Search - Yoko Kanno :: Wolf's Rain 1

A wonderful companion to the series

Clarissa | Ontario, California | 07/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Wolf's Rain" has quickly took a hold of my heart as being one of the best Anime series around (or at least in a very long time) and I of course took notice of the beautiful music that accompanied the episodes and knew I had to have the soundtrack. But while the compositions composer Yoko Kanno incorporates in the shows she's asked to work on go hand in hand together, flowing seamlessly with whatever is happening and capturing the mood like few others can, on their own they never seem to work as well...at least for me. In other words the styles she mostly plays with usually aren't my cup of tea, so to speak. As a whole it's definitely not bad, though, so don't get me wrong. I particularly enjoy the contemporary rock jam "Stray" with singer Steve Conte (he also contributed his vocals to "Call Me Call Me" - a personal favorite from Cowboy Bebop) as well as "Strangers" with Raj Ramayya (a gorgeous song that pretty much embodies their magical search for paradise) and "Gravity" with vocalist Maaya Sakamoto which is used for the closing credits. The rest of the tracks are mostly classically influenced with Brazilian touches here and there to liven things up a bit."

Yoko Kanno fan reviews Wolf's Rain

E. Ramos | Vancouver, BC, Canada | 09/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I particularly liked the second OST for Wolf's Rain due to Cloud 9 (track 22) and Escape (track 9), but that doesn't mean this one is any less worth getting... This soundtrack is as fantastic as the second OST in my opinion...



1. Stray - The opening song for Wolf's Rain sung by the great Steve Conte... IMO, the chorus is the key and best part of the song... I love singing along to this...



2. rakuen - The recurring piece for Wolf's Rain (as is Ark for Brain Powerd and Adieu for Cowboy Bebop)... It's the very first music that plays in the series... I think it's a great track...



3. CORAÇÃO SELV AGEM - A singer named Joyce provided the voice for this Portuguese-lyric'd song... It's a great tune that has a very airy feel to it...



4. renga - Another great piece... It's hard not to move and dance along with the guitar strums especially...



5. pilgrim snow - This piece does leave you with a snowy feel to it... Not a track I listen to very often...



6. leaving on Red hill - A poignant piece that somewhat reminds me of Nausicaa (the Hayao Miyazaki film) at times...



7. shiro - This is a very nice theme... This piece mainly relies on strings... Another version of this theme can be found in the second Wolf's Rain OST (track 7, titled: Shiro, Long Tail's)...



8. dogs and angels - I love the scatting Joyce makes at the beginning of this song... The second half of the song is not half-bad either... In all, I like this track...



9. strangers - great vocals by Raj Ramayya (the guy who sang Ask DNA for Cowboy Bebop The Movie)... I particuarly like the end part of the song...



10. sleeping wolves - If this piece doesn't remind you of a Native American plain setting at night, then I dunno what else to say...



11. tip toe waltz - This has a childish mannerism to the tune... I guess that's what they're aiming for... (A playful theme that's also somewhat a certain RPG tactics feel to it...)



12. my little flower - I don't listen to piece that often... But I can say that this is a very mild and quiant track that builds up to a lively 'chorus'...



13. could you bite the hand? - Now this one I like... The song begins kinda loosely and plain... But then the chorus comes and grabs your attention... Plus, it's sung by Steve Conte!...



14. valse de la lune - Doesn't start out that exciting... But the catch is the chorus ESPECIALLY the part where Ilaria sings "meme" and "cherche"; makes me like this song more and more...



15. hot dog wolf - Great piece... The guitar/violin (or cello) combo really blends nicely...



16. silver river - Another great piece... Listen to the nice meshing of different guitars; Yoko Kanno composed this piece very well...



17. sold your soul - One of those tracks I rarely listen to...



18. visions of a flame - WEIRD chantings for this track...



19. run, wolf warrior, run (lyrics) - Okay... This totally reminds me of a Bible camp or religious commercial... What's weird though: Some days, I like listening to this song; other days, I skip this track... But one thing I know, I like the "run along, run along, run along" part of the song...



20. gravity (lyrics) - IMO, the best track in this OST (but I like Cloud 9 better (OST 2, track 22))... The lonesome lyrics, fantastic tune, and Maaya Sakamoto's voice are a nice combination... I love how they used the image of the running wolf for this song in the closing credits of the show... Adds to the melancholy effect... In short, I LOVE this song... It's weird though how the song cuts off in tune at the end... It's on purpose and does sound cool, but it's still weird...



21. paradiso - a sax version of rakuen (track 2 above)... I like this version as well as rakuen..."

THe Perfect Partner to an Excellent Anime

Antonio D. Paolucci | Beaver Falls, PA | 02/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wolf's Rain was a series of intense imagery, dramatic characterizations, and stark action sequences that lead to one inevitable goal: one of the best anime ever. Supplying a lot of the emotions in each of these moments is an excellent soundtrack, done by the well-known Yoko Kanno, who worked on Cowboy Bebop, Visions of Escaflowne, and GitS: Stand Alone Complex's soundtracks. It's quite clear that without the background music provided, this series would not have been the same.



This CD provides most of the sounds and songs heard in the anime. What's odd about this soundtrack is that a majority of the songs are of the same genre, that being folk jazz (what's that? well, it's folk music with the tones and beats of jazz). This in no way takes from the soundtrack, and in truth it was kind of refreshing to find a soundtrack for an anime where all of the tracks were on the same page. Of the twenty-one tracks, eight of them are vocalized, and these tracks were translated for an American audience. Some may find this disconcerting, as the beauty of anime music usually comes in the Japanese vocals. But I don't think it was that bad in this case, since the new voices were excellent.



Though all of the tracks are great (and I do mean great), some of the tracks had a touch of excellence in them:



Track 01: Stray: Worth a listen simply because it was omitted from the TV version.



Track 02: Requiem: An emotional instrumental sound played with a piano.



Track 09: Strangers: A trumpet sound begins this song, and then a beat slowly works in followed by some excellent vocals.



Track 11: Tip Toe Waltz: It sounds just like the title. It's the odd-ball track of this album, and is fun to listen to.



Track 13: Could You Bite the Hand?: A guitar sound with some quick vocals sung by the same man who did the opening.



Track 19: Run, Wolf Warrior, Run: It sounds like something produced in the late 70s. It's a beautifully sung song.



Track 20: Gravity: The final vocalized track is another emotional song sung to a piano background.



Once again, I definitely think all the songs on this CD are worth a listen, and I wouldn't recommend skipping any in order to get to the ones above. Like Cowboy Bebop's soundtrack, without this soundtrack, Wolf's Rain wouldn't have been the same. If you have Wolf's Rain and loved the music, get this, or if you saw Wolf's Rain on TV and enjoyed it, then get the Limited Complete Collection, which comes packed with this CD and all the episodes."