First off,
huge thanks goes out, once again, to Robert Storch for
sending this disc for review!
This CD, from Culture Publishers under their Volcano
label, features the score to the 1978 movie Queen
Bee. Like others in the Kosuke Kindaichi series,
this soundtrack has a distinctly 1970's type of flavor
to it. A very contemporary product that, on those
basis, has the chance to either turn on or turn off
the listener based on their preferences. Being a glutton
myself for music from this decade, I found Shinichi
Tanabe's score to be an enjoyable endeavor. It doesn't
quite capture the spirit of Tanabe's previous score
on the series, Hell's
Gate Island (1977), but is a very worthy entry
none the same.
The first thing the listener is likely to notice off
this disc is how retro a few of these cues are. Electric
instruments abound in some of these themes, the best
example of these is the deliciously dated "Kosuke
Kindaichi's Day", which perfectly exemplifies
the more unique styling approach that emerged in soundtracks
during this decade. "Tomoko's Theme: Queen Bee
of Love" is also another track distinctly from
this period of scoring, although this track effectively
weaves in more traditional orchestration that results
in a very enjoyable experience and probably makes
for the movie's most memorable theme. "Love and
Hate" is another nice cue off this disc, mixing
in a traditional orchestra with a more 1970's approach
that makes the soothing theme fairly upbeat and almost
energetic at times. The more rustic and folklore like
quality Tanabe is known for is also in full force
here, present in acoustic guitar heavy themes like
"Hideko's Theme: Closed Thought".
Overall, it's an enjoyable experience for those who
like music from this period. It's probably one of
the more diverse efforts to Tanabe's resume, as he
really shows his range here. Sadly, like others in
this line, this disc is fairly short at a runtime
of only 44 minutes.
As a side note, this disc is a reissue of an older
CD released in 1993 (SLCS-5014). Placed under Culture
Publishers' "Ko-suke Kindaichi series" branding,
this release is sadly the same as its 1993 counterpart,
without any additional content added. This is particularly
sad as there is some content left off this release,
such as a vocal version of the "Queen Bee of
Love" sung by Mikio Tsukada that was part of
another CD release, Kosuke Kindaichi's Adventures:
Special Edition (KICA-3034).
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