© 2008 Lawrence Tuczynski

Scans & info provided by John M Emmons

Title Mobile Police Patlabor Image Soundtrack Album Volume 1: Interface
CD Label Columbia Music Entertainment/ Warner Music Japan Inc.
CD Number COCX-33527
Music by: Kenji Kawai
Number of tracks 15
Running time 43:42
Number of discs 1
Year of release/manufacture February 15, 2006

REVIEW

May 29, 2008

Review by John M Emmons

This is the first volume in a series of re-released albums of music from the Patlabor series. The first volume contains music used in the first three episodes of the OVA series in 1988. (OVA stands for Original Video Animation, more commonly known here as direct-to-video.)

Patlabor is one of the first collaborations between director Mamoru Oshii and composer Kenji Kawai. Not only that but also one of Kawai's first projects as a film composer, having only started a few years prior. Given this, the overall sound of this album is heavy on the synthesizer and lacks the broader soundscapes that most of his scores possess nowadays.

Still, the album is nice to listen to, especially "The Limits of Illusion," which comes closest to evoking the emotional and energetic style Kawai will later perfect. Other highlights include the opening song from the OVA series.

Fans of the series will be happy to have another chance to get Patlabor music that they missed out on previous releases, and I am glad to be able to listen to some of Kenji Kawai's first entries as a film composer.

Mobile Police Patlabor Image Soundtrack Album Volume 1: Interface
English track title translations courtesy of http://www.patlabor.info/audiojapan.htm

  1. Night Stalkers (0:56)
  2. Miraiha Lovers - Performed by Hiroko Kasahara (3:34)
  3. Alphonse (3:40)
  4. SV2 (2:04)
  5. The Shadow of Babylon (3:01)
  6. Go Ahead, Patlabor! (3:44)
  7. Then, Daybreak (1:27)
  8. Tsumetai Kuraiga Suki - Performed by Miina Tominaga (4:16)
  9. Diamond Flight (3:38)
  10. The 450 Million Year Old Trap (3:01)
  11. SV2 March (1:21)
  12. Moving in the Darkness (2:21)
  13. The Limits of Illusion (4:19)
  14. Megalocity Police (2:27)
  15. Interface - Performed by Hiroko Kasahara (3:45)