A Chinese Ghost Story Soundtrack (倩女幽魂) [REPOST]

As I've posted several times before, I am a huge Hong Kong movie fan and "A Chinese Ghost Story" is definitely on my favorites list. While Tsui Hark's "Zu: The Warriors of the Magic Mountain" may be considered the original fantasy/sfx epic, I think A Chinese Ghost Story (produced by Hark as well) told a more cohesive story and really up'd the bar for the genre. Naturally the film was a great success and sparked a love affair with romantic ghost/fantasy films in Hong Kong. Many similar films were made, some good, most bad (including the first sequel to this movie, though it's grown on me) but none held up to the original. Well enough blabbing, if you are familiar with the film, you know it had some great music and OST songs, particularly from leading man Leslie Cheung. Hong Kong soundtracks are rare and hard to come to by and I'm pretty sure most were never released, so unfortunately this is either a vinyl rip or a rip from the film. Surprisingly the quality is decent enough though and I was super happy to find it when I did a while back. Most of the original links are dead so I thought I'd repost it. I also included the two theme songs from the sequels, both by Jacky Cheung. Enjoy!

Thanks to Skobiddly for the request, sorry its late!!!

A Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂) - James Wong Jim & Romeo Diaz (1987)

1. 倩女幽魂 [Leslie Cheung]

2. 楔子

3. 倩

4. 诱

5. 情

6. 黎明

7. 黎明不要來 [Sally Yeh]

8. 意

9. 法相

10. 晨

11. 迷

12. 醉

13. 思

14. 幻

15. 鬼宴

16. 阴界

17. 离

18. 黎明不要来 (Mandrin Version) [Sally Yeh]

EXTRA

人间道 - Jacky Cheung [A Chinese Ghost Story 2 (倩女幽魂II人間道)]

道道道 - Jacky Cheung [A Chinese Ghost Story 3 (倩女幽魂III 道道道)]

Various Artists: スタまにシリーズ BLUE SEED

Great compilation album of various songs written for the anime series BLUE SEED and its OVA counterpart. Definite highlights are the songs from TAKADA BAND, a in house band of sorts that worked with the series' score composer Kenji Kawai and from actress Megumi Hayashibara, who voiced the main character of the series Momiji. Enjoy!

Special note, the track "Blame or Blade", is sung by voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi, most notably known as the voice of Sailor Moon!

Tracks 1,3,4,6,8, 13-14 by TAKADA BAND
Tracks 2,9 by Megumi Hayashibara
Track 7 by Megumi Hayashibara & Sakura Yamazaki
Track 10 by Kotono Mitsuishi
Track 11 by Sakiko Tamagawa
Track 12 by Kazuhiko Inoue & Yuji Ueda
Track 15 by Akio Otsuka & Ari Orikasa

スタまにシリーズ BLUE SEED (2005)

1. EXCEED ILLUSION
2. 私だけの夢へ
3. CARNIVAL・BABEL～カルナバル・バベル～
4. 夜はねむらない -FOR THE LONELY CITY GIRL-
5. Touch and Go!!
6. BORDERLESS UNIVERSE
7. 星を飛び越えて
8. HUsH-A-BYE LULLABY
9. GO IT ALONE
10. Blame or Blade
11. Cry for the Moon
12. Risky Game
13. Eternal Truth
14. SECOND KISS
15. 二人の夜明け

Akiko Yano: はじめてのやのあきこ

This will be the last Akiko Yano post for a while (at least until I can get a hold of more). A short mini album of sorts featuring subdued duet versions of some of her biggest songs. Good listen. Enjoy!

はじめてのやのあきこ (2006)

1. 自転車でおいで (feat. Noriyuki Makihara)

2. 中央線 (feat. Oda Kazumasa)

3. PRESTO (Acoustic Version)

4. ごはんができたよ (feat. YUKI)

5. 架空の星座 (feat. Yōsui Inoue)

6. ひとつだけ (feat. Kiyoshirō Imawano)

7. そこのアイロンに告ぐ (feat. Hiromi Uehara) ※〈特殊紙パッケージ仕様〉

Music from the films of Takeshi Kitano: Violent Cop (その男, 凶暴につき)

While I will continue to post various albums in addition, I thought I'd do a string of post dedicated to one of my favorite film directors, Takeshi Kitano. Kitano's the god of "Meta" yakuza films and his acute sensibilities regarding all aspects of his craft are usually unsurpassed, always controversial and at times mislead. Beginning his career as a stand up comedian, Kitano accidentally fell into film making when the director of Violent Cop (その男, 凶暴につき) had to drop out of the project. The film was supposed to be a comedy but Kitano, now at the reigns, decided to completely alter the project and thus began the first of many experimental Japanese mob movies. His films of course have taken on many different themes as the times have gone on, but this is the film that molded his career for the past 20+ years. This score, done by Daisuke Kume, compliments the film very well. Particularly the main theme standouts but so does Kume's variation of French composer Erik Saite's piece, Gnossiennes I

. The film is great and so to is the soundtrack and both come recommended. Enjoy!

Violent Cop (その男, 凶暴につき) (1989) Daisaku Kume, Marc A Cesti

1. 我妻のテーマ(グノシェンヌ1)

2. その男,凶暴につき(エンドタイトル)

3. 清弘のテーマ

4. 我妻のテーマ2

5. その男,凶暴につき(メインテーマ)

6. フェアー(グノシェンヌ1)

7. Intorno Al Idol Mio

8. その男, 凶暴につき (Sax Version)

BONUS

Satie: Gnossiennes - 1. Lent

Satie: Gnossiennes - 2. Avec Étonnement

Satie: Gnossiennes - 3. Lent

Satie: Gnossiennes - 4. Lent

Satie: Gnossiennes - 5. Modéré

Satie: Gnossiennes - 6. Avec Conviction Et Avec Une Tristesse Rigoureuse

Anime Soundtrack Selections: Angel's Egg, Ghost in the Shell & Perfect Blue

While only one of these soundtracks was requested, I thought I'd spice it up and include two other soundtracks from some, let's say, experimental anime films. I love all three films (two of which are done by Mamoru Oshii) and I feel all three really pushed the boundaries of what could be expected of animation and also really challenged the viewers. Highly recommended and I hope you all enjoy!

Angel's Egg (1985) Yoshihiro Kanno [REPOST]

1. Prelude

2. Dreaming Eggs

3. Mechanical Sun

4. Angel's Egg, Main Theme

5. Memory of Water

6. Beyond the Window5

7. Town of Sea Bed

8. Fish Hunting

9. Opera House

10. Accumulation of Time

11. Angel's Fossil

12. Night Thief

13. Transmigration

14. Different God

Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack (1995) Kenji Kawai

1. Making of Cyborg

2. Ghosthack

3. Puppetmaster

4. Virtual Crime

5. Ghost City

6. Access

7. Nightstalker

8. Floating Museum

9. Ghostdive

10 .Reincarnation

11. Bonus Track

Perfect Blue Original Soundtrack (1998) CHAM, Masahiro Ikumi & M-Voice

1. 愛の天使

2. 一人でも平気

3. 未麻のテーマ

4. 悪夢

5. バーチャ未麻

6. 内田のテーマ

7. 想い出に抱かれて今は

8. 悪夢(KAMINARIヴァージョン)

9. バーチャ未麻(VOICEヴァージョン)

10. SEASON

Music From the Films of Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa is one of the most prolific directors to ever grace the world of cinema. In fact he was named "one of five people who contributed most to the betterment of Asia in the past 100 years". His films were diverse, experimental, enigmatic and highly influential. Classic Westerns like the "Magnificent Seven" and "A Fist Full of Dollars" are undeclared remakes of his films and even George Lucas admits that he when he re-wrote the original Star Wars, he modeled Kurosawa's 1958 film "The Hidden Fortress". Kurosawa was a master at what he did but he also relied on the talents of his casts and crew to carry the films and he often built long lasting working relationships. The scores to his films were no exception and the two albums in this post feature the works of five composer over the span of Kurosawa's last 18 films. KUROSAWA~THE FILM MUSIC OF AKIRA KUROSAWA~, begins with his epic 14th film "Seven Samurai" (although his 13th is in there on track 2) and continues chronologically to 1990's "Dreams" (my personal favorite). Each track is a compilation of memorable pieces from each film and serves as a fantastic musical retrospective. The second soundtrack covers Kurosawa's last 3 films (all composed by Shinichiro Ikebe) and contains the complete soundtrack of "Dreams" and selections from the the others. Highly recommended! Enjoy!

KUROSAWA~THE FILM MUSIC OF AKIRA KUROSAWA~ (1998)

Composed by:

Tracks 1-3 Fumio Hayasaka

Tracks 4-11 Masaru Sato

Tracks 12,15 Toru Takemitsu

Track 13 Isaac Schwartz

Tracks 14, 16 Shinichiro Ikebe

1. 七人の侍

2. 生きる

3. 生きものの記録

4. 蜘蛛巣城

5. どん底

6. 隠し砦の三悪人

7. 悪い奴ほどよく眠る

8. 用心棒

9. 椿三十郎

10. 天国と地獄

11. 赤ひげ

12. どですかでん

13. デルス・ウザーラ

14. 影武者

15. 乱

16. 夢

17. VOICE OF KUROSAWA

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『夢』『八月の狂詩曲』『まあだだよ』(2002)

夢 (1990)

1. タイトル

2. 日照り雨

3. 虹

4. 宴

5. 桃畑

6. 桃の精

7. 雪女

8. 雲間より

9. 鎮魂ラッパ

10. 雨だれ1

11. 雨だれ2

12. 雨だれ3

13. 赤富士1

14. 赤富士2

15. 放射能

16. 廃墟の町

17. 鬼哭

18. 葬列

19. エンディング

八月の狂詩曲 (1991)

20. その心は嘆き（「スターバト・マーテル」より)

21. 野ばら1

22. 野ばら2

23. 悲しみの母は立っていた (「スターバト・マーテル」より)

まあだだよ (1993)

24. ヴィヴァルディ協奏曲集「調和の霊感」より

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Indian Film Music: Prabhu Deva & A.R. Rahman

While I am searching for a few of the originals to add to the next of Akina's "歌姫" series, I thought I would post something drastically different. I have been listening to this a lot recently so I thought I would share it! A.R. Rahman and Prabhu Deva are two of the biggest stars in India's film industry. Before his work with Danny Boyle on the soundtracks of Slumdog Millionaire & 127Hours, Rahman was and is a tremendous force in Indian film music. His soundtracks have been extremely popular and made him one of the most in demand composers in the world. While, Rahman only composed two of the soundtracks in this post, all four are films featuring Prabhu Deva. Deva is commonly referred to as the "Michael Jackson" of Southern India and his footwork does give him the credibility for that title. Typically, most of the actors do not sing for the films, Deva included, so the best of the best are chosen to compliment the film and the actors lip sing. India is one of the few countries that has done this and I think it gives the works a different feel. I get a completely different feeling when I listen to the songs versus watching the movie clip. I have yet to see a film in its entirety but I am a definite fan of the music. It may be different for some of you, but it comes highly recommended. Enjoy!

Kadhalan (1994) Composed by A.R. Rahman

1. Ennavale Adi Ennavale Unnikrishnan

2. Mukkabla Mano, Swarnalatha

3. Erani Kuradhani S. P. Balasubramanyam, S. Janaki Kadhalan

4. Kadhalikum Pennin S. P. Balasubramanyam, Udit Narayan, Pallavi

5. Urvasi Urvasi A. R. Rahman, Suresh Peters, Shahul Hameed

6. Pettai Rap Suresh Peters, Theni Kunjarammal, Shahul Hameed

7. Kollayile Thennai P. Jayachandran

8. Kaatru Kuthirayile Sujatha

9. Indiraiyo Ival Sundariyo Sunandha, Kalyani Menon, Minmini

Minsara Kanavu (1997) Composed by A.R. Rahman

1. Vennilave Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam

2. Poo Pukkum Osai Sujatha, Malaysia Vasudevan

3. Manna Madurai ("Ooh La La La") Unni Menon, K. S. Chitra, Srinivas

4. Thanga Thamarai S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Malgudi Subha

5. Strawberry Kannae KK, Febi Mani

6. Anbendra Anuradha Sriram

Time (1999) Composed by: Ilaiyaraaja

1. Thavikiranae Hariharan, Pavatharani

2. Muthu Nilavae Muthu Karthik Raja & Pavatharani

3. Naan Thanga S. P. Balasubramaniam & Swarnalatha

4. Niram Prithu Sujatha

5. Ninaithapadi Unni Menon, Devan, Subha

6. Kadhal Needhana Unnikrishnan & Sujatha

Pennin Manathai Thottu (2000) Composed by: S. A. Rajkumar

1. Uthattukkum Devan

2. Kalluri Vaanil Devan & Anuradha Sriram

3. Naa Salt Kottai Sukhwinder Singh & Krishnaraj

4. Kanukkulle Unnai Unnikrishnan

5. Natarajan Unnikrishnan & Nithyashree Mahadevan

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25 Years of Hong Kong Movie Themes Songs Collection + Extras & Hard-Boiled OST+Various John Woo Movie Scores [Link Updates]

I've been meaning to post these for a while but got pushed when I saw fen's A Better Tomorrow post. I found the 25HK compilation off a torrent and it has a lot of great tracks and some all time classics. However, I also complied some songs I had from various Hong Kong films. They vary in quality and I ripped and edit some but you can't find most easily. Also posted is the soundtrack to John Woo's classic Hard-Boiled. Awesome music from American composer Michael Gibb highlighted the atmosphere of the heroic bloodshed film, a genre that John Woo defined. Thanks to a youtube user SleazySanjuro, I also included score rips from both of Woo's The Killer and Bullet in the Head. Since neither saw a soundtrack release, the quality isn't the greatest but I am just happy to listen to them. There is a little for everybody and I hope everyone enjoys it! However, since megaupload is reworking their rewards system, I can't tell if anybody is downloading anyway!

25 Years of Hong Kong Movie Theme Songs Collection

Disc 1

長空 - Beyond (from Infernal Affairs II)

被遺忘的時光(國) - Tsai Chin (from Infernal Affairs)

相愛很難 - Jacky Cheung & Anita Mui (from July Rhapsody)

追 - Leslie Cheung (from He's a Woman, She's a Man)

問我 - Sammi Cheng (from Feel 100% ... Once More)

自作自受 - Hacken Lee (from Infernal Affaris III)

薰衣草 - Kelly Chen (from Lavender)

友情歲月 - Ekin Cheng (from Young and Dangerous)

男兒當自強 - George Lam (from Once Upon a Time in China)

猛龍特警隊 - Ronald Cheng (from Dragon Loaded)

我和春天有個約會 - Alice Lau (from I Have a Date in Spring)

忘了忘不了 - Cecilia Cheung (from Lost in Time)

暗湧 - Anthony Wong (from Hold You Tight)

甜蜜蜜(國) - Leon Lai (from Comrades, Almost a Love Story)

與龍共舞 - Cally Kwong (from Dances With the Dragon)

司機 - Shawn Yue (from Next Station...Tin Hau)

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Disc 2

喝采 - Danny Chan (from Encore)

倩女幽魂 - Leslie Cheung (from A Chinese Ghost Story)

飛砂風中轉 - Chow Yun-Fat (from The Inside Story)

阿郎戀曲 - Sam Hui (from All About Ah-Long)

停不了的愛 - Jian Xin Peng & Anna Lei (from Lonely Fifteen)

黎明不要來 - Sally Yeh (from A Chinese Ghost Story)

天若有情 - Yuen Feng Ying (from A Moment of Romance)

幻影 - Alan Tam (from Esprit D'Amour)

一段情 - Kenny Bee & Jian Xin Ping (from Let's Make Laugh II)

滄海一聲笑 - Sam Hui (from Swordsman)

夜來香 - George Lam (from All the Wrong Clues)

大丈夫日記 - Chow Yun-Fat, Sally Yeh & Joey Wong (from Diary of a Big Man)

愛的逃兵 - Alan Tam (from Love Solider of Fortune)

晚風- Sally Yeh (from Shanghai Blues)

海上花(國) - Ni Zhen (from Immortal Story)

跟佢做個Friend - Sam Hui (from Aces Go Places II)

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EXTRAS

英雄故事 - Jackie Chan (from Police Story)

Happy Ghost Theme - Teresa Carpio (from Happy Ghost)

Mismatched Couple Opening - CHYNA (from Mismatched Couple)

Mian Shi Chi - Chen Xiao-yun (from A Better Tomorrow)

Midnight Rider - Alan Tam (from Armour of God)

激情 - Sandy Lam (from As Tears Go By)

喋血双雄 Opening - Sally Yeh (from The Killer)

喋血双雄 Ballad - Sally Yeh (from The Killer)

月亮代表我的心 - Teresa Teng (from Treasure Hunt)

縱橫四海 - Leslie Cheung (from Once A Thief)

Onion's Sax - Peter Kam Pau-Tat (from Fly Me to Polaris)

星語心願 - Cecilia Cheung (from Fly Me to Polaris)

給妳幸福 - Richie Ren (from Fly Me to Polaris)

無間道 (feat. Tony Leung) - Andy Lau (from Infernal Affairs)

悟 - Andy Lau (from Shaolin)

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Hard-Boiled OST (Michael Gibbs / James Wong Jim)

1. Hard-Boiled Overture

2. Tea House Bust

3. Red Car Boogie

4. Library Hit

5. Sad Kong

6. Wong-Kong

7. Wong Loses It

8. Gun Arsenal

9. Boatyard Battle

10. Yuen & Kong

11. Motorcade

12. Ko Knocked Out

13. Corridor Creeping

14. Cut Throat

15. Body Count

16. Shirley & The Babies

17. Hospital Inferno

18. Jazz Opening

BONUS

Last Bullet - James Wong Jim & Romeo Diaz (from Bullet in the Head )

The Killer Bootleg Tracks - Lowell Lo & David Michael Frank

Opening Theme

The Killer 1

The Killer 2

The Killer 3

The Killer 4

The Killer 5

The Killer 6

The Killer 7

Workout

End Theme

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