First,
thanks goes to Jessica Stan for sending this in for
review!
While Cecile Corbel submitting a CD to Studio Ghibli and getting selected to do music for one of their films is nothing abnormal, the company did the same thing for the song "Always With Me" by Yumi Kimura for Spirited Away (2001), what is different is that the Studio Ghibli opted to have Corbel create the entire score, granting a rather lofty position for an artist with no past soundtrack experience. The result, while not matching the heights of composers like Joe Hisaishi, is whimsical, sometimes soothing and frankly just an enjoyable soundtrack with a slightly different flavor than what one is accustomed to with anime.
The disc is split between vocal and instrumental tracks, with strong examples in both categories. In terms of vocal work, the best track off the disc is "Arrietty's Song", which in this case is the Japanese version of the song. As mentioned in the review of the single, Arrietty's Song (YCCW-30024), the Japanese version is quite as enjoyable as the English or French versions, but is none the less soothing. On the opposite end is the very upbeat song "Our House Below (Movie Version)", which has a slight folk beat and is quite unique for mixing a slight hint of orchestration with the Celtic styling of Corbel.
In terms of instrumental tracks, the disc has a number to choose from.
A highlight is the energetic "Sho's Song (Instrumental Version)", which walks the fine line of violin work with harps and yet the result is slightly action oriented and a real treat. "The Doll House (Instrumental Version)" is also interesting, giving off a regal sense with its heavy harp work. Sadly, there are a few instrumental tracks which fall short. "Precious Memories" is an example of this, being just a little too slow paced to even meet the qualification for being a soothing track, sadly.
As a side note, the disc has fairly odd track titles. The reason for this is that the many instrumental versions found here, like
"Spiller (Instrumental Version)", have their vocal cousins located exclusively on the Image Album (YCCW-10109), or Songbook as it's also called. This makes the naming look a little strange, since almost half the disc is noted as an instrumental version without the accompanying vocal one found on this release.
Overall, this is an enjoyable score that is far from the best Studio Ghibli has been associated with, but is a little different and provides a nice spice of variety in contrast to past soundtracks for their releases.
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