Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Yoko Kanno has long been one of my favourite Japanese composers since I heard the operatic splendour of 'Macross Plus'.

With GITS: Stand Alone Complex Kanno successfully fuses this same feel with the blues/rock influences previously evident from her work on 'Cowboy Bebop'.

The order in which the tracks are presented do not allow for easy listening but you could always program your CD player to
play any combination you choose.

Tracks such as 'Beauty Is Within Us' are so impossibly hard to listen to (I like to call it Kanno a-la Coldplay or Muse, depressing stuff!!). Whereas, 'Run Rabbit Junk' & 'GET9' are exciting, awe inspiring even after repeated listening. This is a soundtrack with something for all tastes. This should appeal to the more adventurous listeners among you.

I of course come to this particular conclusion because of my strangely mixed musical tastes. I'll listen to Jools Holland (check out his album with Tom...Read more

I have followed Yoko Kanno's music since she created the Macross Plus Soundtrack, which was the defining element of that 4-part anime series. Although Kanno produced a lot of orchestral and instrumental music for the Macross Plus series, it was her rock music with techno and dance influences that stood out. Since then, Kanno has experimented with other musical styles, including jazz , in such musical releases as the Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack and Song to Fly.

In this soundtrack, however, Kanno returns to the rock/techno fusion that played a strong role in the Macross Plus Soundtrack. Her musical style, however, has matured over the years; this music seems much more powerful, more creative, and more artistic than previous soundtracks. The music ranges from Run Rabbit Junk, Yakitori, and Lithium Flower, with strong 1980's rock elements; to Surf and Inner Universe, with strong techno elements and fast tempos; to Monochrome, with slower tempos and quiet, haunting sounds...Read more

Yoko Kanno is an amazingly versatile composer, and although she sometimes borrows rather obviously from previously existing material, she seldom duplicates herself. Hence, this disc is not like the blues-jazz-themed Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, the latin-tinged "Wolf's Rain" score, or her more classical album "Songs to Fly." I suppose it most resembles the Sharon Apple pop numbers from "Macross Plus," but even that's a bit of a leap. This album is much more built on heavy metal guitars, dominating synthesizers and much more overstated, grandiose arrangements, the sort that sometimes fall on their face but in this case work to splendidly dramatic effect. The content is engaging, diverse, and often in-your-face. Unfortunately, one trait that is held over from "Wolf's Rain" is that some of the English vocal tracks feature some embarrassingly overdramatic lyrics ("Beauty is Within Us" is the most egregiously unlistenable example) and leave me pining for the quiet beauty of "Is It Real?" from...Read more