[Categories: Music]
End of Evangelion OST
Just a break from the usual schedule…since I’ve been doing nothing but fansubs lately.
You might not think that the melodramatic, apocalyptic themes of EoE would make for pleasant listening when contained in a CD but the OST is surprisingly enjoyable and varied. It’s a mostly orchestral effort from Shiro Sagisu with a couple of vocal numbers and specially-recorded versions of two well-known Bach pieces. The album’s running order is more or less the same as that of the film itself: those who have seen EoE will be able to relate individual songs to scenes in the movie in chronological order. This does present one distinct problem, though. I can’t help but connect the songs to the film, with all the thoughts and feelings that went with it. As a result I found myself thinking “Hey, this is the scene where…” during several of the tracks.
I’ve always been a fan of dramatic, evocative orchestral music (bet you didn’t expect that from a rock fan, huh?) so I really like the soaring string melodies and so on. Sadly I can’t pin down what his individual influences are beyond classical and traditional film scores since interviews with Sagisu are hard to find; all I can say is that it’s in the style of traditional ‘film music’ - some are relaxing, some are dramatic and others build up slowly from simple piano or violin harmonies to full orchestral pieces, complete with crashing cymbals and pounding percussion.
Sagisu’s version of Bach’s Air II is unsurprisingly melancholy - compared with the other CD recording I have at home, his take is quite slow in tempo that wrings out the downbeat aspects of the tune without overdoing it. The Passage of Emptiness contrasts this by building up from a simple piano melody to a full orchestra during its duration: it gives a strong sense of energy and movement and is one of my favourites on the album.
Thanatos is the album’s first proper vocal track and features Loren and Mash - I don’t know much about them apart from the fact that they have collaborated with Sagisu elsewhere. Anyway, this is a smooth jazz style number that is quite different from the rest of the record but it’s great to relax to. Honeymoon With Anxiety is another of my favourite tracks here - as its name suggests it’s not nearly as easy listening but the way in which the piano delivers an off-kilter melody really winds up the tension. A violin/viola echoes this figure twoards the chaotic coda, this time with a very glissando-driven and almost-unmelodic way that gives a very oriental and uneasy atmosphere.
Komm Süsser Tod is the other vocal track on offer. Arienne’s plaintive, clear-as-a-bell vocal style and the lilting, beatles-esque melody (complete with Hey Jude-style handclaps in the long outro!) that’s derived from Pachelbel’s Canon in D is in stark contrast to the lyrics themelves - the use of irony is really quite brilliant. The ‘feel’ of the song is quite poppy and bright but the meaning is that of absolute and utter despair! After being dragged through the emotional wringer there’s a rendition of Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring; another popular Bach piece that this time is played as a piano solo. After what goes before and after it is a period of eloquent serenity, and the simple instrumentation brings out its beauty and simplicity.
Expansion of Blockade is another orchestral piece that goes from quiet and restful to dramatic and epic, with Opening of Dream giving a quiet moment of reflection and introspection before the album’s end - after the emotionally-charged nature of many of the songs on here, this is a much needed ‘cool down’ moment.
Summary
The fact that the song order is dictated by that of the film means that it doesn’t stand alone as strongly as other soundtrack albums do: it provides a similar emotional journey with the same ups and downs as End of Evangelion itself does. If you’ve already seen the film you will, like me, find it difficult to separate the sounds from the images, which is a shame since the material is very good in its own right. Because of this, the fact that it’s such a success as a movie soundtrack detracts from its identity as a self-contained record; nevertheless, Shiro Sagisu has a definite talent for conveying mood and atmospere with his music which makes it worth the purchase.
Track Listing:
- Interference of Others
- End of Midsummer
- Emergency Evacuation to Regression
- False Regeneration
- Substitute Invasion
- II Air
- The Passage of Emptiness
- THANATOS - IF I CAN’T BE YOURS
- Escape to the Beginning
- Honeymoon With Anxiety
- Komm, Süsser Tod
- Jesu, Bliebet Meine Freude
- Expansion of Blockade
- Opening of Dream
Posted on May 17th, 2007 @ 5:22 am
“Komm Süsser Tod” wasn’t always the song that was gonig to be included in the film, there was another song recorded named “Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed” that was considered. If you like the EoE OST, I definitely reccomend that you track down that song. It’s on the S2 works boxset, or on the “Refrain of Evangelion” compilation album which much easier to track down. It’s a fantastic song, but when you hear it you’ll understand why “Komm Süsser Tod” was chosen.
Posted on May 17th, 2007 @ 10:04 am
No doubt I have the same issue with relating the various tracks to the particular scenes in End of Evangelion they’re connected to, but I wouldn’t regard that as a problem, per se. Since I love Evangelion so much, the OSTs provide me with a way to minimally relive it and all the emotions that went with it. So in that aspect it’s an enhanced experience, for me, listening to this OST.
And on the topic of composers; others may list Yoko Kanno or Yuki Kajiura as their favorite anime music composers, but mine…mine is Shiro Sagisu. Traditional orchestral music all the way, and he does a damn good job at it. I just love the guy’s work. He’s also done different styles of music, such as the rock sound in Megazone 23 or the weird techno (or whatever it is) sound in Bleach. Those work fantastic for the shows they’re in, but they’re not favorites of mine when it comes to listening to the OSTs in a standalone fashion. But when it comes to Sagisu’s normal style, I can’t help but to love it to death. He just incredible moods that add so much to the series they’re a part of.
Posted on May 17th, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
@CD guy: I’ll keep an eye out for ‘All You’ve Ever Dreamed’ - I’ve always been a bit intimidated with shopping for NGE-related albums because the Gainax merchandising machine has produced such a mind-boggling number!
@KT Kore: I think the fact that it’s so hard to separate the experience of the film and the music proves how good Sagisu is at writing sountracks - this record is up there with the likes of John Williams and the like IMO. I really enjoyed Sagisu’s work on Casshern as well (the film isn’t too great but the music’s excellent) as well as the eternally brillint Kare Kano (although pretty much everything about that show is fantastic…).
Posted on May 17th, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
Have you seen Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water? It’s another excellent show directed by Anno (except for the island filler arc and the movie) with great music by Shiro Sagisu. I’d call it my second favorite soundtrack by him.
Posted on May 17th, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
@KT Kore: Sadly I haven’t seen Nadia yet (the lack of R2 release doesn’t help) but I’ve heard good things that echo with what you’ve said. From what I’ve heard it’s a partial remake of Miyazaki’s Laputa movie, which is one of my all time favourite pieces of anime. It’s definitely on my ‘to buy’ list…heh, I get paid at the end of the month anyways!
Posted on May 17th, 2007 @ 11:52 pm
Nadia is very, very loosely based off Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and many initial plans for Miyazaki’s Laputa were used in Nadia. The show is great and clicks on so many levels. You can also spot a few character “prototypes” in Nadia that went into Evangelion is well. Anno’s style is very prominent in the series, so it’s hard not to love. The series was initially scheduled for 26 episodes, but the show was popular so NHK wanted it to continue. This unfortunately led to a filler arc that was directed by Shinji Higuchi and in my mind, and most other people’s minds, it sucked balls. Luckily the last few episodes it has a great blowout of an ending in Anno style. Higuchi is listed as director for these episodes as well, but since endings are usually planned first, I’m certain these episodes were created with Anno’s plans in mind.
You might want to watch it just for completion’s sake, but I can’t recommend the Nadia movie at all. GAINAX had nothing to do with it, Anno had nothing to do with it…the movie was just an abomination. It came with the boxsets I bought so I don’t feel I wasted any money, but I sure did waste a lot of time. Great music by Shiro Sagisu in it, though. =P
Hopefully you can get the series soon so I can hear your thoughts on it.
Posted on May 18th, 2007 @ 12:15 am
I really enjoyed 20,000 leauges as well (I was a fan of sci-fi before being a fan of anime) so it sounds like a marriage made in heaven! I must admit that I have a lot of series that are unfinished but I think my love of Anno’s stuff will draw me into buying it. When that happens you’ll hear it here first. ^_^
Posted on July 29th, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
Cool review! I liked EoE’s soundtrack. The song, Komm Süsser Tod, was excellent! The lyrics are somewhat depressing, though!