Richard E. Rae (76174.1410@COMPUSERVE.COM)
Sun, 27 Sep 1998 12:55:32 -0400
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 12:55:32 -0400 From: "Richard E. Rae" <76174.1410@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Internet Message Header
> However, in Sakura 2 Vocal, I can honestly listen to it w/o
> skipping a track. I really didn't like half(or more?) the songs in ST
> Vocal. But in Sakura 2, some are a little boring... I think tracks 2+3
> shouldn't have been placed together. The Kouran and Maria songs aren't
> bad, but they're a little boring. But my favs on this CD go to Haru ga
> Kuru, Aishi no Jean Paul, and esp. Kiseki no Kane which is an awesome
> song. Some I talked to also mentioned that the difference in music
> between ST Voc and ST2 Voc is great. ST Voc sounded like synthesizer
> music while ST 2 Voc was better composed.
>Well, that's what I thought too. But like I said before, although I like
>more songs on ST2 Voc, I tend to like them less than the songs on ST
>Voc.Maria's song was adefinite improvement over "Only Man" IMO. I was never
>really fond of the Koran songs because I think the "pretent-chinese-style"
>really don't hit me. The others you mention I liked too, but it took me a
>while to like Haru ga Kuru because I kept comparing it with Sakura. Koi no
>Hashia Alright (sp?) was a really cool jazz song. And Orihime's song wins my
>heart with its music composition.Also, I thought that Yume no Tsudsuki wasn't
>as good as Hanasaku Otome.<<
What everyone seems to forget is that the music is the primary reason behind
the creation of Sakura Taisen in the first place! Hiroi Ouji really intended
for Sakura Taisen as a vehicle and excuse to memorialize a number of older
musical styles, and of course he's written almost all the lyrics to both
albums- while Kouhei Tanaka, great composer of hundreds of sentai show themes
and music, has also shown a true mastery of every style from traditional to
swing to classical. I frankly haven't found a bad song on either album and love
them all- guess it's because I'm older than most of you guys <g>. But you'll
note too that each character is generally oriented around a particular "style"
too.
ST1 had hardly any synthesizer except in Tokyo Teki Kyuujitsu. The orchestral
forces were small, and the mix of traditional and "western" instruments showed
the mastery of Mr. Tanaka. The ST2 soundtrack is of a different, more
melancholy mood entirely, and because they had so much money behind it this
time, they could recruit larger orchestral forces and do a richer, fuller
album.
The "Ai Yueni Kayou Song Show" is terrific to watch because you get to see the
orchestra and the seiyuu and how they interact vocally. Actually, in the live
show, Mayumi Tanaka steals the show as Kanna- she's terrific. And of course you
get truly strong performances from the others- Kumiko Nishihara is terrific as
Iris, as always... though part of the humor I found is that she's taller than
many of the other girls, and Mayumi Tanaka (Kanna) is the shortest of them all!
Michie Tomizawa is always great no matter what she does- she's the embodiment
of Sumire <g>. Chisa Yokoyama does an excellent job too, and Ai Orikasa just is
wonderful to both watch AND hear- her dancing AND singing of "Yuru no Samba" is
exciting and masterful. Great show to watch, good performances from everyone.
Well, except maybe for Akio Suyama- he's stiff and seems a bit uncomfortable on
stage, and while he LOOKS great as Oogami, he didn't carry it off well. He
doesn't even sing in the show, though he does on the drama albums (Kouhei
Tanaka sings the male lead in "Kono yo wa tanoshii"- and again is superb!).
--Richard E. Rae