Spirited Away
Joe Hisaishi
" Hisaishi conquers the World "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Let's open this review fair and square. If you need to have one score of composer Joe Hisaishi, it is Spirited Away. The score is one of those listens that improves each time you hear it, and usually those are the best ones of all. There is of course a darker tone in Spirited Away, but that mustn't keep you away of what is essentially Joe Hisaishi in a nutshell. Full of wit and charm, it is a joyous inspection to discover what's so good about the man in question.
The score itself has many themes, but just a few are important. The most reoccurring and recognisable one is the piano theme which improves on each take. "One Summer's Day" is presenting it for the first time, alongside some darker material. And the album does this a lot, changing from dark to light and from small to big.
"Nighttime Coming" covers some faster material with even some brass laden action material. Further along we have "It's Hard Work" which covers a fun playful waltz, bringing diversity to the total orchestral cacophony unleashed in "Kaonashi (Faceless)".
There are of course some outstanding highlights as well. For instance "Procession of the Gods". It mixes everything that is good about music into one creation, with a dash of orchestral music here and solo instruments there, moving from vocals to peculiar instrumentation to a magical inevitable finale. The same for "The Stink God", opening weirdly enough with stomping percussion but leading to a fanfare laden variation of the piano theme.
"Reprise ..." also brings an outstanding hopeful finale (reminding me even of Pleasantville) but it isn't over at all. There is still a lot to come. The intriguing qualities of "The Dragon Boy" (with those typical Eastern strings), "Sootballs" throwing in a playful piano sound and "Yubaba' and 'Yubaba's Panic" (giving the score some weight through additional choir) are moments to continue to surprise you. "The Return" is the terrific finale delivering you energy in abundance.
Hisaishi's score has several things which you must consider. For rookies this is a different tone, covering different sounding themes performed through different instrumentation. But the winning combination of well constructed themes with a mesmerizing mix of orchestral diversity makes Spirited Away just so rewarding. Yes it is dark in a way, but it never loses the focus to unleash an emotional cracker here or a thunderous moment there. Consider this in Spirited Away and you'll encounter music that intrigues, surprises and whispers you away, in the good film music sense of the word.
Tracklisting
1. One Summer's Day (3.08)
2. A Road to Somewhere (2.05)
3. The Empty Restaurant (3.13)
4. Nighttime Coming (1.58)
5. The Dragon Boy (2.11)
6. Sootballs (2.31)
7. Procession of the Gods (2.59) Excellent track
8. Yubaba (3.28)
9. Bathhouse Morning (2.02)
10. Day of the River (3.12)
11. It's Hard Work (2.25)
12. The Stink God (4.01) Excellent track
13. Sen's Courage (2.44)
14. The Bottomless Pit (1.17)
15. Kaonashi (Faceless) (3.44)
16. The Sixth Station (3.36)
17. Yubaba's Panic (1.37)
18. The House at Swamp Bottom (1.27)
19. Reprise ... (4.50) Excellent track
20. The Return (3.15) Excellent track
21. Always With Me: Youmi Kimura (3.35)
Total Length: 60.02
The score itself has many themes, but just a few are important. The most reoccurring and recognisable one is the piano theme which improves on each take. "One Summer's Day" is presenting it for the first time, alongside some darker material. And the album does this a lot, changing from dark to light and from small to big.
"Nighttime Coming" covers some faster material with even some brass laden action material. Further along we have "It's Hard Work" which covers a fun playful waltz, bringing diversity to the total orchestral cacophony unleashed in "Kaonashi (Faceless)".
There are of course some outstanding highlights as well. For instance "Procession of the Gods". It mixes everything that is good about music into one creation, with a dash of orchestral music here and solo instruments there, moving from vocals to peculiar instrumentation to a magical inevitable finale. The same for "The Stink God", opening weirdly enough with stomping percussion but leading to a fanfare laden variation of the piano theme.
"Reprise ..." also brings an outstanding hopeful finale (reminding me even of Pleasantville) but it isn't over at all. There is still a lot to come. The intriguing qualities of "The Dragon Boy" (with those typical Eastern strings), "Sootballs" throwing in a playful piano sound and "Yubaba' and 'Yubaba's Panic" (giving the score some weight through additional choir) are moments to continue to surprise you. "The Return" is the terrific finale delivering you energy in abundance.
Hisaishi's score has several things which you must consider. For rookies this is a different tone, covering different sounding themes performed through different instrumentation. But the winning combination of well constructed themes with a mesmerizing mix of orchestral diversity makes Spirited Away just so rewarding. Yes it is dark in a way, but it never loses the focus to unleash an emotional cracker here or a thunderous moment there. Consider this in Spirited Away and you'll encounter music that intrigues, surprises and whispers you away, in the good film music sense of the word.
Tracklisting
1. One Summer's Day (3.08)
2. A Road to Somewhere (2.05)
3. The Empty Restaurant (3.13)
4. Nighttime Coming (1.58)
5. The Dragon Boy (2.11)
6. Sootballs (2.31)
7. Procession of the Gods (2.59) Excellent track
8. Yubaba (3.28)
9. Bathhouse Morning (2.02)
10. Day of the River (3.12)
11. It's Hard Work (2.25)
12. The Stink God (4.01) Excellent track
13. Sen's Courage (2.44)
14. The Bottomless Pit (1.17)
15. Kaonashi (Faceless) (3.44)
16. The Sixth Station (3.36)
17. Yubaba's Panic (1.37)
18. The House at Swamp Bottom (1.27)
19. Reprise ... (4.50) Excellent track
20. The Return (3.15) Excellent track
21. Always With Me: Youmi Kimura (3.35)
Total Length: 60.02