Over the years, there have been many CDs spawned by MI. Some of them are quite well balanced, with an even mix of background music (BGM) and vocals (Music Blend 1 / Music Cocktail and Music Blend 2). One was just a couple of great songs, and nearly all BGM (Music Shake). One was all BGM (Music Sour). For many people who did not particularly want BGM, this made it difficult to choose a CD to buy. Finally, nearly nine years after the series first went on the air, a (sort of) vocal collection has been released!
The Best Selection has a total of twenty tracks. The BGM and vocals are interleaved so that listening to the album, you will hear first a vocal, then some BGM, then another vocal, and so on. The difference this time is that nearly all the vocals from the previous albums have been collected on this one, and it makes a good first purchase for anyone who is interested in the music of MI.
The CD booklet, in contrast to some of the previous MI CDs, is printed in full color. The layout and design has an "elegant" look to it, with textured backgrounds, flowers, and scrolling. The cover features Otonashi Kyoko; the illustration is recognizable as an Nakajima Atsuko drawing (character designer for Ranma 1/2, You're Under Arrest!). Lots of people looked at Kyoko on the cover and did a double-take: "Kasumi??"
Inside the booklet, each two-page spread has a photograph on the left side and lyrics on the right side. The pictures show photograph prints depicting various scenes from the corresponding opening or ending animation that the song is from. These are arranged artfully on top of a rippled sheet along with some flora to make things even more elegant. ^_^
The songs, of course are the same ones as in the previous albums. Only a couple of themes are missing: "Hidamari," "Alone Again," and "Get Down." The latter two are no surprise, since they were only used once; however, no one seems to know why "Hidamari" wasn't included. Everyone likes it, but it's one of the most difficult (that is, expensive) songs to get on CD. What's mysterious is that the layout for "Yokan" (An Otonashi Kyoko image song) contains the photographs from the "Hidamari" opening sequence. Fushigi na koto desu ne?
The tracks include:
This disc collects some of the best BGM and all those great vocals onto one disc. Excellent for the car, during exams and relaxation.
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