Thanks goes out to Jessica Stan for sending this in for review.
This three disc set features over three hours of music dedicated to Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021), or Shin Evangelion as noted on this release. While the title of this set might give one the impression it focuses on just the music from Shiro Sagisu, in reality it's fairly encompassing of the music for the film including songs by other artists. That said, while Sagisu might not headline a particular track, he's often involved in some way, like writing the string orchestration on the new "Voyager" song. As for the music contained here, there are a number of moments that really work, but by ratio it's slightly sparse for the sheer volume of music.
In terms of highlights, interestingly the stand out theme actually wasn't written for this movie. It's "Clash! Goten vs. Daimakan" from The War in Space (1977). To be clear, this is a new orchestration of that theme created for this film, which is great since the original is in mono. Here the team creates something that sounds faithful, although really benefits from being in stereo while they also tag on a new ending. Two versions of this theme exist, with one being more faithful and the other a bit more stylized. Both are excellent. Speaking of, another great track from this set is also one that isn't original. It's the "Voyager" song, which was originally done by Yumi Matsutoya for Bye-Bye Jupiter (1984). The version here is done by Chokkaku. The new rendition is about a minute longer and is different in a couple of ways. More subtly, the original gives a better vocal performance with this one feeling a bit too sweet. That said, the dated echo moment from the original song is better performed here, although it layers in more instruments with guitar work at the end that almost sounds country. Two versions exist, with the "Suppa Duppa" version being better as it removes the more over the top guitar work.
Moving on from the surprising themes from Toho's past, there is some nice orchestration work on this set. The "Main Theme", found in four different flavors here, is pretty stellar and does a nice job of capturing a more epic quality to it. "Man is Neither Angel nor Beast" is also a great track here, sounding a bit classical and really soothing. Masamichi Amano's "Citation from Joy to the World" is also very pleasant, although as the title suggests it's literally a three minute segment on Joy to the World. Regardless, Amano crafts a really pleasant version. Speaking of the composer, Amano's awkwardly titled "Concert Theme 494" is yet another winner, with great piano work that leads into a sweeping full orchestra.
While quite a few tracks can be praised, there are other themes that fall a little short, often due to portions that just don't work. "Paris" is a great example of that. It's actually a really great track with some excellent guitar work. In fact it would be one of the best if it wasn't for a ultra screechy synthesized moment half way through that is painful to listen to and some cheesy chorus work toward the end. Speaking of, that mismatched chorus work rears its head a couple of times. The nonsensically named "If a Cause is Worth Dying for Then be" is another example, which is a great track that features some less than stellar chorus work. "Psycho" and "Killer" are similar, with over the top chorus work that doesn't work well as a stand alone experience. "Yearning for Love" is bad for a different reason, and the only English song from the set. Frankly, the English vocals just don't connect.
It's also worth talking about "EM20", the cue number that the composer prefers when referring to the most popular theme from Evangelion: "Decisive Battle". As expected, as the composer is almost infamous for how often he evokes it, Sagisu makes use of the theme several times. The best of these are "Euro NERV", a Spanish sounding version that's so over the top it's hard not to love it. Other versions here, like the two EM10As, don't make nearly the impression, though.
Overall, this three disc set has a lot going for it. There are a number of tracks that are really solid, but also quite a few that are lackluster. In summary, a number of these tracks would make their way onto a "best of Evangelion" collection, but taken as a whole it's hard not to notice the ups and the downs.
As a side note, most of the track titles listed on this release are in English, French or Italian. Very few are in Japanese, with exceptions being related to past movies like The War in Space (1977). This said, the track titles are often all lower case. For transparency, the ones listed below have been converted to title case. Tracks in French and Italian were also translated. Track 16 and 17 from the first disc also only list their cue numbers rather than actual track titles. If one wants to add in track titles, a possible point of reference is the Shin Godzilla vs. Evangelion Symphony (KICA-92522) that had these as part of a larger medley called "Sin of Genesis", so they could be just "Sin of Genesis" one and two. |
