Customer Reviews

The Animatrix: The Album

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you are interested in this album because of Don Davis' amazing score music heard in the Animatrix shorts online and on the dvd, look elsewhere. This CD doesn't contain any of it in that form. The two Davis tracks are remixed with movie dialogue spoken over the music. The end product barely resembles what you hear in the shorts. This CD is just another electronica compilation album with a Matrix name on it, much like the first disc of the Reloaded soundtrack. And, unfortunately, it's not even a very good electronica collection, certainly not on par with the original Matrix soundtrack album. There are a few good tracks, for the die-hard fan/collector, but not much. And, again, none of that beautiful score music heard in The Second Renaissance Part One or Final Flight of the Osiris in its original form. I really hope that a score album containing that music is released in the future.

Here is the contents of The Animatrix: The Album:
1. Peace Orchestra "Who Am I?" (Animatrix Edit)
2. Free*Land "Big Wednesday"
3. Layo & Bushwacka! "Blind Tiger"
4. Supreme Beings of Leisure "Under the Gun"
5. Meat Beat Manifesto "Martenot Waves"
6. Photek "Ren 2"
7. Death In Vegas "Hands Around My Throat"
8. Junkie XL "Beauty Never Fades" (Animatrix Edit)
9. Overseer "Supermoves" (Animatrix Remix)
10. Juno Reactor "Conga Fury" (Animatrix Mix)
11. Junkie XL/Don Davis "Red Pill, Blue Pill"
(featuring dialogue from The Matrix)
12. Tech Itch/Don Davis "The Real"
(featuring dialogue from The Matrix Reloaded)

For all the people out there who say none of this music is in the Animatrix or for the one guy who said it's all in there.
Most of it is, and 2 or 3 tracks are not featured in the film. That's how it always goes with soundtracks.
(All of these are approximations, don't get too nitpicky, ok?)
1. Peace Orchestra "Who Am I?" (Animatrix Edit) - Kid's Story - This one is heard in the morning whilst the boy eats breakfast and skateboards to school and ends when he closes his locker.
2. Free*Land "Big Wednesday" - The Second Renaissance Part One - This one begins as soon as we see the large overview of the futuristic city at the beginning of the short (after the red and yellow introduction), and ends after the large 'robots toiling tirelessly scene'.
3. Layo & Bushwacka! "Blind Tiger" - Detective Story - This one begins when Mr. Ash 'looks at his bank account balance' and ends when he goes to see the 'one that's left, the crazy one.' But is spliced up a bit, so any voice in the actual song isn't in the film.
4. Supreme Beings of Leisure "Under the Gun" - Detective Story - This one begins when Ash rushes out the door to catch the train, and ends when he enters Trinity's train compartment. Again, it's spliced up to use the good bits without any singing.
5. Meat Beat Manifesto "Martenot Waves" - The Second Renaissance Part One - This one begins after the Versitran ad, and runs for a short 25 or so seconds during the news clips before the UN scene.

6. Photek "Ren 2" - The Second Renaissance Part One - This one plays during the news clips of the robots being (partly) wiped out after the B166ER trial.
7. Death In Vegas "Hands Around My Throat" - Beyond - This one is heard in the background of the teenaged girl's phone conversation.
8. Junkie XL "Beauty Never Fades" (Animatrix Edit) - I don't think this one appears in the Animatrix at all, unless.. just maybe it plays during the robots advancing outward in all directions after Zero-One is bombed (in 2nd Renaissance Part2).. if it is, it plays for about 7 seconds, so I can't tell.
9. Overseer "Supermoves" (Animatrix Remix) - The Second Renaissance Part Two - The battle scene.
10. Juno Reactor "Conga Fury" (Animatrix Mix) - The Final Flight of the Osiris - The opening sword fight.

11. Junkie XL/Don Davis "Red Pill, Blue Pill"
(featuring dialogue from The Matrix)
AND
12. Tech Itch/Don Davis "The Real"
(featuring dialogue from The Matrix Reloaded)
Are NOT featured, as far as I know. And by the way, you labeling fools, the quote from the Merovingian in Track 12, "You are ready to die..? (..for this man)" Actually appears in The Matrix Revolutions, but was in a preview for both the 2nd and 3rd Matrix films, so I can understand the confusion. And it might be in the trailer at the end of the 2nd film's credits too.

Anyway, I hope this clears up any confusion you might have.

Ok...I'm disappointed.
Many tracks that should have been there, are missing from this CD.
Where are all the beautiful scoring tracks by Don Davis? The opening and ending track in"Second Renessance I and II for instance? Or the finale in Kid's Story?
To all you score lovers out there this CD is a joke.
While on the subject of "Kid's story", one of the best tracks in the entire Animatrix is missing - namely "Masters of the Universe" by Juno Reactor. (Yes, the track when he rides his skate board, escaping from the agents) This awesome track that is so totally "Matrix" in sound and style is NOT on this CD, most probably due to some F-up between record labels or something.
If you want it, it's on Juno Reactor's own album "Shango".


Then what are we left with?
Well, there are a few good tracks on this CD like "Who am I", "Beauty Never Fades" and Super Moves but that's pretty much it.
the rest is a bunch of uninspired techno/electronica tracks with cheesy sampled quotes from the Matrix movies. Some of them are flat out embarrasing and sound like they're made by total amateurs.

SO unless you are a total Matrix fanatic who has to have EVERYTHING made in the name of the Matrix franchize - stay away from this CD.

And, yes, the songs do appear in the short stories, I personaly checked them out.
Based on how many of these short stories where peppered with electronica, I doubt that there would be a score out there.
If you liked the song you heard during the sword battle between the characters of "The Flight of the Osiris", or what you hear in the beggining of "Kid Story",then, this is the cd for you.
If you are looking for what you hear in "Program" or the pidgeon scene in "Beyond", you are not going to find it here.
Despite that minor flaw, if you love electronica, or want to explore this great musical style, this is the best compilation I had heard lately.

This CD has some really excellent tracks, some OK ones, and some that make you scratch you head with "what-were-the-artists-thinking" kind of bewilderment. As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the track Masters of the Universe (when the Kid is escaping the Agents on his skateboard), amazingly, is omitted. However, the first track (the "credits" music), Supermoves, and Conga Fury are great fun to listen to.
As for the genre itself, Trance seems to me to be the equivalent of classical music for our time. Some is good, some is bad, but it all gives you a sense of free-mind feel, without words or lyrics or pop influences mucking up the experience of the music itself. If that makes any sense...

I'll make this brief as usual. Tha Animatrix DVD is what turned me onto Anime, it's also a slight bit disturbing, but you know as well as I do that us 21st Century Humans need to be disturbed once in a while.

I always loved the music from the DVD, so decided, why not get the soundtrack? And I did. What I didn't expect is that the soundtrack is better than the movie (in musical terms).

There's only one track on this cd that I don't like, and that's saying a lot. It's an interesting journey... through a synthetic world, via trance and techno beats.

Check it out, you wont be disappointed.

I wouldn't pay almost 20 smackers for it--that's too much of a rip-off since so many tracks are missing (hell, my favorite short on the movie was "Beyond," the rest are just ok. Where's the "Beyond" music, hmmm?? Fortunately, unlike many on here who are ticked off about not getting "Masters of the Universe" from the short "A Kid's Story," I already owned the Juno Reactor Shango CD before I came to own the animatrix album, so I don't feel violated by record labels or whatever ;) WARNING: Don't read the next sentence if you bought this CD for almost 20 buckaroos from any major CD retailer/electronics store b/c it will make you very angry.... I actually found this CD as part of a combo pack with the DVD movie at a Dollar General store, mwhahahahaha!! and it was brand new, mawhahahahahaha!!! And I only paid $6 for both the DVD and the CD mwahahahahahahah, I'm queen of the world!!!! sorry, i'm just feeling rather money-savvy right now.

To all those thinking that the Matrix has ANY hip-hop or other sickening pop music, stay away from this cd. Ahem. Now that I've got that out of my system, all those who love electronica and other forms of music will LOVE this cd, at the very least for a worthwhile experience in all things techno. My favorite track is Beauty Never Fades, it reminds me of this Goth club I went to(it was fun!) All the tracks save for the last 2 are in the films somewhere, some for a minute or 2, some for just seconds. All are good. Alas, my only gripe about this cd is that the music from Beyond isn't there(Darn, I wish I had it!!). Other than that, enjoy.

Oh yes, and play Supermoves loudly. VERY LOUDLY. Your neighbors will appreciate it :).

I can dig electronica, and seeing as how it goes hand in hand with cyberpunk (the lifeblood of the Matrix continuum) how can this disc go wrong? Believe it or not, it didn't, which is a pleasant surprise. The Various Artist collections from the first two Matrix films were a mixed bag of decent tunes (though too much hard edged guitar-industrial for my taste) and for as amazing and broad in vision as the Animatrix is, the music is more on the "ehhh" side. Not the most amazing gotta-listen-to-that-song-again stuff I've heard, but at least it's more consistent with the machine-music than with the Deftones-ish angst-rock junk. Get is as cheap as you can and the deal will be even sweeter. Oh, and for the reviewer who claims that you have to watch each segment of the Animatrix DVD seperately, NOT TRUE... all you hafta do is select "play all" and it'll run them in sequence. Hope this helps all you skeptical sorts! :)

For some reason when I listen to this CD the heaviness that is set into my heart seems to be lifted away. Excellent music to relax or to have playing in the background when chillin' with friends. This is not for pop music lovers. Lots of meloncholy techno here...so ENJOY! ^^