When I listened to the two volumes of Iwasaki?s R.O.D The TV, I had the wonderful feeling that the work of some of my other favorite composers may have partly been an inspiration. Here and there is the jazzy playfulness of a Henry Mancini in his prime, laying down sassy riffs for the soundtracks for such films like ?A Shot in the Dark,? ?Breakfast At Tiffany?s,? and ?The Pink Panther.? There are also subtle hints reminiscent of John Barry?s deep and broadly entertaining orchestral scores for ?Goldfinger,? ?You Only Live Twice,? and ?Thunderball,? and, much later, for ?Out of Africa.?
Hearing such over and undertones is not only good, it?s very good. The two artists mentioned above are rare company, indeed, having combined to win nine Oscars and more than 20 Grammy awards during their careers.
I can read your mind: ?You can say that, dude, but where?s your proof??
Sorry. Don?t have any proof. Haven?t talked to Taku Iwasaki... but my ears are my best allies here. Let?s run down a few tracks, then you listen and we?ll see where that gets us:
Vol. 1, Track #2 brings to mind Mancini?s ?Blue Mantilla,? originally composed for the TV program ?Mr. Lucky,? then spiced up for ?Mr. Lucky Goes Latin.?
Vol. 1, Track #4 begins with amazingly inquisitive strings and xylophone, switching after several stanzas to melodic rounds with variations, much as Mancini does in ?Soldier in the Rain? (substitute piano and strings, however, and no rounds).
Vol. 1, Track #16 is a slower orchestral version of the TV theme, but very Mancini-like in its use of brass, then a switch to lilting strings midway through. The chord selection alone is enough to make Mancini fans melt.
Vol. 2, Track #1 combines the deep resonance of a John Barry score with the swelling minor chords that Mancini might contribute. This is a wonderfully burnt umber version of the main R.O.D theme.
Vol. 2, Track #2 is a subversively jaunty little tune that brings to mind one of Mancini?s tunes from ?Breakfast at Tiffany?s? (I only have that one on vinyl; need to upgrade), but with even a little more verve because of the choice of instruments and the fact that it breaks into and out of its jazzy bits like the conductor was in full rumba mode himself.
Vol. 2, Track #3 is reminiscent of so many Mancini tracks that I can?t count (bits from ?Peter Gunn,? the aforementioned ?Breakfast at Tiffany?s,? and even a little ?March of the Cue Balls?), but hey, it?s all good and had me tapping my toes within the first five bars. You may well, too.
I could go on forever. The fact that some tracks reminded me of other works made the two CDs instantly comfortable, like that pair of sneakers you pull on every Saturday morning before heading to the gym. Regardless of whether I?m right in such musings or just high from breathing in the dust that coats my old record collection, Iwasaki?s scoring for R.O.D The TV is fresh and lively and insatiably listenable, especially, in my humble opinion, Volume 2.
This set of songs has as its highlight a somewhat dark, wonderfully quirky version of ?God Save the Queen,? pre-titled ?Light From the Passing Days.? This is a must listen...
Let?s see... can I provide a synopsis of R.O.D The TV in 20 words or less? Let?s see! Three female paper-as-weapons wielding detectives protect a creatively challenged writer from assassins while she is on a book signing tour. If you count the hyphenations as one word -- voila!!! -- it?s a wrap.
R.O.D The TV derives much of its savoir faire from each lady?s abilities to turn paper into various nifty weapons. Michelle Cheung can make bows and arrows, Maggie Mui can fashion anything from birds to giant robots (I kid you not), and Anita King can out-gambit Gambit because she can make and deal sharp-edged cards.
You get the picture -- at least I hope you do. This is a quirky little set of DVDs, and the music compliments that quirkiness by delivering some jazzy pieces, some that are stealthily spy-like, and others which merely serve to hold the action in place with aural landscapes or more simple audio hashes.
And you get it all on the two volumes.
Each CD follows a similar pattern, promoting jumpier, jazzier pieces to the front of the queue, and back-loading more sedate or functional pieces until later. The strategy may be quite sound since it?s possible to listen to the CD sequentially until you hit a stopping point in the quieter tracks (if, indeed, you do), or put your player on shuffle to throw faster and slower pieces in one right after the other.
Either way, these are two soundtrack CDs that are quite entertaining and completely worth checking out. And, hey, if you happen to have a rare paper ability, you can try it out on the CD liner card, no extra charge!
Track listings (Vol. 1)
- R.O.D -Opening Version-
- R.O.D Theme -You must be kidding, Miss Readman Version
- R.O.D Theme -Public pressure Version-
- Health and peace
- Death in the country
- Read or Die Suite ~ Untouched by humans
- A Feeling is already war
- Time of blue
- Does a sleeping book have dreams of being republished?
- The adventure of a bookshelf inspector
- They occasionally come home
- A shadow goes
- R.O.D Theme -I Love Hong Kong Version-
- Let my tears stream,
- A buddy
- R.O.D Theme -After all I love books Version-
- R.O.D
Track listings (Vol. 2):
- R.O.D -Homeward journey of my heart Version-
- Flower blossoming maidens? burdock?s roots dish
- Anita, 12 years old
- Abandon the books, go out on the town
- Jump before seeing
- The color ban
- Fu-Wa-Fu-Ra
- Passwords are happy-go-lucky
- Give us work
- A town that stepped on me and a town I stepped on
- There is no reward for a winner
- Absolute pitch
- Strange
- Those who go underground in the darkness
- Heaven inhabited by devils
- Light from the passing days (God Save the Queen)
- A cast off skin of soul
- Love is destiny, destiny is paper
- Friend
- Dreaming women
- Moments in The Sun
- Confidence
