack music composer from England. Pop-oriented sound with strong beats and brass attacks, influenced by American jazz and rock. Includes six tracks from the famous "James Bond" series, "The James Bond Theme" (from "Dr. No"), "From Russia with Love", "Goldfinger" (No.8 on the US charts), "Thunderball", "Space March" (from "You Only Live Twice") and "We Have All the Time in the World" (from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). Also features "Born Free" and "The Lion in Winter". |
| |  | Ennio Morricone/The Best of Ennio Morricone (1986)
The best compilaton album that includes famous Italian film music composer, Ennio Morricone's major works on the RCA label. Originally released in Europe in 1986. The theme of 'Per Un Pugno Di Dollari/A Fistful of Dollars' directed by Sergio Leone (1964) is well known as the standard number of the 'spaghetti Western' film music. An introductory album to Morricone's huge and diverse works. |
| |  | Francis Lai/Un Homme et une Femme (1966)
The original soundtrack of Claude Lelouch's 'A Man and a Woman'. Music by Francis Lai. Features Pierre Barouh on vocals. The theme is a famous French pop song in the bossa nova style. |
 |  | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The soundtrack to the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" directed by Stanley Kubrick. Features Richard Strauss/"Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra)" (Karl Böhm conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), György Ligeti/Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs & Orchestra (Francis Travis conducts the Bavarian Radio Orchestra), Ligeti/Lux Aeterna (Choir of Norddeutscher Rundfunk under Helmut Franz), Johann Strauss/The Blue Danube (Herbert von Karajan conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), Aram Khachaturian/Gayane Ballet Suite (Adagio) (Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducts Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra), and Ligeti/Atomospheres (Ernest Bour conducts Südwestfunk Orchestra). |
| |  | John Williams/Greatest Hits 1969-1999 (1969-1999)
A one double-CD which collects popular themes composed by John Williams, an American composer and conductor known for his symphonic film scores for Hollywood movies (Sony). The most of the tracks are not the original soundtrack sources, but re-recordings conducted by John Williams himself, with the Boston Pops Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and others, so I don't recommend this if you stick to the original soundtracks, but useful for running through John Williams' famous themes composed in 1969-1999. "Theme from Jaws", "Main Title from Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Main Title from Superman", "The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back", "The Raider's March from Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Flying Theme from E.T.", "Luke and Leia from Return of the Jedi", "Parade of the Slave Children from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Cadillac of the Skies from Empire of the Sun", "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Theme from Born on the Fourth of July", "Somewhere in My Memory from Home Alone", "Prologue from JFK", "Theme from Far and Away", "Theme from Jurassic Park", "Theme from Schindler's List", "Seven Years in Tibet", "Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan", "Duel of the Fates from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" and others. |
| |  | Go Nagai: Dynamic! The Best!! (1972-1997)
A compilation album that collects theme songs (opening/ending themes) for the TV anime shows based on Go Nagai's manga works, such as 'Devilman', 'Mazinger Z', 'Cutey Honey', 'Dororon Enma-kun', 'Getter Robo', 'Great Mazinger', 'Kotetsu Jeeg', 'UFO Robo Grendizer', 'Aztecyzer', 'Majokko Tickle', 'Getter Robo Go' and others. Released in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of Go Nagai's birthday. The songs composed by Chumei Watanabe, Shunsuke Kikuchi, Takeo Watanabe and others, and sung by Ichiro Mizuki, Isao Sasaki, Mitsuko Horie and others. All the songs are the Japanese original takes (not the TV-size versions, but the long versions). Remastered from Nihon Columbia's sound sources. The sound quality is good. 26 tracks in total. |
| |  | 41 Original Hits From The Soundtrack of American Graffiti (1973)
The soundtrack to the movie 'American Graffiti', directed by George Lucas. Includes mostly American rock & roll/pop hits of the late 1950s to the early 1960s. Bill Haley & The Comets/Rock Around the Clock, Del Shannon/Runaway, Buddy Holly/That'll Be the Day, Chuck Berry/Johnny B. Goode, Clovers/ Love Potion No. 9, Platters/Only You (And You Alone) and others. Convenient as an introductory guide to American oldies. |
| |  | Michael Nyman/The Very Best of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980-2001 (1980-2001)
A set of 2 CDs that covers almost all the soundtrack works (until 2001) of Michael Nyman, the English contemporary composer. Melodic and repetitive music influenced by baroque music and minimalism. Includes the tracks from Peter Greenway films, " The Draughtsman's Contract", "Drowning By Numbers", "Zoo: A Zed and Two Noughts" and "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover", and Jane Campion's "The Piano", Andrew Niccol's "Gattaca" and others. |
| |  | Prince & the Revolution/Purple Rain (1984)
An African American musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince's sixth album (#1 on the US album charts). The soundtrack to the film with the same title, starring Prince himself. A smash hit album which sold 13 million copies in the US, and more than 24 million copies worldwide. Pop/rock-oriented sound with the mixture of rock, pop, electro funk, R&B and New Wave (so-called "Minneapolis sound"), featuring heavy metallic guitar, synths and drum machines. Personally, I prefer his later, more soul/funk/electro-oriented albums such as "Parade" and "Sign 'O' the Times"... Includes singles, "When Doves Cry" (#1 on the US), "Let's Go Crazy" (#1 on the US), "Purple Rain" (#2 on the US), "I Would Die 4 U" (#8 on the US) and "Take Me with U" (#25 on the US). "When Doves Cry" is a great song. |
| |  | Video Game Music (1984)
The world's first soundtrack album to video game. Includes ten tracks from Namco's old arcade games in the early 1980s, 'Xevious', 'Pac-Man', 'Mappy', 'Libble Rabble', 'Galaga' and so on. Arranged and supervised by Haruomi Hosono of YMO. |
| |  | Haruomi Hosono/Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo (Night on the Galactic Railroad) (1985)
The original soundtrack for the anime movie 'Night on the Galactic Railroad'. Minimal/ambient-oriented music by making full use of digital synths and sampler. Imaginative sound which creates the movie's fantastic and strange atmosphere. Features a female singer/songwriter, Miharu Koshi (piano, chorus, songwriting). Includes "La Pliocena Marbordo". |
| |  | Aile De Honneamise -Royal Space Force- Original Soundtrack (1987)
The original soundtrack of the anime film "Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise". Ethnic techno with an oriental (Asian/Middle Eastern) taste. Composed, arranged and performed by Ryuichi Sakamoto (ex-YMO), Koji Ueno (ex-Guernica), Yuji Nomi (Oshare TV) and Haruo Kubota (Pearl Brothers). Produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Misuki Moritani sings soprano in the song "Anyamo". This album has a brief recording time (15 tracks in total, 39 minutes), and several tracks used in the film are not included, so it leaves something to be desired. The sound is like Sakamoto's solo works around the same time, such as "Steppin' Into Asia", "Miraiha Yaro" and "Neo Geo". |
| |  | Geinoh Yamashirogumi/Symphonic Suite AKIRA (1988)
The music created for the anime movie 'AKIRA' directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Ethnic near-future sounds featuring synths, Jegog (bamboo percussion of Bali, Indonesia), Kechak (Balinese male chorus), Gamelan (Indonesian percussion ensemble), Japanese traditional Shomyo (Buddhist chanting) and Noh (classical arts). Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the Japanese music group led by Shouji Yamashiro, is a unique chorus/performance art group that adopts ethnic music/traditional arts around the world, and also makes full use of synthesizers, computers, and high-tech recording techniques. |
| |  | Mother (1989)
The original soundtrack for 'Mother' (also known as 'EarthBound 0' in North America), a unique role-playing game greatly influenced by American pop culture. The game was produced by copywriter Shigesato Itoi, and released by Nintendo for Famicom (the Japanese version of NES/Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1989. In Japan, 'Mother' is known for its excellent soundtrack, which is pop-oriented music with simple and beautiful melodies, influenced by the US/UK rock (especially Brian Wilson and John Lennon). Composed and arranged by Keiichi Suzuki (the central figure of the rock band Moonriders) and Hirokazu Tanaka (the game/sound creator of Nintendo at the time). The soundtrack album featuring not only the original game sound sources but also the song versions with vocals. All the tracks recorded in London, and the lyrics are English. Catherine Warwick (vocals), Louis Philippe (vocals), Michael Nyman (arrangement) and David Bedford (arrangement) guest. 'Eight Melodies' arranged by Michael Nyman is a famous song that appeared in a music textbook for Japanese primary school. The digitally remastered version (featuring the extended version of original sound sources and an unreleased demo track added) was released in 2004. The game is also available on GameBoy Advance port as 'Mother 1+2'. |
| |  | Patlabor Original Soundtrack Album Vol.5 "Inquest" (1989/2006)
The original soundtrack of the animated, near-future Sci-Fi film on cybercrime, "Mobile Police Patlabor the Movie" (1989). Music by Kenji Kawai. Heavy and hard sound by full use of synths and programming, featuring deep bass. The tracks for action scenes such as "Heavy Armor" are cool. the tracks about Eiichi Hoba (a criminal of runaway-labor cases) feature steel drums and have mysterious atmosphere, like folk music. The original was released in 1989. The digitally remastered CD was released in 2006. Musically, the 1998 re-recorded edition "1999/Patlabor the Movie Sound Renewal" has more high-quality finished form than the original, but I recommend this if you stick to the original soundtrack. |
|  | Fred Frith/Step Across the Border (1990)
The soundtrack to an avant-garde documentary film "Step Across the Border" (directed by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel) on English composer/improviser/guitarist Fred Frith (also known for ex-member of Henry Cow and Art Bears) and his collaborators' live performances, studio recordings, rehearsals and others in Switzerland, Germany, The United States, Japan and others between 1979 and 1989. This disc offers an overview of Fred Frith's musical activities in the 1980s. The musicians are Iva Bittová, Tom Cora, Jean Derome, Haco, Eitetsu Hayashi, Tim Hodgkinson, Bill Laswell, René Lussier, Fred Maher, Kevin Norton, Bob Ostertag, John Zorn and others. |
| |  | Koichi Sugiyama/Symphonic Suite "Dragon Quest V" Heaven's Bride (1992)
The original soundtrack for 'Dragon Quest V: Heaven's Bride', which is the fifth of 'Dragon Quest' (also known as 'Dragon Warrior' in North America. Distributed by ENIX), the nationally-popular role-playing game series in Japan. The game was released on Super Famicom (the Japanese version of Super Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1992. The music composed by Koichi Sugiyama, a composer of Japanese popular/contemporary/game music. This is the first soundtrack album for 'Dragon Quest V', and a set of 2 CDS: the orchestra version (conducted by Koichi Sugiyama, performed by NHK Symphony Orchestra) and the original version (arranged from the game sound sources). The game itself was renowned as one of the best DQ games, and the music is also excellent. Orchestral music with beautiful melodies and a gentle atmosphere. The game is also available on the PlayStation2/Nintendo DS ports. There are also other two orchestral versions: performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. |
| |  | Shin Megami Tensei (1993)
The original soundtrack for 'Shin Megami Tensei (True Goddess Reincarnation)', which is the third of the Japanese role-playing game series 'Megami Tensei (Goddess Reincarnation)' (created by Atlus), earning a cult following for its distinctive dark worldview. The game was released on Super Famicom (the Japanese version of Super Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1992. The game itself is awesome, and the music based on hard/progressive rock is also excellent. Composed by Tsukasa Masuko. A set of 2 CDs: the 'Law Disc' that includes the original version arranged from the game sound sources, and the 'Chaos Disc' that features the arranged version in a full-scale prog-rock style. The game is also available on the PlayStation and GameBoy Advance ports. |
| |  | Vangelis/Blade Runner (1994)
The original soundtrack to Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner'. The music by Vangelis. The sound of Analog synths is cool. |
| |  | Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
The first of TV anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion" original soundtracks. Music by Shiroh Sagisu. Features the opening theme "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" (Director's Edit. Version), the ending theme "Fly Me to the Moon" (a popular standard song written by Bart Howard), heavy orchestral pieces used in the battle scenes, and others. Produced by Hideaki Annno (the TV series director). |
| |  | Nino Rota/Music for Film (1997)
Includes Italian film music composer, Nino Rota's famous pieces, 30 tracks in total from "The Godfather", "The Godfather II" (directed by Francis Ford Coppola), "8 1/2" (directed by Federico Fellini), "La Dolce Vita/The Sweet Life" (directed by Federico Fellini), "Prova d'Orchestra/Orchestra Rehearsal" (directed by Federico Fellini), "Rocco e i suoi Fratelli/Rocco and his Brothers" (directed by Luchino Visconti), and "Il Gattopardo/The Leopard" (directed by Luchino Visconti). Luscious music with melancholy melodies and deep romanticism. "Love Theme" from "The Godfather" is quite famous. Riccardo Muti conducts Filarmonica della Scala. |
| |  | The Eve of Absolute Evolution Revolution (1997)
The first of TV anime series "Revolutionary Girl Utena" original soundtracks. Music by Shinkichi Mitsumune. Features the opening theme "Rondo-Revolution" (full size), the first ending theme "Truth" (full size) and others. The originals of "The Absolute Destiny: Apocalypse" and other choral works are composed by J.A. Seazer (he once composed the music for Shuji Terayama's Tenjo Sajiki) and used in his stage dramas. |
| |  | π (Pi): Music For The Motion Picture (1998)
The soundtrack from "π (Pi)", a psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky. Mainly consists of the tracks used in the film, and can be listened to as a compilation of the 1990s techno/electronica such as trip hop, drum 'n' bass, ambient and IDM (intelligent dance music). The three tracks including the opening theme "πr²" are performed by Clint Mansell (former Pop Will Eat Itself frontman). Orbital/"P.E.T.R.O.L." is included in the album "In Sides", and also used in the racing video game "Wipeout". Autechre/"Kalpol Intro" is included in the album "Incunabula". Aphex Twin/"Bucephalus Bouncing Ball" is included in the EP "Come to Daddy". Massive Attack/"Angel" is included in the album "Mezzanine". Banco de Gaia/"Drippy" is included in the album "Big Men Cry". Spacetime Continuum/"A Low Frequency Inversion Field" is included in the album "Sea Biscuit". |
| |  | serial experiments lain sound track cyberia mix (1998)
The second of TV anime series "serial experiments lain" soundtracks. The first one includes the tracks composed by Reichi "Chabo" Nakaido (ex-RC Succession), and this second includes the electronica/techno tracks (not the original BGM, but the arrange/remix versions) composed by Akira Takemoto and Wasei Chikada, and two versions of the opening theme "Duvet" ("cyberia reMIX" and "TV sized") by a British indie rock band Boa. "Cyberia" is the name of a nightclub appeared in the anime, and this is something like an image album on the club Cyberia. "Duvet" is an impressive good song. Other tracks in ambient techno style are not so bad too. Please note that the US edition CD doesn't include the two "Duvet" tracks. |
| |  | Yoko Kanno/Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T.+ (2004)
The 2004 rerelease of the first (2003) of TV anime series "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" soundtracks, with two additional tracks, "GET9" (TV size. The opening theme of broadcast on terrestrial TV) and "rise" (TV size. The opening theme for DVD of the sequel "Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig"). There're several rock-oriented tracks, but highlights are the ambient-techno style tracks with an oriental or stateless atmosphere, featuring beautiful female vocal melodies. All the tracks composed by Yoko Kanno. The vocals by Origa (Russian singer), Scott Matthew (Australian singer), Ilaria Graziano (Italian singer) and others. Origa's translucent voice is especially impressive. Includes the opening theme "inner universe", and the ending theme "lithium flower". Recommended for those who like ambient techno or Björk. |
Highly recommended (This rating is on webmaster's personal taste.)
