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True Love Story Image Album ~Memorial Songs~ :: Review by Chris
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Album Title: | True Love Story Image Album ~Memorial Songs~ |
| Record Label: | Antinos Records | |
| Catalog No.: | ARCJ-59 | |
| Release Date: | January 22, 1997 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
The True Love Story Image Album ~Memorial Songs~ introduces gamers to the theme songs and instrumental themes for the main characters of the dating simulator True Love Story. Although he has largely sat out of composing vocal themes for the series, the background music composer Noriyuki Iwadare was responsible for the majority of the theme songs. He set out to colourfully depict the characters while also offering something musically substantial for stand-alone listeners. The album also features the melodic jazz-based instrumental themes for the characters and a surprisingly mediocre externally composed ending theme. The majority of the items are also featured across the True Love Story Special Song Box.
Body
"Pure String" is the vocal theme for the main character, Ayane Katsuragi. This theme is entirely dependent on Shiho Kikuchi's youthful yet angelic vocals, which make the very most of the melody. In contrast, the harmony tends to be plodding and the instrumental bridges particularly brief. Thanks to arranger Taku Iwasaki, Ikumi Goto's "Let's Go" and Nozomi Hirose's "You Can't Hurry Love" have much more substantial instrumental parts, the former a refreshing journey to the exotic, the latter a derivative yet catchy swing theme. "Half Moon" is very different too thanks to the feathery timbre and frivolous phrasing offered by vocalist and instrumentals alike. "Piece of Dream" rocks things up slightly with a driving drum beat and even some orch hits, but still keeps the light-hearted tone of the series alive. Overall, it is a delightful and memorable listen.
In addition, there are a number of Noriyuki Iwadare's instrumental themes from the game, including the instrumental themes to accompany each character's theme song. Ayane Katsuragi's theme succeeds since it features a very smooth and dreamy soprano saxophone line and decent accompaniment. The themes for Midori Amano and Ikumi Goto are very similar in construction even though they were written by Okuma and Iwadare respectively. They are both upbeat jazz themes, though the former uses alto saxophone and the latter uses flute to present the melody and thereby distinguish the personalities. Nozomi Hirose's theme, on the other hand, tends to be more laidback with its casual tempo and flute lead. Though not as elaborate as the theme songs, these instrumental themes are pretty good depictions and have enough melodic flair and character to suffice on a stand-alone basis.
The final item on the album is the slow reflective ending theme "True Love Story ~Like Our Love Is~". Though also given its own single, there is nothing superlative about this theme and it is probably one of the weakest of True Love Story's repertoire. Externally composed by Ataru Sumiyoshi rather than Noriyuki Iwadare, it lacks a memorable melody, features an especially vanilla instrumental set-up, and adheres very closely to the standard ballad form. The vocalist Yukie Nakama appears to be more of an idol than someone who can offer any character or musicality to the melodies she interprets. I can only imagine what exuberance Iwadare would have offered instead.
Summary
The True Love Story Image Album ~Memorial Songs~ is a bit of a hotchpotch. Largely thanks to the talents of Noriyuki Iwadare, Taku Iwasaki, and Kenichi Okuma, the character theme songs mostly prove diverse, refined, and delightful. The instrumental theme songs are relatively straightforward compositions in comparison but have good melodies and upbeat jazz flair. The weakest link is the bland and generic ending theme, which barely deserves a position on this album, never mind its own single. This album is a decent purchase for those looking for major themes from True Love Story, though more dedicated collectors should skip it in favour of the box set.
