Customer Reviews

1996

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I had to make a recommendation as to what two Ryuichi Sakamoto albums to purchase, they would have to be "1996" (a beautiful collection of his more recent work, in trio form no less) and the somewhat out-of-print "Soundbytes" (a U.S. compilation of his solo keyboard pieces from the '80s, otherwise available only via Japanese import.) "Soundbytes" portrays Sakamoto as a prophet of the state of electronica in 1994 (the album's release date), with his use of ambient and borrowed sound, unfamiliar textures and timbres, strong repetition and punctuated rhythm, and a certain "Futurist" concept in mind. "1996", meanwhile, relies on the other side of Sakamoto's musical personality that surfaces most readily in his movie soundtracks - beautiful melodies, nuanced chord and harmonic progression, both exaggerated and latent emotion - in an elegantly arranged piano/cello/violin trio that simply flows from track to track.

Most of these pieces are Sakamoto's best known work: the film score highlights. A couple are taken from the "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" and "The Last Emperor" scores - yet gain either an acoustic reinterpretation (in the former) or a more intimate, chamber music affect (in the latter). The others are from mostly independent features, whereupon he here saves us the trouble of searching desperately for their respective soundtracks.

Other pieces are reappropriated into the extremely well-executed solo work "Smoochy" (1997), introducing the listener to his latest foray in popular music. "Aoneko no Torso" yields a nicely restrained performance in the later album, yet listening to a pseudo-trip-hop "Bibo no Aozora," including Ryuichi on vocals and Arto Lindsay on the guitar, especially after hearing the trio version, was truly mind-blowing.

"1919" is a new piece that yields a certain paranoia and intensity, using repetition as the primary means of conveying emotion (a la "Soundbytes"). It was most impressive seeing him recently perform this piece on a MIDI-enabled Disklavier in Los Angeles, where he began playing "out of phase" with himself, a Steve Reich technique. And he also pulls out some old favorites (as he did "Replica" from "Cinemage" and "Tong Poo" from "BTTB"): the avant-garde-ish "M.A.Y. in the Backyard" and "A Tribute to NJP" (which, interestingly, was originally a piano/sax/clarinet trio and performed with a certain jazz/Impressionist repose) are from his "Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia" (1984). His intro piece, "A Day a Gorilla Gives a Banana", is to my knowledge first performed on "Media Bahn Live" (1986) - perhaps the most unaltered of all the pieces.

Long story short: good album.

Sakamoto is simply a treasure among composers. I adore hybrid music forms and he offers us the West (piano) and the East (string composition).

'1996' is a compilation of previously released material from various soundtracks. However, the beauty of this is that the tracks are 'alternate' renditions relying on the piano/violin as the prime musical focal point. What a beautiful way to pass the time.

Two tracks are taken from Bernardo Bertolucci's multi-oscar winning 'The Last Emperor'. The original soundtrack is a collaborative affair with David Bryne of Talking Heads fame.

The first to be heard is 'Rain' (track 2). It is used at that point where the boy emperor chases after his nurse - only to find that she has been taken away. The track opens with a furious piano/violin tempo and releases itself to a tender pace before resuming the same pattern.... truly - a monumental effort.

The second of these is 'The Last Emperor' (track 4)- a track that begins a slow and tender pace as the low key piano dominates before easing into higher keys. This is followed by the first in a series of eruptive (yet tender) lead-ins into the violin. Overall the track is a balance of eruptive piano (West) and tender violin (East) notes. Heaven and Earth? - I don't know. Whatever the case, it is awesome.

Track 6 is of course taken from 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' - one of all-time favourite compositions. I am so grateful to Sakamoto for offering a piano/violin version of this. If you thought the original was haunting then you must listen to this version. It makes you want to learn how to play the piano - its that effective! It differs from the original version by leaping into full tempo and rising to triumphant ocassion.

'A Day a Gorilla Gives a Banana' (track 1) and 'M.A.Y in the Backyard' (track 7) are erratic pieces exemplifying Sakamoto's range.

'The Sheltering Sky' (another Betolucci film) is another beautiful and tender composition mixing mood and tempo. The cello in 'A tribute to N.J.P echoes Yo-Yo Ma's Bach's Cello Suites.

'High Heels' (track 10) is taken from Almodovar's 'High Heels' and echoes the (beautiful)desperation so prevalent in Almodovar's films.

Other goodies are 'Aoneko no Torso'(track 11) and 'The Wuthering Heights'(track 12). However, if there is something lacking in this CD is is the liner notes. Who know's which films these tracks (and others) are from. Although - this is researchable on the net.

Overall - a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Sakamoto beautifully reworks many of his most famous soundtrack masterpieces in a trio format in this superb recording. It features Jacques Morenbaum, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Everten Nelson on Cello, Piano and Violin respectively. The arrangements Sakamoto deliver in this album can be described as pure elegance. Definitely THE most influential album in my 18 years of music listening.

This is a excellent CD. Rather than the lazy approach of simply doing a compilation of tracks from previously released Sakamoto film scores, he arranges them and presents new recordings by Sakamoto on piano, one musician on violin, and one on viola. It's wonderfully listenable and a great way of revisiting Sakamoto's exemplary film scores without "best of" monotony.

This is a masterpiece. It comprises his most famous songs such as "Merry christmas ..."and "The last emperor"in piano trio format rendition.It sounds like Debussy's (or Ravel's) Chamber music but it's much more listenable.It's really fun and relaxing.I strongly recommend this CD.

(According to Sakamoto,overdubbed voice in "1919" is Lenin's speech.Nostalgia for 20th century was the motive.)

This is a classical-music flavored CD from the talented "cool" Japanese musician Sakamoto known for the soundtrack he has written for "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence". Sakamoto playing the piano on this album is joined by a cello and a violin. The music is brilliant and relaxing. Listen to the wonderful renditions of movie themes "Sheltering Sky" and "High Heels"...

Everything pursues new technologies. Everything is changing so quickly. Have you ever wondered that? He has. This formar techno-music artist is going back to simple. We can't say classical trio(piano, violin and chello) is old-fashioned and limited. It's unlimited. This CD improves that.

My heart skips a beat when I listen to this album. It is beautiful and enchanting.

He's a genius and this masterpiece goes right back to his roots as a composer, if you love his soundtracks, buy this one as well! Just his piano and 2 strings... Highly recommended!

This compolation CD of many of Ryuichi Sakamotos classical driven works is an amazing piece. I have not been a classical lover for very long, but this CD is certainly no exception to the classical lover of any type. It should be noted though, that this CD is great for those of you who don't normally like or listen to classical music, and need something with a more modern feel. Ryuichi project a hundred different setting through the tracks on this disc. He moves from place to place effortlessly and you will find yourself pulled in by the soundscapes. I have really fallen in love with string and chamber pieces as well as Russian composers such as Shostakozitch, Barkot, and Dvorak. If you like this you might want to check them out.

Although I absolutely adore the music on this CD, the recording is not spectacular. There is not a lot of definition, or life to the sound. It is still very enjoyable, and if you aren't an audiophile of any sort you probably won't notice, but in comparision, the recording on this disc is nothing special.