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Super Robot Taisen 15th Anniversary Song Collection :: Review by Chris
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Album Title: | Super Robot Taisen 15th Anniversary Song Collection |
| Record Label: | Bellwood Records | |
| Catalog No.: | BZCS-5008 | |
| Release Date: | August 11, 2006 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
In 2006, Bellwood Records commemorated the music of the Super Robot Taisen series with a diverse compilation. The vocal arrangements featured here span 15 years of the series' history and features both ancient source material and brand new image songs. Let's take a closer look...
Body
While largely a vocal album, there is a surprisingly an instrumental introduction. "Prologue" is a rare commemoration of the original Super Robot Taisen from the Game Boy, blending jazzy trumpet riffs, semi-rocking accompaniment, and all sorts of sound effects. The melody isn't especially strong, but it still has a distinctive flair that has featured in more recent themes for the series. Overall, it's a decent commemoration for an underlooked title.
Probably the biggest highlight of the entire album is the rocking vocal remix of the character theme for Masaki Andoh, "Scirocco! Gale! Cybuster". This is far better than the arrangement featured in the Super Robot Taisen Vocal Collection, due to a far more extravagant presentation of the melody and the use of much more creative rock arrangements. The brainchild of Ryo Yonemitsu, the electric guitar solos are especially excellent here and elegant blend with the various jazzy trumpet interjections. Ichiro Mizuki's vocals are everything most would expect from him, but he is interestingly joined by a female vocalist too.
Another track headlining the album is "Steel Spirit". It's another track that reflects the upbeat spirit of the series with its mixture of rock and jazz stylings. Another ensemble performance, the contrast between the elder Ichiro Suzuki and more youthful Hironobu Kageyama is especially pronounced here. There is also an interesting remix of this theme to close the album featuring hyperactive electronic beats and vocal distortion. It's a major contrast to the original, although not for everyone.
While most of the album is upbeat, there are some softer entries on the album. The original image theme "Heart of Steel", in particular, has a reflective and sentimental sound to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the series. In fact, the blend of Mizuki and Kageyama's male vocals and piano accompaniment in parts of the song are highly reminiscent of Elton John's ballads. However, it isn't completely sappy and the chorus, in particular, has a more uplifting sound like many of JAM Project's ending themes for the series.
Summary
Clearly, this album is a solid commemoration of the Super Robot Taisen series' history. There are plenty of interesting vocal arrangements here, based off a range of iconic material, both well-known and obscure. Not all will enjoy Mizuki's cheesy vocals or the light-hearted rock stylings here, but they're not as bad as early vocal collections. In fact, this album serves as a nice bridge between the ancient mecha anime theme songs by Ichiro Mizuki and the more modern theme songs by JAM Project.
