Brain Powerd 2 (Brain Powered 2) [Soundtrack, Import]

This album contains pieces composed entirely by Yoko Kanno, the incredibly diverse and talented artist behind the music of Macross, Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, and others. This particular collection is a combination of symphonic, pop, and modern pieces. The symphonic compositions represent another generational leap in the complexity and depth of her work, while the pop and modern pieces are uniformly enjoyable. Kanno's incredible mastery of any form of music from blues, to jazz, to pop, rock, to classical and opera never fails to amaze. Kanno is a modern genius whose pure joy in writing new music is obvious in every note and whose eclectic style continues to evolve as we watch. Don't miss this opportunity to follow the career of a composer who will be remembered with the ranks of Mozart and Beethoven. For more info on this artist, visit http://kanno.simplenet.com/main.html or http://zerog.simplenet.com/kanno/index2.html.

Since I really liked the first Brain Powerd OST, not surprisingly, I bought this album as well... Compared to Ms. Yoko Kanno's other works -- Escaflowne, Arjuna, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, etc. -- the Brain Powerd soundtrack has more of a Celtic and military feel to it IMO... I haven't seen any episode of the series and only hope they used these superb pieces well within the anime...

01. Light of love - Maaya Sakamoto lends her beautiful voice to this lovely song... The song changes tune by the last half of the song (around 5:00 min. of the song; it's a long song)... This last half outshines the main part of the song IMO... I find myself rewinding again to the beginning of the last half most of the time...

02. Crossing - This piece departs from Light Of Love's (track 1) liberating feel to a more futuristic composition... Listening to this song feels like a travel through time...

03. Lost memories - Starts with a simple yet engaging orchestral piece that seems to convey a tragic incident... Very sad sounding and very effective too... Then shifts to a soft piano that resembles a music box... Violins then join in up to a very peaceful ending...

04. Prism - "Your journey has begun"... That's the feeling I get listening to this track... Quite nice...

05. Aurora - A somewhat quiet piece that conveys a feeling of the unknown... The song builds up eerily but ends with a more calm orchestra of strings...

06. Warriors - A strong orchestral piece that confuses me a little bit if it's supposed to be ominous (heavy strings) or loosely happy (random xylophones)... Then a choir joins in by last third of the piece resulting in a nice battle-type music...

07. True Love - I love how Yoko Kanno delves deeper to bring a different sound for Steve Conte in each of his songs... The tune where he sings "True Love" is also used in the song Field Of Love (Brain Powerd OST 1, Track 19)... This is a groovy song to sing along with cuz I really think the lyrics are fantastic (and true!)...

08. IN MY DREAM - First of all, this song is NOT composed by Yoko Kanno... I think many people don't realize this... The music and lyrics are composed by Eiri Shingyogi (who happens to be the singer too)... Other than that, this is a great song with a very catcy chorus... I love the piano in the beginning as well..

09. Departure - A march song that's a variation of the recurring tune: Ark (Brain Powerd OST 1, track 2)... Frankly, I love the bagpipe tune so I find myself listening to this track many times as well...

10. Waver - A very different piece with a children choir singing accompanied by strings that has somewhat of a futuristic feel to it as well... Not a bad track at all...

11. Shell - A short yet sweet strings track...

12. Orphan - Nice... Reminds me of a monastary because of the Church-like singing... Not that catchy of a tune, but a nice addition... Pretty short too...

13. Morning grace - I like this piece... This is the instrumental version of Sonne (Brain Powerd OST, track 4)... It's simple and plays beautifully, just the way I like it...

14. Smile - Begins with a quaint xylophone (I think) and strings combo... Turns more orchestral by the second half that plays out a tune of Morning Grace (track 13)...

15. Tribe - A darker piece with just a little Arabian Nights flavour and Escaflowne booms of strings and wind (you'll know what I mean when you listen to it)... Not the very best track I listen too often in the album...

16. Nervous - Contrary to the title, I don't think this track is nervous-like at all... It's quite calm and liberating...

17. Field - A music box version in the tune of Field Of Love (Brain Powerd OST, track 19)...

18. Walk by myself - I heard somewhere that this was used in a funeral in the series... I seem to see that... This is another piece that plays the tune of Ark (Brain Powerd, Track 2)... This is less-military march though as Ark and Departure (track 9) and more bittersweet sounding... Another great track I listen often to...

Overall, I give this OST a 4.5 (but no halves here, so I round it off to a 5)...

This is one of Yoko Kanno's lighter works, and it's generally a pleasant listen. Many of the songs have a light, spacey, new-agey feel not unlike that of her work on _Earth Girl Arjuna_. Most of them are instrumental--and aside from "Light of Love," which features Maaya Sakamoto's sparkling vocals, they're better that way. A chorus of female voices add drama to "Warriors" and the heartrending "Waver," but that's because they're working as instruments instead of singing lyrics (none in any language I recognize, anyway). That said, _Cowboy Bebop_ soundtrack fans may be pleased to hear Steve Conte singing on "True Love," a pop song with English-language lyrics by Tim Jensen.

Although this album sounds heavier on the synthesizers than, say, Kanno's work on _Escaflowne_, it does use a Japanese string ensemble--and on about half the songs, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra--to good effect. I like several of the songs on this album, but overall, I found the tracks on the first Original Soundtrack (the one with the green cover) more appealing.