Customer Reviews

Electric Samurai (The Noble Savage)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thank you, Quentin Tarantino, for including "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" in the "Kill Bill Vol 1" soundtrack; it was absolutely the most amazing piece of instrumental music I've heard in years (as well as being one the most noteworthy grooves of 2003).

Like a latter-day Jeff Beck with a side hobby in Zen gardening, Tomayasu Hotei has put together an unbelievably good collection of moods, grooves, and modern mixes on this, an import CD that I gladly pay the extra money for. His style is understated, in that his brilliance is evident but he doesn't feel the need to make certain that his instrument is constantly turned up in the foreground so that he can play any many notes in as many different key variations (are you listening, Joe Satriani?) as possible; he writes songs that are about music, not his own sense of self-indulgenge.

Largely an instrumental collection, it could be said that Hotei's music is well-suited to lend additional atmosphere to filmed action, and in truth "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" is not the only track recently included on a soundtrack. "Katana Groove" and "Dark Wind" were pieces that Hotei wrote for "Samurai Fiction", a movie inwhich he also stars (in, it has to be said, a very alluring performance). "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" itself appears in no less than three variations (NOT remixes; this is important, as the song's CD single DOES include two remixed tracks; the two additional versions here are separate reinterpretations of the same groove that do not immediatelyrecall the single version) on this CD, weaving between the other trcks like a recurring theme, almost as with a classical music piece.

And when listening to "Battle..." the obvious Led Zeppelin influence makes itself known almost at once; it is fitting that he should include a Tokyo-popped cover of a Led Zep standard, and to that end "The Immigrant Song" does not disappoint; a well-produced cover that is not immediately recognizable, Hotei chooses not to match Robert Plant's impossible heavy metal wail and instead uses his own vocal range (a nefarious growl) to put his own stamp on the classic. "Believe Me, I'm A Liar" and "Space Cowboy" are the two other vocal tracks, with the former more of an exercise in drum-&-bass and the latter a muddled homage to Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western sountracks.

The mood among the intrumental tracks runs the gambit from darkly sinister ("Jingi", "Kill The Target") to morose and longing ("Howling") to surprisingly warm ("Fetish"), with Hotei's guitar expressing the mood more than ably; a friend of mine once accused the sound as being too "prog rock", but while I don't dispute the angle by which he came to that conclusion, I think most instrumental tracks where a guitar is used for a particularly vocal range is going to sound somewhat bombastic as a result. But if you enjoy good music written and performed by a master musician who knows precisely what a song needs, this CD will be a well-received reward.

Others have already commented on the music adequately, but there's something else on this album that you need to know about.

This is one of the now infamous Sony Rootkit albums. If you stick it in a PC it will attempt to autorun an installation which will hide many files from users and will add code that intercepts certain system calls and loads down the machine. Even worse the rootkit has been exploited by virus writers.

As of mid November 2005 (this week) Microsoft has declared this rootkit to be Malware and their anti spyware software will remove it whenever it encounters it.

There is a very small warning on the back of the box, a second warning says that on normal players, which can't install their malicious software, the disk may not play. Search for Sony, BMG and Malware to confirm the nature of this exploit.

You can find this album for way less in other places. At one particular online music shop you can pick it up for a fruity 9.99
You will instantly recognize the first track as being from Kill Bill, but you will soon grow to enjoy the rest.

Hotei shows himself to be not only an outstanding guitarist, but a capable producer, and as this album is basically a demo piece to the west to demonstrate his talents and help insert himself into the US music scene; it actually lives up to its goal well. Hotei is very adept at writing a bass line and he showcases this well on "Battle Without Honor or Humanity", "Katana Groove", and "Believe Me, I'm a Liar". Throw in "Kill the Target" and you have the album's top 4 songs and the most cinema viable pieces. "Believe" and "Katana" are the most techno oriented tracks, making them the most easily inserted into one of Hollywood's slick action films, while the more anthemic "Battle" sounded inspired in "Kill Bill." "Kill the Target" sounds like it walked right out of a disaster or thriller film. I played it on my stereo while playing "Max Payne" on my computer and frankly was convinced it was written for that dark and slightly twisted action/detective noir game. While these offerings are stellar, the rest of the album feels a bit forced; as though Hotei is being compelled against his will to cover other genres just for the sake of a well rounded sales pitch. Several of them lack any melodic direction, a few sound like they were ripped out of a Nintendo game, and the redux #'s 2 and 3 of "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" are unimaginative,lackluster, and, ultimately, disappointing.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Is this album perfect? No. Will everyone like it? Definitely not. Does it accomplish what it sets out to do: sell Hotei as an incredible talent? I'd have to say absolutely. Are the songs growing on me? yes.

Most importantly, would I buy it again? Yes, I would.

I've been listening to this almbum now for about two weeks, and I still can't make up my mind if this was a techno album for guitar players or a guitar album for techno/electronic dance fans. Either way, both of the disparate audiences will find something to like.

Like many American's I came to find Tomoyasu Hotei's work by sifting throught the soundtrack credits of Kill Bill Vol. 1. "Battle without Honor or Humanity", was what caught my attention but streaming some of the other cuts is what got me to buy the CD.

Hotei's style is reminiscent of Trevor Rabin's later work, but it goes much further, blending genre's like techno/electronica, jazz, rock, surf, industrial, new age, and blues. Hotei even tempts musical sacrilege, by covering Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". Few artists risk re-recording Zeppelin tunes, since comparisons with the original versions are rarely flattering, yet Hotei does so with originality that does not sacrifice any of the song's raw power. This cut begs to be turned up to 11...

I also particularly enjoyed the cuts "Space Cowboy", "Frozen Memories", and "Believe Me, I'm a Liar", which could have easily been an alternate track for the famous "Dojo" fight sequence in the original Matrix.

While some of the later tracks my bore casual listeners (as could the two other variations of "Battle without Honor or Humanity"), fans of instrumental music, and guitar-centric music in particular, will find plenty to savor among the 14 tracks of this import CD. In short, a great and diverse collection of impeccably crafted and produced music from a true guitar hero. Electric Samurai takes guitar-based music in a new and exciting direction, and the trip is certainly worth the price.

This is the first Hotei album that I purchased but I must say that it is A MUST for any fans. It includes music from Kill Bill 1 and Samurai Fiction which have probably his coolest ever songs, in my opinion. If you've never heard of Tomoyasu Hotei, get this CD and you'll be hooked!!! His music is so AWESOME and this CD captures it greatly! HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Amazon is charging as much as nine dollars more than other online shops for this already expensive CD. You can buy it elsewhere and still save a few dollars even after you pay for shipping.

This was a gift for a person that is a fan of the Pittsburgh Panthers, and their kick off song is "Battle w/o honor: So I got the whole CD for them...The group is awesome, the song is great, and they are loving it to death. As usuall the delivery rate for Amazon is tremendous.

I looked high and low for one particular song from the movie, "Kill Bill" and found that it was "Battle without Humanity or Honor", recorded by Hotei Tomoyasu. I bought the CD for this one song, but I've discovered two other versions of this song on the CD along with a few other songs on the CD that I'm enjoying. This was definitely a great buy for me.

Thanks so much for the great info on Eletric Samurai. Man, I really wanted to get this product but looks like I'll have to settle for mp3 or kill bill vol. However, this guys' got some serious talent!!