CloisteredFlame
El Cazador de la Yuki
Interesting idea, but yeah, the instrumentation and mixing switch would be jarring!
Oooooh! Nice idea.
(POLL) Yuki Kajiura tracks with MAKEOVERS (or multiple versions) (as of 2024)
- Thread starter grunty
- Start date
grunty
I have reached Yuki nirvana
week14 lets go~
Edit:
I just realized that I should've also had the courtesy waltz/Yami no Uta on my list, since I included E.G.O.. Doubt it's on youtube though... so that means uploading and I thought I was already done with that. Goddamit. Guess I'll leave it for the end and we'll see if there's anything else that I can't find on youtube... or maybe it can be on the backburner 'til I find the missing Gundam tracks...
Edit:
I just realized that I should've also had the courtesy waltz/Yami no Uta on my list, since I included E.G.O.. Doubt it's on youtube though... so that means uploading and I thought I was already done with that. Goddamit. Guess I'll leave it for the end and we'll see if there's anything else that I can't find on youtube... or maybe it can be on the backburner 'til I find the missing Gundam tracks...
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Decretum
7 billion humans. She must know I exist
Here are my thoughts on the Week 13 Tracks:
Shizuka na Yoru ni
As much as I usually like Kajiura’s electronic arrangements, the one for this song just bores me to tears. The strings on the Re:Tracks rendition make the arrangement feel a lot fuller, and I far prefer it.
+1 ReTracks
Hikari no Yukue
This one’s always a fun listen! So first off, I definitely prefer the full-size to the TV cut. The latter isn’t bad by any means, but losing the second verse does make it feel very abrupt. I had never listened to the album version before, but I prefer the single bersion’s Kajiurago intro compared to the album one’s. Still a fun song in all of its forms, but the small details make this an easy choice for me.
+1 Single
Gatherway
This is my first time hearing this song in either of its forms. I think the verses meander a bit, but the refrain’s pretty cool. It’s also just delightfully sci-fi, haha. For the FJ cover, there are some pretty choices in both the arrangement and vocal choices. Kaori was a great choice, but I still think I prefer the original. The arrangement just fits better imo.
+1 Original
Mou Ichido Kimi ni Aitai
The cello on this one is quite pretty, and the guitar is also solid. I like the melody more than the first time I listened to it (which was tbf a few years back), even if she didn’t compose it. Kajiura does a lot to shape this song, and while it may not be one of my favorites, it’s still quite sweet.
Shizuka na Yoru ni
As much as I usually like Kajiura’s electronic arrangements, the one for this song just bores me to tears. The strings on the Re:Tracks rendition make the arrangement feel a lot fuller, and I far prefer it.
+1 ReTracks
Hikari no Yukue
This one’s always a fun listen! So first off, I definitely prefer the full-size to the TV cut. The latter isn’t bad by any means, but losing the second verse does make it feel very abrupt. I had never listened to the album version before, but I prefer the single bersion’s Kajiurago intro compared to the album one’s. Still a fun song in all of its forms, but the small details make this an easy choice for me.
+1 Single
Gatherway
This is my first time hearing this song in either of its forms. I think the verses meander a bit, but the refrain’s pretty cool. It’s also just delightfully sci-fi, haha. For the FJ cover, there are some pretty choices in both the arrangement and vocal choices. Kaori was a great choice, but I still think I prefer the original. The arrangement just fits better imo.
+1 Original
Mou Ichido Kimi ni Aitai
The cello on this one is quite pretty, and the guitar is also solid. I like the melody more than the first time I listened to it (which was tbf a few years back), even if she didn’t compose it. Kajiura does a lot to shape this song, and while it may not be one of my favorites, it’s still quite sweet.
CloisteredFlame
El Cazador de la Yuki
fake wings
(2002 .hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 1)
Performance: Emily Bindiger
- Acoustic guitar is always a strong way to start a song, with that beautiful chord progression.
- Emily's voice starting immediately with harmony and the heavy effects has the haunting feel. The Latin guitar (I don't know the name) accenting the song was also delightful. Also the shaker or castanet or whatever in the background.
- I liked the mix too. Quite well done. A very atmospheric and storytelling song.
fake wings
(2003 "FICTION" / Yuki Kajiura album)
Performance: Emily Bindiger.
- Vocal starts the song (no intro) with the acoustic guitar. Emily's voice is natural and minimally effected, and the Latin guitar.
- Full strings are present as well, coming in for an interlude taking the length of a full verse.
- Second verse with vocals brings in the harmony and all the instrumentation. Better mix.
Winner: I respect the original for its atmospheric and nostalgic feel (fitting the anime I presume), but I give it to the FICTION version. Superior mix (great separation), and starting with the vocals gave it an immediacy while the original had a mood setting with the guitar giving that nostalgic feel at the start. Also hearing the vocals more true to life is always a win for me.
dolce
(2013 "Alelluia" / Kalafina single)
Performance: Kalafina
- Chimes starting the song. The vocals start powerfully. It's essentially an acappella performance with chimes at that point.
- Love the way Keiko's voice was written for the first part of the verse to sing just one note as almost a drone, while Wakana sang the melody in her floaty voice and Hikaru moved around on the minor/crunchy notes to give that additional color. I feel Hikaru would have the most fun with those notes. The second part of the verse where the harmony became more expressive and dynamic was a great contrast to the first part, even with Keiko moving around more and going higher.
- Strings coming in on the second verse was beautiful and very appropriate. The effect on Keiko's vocal to give that full base to the rest of the vocals was very cool too.
- Also loved the fact that the end was a combination of verse 1 and 2 musically - starting a cappella and then the strings come in. The very short B melody at the end was beautiful and ending with the chimes.
- I think Kalafina got most of Kajiura's mysterious chime-sprinkled atmospheric music.
dolce～with strings ver.～
(2016 Winter Acoustic "Kalafina with Strings" / Kalafina album)
Performance: Kalafina
- The song is close to the same with some changes for a more acoustic vocal representation (less effects).
- Keiko's part is slightly more balanced in the mix, while in the original it was heavier and boomed, giving added mystery to the vocals.
Winner: The OG. Stronger auditory impact overall to my ears and mind.
everlasting song
(2005 Erementar Gerad Original Soundtrack 1)
Performance: FictionJunction ASUKA | Chorus: Yuriko Kaida
- Lovely intro with that electronic drumbeat and ASUKA's slightly sultry (mature cute) vocal in English.
- The melody of the song is a really beautiful, "innocent" one from Kajiura.
- The electronic beat is a relentless 4-4.
everlasting song～japanese edition
(2005 "everlasting song" / FictionJunction ASUKA single)
Performance: FictionJunction ASUKA | Chorus: Yuriko Kaida
- Superior start with the bright instrumentation and the guitar. I liked that start with the vocal giving room for musical development.
- Strings coming in on the second verse was appropriate. ASUKA sang in Japanese which I think I enjoyed more than the soundtrack version.
- Yuriko's voice was more natural and less atmospheric. The strings bridge hit home.
- A more natural vocal presentation closer to the YKL performance.
- The electronic beat comes up prominently later in the song, tying it rhythmically to the original really nicely.
everlasting song～ballad edition
(2005 "everlasting song" / FictionJunction ASUKA single)
Performance: FictionJunction ASUKA
- Cool, subdued version, with just the piano accompaniment.
- A nice song, but I'm as much a fan of this, since the vocal was the centerpiece (due to reduced instrumentation and tempo) and so needed to be more memorable, but because it was in an unfamiliar language, the enunciation wasn't fully there to give the emotional beats, and ASUKA is a limited dynamics singer (especially singing phonetically, I assume, in English) so I feel her voice was adequate but not mind-blowing.
Winner: The single version was the best for this song. Better arrangement, instrumentation, vocal performance (language familiarity) and the progression and journey of the music was just excellent for this song - final form.
(2002 .hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 1)
Performance: Emily Bindiger
- Acoustic guitar is always a strong way to start a song, with that beautiful chord progression.
- Emily's voice starting immediately with harmony and the heavy effects has the haunting feel. The Latin guitar (I don't know the name) accenting the song was also delightful. Also the shaker or castanet or whatever in the background.
- I liked the mix too. Quite well done. A very atmospheric and storytelling song.
fake wings
(2003 "FICTION" / Yuki Kajiura album)
Performance: Emily Bindiger.
- Vocal starts the song (no intro) with the acoustic guitar. Emily's voice is natural and minimally effected, and the Latin guitar.
- Full strings are present as well, coming in for an interlude taking the length of a full verse.
- Second verse with vocals brings in the harmony and all the instrumentation. Better mix.
Winner: I respect the original for its atmospheric and nostalgic feel (fitting the anime I presume), but I give it to the FICTION version. Superior mix (great separation), and starting with the vocals gave it an immediacy while the original had a mood setting with the guitar giving that nostalgic feel at the start. Also hearing the vocals more true to life is always a win for me.
dolce
(2013 "Alelluia" / Kalafina single)
Performance: Kalafina
- Chimes starting the song. The vocals start powerfully. It's essentially an acappella performance with chimes at that point.
- Love the way Keiko's voice was written for the first part of the verse to sing just one note as almost a drone, while Wakana sang the melody in her floaty voice and Hikaru moved around on the minor/crunchy notes to give that additional color. I feel Hikaru would have the most fun with those notes. The second part of the verse where the harmony became more expressive and dynamic was a great contrast to the first part, even with Keiko moving around more and going higher.
- Strings coming in on the second verse was beautiful and very appropriate. The effect on Keiko's vocal to give that full base to the rest of the vocals was very cool too.
- Also loved the fact that the end was a combination of verse 1 and 2 musically - starting a cappella and then the strings come in. The very short B melody at the end was beautiful and ending with the chimes.
- I think Kalafina got most of Kajiura's mysterious chime-sprinkled atmospheric music.
dolce～with strings ver.～
(2016 Winter Acoustic "Kalafina with Strings" / Kalafina album)
Performance: Kalafina
- The song is close to the same with some changes for a more acoustic vocal representation (less effects).
- Keiko's part is slightly more balanced in the mix, while in the original it was heavier and boomed, giving added mystery to the vocals.
Winner: The OG. Stronger auditory impact overall to my ears and mind.
everlasting song
(2005 Erementar Gerad Original Soundtrack 1)
Performance: FictionJunction ASUKA | Chorus: Yuriko Kaida
- Lovely intro with that electronic drumbeat and ASUKA's slightly sultry (mature cute) vocal in English.
- The melody of the song is a really beautiful, "innocent" one from Kajiura.
- The electronic beat is a relentless 4-4.
everlasting song～japanese edition
(2005 "everlasting song" / FictionJunction ASUKA single)
Performance: FictionJunction ASUKA | Chorus: Yuriko Kaida
- Superior start with the bright instrumentation and the guitar. I liked that start with the vocal giving room for musical development.
- Strings coming in on the second verse was appropriate. ASUKA sang in Japanese which I think I enjoyed more than the soundtrack version.
- Yuriko's voice was more natural and less atmospheric. The strings bridge hit home.
- A more natural vocal presentation closer to the YKL performance.
- The electronic beat comes up prominently later in the song, tying it rhythmically to the original really nicely.
everlasting song～ballad edition
(2005 "everlasting song" / FictionJunction ASUKA single)
Performance: FictionJunction ASUKA
- Cool, subdued version, with just the piano accompaniment.
- A nice song, but I'm as much a fan of this, since the vocal was the centerpiece (due to reduced instrumentation and tempo) and so needed to be more memorable, but because it was in an unfamiliar language, the enunciation wasn't fully there to give the emotional beats, and ASUKA is a limited dynamics singer (especially singing phonetically, I assume, in English) so I feel her voice was adequate but not mind-blowing.
Winner: The single version was the best for this song. Better arrangement, instrumentation, vocal performance (language familiarity) and the progression and journey of the music was just excellent for this song - final form.
grunty
I have reached Yuki nirvana
fake wings
dolce
everlasting song
On the one hand I like the clean vocals on FICTION, on the other - I prefer the song without strings today... Yea... OST1 for me.
+1 OST ver
dolce
On the one hand, I don't particularly care for how heavily processed the original sounds, on the other - I like everything feeling distant in the original more than the relative clarity of with strings ver...
+1 original
everlasting song
To be honest I don't remember this song being my favorite when it came out. It definitely grew on me.
I will say I like the OST/english edition instrumental the most. I like the strings section coming after the verse to reinforce the theme and I'm not missing the guitars from japanese editio - to me it's overall more clean.
ballad edition is a no from me, but I kind of wish we got a version of it without vocals.
+1 OST/english edition (but I'm cool with the Japanese edition too)
CloisteredFlame
El Cazador de la Yuki
Anti-strings faction LOL
Yeah, the ballad was weak. Oh just the instruments?
grunty
I have reached Yuki nirvana
Not going to confirm, or deny.
To me [ballad edition] just doesn't work vocally in the tempo they chose and the result mostly feels forced. At least in what we got.Yeah, the ballad was weak. Oh just the instruments?
CloisteredFlame
El Cazador de la Yuki
I agree! It felt like trying to be a bit dramatic with the whole thing. I don't think the song warranted an solo-piano-accompanying acoustic song.
CloisteredFlame
El Cazador de la Yuki
| open your heart (2002 .hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 2) Performance: Emily Bindiger - Loved the synth-y feeling at the start, futuristic but smooth. The main instrumental riff melody came in full. - Emily's voice came in from far away with that echo (like a response/repeat) with the heavy beat. - A really vibe-y song overall. Had me dancing on my seat as I listened throughout. open your heart～reprise (2002 .hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 2) Performance: Emily Bindiger - This is closer to the current iteration. Starting with Emily's voice calling and echoing. - I liked the instrumental development with Emily calling "Open your heart/Open your heart". - Saxophone solo, electric guitar peeking in, and even some female Gregorian sounding chants saying "Agnus Dei", - When the voices came in with 3-part harmony was smooth, knowing Emily was doing all of it made it even better. Layers upon layers... open your heart (2003 "FICTION" / Yuki Kajiura album) Performance: Emily Bindiger - A voice less affected by effects. - The instrumentation came in similar to the reprise. Emily's voice was fuller in the mix. - What instrument was soloing in this version. Uileann Pipes? - The Gregorian ladies were here again. Nice. Winner: One of my dance faves from Kajiura! The track is quite meditative in its structure and the production. I enjoyed all 3 but I'll make it a tie between the original and the reprise. The original had all the vibes and momentum, but the addition elements in the reprise gave it good points, though I prefer the Uileann pipe solo in the FICTION version to the saxophone in the reprise. sprinter (2008 "sprinter/ARIA" / Kalafina single) Performance: Kalafina | Chorus: Yuriko Kaida - That start! Always epic! Hikaru bringing in the feels and Keiko harmonizing with her. - And Yuriko's floating Kajiurago floating above and blending with the violins. - I am still a fan of Maya's softer/warmer voice coming in and contrasting with Hikaru's in a lead context (less sharp). - Of course the bridge, with Yuriko floating and the interaction between Keiko, Maya, and Wakana, and then Hikaru joining. That arrangement of that section hasn't been replicated exactly the same since Maya left (Keiko's voice sounded a bit heavy though she lightens it with breath, so it's just not the same). - When Wakana came in on that long note, and held it, and had the full vibrato at the end!  sprinter～with strings ver.～ (2016 Winter Acoustic "Kalafina with Strings" / Kalafina album) Performance: Kalafina - Strings and piano intro. - Hikaru's voice had lessened by this time and she cut short the starting notes more - less legato. More emotion from her (matured with experience and growing up so a more powerful vocal performance). - Absence of Kajiurago. I felt it. The song was more "human" - Wakana bridge Kajiurago wasn't bad but it was missing the harmony (there should be more than two voices on it, but alas). She was light on the top notes, which was par for the course by this time. Missed Yuriko to be honest. - Powerful strings energy from the bridge till the end! Winner: No contest, the original. The strings version had a lot of character and set itself apart with more emotional (virtually live) performances. This was how they performed the song (in terms of singing passion) in most of their live versions. The original was more controlled in singing, but the vibe, instrumental, full vocal arrangement, Kajiurago, was just peak. And the fact the song was 'sprinting' as the name implied, rather than doing a interpretative ballet. Fields of hope (2004 Mobile Suit GUNDAM SEED DESTINY Original Soundtrack 1) Performance: Lacus Clyne (CV. Rie Tanaka) - Soft and gentle singing by Rie over soft keys. - A gently emotional arrangement I must say. - 2-part harmony from Rie. Fields of hope ～ReTracks (2013 Mobile Suit GUNDAM SEED DESTINY Reunion Series Part 3) Performance: Lacus Clyne (CV. Rie Tanaka) - Strings always changes things, I guess. - Interesting how Rie came in over the acoustic instruments, giving an acoustic live feel. (By the way Rie's voice made me think of rito. I think Rie's the person her voice sounded most like, now that I hear it). Winner: I prefer the original. I actually like acoustic versions of songs, but the original just had everything (less strings, if at all). SORE HA CHIISANA HIKARI NO YOUNA (2016 "Sorewa Chisana Hikarinoyouna" / Sayuri single) Performance: Sayuri - Like the panning in the guitars at the beginning, and the childlike voice of Sayuri coming in, also synths. - Enjoyed the arrangement and how the drums came in, also the electric guitar work was nice and tasteful throughout. Bass was also doing work. - The chorus had energy and expression with Sayuri's pointed thin voice (reminds me of Suzuka from Babymetal, a bit). SORE HA CHIISANA HIKARI NO YOUNA (me Hikigatari Version) (2020 "me" / Sayuri album) Performance: Sayuri - I love the expressiveness of her voice. I am only getting to really hear it for the first time through this exercise. - OK, I felt this acoustic version, only guitar needed. Wow! All the expressiveness in the voice. I would have liked to have seen her on a Kajiura stage... I can imagine she was playing herself and singing. Singer-songwriter style. Excellent guitar work! - A bold choice to just have her sing with one instrument. I don't think it was Kajiura's, to be honest, since I don't think she would have been able to resist bringing in strings.  SORE HA CHIISANA HIKARI NO YOUNA (2023 "PARADE" / FictionJunction album) Performance: FictionJunction - Of course this was beautiful as usual. With full YKL instrumentation. And Kajiurago added. - Keiko gave it some of her most expressive emotional singing, I've heard (especially in the live). - Of course the twinkling instrumentation for the verse 2 was nice too. Winner: As much as I love the original, with its sublime arrangement and mixing, and of course the FJ version (which was my first time of hearing the song during Keiko's YKL performance), for surprisingly sentimental and definitely vocal-expression reasons I will give it to the Hikigatari version! So much expression, and I really think that that she performed it all by herself. YouTube recommended a video of her singing it really live, so that confirms it in my mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XWEyyWqvDg Her voice was more raw but she gave it her all. 110%! Another version at a live in 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ9KaXOq3U4&pp=0gcJCbIJAYcqIYzv |