Customer Reviews

Noir Original Soundtrack 1

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great soundtrack. It perfectly captures the ambient, mysterious, moody atmosphere of the anime Noir. The tracks are akin to music by new age artist Medhi and "meditation" type new age music. Some tracks are more upbeat, but still flow well and transport the listener to another place. When I listen to "Ode of Power" I imagine a camel caravan in Egypt travelling across the desert. That's what's so neat about the soundtrack. With every song your imagination is piqued, and you find yourself falling into the same mood each song displays. This is a perfect soundtrack for relaxing.

My first awareness of Ms Kajiura's talents came with .hack //sign. I was haunted by those snippets of song, continually found myself learning the words and singing them. I knew I wanted to hear more.

I keep collecting more and more of her work, and have never been disappointed. On this CD, I was particularly moved by Salva Nos and Canta Per Me. Never would I have dreamed that I would be moved emotionally by a Latin operatic work written by a Japanese woman.

I feel her strengths are in melody and expressive harmonies, particularly when the female voice is involved. She never fails to provide shivers of joy, and there's usually a gulp or choked-back tear in there somewhere as well.

As an import, this is a bit pricy, and probably isn't a novice's best introduction to her work. But its a fine CD, none the less. It's also left me wanting to see the anime, itself.

I think that if you like music, any of this woman's works will haunt you. But some ghosts are worth it.

Kajirua's amazing music doesn't stop at .Hack or Aquarian Age. It goes all the way to Noir. I was a little iffy about first buying this CD. But, for $10 at Fry's, I couldn't resist.

The onpening song, Coppelia No Hitsugi by Ali Project is described as being the color Yellow, which fits it perfectly. Strong opening song for this CD & rated an "A" from me.

The middle songs by Kajiura are described as being the color Red which fits these. They include:

Les Soldats (Not one of my favs) D-
Snow (Beautiful) B+
Canta Per Me (Strong Lyrics) A
Corsican Corridor (Sounds a lot like .Hack//Sign) A
Ode to Power (Interesting in a good way) B
Solitude by the Window (Another beautiful song) B+
Romance (Definatly my fav) A+
Silent Pain (Odd, but good) C-
Lullaby (Beautiful everything with pretty lyrics) B-
Mélodie (Dramatic turn in song which my friend loves) A-
Chloe (Kajiura said this was her fav person & the song agrees) A
Whispering Hills (Mezmarizing. Also sounds like .Hack//Sign) B+
Zero Hour (Gentle) C+
Liar You Lie (Fun to listen to) B+
Sorrow (My Mother's Favorite because of the Cello) A+
Salva Nos (A lot better then the Fiction ver.) A+

And finally, there is Kireina Kanjo by Akino Arai described as the color blue, a relaxing color. Soft with a voice to match. All in all, I give this soundtrack a:
B+. A definate must have for any Kajiura fan

When I purchased this soundtrack, I had no idea what to expect. The music on the show is great, but with Japanese imports, you never can tell just exactly what you're getting into. Well, let me tell you that this CD is FANTASTIC. It contains all the best music from the NOIR series. The opening and closing themes are longer and uncut and are in Japanese. Two cuts are in Latin and are great (4&17). One song is in English, and the rest are musical only. I was so happy with this CD, that I just purchased Noir Soundtrack Vol.2 If you have no Idea what I'm talking about, do yourself a favor, and rent or buy the first NOIR DVD. After watching it, you'll be hooked. I was, and I know nothing at all about Anamie. Enjoy!

This is the same soundtrack as the v.1 imported version. Only this CD is $30 cheaper because it's the US release. Get this one! My review is as follows:

This is a great soundtrack. It perfectly captures the ambient, mysterious, moody atmosphere of the anime Noir. The tracks are akin to music by new age artist Medhi and "meditation" type new age music. Very awe-inspiring music. Some tracks are more upbeat, but still flow well and transport the listener to another place. When I listen to "Ode of Power" I imagine a camel caravan in Egypt travelling across the desert. That's what's so neat about the soundtrack. With every song your imagination is piqued, and you find yourself falling into the same mood each song displays. This is a perfect soundtrack for relaxing.

This CD is amazing. I borrowed it from a friend after she played it at a skating rink. It is amazing. Although most all of the lyrics are japanese, if you know a little it gets you into the language. The songs are widely varied, from a real dance beat pop in Kopperia no Hitsugi (1) to a french acordion in Romance (8) to piano in Zero Hour (14). There are also two opera tracks that are like japanese opera amici-ized and bond-ized (4 & 17). The album is wonderful music that is clean and is very mysterious, yet still beautifully written. Im definitely going to get volume 2!

When Noir hit the airwaves, it was an immediate success. The animation was gorgeous, the plot was engrossing, and the action was brutal, yet beautiful. Augmenting this anime was the breathtaking score by Yuki Kajiura. Her blend of techno, Latin chants, and opera rivaled some of the work by Enigma, Yasushi Ishii (Hellsing composer), and Techno/new wave auteur Susumu Hirasawa of "Paranoia Agent".

The Noir Original Soundtrack contains all the music that we came to know and love. The haunting opening theme "Coppella no Hitsugi" (Coppelia's Casket) by Ali Project, the operatic les soldats, and of course, the highly danceable "Salva nos", the background music that usually played when the girls were getting ready to kick some ass. Yuki Kajura effectively uses classical and modern musical styles to not only provide the right kind of energy for the scene, but creates an album that you can enjoy with out having the animation to augment it.

It's not all techno on this album. The music score also incorporates French, Italian, and even some Japanese influences. There are several piano solos, which further shows the diversity of composer Yuki Kajiura and her group of talented musicians. While the opening and closing are not part of Yuki Kajiura's compositions, they fit in very well with the overall vibe she was going for. She even incorporated several coda's from "Coppella no Hitsugi" into her own work. Truly, a collaborative effort.

BEST TRACK
While "Coppella no Hitsugi" is an excellent piece, my favorite is "salva nos". Sure it was one of the most overused tunes in the series, but the pulsing beat combined with the exciting blend of opera and techno is sublime. I can run to it, I can dance to it, and I can even....kill someone with it.

WORST TRACK
I would say "Chloe", simply because it's a little too up-tempo for our cold as ice killer. I think a harder techno edge would have been better.

Perfect for Fans of:
Enigma, Jane Alexander, Orbital, Hellsing Soundtrack

CONCLUSION:
The Noir Original Soundtrack is one of those great albums that you can enjoy whether you have seen the anime or not. Thanks to Yuki Kajiura's superb blend of techno, orchestral, and regional sounds, you will find yourself transported into the world of great composer delight.

There are several great songs on this soundtrack, including the long versions of the opening and closing songs. The real gems though are songs like "canta per me", "lullaby", "cloe", "corsican corridor", "snow", and "melodie". If you have seen the Anime then most of the great music is on this CD. Just get it!

Noir: The Complete Collection
Noir Original Soundtrack 2
Noir: Blanc Dans Noir

Very enjoyable, containing most of the best music from the Noir Anime Series.

I received NOIR OST1 last month and have enjoyed listening to it several times since then. I watched the show recently for the first time and really enjoyed the opening song in addition to the show itself. The rest of the music was very good, so I decided to pick up the soundtrack. Note that the opening song on the CD seems to be a full version that is longer than the one in the show. I wish it had both versions. I haven't gone back and re-watched the show to check the difference.

Like many other Anime soundtracks, availability and pricing varies a lot. I got OST1 for under $15 which I am now happy with. I plan on purchasing the other NOIR soundtracks when I can find a good deal.

I think I'll be listening to it almost as much as my Ghost in the Shell and FLCL Anime soundtracks which are excellent and highly recommended.