Search - Yoko Kanno, Seatbelts :: Cowboy Bebop: Future Blues

Beautiful Finale

11/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yoko Kanno delivers her final, exquisite contribution to was is Cowboy Bebop in the form of Future Blues. No music from the series comes through to the movie, but all the moods are still here. From the action jazz to the bluesy rock, and all the old players are here. In many ways I think the proverbial wheel was reinvented and improved for the movie, and in all the best ways.24 Hours OPEN is an interesting muzak meets massacre track with bad store music offset by gunfire and screams. I think the muzak track in playing during the opening scene in the convenience store.Pushing The Sky is a return to the classic Mai Yamane gender crossing rock from the original series soundtracks. This is the song playing as the final plans get put into action toward the climax of the film.Time To Know ~ Be Waltz is a throwback to the softer upbeat jazz tracks from the series. At a bit past the halfway point the song kicks into hip lyrics on top of the song. This was played when Ed and Ein go off searching the city.Clutch is another throwback to classic Bebop action jazz style. This was played during the fight scene between Spike and Elektra.MUSAWE is one of the tracks played on the Moroccan street. A fusion between ethnic music and jazz follows the fusion between the style of Bebop when it encounters the culture on the street.Yo Pumpkin Head is another track along the lines of 24 Hours OPEN in that the music is accompanied by the ambient sounds of a large festival. This was the track played during the parade.Diggin recalls more memories of the oft futile searches for information from the series, something of a western style song set in the future universe of Bebop. I'm not completely sure but I think Steve Conte is doing the vocals. This was played as Spike wanders the city encountering some familiar faces and the pulse of the city.3.14 is, well, Aoi Tada (Ed) singing typically Eddish things as she searches for information at the beginning of the movie. I just want to know how Ed memorized pi to that many decimals. :)What Planet is Bebop action jazz up to full strength as Spike faces off against the military in an aerial dogfight that leads from the Martian wastes to inside the city area.7 Minutes is best described more as a plot song than a song on it's own. It holds it's weight as well as any track from any Bebop OST, but as the song leads from rock into a racing choral track and back it carries it's full power when accompanied by the action onscreen. And yes, it is seven minutes long.Fingers is sexy piece with a deep beat and soft piano. It was played during the opening intro sequence. This piece demonstrates some classic Yoko Kanno, standing as an emotional backdrop on which the movie was painted.Powder is played as the character and plot elements of the film come together in the final climax. I want to tell you more, but if you haven't seen the film I don't want to give anything away. ;)Butterfly is probably one of my all time favorite songs from all Bebop music. To my knowledge I don't think it was in the movie itself, but in spirit and story it fits in theme perfectly. A sorrowful and romantic piece that I could listen to for hours.No Reply is another film I don't think made it to the movie, but carries the same emotional weight as Butterfly. Steve Conte delivers his usual exceptional performance just as some of the greatest moments in the series.Dijurido is a beautiful piano vocal piece sung by previous Bebop contributor Gabriela Robin. The instrumental was in the movie as Spike sits on the beach with Jet, but the full vocal version did not appear.Gotta Knock a Little Harder is played as the adventure comes to a close. A steady rain falls on the still crowds of the city. Traffic in all forms is at a dead standstill. All natures and ages of aircraft buzz above the city. The morning comes in a mist, and life goes on just as it always does. I think this is in every way for the movie was Real Folk Blues was to the series. Truly Mai Yamane at her best.No Money is a solo vocal piece from the Moroccan street. While Gotta Knock a Little Harder was the definitive end to the movie, this is very much the wind-down song to the soundtrack.Are You Living in the Real World?"

Lets clear this up, eh?

04/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Right. Great soundtrack, I highly recommend it. We seem to have a little issue as to different versions of this soundtrack. I'll break it down for you:
There are TWO OFFICIAL VICTOR RELEASES:VICL-60756 (Regular Version)
VIZL-54 (Special Edition with Cowgirl ED OST disc) The special edition with the Cowgirl ED OST disc is a FIRST EDITION pressing, and it has the following tracks on the bonus disk:01. Goodnight Julia (different version then on the 4CD box set)
02. Papa Plastic03. Telephone Shopping
04. Kabutoga ni kodai no sakana (The Horseshoe Crab, the Ancient Fish)
05. Slipper Sleaze
06. 23 HanashiNow, I don't know how you can make sure you get this copy. I bought this off Amazon, and only recieved the 1 CD version.There is also a version of this soundtrack published by the bootlegging company EverAnime which has 2 CDs, the first CD being the same as CD 1 in the official release, and the second CD having both the AskDNA mini-album (avaliable on Amazon), and the Cowgirl ED OST disk on it. (I own this bootleg aswell as the official 1 CD release)I personally don't like bootlegs, but you can make your own judgement call on which version you would like to buy.Hope this clears up some of the confusion."

If I could give it 10 stars I would do so...

Joseph Geni | Evanston, Illinois United States | 08/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Holy toledo this album is absolutely amazing. All of Yoko Kanno's stuff for Cowboy Bebop, and most of her stuff in general, is mind-blowingly varied, creative, and engaging, but this is the jewel of the crown. It's the pinnacle of the Seatbelts as a music collective, and it features a deep and wonderous sampling of all the group is capable of. When playing this disc for friends, I feel a need to say, "And this is the same band" at every track, because they're all so different.



The album--which is the soundtrack to "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie"--opens with "24 hours open," a strange circus-esque carnival of chaos which is both amusing, disturbing and highly forgettable. But from there the album takes off. "Pushing the Sky" is aggressive, echoing anthem rock. "Time to Know" is a flute-tinged waltz with what appears to be Japanese rapping at the end. "Clutch" is some of the best freeform jazz I've ever heard. "Musawe" sounds like Arabian folk. "Yo Pumpkinhead!" is a big band extravaganza (from the Martian Halloween parade, for those who have seen the movie). "Digging" is bluesrock. And so on. Nearly every song is from a different genre ("7 Minutes," an orchestral techno metal number in 7:4 time, qualifies for several) and nearly every song is a masterwork of said genre. "Fingers" is flowing piano/fingerpiano dub. "Butterly" is a gorgeously subdued ballad. And "Gotta Knock a Little Harder" is an awesomely crafted pop anthem reminiscent of Annie Lennox at her very best.



And that's just the first disc. The bonus second disc has 11 more songs, which range from ambient electro ("Chapter 23") to stomping scavenger pop ("Ask DNA," which might owe its existence to Beck's "Where It's At"). A few of the songs, particularly on Disc 2, are from the show, not the movie, but these are all so good that they fit right in and you won't care. I cannot say enough about this album. It's one of the greatest triumphs of music I've ever heard, a tribute to 100 years of American musical tradition and a fair amount of Japanese music as well, and an outstanding release in its own right. It is worth whatever you have to pay for it."