Shaaman
- Reason

 

 

Note: 9/10, because you rarely find albums of that quality.

I got interested in this OST thanks to the Wolf's Rain anime, that I loved not only "for itself", but also for its excellent music, which really gave images another dimension. I knew Yoko Kanno only by name before that.

But who is Yoko Kanno will you ask? Quite simply one of the best composers in Japan, specialised into anime osts. The anime is about the quest of a few "teenagers", through post-apocalyptic deserted countrysides: you will find this sweet notalgia atmosphere throughout the album, somehow bitter-sweet. It is declined into "latino" songs (but real latino, for the rythms and the way to use accoustic guitars), Caracao Selvagem or Renga for example; pure poetry moments, like Pilgrim Snow, Leaving on red Hill and so on...; jazzy-like pieces, like Dogs and Angels; u.f.o. like Tip Toe Waltz or Visions of a Flame (probably based on Indians music); rocker stuff with Face On, Stray (opening song of the anime), Silver River, or bluesy with Hot dog Wolf; and so on and so forth...: you definitely can't say this album doesn't know about diversity.
"The worst" being that, in all of these different styles, the quality remains the same, and you always "feel" the atmosphere of the anime. Some songs are sung, but a minority (this is an o.s.t. after all!), and they're of the same quality than the rest. And they allowed me to know of Maaya Sakamoto, with Gravity (ending song of the anime, although the album version is really different to the anime version... which I prefer I believe, but well, the rest is so great that it's fine).

Recommanded to o.s.t. lovers, to those who liked the Wolf's Rain anime, to those who like having images of "long lost places", or quite simply to music lovers in general.

 

Track-list:

01- Stray (/Steve Conte)
02- Rakuen
03- Coracao
(/Joyce)
04- Renga
05- Pilgrim Snow
06- Leaving on red Hill
07- Shiro
08- Dogs and Angels
09- Strangers
(/Raj Ramayya)
10- Sleeping Wolves
11- Tip Toe Waltz
12-My little Flower
13- Could you bite the hand?
(/Steve Conte)
14- Valse de la Lune (/Ilaria Graziano)
15- Hot dog wolf
16- Silver River
17- Sold your Soul
18- Visions of a Flame
19- Run, wolf warrior run
(/Joyce)
20- Gravity
(/Maaya Sakamoto)
21- Paradiso


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