Sometimes a soundtrack reviewer just tries to keep up with the latest and greatest, and sometimes a soundtrack reviewer hits you betwixt the ears with something that, while not being the latest and greatest, is what they’ve been listening to in their downtime. This is one of those reviews.
Discovered by astronomers in 2012, Comet ISON (named for the series of networked telescopes used to observe it) caused a stir as it sped toward the inner solar system. Some astronomers, both professional and amateur, pondered the possibility that it might be observable by the unaided human eye, and that its brightness might be greater than the moon’s. But in November 2013, its path carried it into close proximity of the sun, whose heat and gravity shredded the comet into fragments so small that they could no longer be detected. Naked eye stargazers might have been disappointed, but all of this was of intense interest to the astronomical community. And in December 2013, Japanese television network NHK forged ahead with an already-planned television special about the comet, even though it had been destroyed.
Tapped to provide the music for this special was renowned video game and anime composer Yasunori Mitsuda, whose music had graced the likes of Chrono Trigger, Mario Party, Xenogears, Shadow Hearts, Xenoblade Chronicles, and many more. Mitsuda created a soundtrack befitting an epic movie, not a slightly dry but nicely-presented prime-time science special. Everything about this score is the very definition of “extra”. Did the show’s opening title theme need to feature a soaring, wordless female vocal that seemed to be something like the lost sister of the original Star Trek theme? Probably not. But that’s what it got, orchestral and near-operatic grandeur. The second track after that epic opening does some masterful mood-setting. “Distant Universe” creates a feeling of wistful wanderlust; “Human Evolution” is a track of quite, majestic mystery. This is for a science special? This music is making me feel things.
It’s not all orchestral splendor. There are some tracks of percolating synth music (“Comet Tour Of Dreams”, “Understanding The ISON Comet”, “Mission – Challenges”, most of the “Analysis” tracks) that are probably more like what one would expect a prime-time science educational special to sound like. But the sad fact is: Mitsuda composed and recorded everything prior to the special, which was scheduled to go out live so audiences could see Comet ISON’s brightest, closest approach to the sun and the inner planets in, more or less, real time. But that closest approach led to the comet’s destruction, leaving nothing to broadcast live except for a really elaborate obituary for a celestial body. Not all of the music was used in the special, because it no longer fit the subject matter. There’s absolutely sumptuous music here, recorded in advance, for an event that never happened. (One suspects that the bold, triumphant heraldry of “Amazing Huge Comet” is one of the unused cues.)
And it’s absolutely some of the best work Yasunori Mitsuda’s ever done. No joke, this blows away nearly all of what I’ve heard of his video game music. He was given real players and a real budget, an unrestrictive briefing on the subject matter, and was set loose to do what he wanted. This lovely soundtrack is the result, even more than the show it was meant to accompany could hope to be under the circumstances, and it’s definitely worth a listen.
- Large Comet ISON (2:23)
- 50 Million Year Journey (3:39)
- Thoughts Toward A Starry Sky (1:48)
- Comet Tour Of Dreams (2:21)
- Distant Universe (2:09)
- Human Evolution (2:41)
- Mystery Of The Unknown (2:07)
- Understanding The ISON Comet (2:05)
- Analysis, Part 1: Science (2:12)
- Analysis, Part 2: Puzzle (1:59)
- Analysis, Part 3: The Past (2:02)
- Analysis, Part 4: Clarification (2:40)
- Analysis, Part 5: Analysis (1:54)
- Mission – Challenges (2:33)
- Amazing Huge Comet (2:37)
- Yearning Toward The Skies (2:39)
- Large Comet ISON: Piano Version (2:17)
Released by: Sleigh Bells Records
Release date: April 27, 2014
Total running time: 40:06