Now Playing L

Now playing: I am on a Joe Hisaishi kick, he is easily one of the finest living film composers (top 5 probably) so I am listening to quite a few of his scores, some scores I haven't explored much and some scores I am trying to enjoy more than I previously have.

I actually find Hisaishi's collaborations with Takeshi Kitano more imaginative and more interesting than his more popular work with Hayao Miyazaki in general. I tend to prefer Hisaishi in his minimalistic/jazzy/ambient mode rather than his usual more grand romantic writing.

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What a Wonderful Family! 1 & 2 - Joe Hisaishi

A decent theme in quite a few variations, but most of the rest material is quite dull in both of the scores. These are two of his most uninteresting scores. Thankfully both of the albums are under 30 minutes long.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5 for both scores.

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First Love - Joe Hisaishi

A pretty pleasant score, but nothing special at all, quite a forgettable score in Hisaishi's ouvre imo.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

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Miracle Apples - Joe Hisaishi

This is a quite lovely score, not one of his best scores but good stuff nontheless. The last track is a keeper and nice summary of the score.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

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Little Tom Thumb - Joe Hisaishi

It doesn't do much for me, but there's that good theme at least, and it is quite pleasant as a whole. This is another quite forgettable score Hisaishi score though for me i'm afraid, it lacks something special to make it something beyond just good.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

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Melody Blvd. - Joe Hisaishi

This is a solo album, but what the heck. It shows a different side to Hisaishi, even if it is a commercial and mainstream one it is still a pretty enjoyable pop album. It is quite cheesy here and there, but he is clearly having fun and it shows, I really dig a few of these tracks in a "fun" way. It is nothing great, but there is some fun to be found here.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

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Kids Return - Joe Hisaishi

There is some very good, evocative electronic scoring to be found here, I really dig the final track that seems to be influenced by Deep Forest in particular.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

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Sonatine - Joe Hisaishi

Another score with some excellent and imaginative evocative electronic scoring. This is of course much closer to psychedelic Cafe Del Mar-style '80s balearic beat music than to his usual romantic mode anime material which is probably why I like it a lot. It is one of Hisaishi's better scores.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

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A Scene at the Sea - Joe Hisaishi

There is some truly enjoyable and evocative ambience to be found here. It isn't one of his best scores, but it is a good score/album and there is at least one track here that should be on every Hisaishi playlist.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

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Giant Deep Sea Creatures - Joe Hisaishi

This on the other hand is a top 10 Hisaishi score. Most of the score is highly enjoyable and it is Hisaishi in his more minimalistic mode which I tend to prefer over his usual more grand romantic gestures (as skilled as he is that mode - this is closer to his roots as a composer). I wish he tapped into this kind of writing more often.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

Haha, not at all. I just don't very often give out ratings above 4 stars. I am very critical, maybe too critical in some ways even. Not that many scores are 4+ stars for me. 4.5 stars are very rare and 5 stars almost never happens. I can't genuinely remember the last 5 star score I had - it was ages ago. For something to receive 5 stars for me it has to pretty much be a top 100 of all time score.

NP: Den of Thieves - Cliff Martinez

Lots of textural stuff to open the score that's not that interesting meaning that the thought of listening to the whole hour is very off-putting.

NP: Sic Transit Gloria - Andrew Kotlar

Set in a post-apocalyptic world this is a small ensemble score for (predominantly) piano and solo strings. It works really well and plays as a tense, claustrophobic - but emotional - piece.

NP: Princess Mononoke (1997) - Joe Hisaishi

I forgot how beautiful this score is.

Volker

NP: Ramin Djawadi - Pacific Rim

I got a smile on my face after the first riffs from Tom Morello, I love this score!

I had to put it on again after hearing the new score from Lorne Balfe. That score lacks everything that made the first one so great.

NP: Red Sparrow - James Newton Howard
What works for me on this one is a 32 minute playlist with just 4 tracks...the 3 big suites (Overture, Didn't I Do Well, End Titles) plus "Arriving at Sparrow School" in between the first two. In this compressed form it's one of my favorites of 2018 so far.

Pacific Rim Uprising - Lorne Balfe

Not again, this is pretty dreadful. Bottom 5 of the year so far with Ludwig Göransson's Death Wish, Lorne Balfe's Hurricane Heist, Ramin Djawadi's A Wrinkle in Time and Junkie XL's Tomb Raider. Djawadi's Pacific Rim is a masterpiece in comparision, which something I thought I would never say.

Rating: 1 star out of 5.

Shape of Water

Finding this score to be terrific background music for my writing!

NP: Black Panther - Ludwig Gorannson

Score of the year so far for me. Gorannson composes some of the most heart-pumping "power anthems" I've ever heard, without making them sound excessively RC-ish and/or derivative. Speaking of RC, the choral parts actually remind me a little of Zimmer's "Power of One", which is not a sound I ever expected to hear revisited in 2018, but it's very welcome. Also, I'm in love with the percussion in this score. It's unique and it's addictively pleasing.

Agreed. Huge letdown.

Max and Me Mark McKenzie

Starting writing my review but struggling to find the words to convey just how much this is moving me. I'm not going through the happiest time in life and perhaps that is making it even more powerful. It's just outrageously beautiful.

NP: A Wrinkle in Time - Ramin Djawadi

Not great, but at least it's a bit more creative and engaging than Lorne Balfe has been during the past year. With a stronger film, maybe Djawadi would have had more room to soar. Mistakes like the casting of the supernatural beings (Oprah etc) really brought down every aspect of the film (I say this as a huge admirer of the novel, whoever did that casting did NOT understand the book). But I don't want to make too many excuses for Djawadi either. Some composers can wonderfully overdeliver on a mediocre film. Djawadi is not one of them. Except for Beat the Drum maybe. But then that was a nice little film IMO.

I'm with you, Alan, as previously noted. In its over-the-top schmalziness, it undermines the very beauty and emotional connection it's trying to create. And the fact that it accompanies a Holocaust movie, leaves an extra bitter taste in my mouth. I did import it to my iTunes, but I'm not sure how long it will stay there.

Well, the slowness bit is not something that bothers me. I love slow; in fact, that's what I gravitate towards these days.