Review: Macross Frontier Ranka Lee Debut Single

Okay, I know…ANOTHER soundtrack album review for Macross Frontier? Yup. Deal with it.

Track 1 - Seikan Hikou: Classic J-Pop. Perky, upbeat, catchy and fun. As with a lot of J-Pop, it sounds like it belongs on a late ’80s or early ’90s pop-rock album…which is just fine. Megumi Nakajima (the voice actress who plays Ranka and sings her songs) has a wonderful voice…one of those voices you’d be happy to listen to even if she was reading the phone book.

Track 2 - Neko Nikki: The song’s name literally means “Cat Diary,” and this is absolutely one of the best pieces of music that Yoko Kanno has ever written. Megumi Nakajima’s voice is perfect for the song, the music is wonderful and sweet, resulting in a song which is cute and fun without being as irritating as many similar J-Pop songs. This song alone sells the album.

Track 3 - Ai Oboete Imasuka (Love, Do You Remember): The title song from the 1984 Macross theatrical movie, as performed by Megumi Nakajima. Now…this is one of my favorite songs from the original Macross, and one of the few Mari Iijima performances which didn’t set my teeth on edge when she was voicing Minmay. However, Yoko Kanno’s arrangement of the music coupled with Megumi Nakajima’s vocal talent takes a good song and makes it great. This performance of the song has a slightly sad undertone to it which the original was lacking (and which, considering the song’s content, is entirely appropriate), while retaining the vibrant, hopeful feel of the song.

Track 4 - Watashi no Kare wa Pilot (My Boyfriend’s a Pilot): Look…I was never a big fan of Lynn Minmay, and Mari Iijima’s performances as her almost always caused me a certain amount of discomfort. This song in particular made my ears want to start bleeding…but once again, Megumi Nakajima and Yoko Kanno have worked their magic on it, and produced a rendition which is just as silly as the original - the content remains unchanged, of course - but is actually fun to listen to. It doesn’t hurt that in the show it’s performed at a talent competition and intercut with a training battle which just happens to perfectly reproduce each line from the song. Check it out:

Clever editing always makes me happy.
Tracks 5 & 6 are karaoke versions of tracks 1 & 3. Not much to say there.
Final notes: I hope it’s not too obvious that I love Yoko Kanno as a composer and song-writer.

Review: Macross Frontier Original Soundtrack 1

I’ve seen quite a few reviews of this soundtrack…and since, in my opinion, they’re being needlessly harsh towards it, I thought I’d put my own two cents in.

Track 1 - Frontier 2059: A basically non-desrcript Yoko Kanno piece. However, as with a few other tracks on the album, it works extremely well in the context of the show…as background music. There’s nothing particularly outstanding or awful about it…it’s just pleasant music.

Track 2-4: The “Sheryl On Stage” tracks, which reproduce part of the content of a live-concert album from one of the show’s two singers. Sadly, the quality of Sheryl’s music is decidedly uneven. Track 2, “Welcome to My FanClub’s Night!” is a catchy idol-pop piece which, while memorable, isn’t really outstanding. I’d call it interesting rather than good. Track 3, “What ’bout my star?”, will actually make your ears bleed if you listen to it for too long…which is a bit of a shocker later on (see track 8). Track 4, “Don’t Be Late” is the best of the bunch, and is actually quite a fun song…but it doesn’t stick in your head very well, which is okay too. Taken together, the concept of a snippet of concert on the album is a neat one and very appropriate for the Macross universe (in which music always plays an important role).

Track 5 - Vital Force: The first of several really great pieces from composer Yoko Kanno. It’s rare to find a composer who knows how to effectively use brass, bass, strings and synth all at once…Ms. Kanno is one of the few. Vital Force is a rousing piece which wouldn’t sound out of place at a John Williams concert.

Track 6 - Triangler: The show’s opening theme song. If you can get past the first ear-piercing notes, you’ll find a catchy song. It’s not great, but it’s solid, and it reminds me rather strongly of the Lynn Minmay songs from the original Macross series…but in a good way. Most importantly, it’s brilliantly choreographed with the opening credits.

Track 7 - Zero Hour: More solid background music from Yoko Kanno. Not one of her best works…but as with track 1, it works well in the context of the show. It reminds me of some of the music from Top Gun, which also works well for Macross (being that fighter pilots make up a large portion of the show’s main characters).

Track 8 - What ’bout my star @ Formo - Yes, this actually IS the same song as track 3, only performed by a different singer…with passion, a better lyrical arrangement, and better musical accompaniment. If the show’s writers are trying to make us think that young Ranka is a better singer than the professional Sheryl, this song hammers the point home with emphasis. One of the album’s two best songs and a great example of how modern J-Pop (that’s Japanese Pop music for those who don’t know) is often better than current American musical trends…

Track 9 - Innocent Green: A solid and pleasant piano piece from Yoko Kanno. Utterly forgettable. In fact, I don’t remember hearing it in the show. But it’s quite pleasant.

Track 10 - Aimo: As with “Wanna Be an Angel” from the Macross Plus soundtracks, Yoko Kanno has once again presented us with a beautiful ‘alien language’ piece mixed with Japanese. In Macross Plus, she was working with Zentradi (the language of the main alien race in the series). Here, we don’t yet know what language it is…but it’s pretty and very lyrical. The singer who performs Ranka’s voice handles it with real passion. But it’s a short, short piece (about 1:30). There’s a longer version later, fortunately.

Track 11 & 12: I refer to these in my head as the album’s “What the hell are those doing here?” tracks. Track 11, “Big Boys”, sounds like it was pried kicking and screaming out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Track 12, “Private Army”, sounds like they ripped it whole from one of the Zorro movies. And yet, when they play in the show, they work. I don’t quite know how, since they’re utterly out of place…but they do.

Track 13 - SMS Shoutai no Uta: This is the track that everybody seems to hate. It’s silly, rowdy, and performed by the cast that makes up the pilots and crew of the Macross Quarter, which belongs to SMS (a private, civilian army that works with the Frontier military). Now…a lot of people blast this for the reasons I mentioned above…it’s silly, it’s rowdy, and it’s entirely out of tune. However…when I hear it, I find myself envisioning the pilots and crew of the Quarter sitting in a lounge somewhere, belting this song out after having had a few too many drinks. So I’m inordinately fond of it.

Track 14 - Ninji-n Loves You Yeah!: This song could have been genuinely horrible…but once again, Ranka’s voice actress brings a sincerity and passion to a song which, in this case, is really quite silly. It comes from a scene where she’s singing to the song as a living ad for…carrots. No, I’m not kidding. It’s a dumb song, and it’s embarrassing to watch her sing it in the episode…and yet, like I said, she makes it something less than awful to listen to.

Track 15 - ‘Chou Jikuu Hanten Nyan Nyan’: Another song performed by Ranka…in this case, an ad for the resturant where she works (Nyan Nyan)…which should be capable of making ears bleed. And yet, once again, the singer makes it quite fun to listen to.

Track 16 - Alto’s Theme: A rather somber piece which does what it sets out to do…it describes in great detail the emotional state of one of the main characters. Yoko Kanno produces superb emotional music when she puts her mind to it. That said, some of the instruments she chose for this one are just plain unpleasant to listen to…which also works in the context of the piece.

Track 17 - TALLY HO!: My favorite of Yoko Kanno’s orchestral pieces on the album. This is, in no uncertain terms, battle music. It’s big, brassy, full of bass and well used strings. Ms. Kanno is really at her best when working with a full orchestra, and TALLY HO! proves it.

Track 18 - The Target: Plays as part 2 of TALLY HO!, but isn’t quite as tight and feels a little chaotic. However, as with many of her pieces here, Ms. Kanno has crafted music which works perfectly in the context of the scenes it’s used for.

Track 19 - Vajra: The villain’s piece. Dark, ominous, unsettling, and perfectly suited for its subject matter. Ms. Kanno strikes again!

Track 20 - Kira Kira: A cheerful piano piece which, like Innocent Green, is so forgettable that I don’t remember hearing it in the show anywhere. But it’s nice.

Track 21 - Aimo ~ Tori no Hito: A longer, orchestral-accompanied version of Track 10, sung by the same voice actress. My comments for track 10 stand, only this version is 3:36, so you really get a feel for the song this time.

Track 22 - Take Off: If I remember correctly, this piece was used for the inaugural launch of the Macross Quarter starship and its run up to a hyperspace fold jump. And listening to the piece…yeah, that’s what it is. It’s 1:49, during which time you can HEAR the ship come out of its dock, accelerate, and make the fold jump. Ms. Kanno crafted a piece of music which is so perfect for its context that you don’t need to see the scene to know what’s happening. Bravo!

Track 23 - Infinity: Another Sheryl song. Catchy, upbeat, basically fun…but nothing really special. As with some of the earlier tracks, it works perfectly in the context of the show because scenes are choreographed around it. In particular, the Quarter’s first space battle worked very, very well with this song.

Track 24 - Diamond Crevasse: The show’s closing credits theme. This is, by far, the best song on the album. And I don’t say that lightly, because I really love track 8. Another fabulous example of how J-Pop can clobber modern American music. Just a great piece of music…slow and sad to start with really fantastic faster chorus sections. If this song doesn’t make your toes tap, check to make sure you can still feel your feet.

Final notes: Yoko Kanno also wrote all of the songs on this album. She is by far one of the most versatile composers I’ve heard in years. I truly hope that some American film-maker comes to be aware of her and hires her. She’d make a formidable follow-up to John Williams.

Macross Frontier is probably the best anime series I’ve seen since Full Metal Alchemist came to an end. I’ll be reviewing both (and more) later, time permitting.