Customer Reviews

Cowboy Bebop: Blue

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

1. BLUE -- The emotional and ambient ending to the entire COWBOY BEBOP series. Starting off with a beautiful chorale sung by soprano Soichiro Otsuka (with Gabriela Robin), the song then goes into a steady and touching vocal by Mai Yamane.

2. Words That We Couldn't Say -- A semi-latin sounding ballad featuring guitar and marimba, with vocal by Steve Conte.

3. AUTUMN IN GANYMEDE -- Downright groovy. An awesome bass solo starts off the first BGM track in the series, from the episode "Boogie-Woogie Feng Shui."

4. MUSHROOM HUNTING -- "Let's kick the beat!" Naturally the song from the hilarious episode "Mushroom Samba" would be included in the third soundtrack. ;) A fun, rollicking piece with voiceovers by Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch.

5. GO GO CACTUS MAN -- A wild-west piece featuring jaw-harp and whistle, from the episode "Cowboy Funk."

6. CHICKEN BONE -- An absolutely inane, bouncy, and fun song about--yup, you guessed it--chicken bones! Vocal by "SYDNEY with Sister R," though it sounds exactly like Gabriela Robin...

7. THE REAL MAN -- Some hardcore, bass-laden techno seems almost out of place, but perfect for the CD nontheless. Ending on an absolutely startling stop, the piece is perfectly coupled with the next.

8. N.Y. RUSH -- A New York jazz version of the big-band piece "RUSH" from OST I. Very clear and adept studio recording makes it a different piece from the original--not that both don't offer a great listen.

9. ADIEU -- This heart-wrenching slow jazz piece is a big theme throughout Cowboy Bebop (emerging often in one form or another), and this does not disappoint! Vocalist Emiliy Bindiger could be a little more in-tune, but it's still a great song.

10. CALL ME CALL ME -- There is no way to describe this piece. Almost country sounding, this pleading song is used in the final scene of one of the most dramatic episodes in the series: "Hard Luck Woman." Steve Conte provides a wonderfully flowing vocal to the song, which mixes a rock beat with an incredibly strong string section to create... a masterpiece!

11. AVE MARIA -- Kanno's own version of "Ave Maria," used in the opera scene of Bebop session 5, "Ballad of Fallen Angels." A beautiful vocal by Jerzy Knetig and excellent orchestration showcases Yoko Kanno's true classical compositional talent, which may be witnessed in full force in some of her other scores. ;)

12. STELLA BY MOOR -- A music-box version of "The Singing Seas" (NO DISC/OST II) or "Farewell Blues." Used in session 8, "Waltz For Venus."

13. FLYING TEAPOT -- A lighthearted piece with piano accompaniment, with heavy lyrics that cynically contrast the beautifully cheerful music. Vocalist Emily Bindiger is a little flat at times, but the song is very beautiful.

14. WO QUI NON COIN -- Aoi Tada (voice of Ed in Cowboy Bebop) offers a sad vocal to this hauntingly beautiful song. The second verse is in some sort of gibberish language, (as are a lot of the vocals in the series) but the first verse is in Japanese.

15. ROAD TO THE WEST -- Ambient, angsty saxophone jazz paired with flowing keyboard synthesis makes this piece sound what Kenny G would sound like if it were possible for him to release a song of tension. ;) Used in several dramatic and action-packed scenes in the series, this piece is as if the saxophone itself were crying.

16. FAREWELL BLUES -- A full jazz combo version of "STELLA BY MOOR" or "The Singing Seas" (NO DISC/OST II). A perfect note to end the CD on, even though there is a hidden track...

17. See You Space Cowboy -- An alternate version of the ending theme to Cowboy Bebop, "The Real Folk Blues." Used in the final episode of the series. A less intense yet sadder version of the original, with new lyrics and complex instrumentation.

By far the most touching of the Cowboy Bebop Soundtracks. Any fan of the series will remember the scenes these pieces were used in, but even someone who hasn't seen the series can truly enjoy this CD for what it is--a true work of art. Composer Yoko Kanno is truly a musical genius.

I highly reccomend all the Cowboy Bebop soundtracks: COWBOY BEBOP (OST I), NO DISC (OST II), Vitaminless (Mini-Album), BLUE (OST III), and Music For Freelance (Remix Album).

~Chiriko (chiriko@catsonmars.com)

This is an amazing CD!! It has a fascinating mix of music that everyone can appreciate, but will definitely bring up images of the Bebop's crew for those who watched the show. Just try not to picture Faye's gasp as she meets Viscious while listening to "Ave Marie." Put off from your mind the picture of Ed and Ein taking a look at the sun setting on the Bebop to "Call Me, Call Me." Try to forget the shots of Faye and Spike during "See You Space Cowboy." And if you can listen to "Blue" without remembering a fading star, I will be shocked.

For anyone who just read through those references going, "Huh?" I must say that if you like music, this is a great CD. A lot of it jazz at its best. There are several vocal songs, all of which are fantastic. There's free-style funk, a classical aria, and a song that evokes the old west. I cannot say enough good things about this CD...it is the best thing I have heard in a long time. Whether you are familiar with the series our not, this is just an example of music and creativity at its best.

"Blue" has the best of the best music from the anime series Cowboy Bebop, composed by Yoko Kanno, used mainly in the later part of the series. If you want to prove to anyone that Yoko Kanno is a true musical genius, just play this CD to them. She can masterly capture virtually any theme into a piece of music. By far the best vocal track on the CD is the title song, "Blue", which is played as the final ending song of the series. Other powerful and moving songs include "Call Me Call Me", played at the end of episode 24, and "See You Space Cowboy...", an even more impressive alternate version of "The Real Folk Blues" played during the last episode as Spike is going to his final showdown with Vicious. Of course, there are also many very up-beat tracks, including "Mushroom Hunting" from episode 17, and one of the funniest parodies I've ever heard, "Go Go Cactus Man" from episode 22. Without going into TOO much detail on the tracks, you can listen to every single one on this CD ten times without getting bored.

It's tough to give this CD the shining review it deserves without echoing the sentiments already expressed by others. Perhaps because the music on this CD is used throghout much of the series' final episodes, many tracks are poignant, powerful and will stick with you.

Tracks like the Latin-influenced "Words We Couldn't Say", fast paced and flighty "Mushroom Hunting" and surprisingly fun "Autumn In Ganymede" are great, and "Adeiu" has a wonderful smoky Jazzclub feel to it that makes it incomparably cool.

For me however, the two strongest tracks on the CD are "Blue" and "Call Me Call Me", which probably goes the same for most fans of the series as they both can be heard during the series' most emotional moments. "Blue" is just wonderfully crafted, and awesome to listen as a musical piece, the crescendoes inside giving the song a real sense of moving purpose. For me however, the Country-Pop sounding "Call Me Call Me" is the best, most listenable, most moving song on the entire soundtrack. I simply cannot think of a flaw with the song, much less a flaw with this CD.

If you're into good music, i'd advise this to you for a great variety of songs, all of which are quality. If you're a fan of the show, this is basically a must have. Plain and simple.

This disc is abosolutely my favorite because it contains "Blue," "Adieu," and "Wo Qui Non Coin." Blue is very alluring, especially for the finale song for Cowboy Bebop. Adieu plays during the beginning of The Real Folk Blues (Part 1.) It's a very powerful song that features English lyrics that play very nicely with the song. Finally, Wo Qui Non Coin plays durign Hard Luck Woman. The Japanese voice actor (Tada Aoi) sings this song. Though it's hardly interpretable, it's a bloody good time to listen to this song. If you kno the lyrics, it describes a child, dedicated to Ed.

This album was voted by anime fans at Anime Expo 2000 to be the best anime soundtrack of the past year. That's a pretty high honor considering AX is the country's biggest yearly anime convention. When you hear it, you'll know why. In my opinion, this is one of the best anime soundtracks ever composed. 'Course, everything Yoko Kanno has put together has been nothing but wonderful, but this soundtrack series, and this album in particular, is a melodic experience that, like the anime series itself, is pure genius. Just about every genre of music is represented splendidly here, from dance to rock ballad to jazz club to opera to spaghetti western(!), with Ms. Kanno's personal, unique twist on every one. Most of the songs on this album are from the later episodes of the series, and if you've had the privilege of seeing them, this will make you relive the experience all over again. Every time I hear the first track ("Blue") and Mai Yamane's haunting vocals, my mind fills with the final scene of one of the most incredible endings in anime history. Every song stands out, but the ones that stood out the most for me were "Blue", "Call Me Call Me", and the alternate version of "The Real Folk Blues" (the last track). Whether you're an anime fan or not, this album will appeal to just about everyone. It's a masterpiece from the master artist herself.

This CD contains music that is moving, breathtaking, sad, uplifting, even silly at times. No matter what your favorite genre of music is, (be it jazz, techno, opera... There are even elements of rap in some songs!), you will LOVE this music. I'm not catholic, but Yoko's rendition of Ave Maria has me near tears every time I hear it. If you are reading these reviews to try and decide whether you will like the disk, let me make it simple: This is a collection of brilliant, diverse music, and I have yet to meet anyone who disliked every single track.

This album contains the most emotional songs of the series mixed in with some of the most fun songs. There is a random live song thrown into this album that doesn't seem to fit quite as well as the others do, but it's still welcome.

"Blue": Is another Mai Yamane beauty from the series. It's the emotional end of the series, the end of the journey with the characters we've grown to love. The angelic chorus adds to the serenity of the ending, how things go back to somewhat normal but will never be the same again.
"Words That We Couldn't Say": A song full of regrets, and Steve Conte does it beautifully. The darker latin feel to the song makes you want to dance, especially when the strings come in.
"Go Go Cactus Man": Oh my god, the idiot with the horse's theme song! The whistling could be annoying, or it could be brilliant and catchy... you choose.
"Chicken Bone": The other cutest song of the series with talk of how to cook up some chicken. Poppy and danceable and very cute.
"Call Me": I can't say enough about how great this song is, it is by far my favorite song of the series. In episode 26 when this song was playing, I cried. I cried so hard I had to pause the episode to collect myself. The soft drum and the way the strings build for the chorus, the way the bass sounds so damn sad, how Steve Conte's voice reminds me of singing with everything I have to cut through the tears. The emotional wailing of strings and voice and bass in the bridge area. Then the proper orchestral regrouping and everything coming back together to finish the song of with as much emotion as is possible... Worth paying for the album alone.
"We Qui Non Con": You can definately tell it's Aoi Tada (Ed) from the series. This song is sweet but sad, especially with the dog whines in the background. There is a lot of mixing languages and gibberish, but that adds to the cuteness.
"See You Space Cowboy": The end of the end theme... the final version of the end theme, in japanese and soothing and beautiful. There is a definate feeling of finality in the version, a feeling of closure. In my Bebop mixed CD's this song only fit at the end of the disk. Mai Yamane's voice is perfect for this song, it sounds like she's sad but getting over it.

Beautiful album and worth every single penny to import in, even if the shipping rates were super-high.

Blue, Call Me Call Me and Autumn in Ganymede are by far my favorite songs in the entire series of Cowboy Bebop. Yoko Kanno, the brilliance behind each of these songs, is one of the best in the entire anime music industry.

A lot of the songs on this CD are instrumentals, but don't get discouraged by that. If you are a fan of the series, Cowboy Bebop, then you have most likely been exposed to the music. Even if you aren't into artsy stuff, believe me, this is great.

Yoko Kanno must be the mistress of all genres. Pop, jazz, blues, opera, and more, all on the same disc, all full of life, charm, and atmosphere. There might be a stinker or two like "Flying Teapot" on the disc, but I guess they can't all be winners.

I know it's a little pricey for a single CD, but it was worth every penny to me.

If you like it, you might want to look at the soundtracks she did for Escaflowne and Macross.