The best music has the power to transport you.<\/p>\n
In the case of the music of the anime series
\nCowboy Bebop<\/i>, the listener is transported to a world where
\nCharlie Parker freely co-exists with heavy metal and raging techno
\namidst a backdrop of seedy pickpockets, loner bounty hunters,
\nstrong scotch and cigarette smoke. This is not your dorky little
\nbrother’s anime.<\/p>\n
When you mention the term “anime soundtrack,” images of blipping
\nvideo game music may come to mind. But
\nCowboy Bebop<\/i> is not your typical anime series. And producer
\nYoko Kanno wants to expand the limits of what a soundtrack can do.
\nEspecially a soundtrack for a television show.<\/p>\n
\nCowboy Bebop,-O.S.T. 1<\/i> borrows heavily from musical and
\nfilm-noir styles, dating back to the 1920s. The soundtrack, the
\nmajority of it performed by The Seatbelts, contains elements of
\njump-blues, morose jazz, pulsating techno and, of course, bebop.
\nThe majority of the tunes on
\nO.S.T. 1<\/i> infuse jazz with blues. Tracks like “Spokey Dokey,”
\nand “Digging My Potato” may sound ridiculous, but the careful use
\nof spacing and pauses in the song structures show a maturity not
\nfound on most contemporary jazz recordings.<\/p>\n
Appropriately enough, the soundtrack starts off with “Tank!,”
\nthe theme that is played during most
\nCowboy Bebop<\/i> episodes, or, as the creators prefer to call
\nthem, “sessions.” Though it is for an animated series, “Tank!”
\neasily ranks up with in the “top 10 most memorable theme songs” for
\na television show. Horns blast you with a syncopated beat, and a
\nbeat-poet hipster croons, “Ok, 3..2..1..let’s jam.”<\/p>\n
Jazz is the predominant genre throughout
\nO.S.T.-1<\/i>. In almost every song, it is infused with other
\ngenres, such as blues and rock. “Rush” incorporates violin
\norchestration into a tight horn section. And “Spokey Dokey,”
\nperhaps the most vivid track on the soundtrack, has a mean
\nharmonica solo that is so intimate, you hear Ryuichiro Senoo take
\nan intense breath during his harmonica solo.<\/p>\n
The only major weak track on the soundtrack is the song “Rain.”
\nIt’s probably the most straightforward rock song on the album,
\nalmost qualifying it as power ballad status. It’s a decent enough
\ntrack, but there are superior versions of the song you can find
\nelsewhere.<\/p>\n
The Seatbelts, the primary musicians throughout the entire
\nCowboy Bebop<\/i> series, are hyped as a futuristic band who
\nachieved popularity in 2048. The band prided itself in its
\ncontradictions: peace and anarchy, hard and soft. One may dismiss a
\nband for creating such a fictional biography as well as being on an
\nanime soundtrack, but The Seatbelts are as capable of rocking the
\nhouse as any blues, rock or indie band out there today. (Heyah, if
\na certain band can dress up as peppermint candy and still achieve
\ncritical acclaim, The Seatbelts are certainly allowed some creative
\nliberties.)<\/p>\n
The
\nCowboy Bebop<\/i> soundtrack series contains two other discs,
\nNo Disc<\/i> and
\nBlue<\/i>.
\nO.S.T.-1<\/i> is arguably the best primer for the series. The
\nsoundtrack has helped introduce jazz and blues to an audience who
\nwould have likely never given the genres a chance. It may be blues
\nor jazz-lite, but it’s authentic nonetheless. It’s an utterly
\naddictive sound that, due to its influences, you don’t feel guilty
\nindulging in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5729],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-37638","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-soundtrack","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37638"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}