The works for soundtrack 2 (December 6, 2023)
- Thread starter george1234
- Start date
@Sora https://forum.canta-per-me.net/threads/the-works-for-soundtrack-2-december-6-2023.14271/post-329044
Han Hong and Cheney Chen's versions in grunty's post. I don't have lossless of either tho.
Han Hong and Cheney Chen's versions in grunty's post. I don't have lossless of either tho.
Lorde-Kowz
I have reached Yuki nirvana
Thank you!!
@grunty you got it!: https://forum.canta-per-me.net/threads/the-works-for-soundtrack-2-december-6-2023.14271/post-329745
(or do you mean the whole movie? I can do that too if you like np)
(or do you mean the whole movie? I can do that too if you like np)
YKWorshiper
I like Yuki
Here's a quick review:
An interesting triple album, but not her best in my book, fails to reach even my top20. I liked the third the most and the first the least.
To begin, sound quality was a slight letdown for me personally. A little on the harsh side although it was a Hi-Res album. Nothing terrible mind you, but I've heard several better-sounding albums by her. For example, Fate/Zero the three disc edition, Kara no Kyoukai the special edition (the one that comes with the Blu-Ray) are better, there are probably others.
The first disc was simply too bombastic without an identity of its own. It was like YK at her most Zimmer-like moments, but without any payoff in terms of melody, themes, and cohesion. Nothing stuck to mind. It did have an occasional good moment, especially the male humming on one piece was very refreshing. Still, it was one of the weakest YK discs I've purchased and I even struggled a little to finish it, a rare occurrence to me. There are only maybe two or three YK discs that are worse in my entire collection.
The second disc was quite good, I thought YK was very cautious about arrangements on this one. It often, especially on the first quarter, reminded me of James Horner of the 1990s, for example, "Titanic" and "Legends of the Fall". Could be her most "Western" disc that I've heard. I also liked the arrangements for the most part. Perhaps what I missed was more adventurous compositions. It felt as if she's deliberately holding back her eccentricity on this disc, which is okay but not ideal for me.
The third disc was the best of the three IMO, though not flawless. Very intimate and lowkey in places, almost had a chamber music feel. This approach was wonderfully refreshing. Plus, there was some interesting synthesiser use. I liked these aspects the most.
My main criticisms of this disc are: 1. an overdose of the flute. The flute has become her trademark almost, but personally I'm tired of it in such big chunks as here. Disc 2 had very little of it, which was great. 2. The timber of the instruments and manner of playing seemed angry and uptight. It might suit the material, but I think I've never heard YK make music that is this angry. Both the piano and percussion were hit notably hard on several tracks. Gone is her more delicate, sensitive and androgynous manner of execution, instead there's stark masculine energy aplenty on this disc. Again, something I've not preferred, to the contrary.
An OK purchase for the fan, at times rising to a pleasant experience, but certainly non-essential.
An interesting triple album, but not her best in my book, fails to reach even my top20. I liked the third the most and the first the least.
To begin, sound quality was a slight letdown for me personally. A little on the harsh side although it was a Hi-Res album. Nothing terrible mind you, but I've heard several better-sounding albums by her. For example, Fate/Zero the three disc edition, Kara no Kyoukai the special edition (the one that comes with the Blu-Ray) are better, there are probably others.
The first disc was simply too bombastic without an identity of its own. It was like YK at her most Zimmer-like moments, but without any payoff in terms of melody, themes, and cohesion. Nothing stuck to mind. It did have an occasional good moment, especially the male humming on one piece was very refreshing. Still, it was one of the weakest YK discs I've purchased and I even struggled a little to finish it, a rare occurrence to me. There are only maybe two or three YK discs that are worse in my entire collection.
The second disc was quite good, I thought YK was very cautious about arrangements on this one. It often, especially on the first quarter, reminded me of James Horner of the 1990s, for example, "Titanic" and "Legends of the Fall". Could be her most "Western" disc that I've heard. I also liked the arrangements for the most part. Perhaps what I missed was more adventurous compositions. It felt as if she's deliberately holding back her eccentricity on this disc, which is okay but not ideal for me.
The third disc was the best of the three IMO, though not flawless. Very intimate and lowkey in places, almost had a chamber music feel. This approach was wonderfully refreshing. Plus, there was some interesting synthesiser use. I liked these aspects the most.
My main criticisms of this disc are: 1. an overdose of the flute. The flute has become her trademark almost, but personally I'm tired of it in such big chunks as here. Disc 2 had very little of it, which was great. 2. The timber of the instruments and manner of playing seemed angry and uptight. It might suit the material, but I think I've never heard YK make music that is this angry. Both the piano and percussion were hit notably hard on several tracks. Gone is her more delicate, sensitive and androgynous manner of execution, instead there's stark masculine energy aplenty on this disc. Again, something I've not preferred, to the contrary.
An OK purchase for the fan, at times rising to a pleasant experience, but certainly non-essential.
^oh wow that is harsh :) trigger time!
I wholeheartedly disagree with you in terms of Disc1 lacking identity, and the leitmotif is great and touching. I think the comparison to Zimmer is objectively way off. Just because Kajiura used bombastic (and yes some tracks are bombastic - and this I like tbh) brass and/or strings doesn't mean she spewed out some Hollywood music sheet. Yuri, Eri, Hanae, Tokyo Konsei, Joelle. They all add to the identity of Kajiura. Nothing, nothing like Zimmer at all.
Kajiura doesn't (and shouldn't) create "eccentric" or "androgynous" Zodiacal sign(? Materialise?)-esque (I don't even know what androgynous music means in this day and age) tracks all the time, she is super versatile and should have her hands in all sorts of styles. Of course I totally respect the feeling you have for the ost, in fact I welcome more negative reviews and discussion (instead of praising Kajiura all the time) xD
edit: great. now I had to listen to all versions of zodiacal sign -.-
I wholeheartedly disagree with you in terms of Disc1 lacking identity, and the leitmotif is great and touching. I think the comparison to Zimmer is objectively way off. Just because Kajiura used bombastic (and yes some tracks are bombastic - and this I like tbh) brass and/or strings doesn't mean she spewed out some Hollywood music sheet. Yuri, Eri, Hanae, Tokyo Konsei, Joelle. They all add to the identity of Kajiura. Nothing, nothing like Zimmer at all.
Kajiura doesn't (and shouldn't) create "eccentric" or "androgynous" Zodiacal sign(? Materialise?)-esque (I don't even know what androgynous music means in this day and age) tracks all the time, she is super versatile and should have her hands in all sorts of styles. Of course I totally respect the feeling you have for the ost, in fact I welcome more negative reviews and discussion (instead of praising Kajiura all the time) xD
edit: great. now I had to listen to all versions of zodiacal sign -.-
Last edited:
@grunty that post was supposed to be longer lol I snoozed and never went back.
below is the audio extracted from the 4K. the previous post was from the 1080p. I was lazy to extract audio from mkv but either setting it to stereo in vlc or extracting it in audicity should do it. xD lazy is as lazy does lol.
below is the audio extracted from the 4K. the previous post was from the 1080p. I was lazy to extract audio from mkv but either setting it to stereo in vlc or extracting it in audicity should do it. xD lazy is as lazy does lol.
george1234
Moderator
I think its wrong to blame the composer for the certain style of a soundtrack when that is requested and approved by the sound director and director of each movie or other work. LORD director probably asked for this type of music and also gave the budget.
There are numerous interviews where she menthions of making a song or music in one way and director rejects and asks for a different style of song or music.
We could also check the 2nd movie which was with different composer (Taku Iwasaki) for comparison.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.O.R.D:_Legend_of_Ravaging_Dynasties_2
https://youtu.be/QGc5J2qBBqI?si=3vsKszjaEkKqrmLn
There are numerous interviews where she menthions of making a song or music in one way and director rejects and asks for a different style of song or music.
We could also check the 2nd movie which was with different composer (Taku Iwasaki) for comparison.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.O.R.D:_Legend_of_Ravaging_Dynasties_2
https://youtu.be/QGc5J2qBBqI?si=3vsKszjaEkKqrmLn
Last edited:
grunty
I have reached Yuki nirvana
Thank you, got it. You can delete.
It's probably the same exact garbo but I'll be looking at it after I'm done with my current re-rip, which should be soon.
@george1234 yea, I thought the budget given to Kajiura must have been good since it's really quality work with expanded brass section (more than what Kajiura is used to) and freedom too since Kajiura was able to be herself with her vocals and Kajiurago.
grunty
I have reached Yuki nirvana
Hmm. Don't know if its your rip or the 4k upload, but all I'm getting is stereo channels from what you uploaded. Everything else seems silence. :(
george1234
Moderator
Ι Skipped through, but just like with the first movie i never understand what's going on, it has zero character development, its of the same quality as those superhero movies of Hollywood where they just fight from beginning to end lol. Taku Iwasaki uses sampled vocals (except maybe the bgm at the end) and battle tracks that are largely computer made. The non battle tracks are better and much more fitting like the one that plays on that temple scene. Looking at vgmdb that too still hasnt released yet.
Realised Konno and Kiyo Kido work for Iwasaki too XD
Last edited:
It's all good, it's just that my vlc tends to select stereo mode as headphones and not stereo so it sounds crap at first lol.
YKWorshiper
I like Yuki
I'm a worshiper but never a blind one
I've 35 OSTs by her, but not 100 % of her OSTs.And hey, bombastic isn't categorically bad to be sure. My go-to YK bombastic album is Fate/Zero the three disc edition. I've played that one through the most of all the "more recent" YK OSTs. So that's saying something. It's possible I compare that one to this. F/Z may be a fairly bleak and dark record. But it's this aesthetic I personally like about YK a lot. The sense of dread intermixed with sentimentality and "weird" (as in I've still to discover a composer close to her in terms of arrangement and ideas) is exactly my cup of tea.
My Zimmer analogy may be misleading. But if a record has a big sound, it should offer more than just that. Call it something that grips you and stays within you. Though at times generic, Zimmer is able to do that.
F/Z simply had me hooked by the time I listened to "Grief" on the 1st disc. "Grief" is one of my all-time favourite YK piano melodies. So much is expressed in so few notes, and the way those notes are played and ultimately mixed is simply superb:
https://youtu.be/BAFRmADBxAE?si=b6FqoPf4vy025iRf
Here the 1st disc simply did nothing to me aside from a flashpoint here and there. The music may fit the visuals, and it's mission accomplished in that regard, but for an OST listened to for its own sake, that isn't enough.
Another listening may help things but the world is full of music. These days I usually don't bother with music that doesn't connect.
By androgynous sound I mean her wide and even simultaneous use of soft/tender and hard/bleak elements. That's what I consider a unique approach among soundtrack composers and not many artists can pull this mixture off in an equally dramatic but somehow harmonious fashion.
I agree with your closing argument. Versatility is all good and even desirable. It's just she can be versatile and loud in a way that really hits the listener. I do have a few of these more epic OSTs by her, besides F/Z. But not all of them are worth my time or money.
Last edited:
grunty
I have reached Yuki nirvana
Every few years I go back to Fate/Zero and every time I still think it's (one of) the dullest and most static soundtracks from YK. Fitting for the boring show. Sooo... to each their own? v( '')v
It might however be one of the best sounding Koiwa@rec&mix/Chinone@mastering efforts to me, as well.
It might however be one of the best sounding Koiwa@rec&mix/Chinone@mastering efforts to me, as well.