Can someone tell me what difference, if any, there is between the European release of the soundtrack to Spirited Away (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00008O895/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/202-8647136-3995824)
and the American release (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00006HCT7/ref=pd_rvi_gw_3/202-8647136-3995824)???

It seems to me that the European version is missing the track "Always With Me"...

Also - is there an american or european release of Howl's Moving Castle, or are we stuck with the somewhat expensive Japanese import?

I'm also looking into getting the score for Princess Mononoke, but there are a few different releases, one of which seems to be some sort of concert suite version....can someone guide me as to which release is the best of the original score??

Thanks!

SFT (A new Joe Hisaishi fan! )

With Howl's Moving Castle, it's pretty much the Japanese disc or nothing, but I think it's easily worth the price and then some. The score is fantastic.

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Originally posted by SFT:
I'm also looking into getting the score for Princess Mononoke, but there are a few different releases, one of which seems to be some sort of concert suite version....can someone guide me as to which release is the best of the original score??

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Hisaishi is someone you should definitely start collecting beyond the scores just available here in the states. It will cost you a pretty penny, but the enjoyment I've gotten from his music is well worth the investment. Be sure to check out his works from all of the Kitano films he's scored. Hana-Bi and Brother are my two favorites, but they're really all worth listening to (there is a compilation of his works for Kitano films so that may be a good place to start). Also, I'll put in another suggestion for Laputa. Hisaishi is a true tunesmith and this is one of his most lovely themes. If you can spare the cash, I'd reccommend picking up both versions of the score. One is for the Japanese version of the film and the other is a longer, re-orchestrated version for the US dub. Many prefer the Japanese version for its more unique soundscape and is what Hisaishi intended to write (and I'd be inclined to agree), but the extra music is a real treat and the Japanese version is a little short.

My final reccomendation is for a French film he scored entitled "Le Petit Poucet". I think this stands with Laputa and Mononoke for being one of the most heartwrenchingly beautiful and well constructed themes he's written. There are also a few nice action cues.

You can't go wrong with this guy, IMO. There are still plenty of his albums that I need to get, but the ones I listed will make you a lifetime fan.

Laputa remains my favorite Hisaishi score. I've got four discs worth of Laputa music, both the Japanese and US versions as well as the Symphonic and Image albums, and I definitely like my Laputa with the electronic touch of the Japanese score. The US version of the score is my least played Hisaishi disc, while I can't get enough of the Japanese version and the Image album. I also recently picked up his World Dreams album, which features one of the best orchestral arrangements of Laputa I've ever heard.

There's definitely more to Hisaishi than just scoring Kitano and Miyazaki films. Le Petit Poucet is great, as is the new score he wrote for Buster Keaton's The General. And if you ever have the opportuninty to pick up his score to Mibugishiden, do not hesitate to grab it!

I could go on quite a bit longer about how much I love Hisaishi's music, but I've got a feeling I'm rambling already, so I'll just finish by saying that I've yet to hear a single Hisaishi score I don't like, and at this point I've heard quite a few of them.

NP: Kojika Monogatari (Joe Hisaishi)

Great stuff.

But his music is worth it - so I've ordered the soundtrack to Howl's Movng Castle. Hopefully it will be the first of many!

SFT

And his Film works piano solo CD features "Hatsukoi" my favorite Hisaishi piece, it is simply a perfect composition.

"Gene" the doco, is one of his best works as well. There are 2 volumes of music from that show. Some repition of pieces, but the themes are just wonderful

I just got his new solo album, Asian XTC from arksquare.

Still getting to know it, it has a great arrangement of the Welcome to Dongnmakgol theme for piano, accoustic guitar and a small ensemble.

A great arrangement of his A Chinese Tall Story theme, again different from the CD version.
And one of the pieces is from his latest score for Chinese film, The Post Modern Life. I don't think there's a CD of that score yet.

Here's the track listing, courtesy of arksquare.net

1. Asian X.T.C.
2. Welcome to Dongmakgol (Original Soundtrack from the Korean movie WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL)
3. Venuses (Kanebow ICHIGAMI CM Song)
4. The Post Modern LifeiOriginal Soundtrack from the Chinese movie THE POST MODERNj
5. A Chinese Tall Story (Original Soundtrack from the Hong Kong movie A CHINESE TALL STORY)
6. Zai-Jian
7. Asian Crisis (from NHK MEIKYOKU NO TABI: WORLD HERITAGE CONCERT)
8. Hurly-Burly
9. Monkey Forest
10. Dawn of Asia
11. Woman ~Next Stage~ (Relian CM Songj

One of my most pleasant surprises this year was picking up the Japanese release of Welcome to Dongmakgol. I've had the Korean release for the past year, and it has to be one of the shoddiest mastering jobs I've ever heard on a disc, with horrible crackling sounds popping up whenever the music starts to swell. Thankfully the Japanese release fixed all those problems, as well as resequencing the tracks into what I suspect is the correct film order, which makes for a nicer flow. For some reason, three tracks were omitted from the Japanese release, but shorter running time aside, it's still a much better listen than the Korean disc. Oddly enough, both Arksquare and Screen Archives have the wrong tracklist posted on their sites.

I'm bringing this topic back to the top, because I wanted to ask you guys what exactly the difference is between the symphonic Hisaishi albums, and the socalled 'image' albums? I'm wondering in particular about Nausicaa and Luputa, both of which I would really like to get, but since I don't have the money for two versions of both scores, can you tell me which one is the best to get - symphonic or image?

Thanks!

SFT

Personally, my album preference is the same for both Nausicaä and Laputa:

1. Original Score
2. Image Album
3. Symphonic Album
(4. Laputa's redone American score)