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Review: Wolf's Rain Original Soundtrack 2

Background

This is the second soundtrack album of the anime series Wolf's Rain, made by animation house Bones (Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne) & Keiko Nobumoto (story & screenplay).

The range of songs are almost as diverse as the first soundtrack in terms of genre, or to be more exact; genre doesn't seem to matter at all. Yoko Kanno once again amazes me with incredibly beautiful music.

Songlist

1. Heaven's Not Enough (sung by Steve Conte)
2. Shiro, Long Tail's
3. Cycle (cung by Gabriela Robin)
4. Beyond Me
5. Mouth On Fire
6. Hounds
7. Rain Of Blossoms
8. Separated
9. Escape
10. Face On
11. Tsume's Sand
12. Flying To You (sung by Ilaria Graziano)
13. Night Owl
14. Forest Of Death
15. Indiana
16. Amore Amaro (sung by Franco Sansalone)
17. Friends
18. Tell Me What The Rain Knows (sung by Maaya Sakamoto)
19. Float
20. Trace
21. Sad Moon
22. Cloud 9 (sung by Maaya Sakamoto)
23. To Paradise (hidden track)

As usual, all songs are composed & arranged by Yoko Kanno while lyrics are written by Tim Jensen(1), Gabriela Robin(3), Ilaria Graziano(12), Franco Sansalone(16), Chris Mosdell(18) & Yuuho Iwasato(22).

Once again, to make it easier to digest the review (for readers) as well as writing it (for myself), i shall endeavour to categorise the tracks according to genre/style.

Pop/Ballad/Vocals

- Tracks 1, 3, 12, 16, 18, 22
- The first track is a straight-up pop track though not cheesy as most anime J-pop tracks. There is a variation of it in the anime however, with female vocals. 3rd track is has soft vocal which sings in non-existent language (typical of Yoko Kanno/Gabriela Robin) with music that is may be categorised as pop though it's too weird & wonderful for such shallow categorisation. Track 12 is also another genre defying song which sung in french & has that classical feel to it. 16th track is sung (if i'm not mistaken) in italian by Franco Sansalone, whose low & husky voice lends that romantic feel to the song. A sad but wonderful love song. 18th track is a ballad; soft, floating, sweet, beautiful. Track 22 is a feel-good pop track that's wonderful to listen to.

Synth & Electric Guitar & Orchestral

- Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23
- Although there are tracks with synthesizer & electric guitar as accompaniment, they are still mainly orchestral with the majority classical/folkish.
- Track 2 is very moving with violins playing a sad melody in unison which towards the middle of the track turns more dramatic & urgent. Track 4 starts with acoustic guitar playing gently, setting the tone for the whole track which is beautiful. Track 5 is one of my personal favourite. The percussion in the intro is masterfully creative & lively which brought the track to ethnic style music (brazillian?). 6th track is laidback with guitar, light percussion & flute. the kind of song to listen to wind down after a hard day's work. One of the livelier & happier track is the 7th, with orchestra then quiets down to a beautiful end.

8th track is a slow, gentle & slightly melancholic song with guitar plucking in the foreground, backed by orchestra. Track 9 has an urgent feel with fast-paced light percussion & quick guitar pickings as well as orchestral backing. quite a delight. Track 10 starts with synth ambient sounds then electric guitar & drums. once the violins come in with the rest of the orchestra, you know you will be in for a musical treat. Quiet somewhere in the middle of the track just to come back with a beautiful melody, this track is a mix of melancholy & daring to hope. Track 11 starts with electric guitar setting a layer of background rhythm which later on percussion, synth makes it full fleshed. Though it seems like a filler track, it is still quite nice. The 13th track is a quiet, haunting, creepy song that seems to come from a horror film. The wonderful part comes at the later half, bringing dark & moody melody. 14th track is a full-blown 'here comes the enemy' number though it also feels like 'let us get out of here'. For the frantic moments, this is it. Track 15 is a quiet, fleeting song, the kind of song to listen on quiet misty mornings or late evenings, with flute playing solo & accompaniement comes only towards the end.

Track 17 has a piano playing sadly but beautifully. the orchestra comes in later with flute responding to the piano. a heart-melting song. 19th track is orchestral with flute floating above teasingly. another beautiful one. 20th track is dark & sad yet wonderful, played by the orchestra. 21st starts with crescendo to a majestic & wonderful melody then quiets down for wind instrument then violins for closure. 23rd, a hidden track, is almost the same as the second track in the first album, but longer & with ambient sounds. The crescendo towards the end is majestic, triumphant, which quiets down for closure. Beautiful end to the album.

Overall

Most tracks may not stand out as much as the first soundtrack but they are still very very wonderful & among one of the best soundtracks i have listened to. The emotions conveyed in the songs show that Yoko Kanno is just one of the best composers around. If you are a fan of good music, this album is worth its price & more. & you don't have to watch the anime nor learn of the story to appreciate this masterfully crafted album. ENJOY!!