Ghost in the Shell Stand-Alone Complex OST+
One thing that the SAC always represented for me was the fusion of the natural and mechanical, old and new, recognisable and strange. Appropriately enough, that theme is carried over in the music that accompanies the show - traditional instrumentation sits alongside samples and other electronic sounds, showing perhaps her broadest range of styles to date. The opening tune, Run Rabbit Junk, blasts out of the speakers with an industrial drumbeat and distorted guitars, Yakitori following hot on its heels as an instrumental guitar jam. Taken on their own, this could be a rock album - a far cry from the orchestral pieces of Macross Plus. Stamina Rose however falls more into the realms of dance or trance with its hypnotic beat and ethereal chanting.
In the near-future the US government is facing a drugs epidemic. One of its undercover operatives, codenamed ‘Fred’ but working amongst the junkies and dropouts as Bob Arctor, finds himself drawn too closely into the world of the addicts as he tries to locate the source of the notorious narcotic Substance D. Arctor’s work causes him to become as addicted as the very people he is investigating as he attempts to unravel the shocking truth behind the nation’s drugs problem.
Live albums are all too often characterised by poor sound quality, unpolished performances and alternate versions of songs that fans already own on CD or tape. Fortunately S&M is an above-average example of its type in that it is more than merely Metallica performing live: it is Metallica performing live whilst backed by the full San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, which was conducted by the late and great Michael Kamen.
A chance meeting on the streets of London propels Richard Mayhew, an ordinary young businessman, into a timeless and fantastical parallel world beneath the streets of the nation’s capital. The bemused and reluctant hero has to face conspiracies, betrayals, mythical monsters and unseen dangers if he is ever going to find his way to the surface and the world he is familiar with.