Yuki Kajiura music for Lord El-Melloi II

This soundtrack is as if she made Disc 2 before she leaves Spacecraft, and disc 1 after it, if you get what i mean. The majority of disc 1 tracks are amazing and very carefully composed, and disc 2 is as if taken straight out of Fate/Zero (but out of control has delicious e.guitar, and closing the case is <3 ) . The fact that they gathered up all ambiance tracks at the beginning of disc 2 doesnt help either.

justisamuel: Its the same one.
 
Bought these at Tower Records Shinjuku yesterday:

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gawd it's 79% :(

niwhahuahuha it's 100%. Hikari was probably waiting for it too lol.
 
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my review:

:
starting the case - Rail Zeppelin
: old news haha but superb track.
nervous talk: wonderful. This is the JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH IN KAJIURA's soul lol. no seriously, Bach would have been proud. The cello at the end is just so delightful. and the strings joining in and all ending together. love it. and that harpsicord :))))
an excellent student: here Bach would say, eh? I like it very much but in the end it's repetitive.
deep in thought: wow I love this one too. the drums in the middle really add a new layer to the song.
the matter is settled, anyway: super soothing.
well-disciplined classrooms: monotonous.
it was naff: I like it but of course it's way too short to be anything.
someone pulling the strings: pff pass.
talking about nothing: lovely track. it's soo good. lovely oboe.
chasing the enigma: very gud. I also love the cello joining with the strings. what I don't like is that abrupt ending eh?
sullenly: I thought I would say pass but I really like it with the all other additions beats etc.
you were my king: you are my king is one of my alltime favs so I was sold by this one even though it's fairly simple.
the clock tower: hehe I love this one, very suspenseful.
a noisy student & I have found something & a small happy ending & let us play a game & an inspection of the scene & solution of the scene & an ominous premonition & an anxious bird & bossy people & facing with the enemy & an evil design & a mighty enemy appears &let sadness knock my door : pff.
I'm so useless: piano ver of main theme. except the strings. gahhh terrible. just have the piano and it would've been great.
he's always serious, not kidding: well clarinet is nice. I like it being a ver of main theme but it's too damn short.
waving goodbye: not sure if I like Hanae's part here. it's too.. bare. not sure if I can describe it. it's good overall but not too striking.
a quiet and restless place: I love it but way too short. super soothing though.

we call him heartless: wow I love the second part. (grayyyyyy graveeeeuuu I watched that bit lol) esp the ending. but... Hanae... there's something wrong about it. Can't quite put my finger on it. Feels somehow wrong to me. I dunno.
the culprit is you : could have been interesting but I'll pass.
now, ladies and gentleman: nice but too short. ok.
the Rail Zeppelin : you know what, I'll pass this. This is like trying to be epic but it's all over the place. + that weird feeling I have about hanae's voice.
they are magicians: I swear she has used that violin melody line somewhere briefly in the background. not sure where tho.
magic power: pff.
out of control: pff again. crazy mindless strings going nowehhhhereeeee.ee. ..e
no time left to win: nice drums but too short and rather empty
deep in old grief: pff and zzz
depressed and tired: I could have liked it but AGAIN TOO SHORT AND RATHER EMPTY gaah
the decision to keep going: me wakes up after sleepy tracks. lovely strings, drums.
tender smile: me goes to sleep again.
closing the case: me wakes up again!!!! SUPERB! lovely strings oboe clarinet and flute.

lol this ost is like Kajiura's entire career. Excellent/genius tracks mingled in terrible/mediocre tracks. Can't believe I'm saying it but SAO ost is much better than this. Still there are amazing tracks so I will give a generous 7/10. (I'd given SAO a 9) . I give 10 to some individual tracks tho haha. @grunty I know rating sucks but Yaiba and SAO osts were so good they deserved a good grade. Ordinal scale.. I don't count as ost igh. Let's count that as non-existent.
 
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I'll write muh opinion on the ost later. I wanna pray game.

Hibari musician credits
Lyrics by Yuki Kajiura
Music & Arranged by Yuki Kajiura
Electric Guitar by Koichi Korenaga
Acoustic Guitar by Koichiro Tashiro
Drums by Kyoichi Sato
Bass by Tomoharu "Jr." Takahashi
Strings by Kiyo Kido Strings
Chorus by Hanae Tomaru
Recorded & Mixed by Takashi Koiwa (sign sound)
 
you mean synth ?

i doubt it. if you go by what Kowzy said, the oboe and clarinet are missing and they are real, not synth.

but yes please credits would be very nice :)
 
My review:

Disc 1

starting the case:
Really amazing track! It has action, many instruments at same time that work together well, its excellent for intro song. It actually creates very big expectations for the show ^^;

nervous talk: excellent old style music with harpsichord and flute. Gives a high class vibe, just like how that girl pretends to be, i think its supposed to be her theme ?

an excellent student: another new track for high class person, i really like how she blends the harpsichord with the percussion. Gives a relaxed an carefree vibe.

deep in thought: This one is excellent track too.
Clarinet = Lord el melloi II theme melody,
cello = worry,
piano = the thoughts,
and how the piano melody repeats its like as if he's thinking of Alexander again and again and again.

the matter is settled anyway: I love the sound of the piano and how it combines with cello and the harp. Really excellent track.

well disciplined classroom : another high class track, love the combo of viola (?) and harpsichord

it was naff: love the melody of the synched harp

someone pulling the strings: great combo of bass and flute with sfx. I wish all the sfx stuff on disc two were like that too. This track relaxes you and keeps you in alarm at the same time.

talking about nothing: this really great relax time tracks and the title is so fitting, like, you are with your friends or family in living room, and just relax and enjoy the sun or breeze and dont talk.

chasing the enigma: i love the combo of instruments here <3 reminds of slipstream from tsubasa in arrangement. Very jazzy flute <3. I also find funny how it ended so abruptly. I guess it was made to fit in that ep 0 chase scene.

sullently: i love the combo of clarinet and whatever is that instrument behind, it has the relax-alarm effect like someone is pullying the strings

you were my king: Really sweet, but i still find funny how this melody is also used in swordland lol

the clock tower: Makes the london clock tower seem very scary lol. Btw i wonder, since Pripri also takes up place in london, how come she didnt came up with this OST for pripri instead ? Love the harpsicord

a noicy student: Not sure if this works, noicy students arent always a funny thing, like the bgm implies, maybe in japan only lol.

im so useless: usual (lol) kajiura sad bgm. but i do like how that piano goes.

i have found something: nice and calming.

a small happy ending: i really like the strings here, very touching melody.

he's always serious, not kidding: Really funny track. The part just before it ends, the clarinet reminds of some Greek tradition songs.

lets play a game: Really lovely melody <3

waving goodbye: very clear vocals, lovely music: this bgm could be from sekai satoyama.

inspection of scene: first boring track of ost =_= could ve been e.guitar or cello instead.

quiet and restless place: gives impression that someone walk and enjoys a big palace of guarden.

Disc 2 aka the facepalm disc:

we call him heartless:
the OP melody made into a battle bgm. Cool Hanae but nothing out of the ordinary. If i had to choose i'd prefer to listen to Knk 3 "M13+14" but its still cool enough i guess. :)

searching for something: Fitting but gets old very fast, it could be a 5 sec bgm and it would be fine.

ominous premonition: meh

an anxious bird: perfect to help you fall asleep :)

the culpit is you: i love the part after the middle <3 that piano and clarinet <3

bossy people: a good melody, wasted. Title raises the expectations too high. I do like the middle part strings though. If the intro strings were with solo violin it would 've been so much better.

facing with the enemy: lol how is that facing ? that's barely moving a leg. Terrible title for horror sfx.

now ladies and gentle men: wtf another grand title, yet super borng bgm :( did the guy who put the titles even listen to the ost ?

evil design: sfx no#6 zzz

a mighty enemy appears: Dont know about the enemy, but the strings arent mighty at all. boring.

The Rail Zeppelin: I guess same review as with "we call him heartless". I think Eri Itou would ve been a better vocalist choice for this one.

they are magicians: I like the beat, and love the violin <3 first masterpiece of this disc. Why are Kajiura solo violins so rare these days ?!

let the sadness knock my door: This would be fine without the piano, or with harp in its place.

magic power: boring strings. Seems to the a remnant of SAO older soundtracks

out of power: Usual strings, but cool cello and e-guitar <3 When will Kyoichi stop slamming those cymbals ? =_= Strings are yummier during the climax part.

no time left to win: seriously that kind of bgm has been in FZ, SAO,... why she keeps making them ?

deep in old grief: thumb up for piano, thumbs down for strings, would be perfect if it was solo violin instead.

depression and tired: meh

decition to keep going: this sounds better from middle part.

tender smile, gentle feeling: boring harp, but cute flute. Its basically Hibari slower ver.

closing the case: This is amazing. the trombons remind of that famous bgm but i dont mind it. Great arrangement <3

Overall, like i said before (and nobody noticed ^^;) This soundtrack is as if she made Disc 2 before she leaves Spacecraft, and disc 1 after it, if you get what i mean. The majority of disc 1 tracks are amazing and very carefully composed, and disc 2 is as if taken straight out of Fate/Zero (but out of control has delicious e.guitar, and closing the case is <3 ) . The fact that they gathered up all ambiance tracks at the beginning of disc 2 doesnt help. either.

I'd be happy if disc 2 only had we call him hearless, rail zeppelin, the magicians, out of control, and closing the case.

Disc 1: 9/10, Disc 2: 4/10
 
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I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't give 2cents about starting the case lol.

you were my king: Really sweet, but i still find funny how this melody is also used in swordland lol
Fate/Zero came first though so... :p
 
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^ thats fine, its not the first time it happens. :P If you dont like starting the case, you probably dont like we call him heartless either :ayashii:
 
I don't love it but at least it's not a solo over frantic percussion and stringfest like the last few years of Kalafina anime songs.

Also, @wat11 about they are magicians, maybe you're thinking of room with no window from pripri (since I just listened to it 2days ago)? It's the synth bass that makes this one the cheese I love though. (And kinda helps make it into a track, cause room with no window seems just like a random improv for atmosphere.)
 
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