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Jun Senoue: The Works


eXtaticus

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Jun Senoue - the man is a legend; the musical genius behind the soundtracks to many classic SEGA games, (including - but, I stress, most definitely not limited to - Sega Rally, Daytona USA: Champion Circuit Edition, and, of course, Sonic Adventure) Jun truly is a total master of the art of composition, and a damn good guitarist to boot. His latest - and, some would argue, greatest - album (a compilation of both new, re-recorded, re-mastered and old material entitled “The Works“) hit Japanese store shelves late last year, and is an absolute treat; read on to find out more:

NOTE: The following wall of text is the UNCUT version of my Sonic Stadium Soundtrack Squad Review. If you're either liable to pull a TL;DR on me or are interested in reading more varied opinions, then I suggest that you go here to satisfy your needs. Enjoy!

-~-

From the AC/DC-influenced guitar licks of the stylish rock version of The Star Spangled Banner to the serene and sublime solos of My Own Destiny, The Works is yet another classy compilation from SEGA’s favourite - hell, everyone’s favourite - axe-wielding guitar god, Jun Senoue. Featuring a massive spectrum of styles and sounds, this awesome album will have even the most ardent and experienced rock fanatic slavering and salivating over its powerful melodies and captivating riffs; it truly is a wonderful display of what real rock should sound like, and is also a prime example of why the guitar (however non-mainstream it may be) remains a force to be reckoned with.

Starting off with the aforementioned cover of America’s national anthem, The Works progresses through Jun’s compositions for classic SEGA Saturn title Daytona USA: Champion Circuit Edition (featuring pleasing and impressive re-recorded versions of the excellent The American Dream and the superb Sons of Angels), the Sonic Heroes-esque Lift You Up! (which is a great tune, although is inexplicably and disgracefully only the “Short Edited Version“; the CD had another SIX WHOLE MINUTES of space remaining), and - weirdly enough - a myriad of what can only be described as pieces of baseball music. Notable mentions include Batter Up!, an utterly superb piece of powerful yet jolly melodic rock featuring incredible songster Eric Martin, with backing vocals by Crush 40‘s Johnny Gioeli, (yup, he managed to sneak in, too - and the song is all the better for it!) and Fight the Fight, described on the album as a “baseball anthem“ - although I, for one, find very little to do with baseball in the song‘s lyrics; to me, it would have been better referred to as a “boxing anthem“ - and featuring Terry Ilous, lead vocalist of metal group XYZ - who, interestingly enough, were compared to Senoue’s own Crush 40 by Bjørnar Bevolden of ProgressiveWorld.net, in a review of the latter band’s first album.

Following that is a quartet of Sonic Team-related tunes. Although I was initially perturbed by the boring introduction to After the Adventure, I was soon to fall in love with it; what initially seemed like tedious, run-of-the-mill Jazz quickly transformed into a serene, harmonious hybrid mix of unforgettable two Sonic Adventure tunes: Welcome to Station Square and It Doesn’t Matter - both were accompanied by equally massive levels of nostalgic euphoria, and as a result if this I found myself unable to dislike the mix, despite it not being quite to my taste. If lulling me into a hopeless state of nostalgia is what it takes for me to lower my standards, then I hope that Senoue-San is proud of himself! Then comes a stunning rock remix of the already previously excellent Dreams of an Absolution, which includes a masterful vocal performance by resident electro-pop wizard Bentley Jones, and also contains what is by far and away the best guitar solo on the entire compilation (not counting those in certain instrumental pieces). After that, there’s the dark, meaningful and surprisingly techno-influenced Westopolis, which - hidden in the background, but very noticeable at 0:11 to 0:24 - contains a drum loop from Hideki Naganuma’s Let Mom Sleep (featured as the main theme song in Dreamcast skating game Jet Set Radio). The brilliantly insane and tremendously batty paroxysm that is Cheerleaders A-Go-Go follows that, and houses riffs ripped straight from the Sonic Adventure series - this too induced nostalgic elation, and ended the awesome streak of superb Sonic songs. Unfortunately, the next track isn’t quite as good, and really had me seeing red…

Let’s make no bones of it: if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s Americanised, bland, and uninspiring girl-rock. It’s a shame, then, that what once was an excellent, tuneful piece of Japanese pop-rock has been shamelessly mutilated and transformed into a monstrosity that perfectly fits the aforementioned musical type. I quite honestly don’t see the point in replacing the superb Junko Noda (of JxJ fame) with a substandard teen-queen-esque vocalist who sounds more like Hannah Montana than the type of singer that would suit one of Jun Senoue’s speedy masterpieces. A huge step down from greatness here, and a massive disappointment to anyone who was expecting some head-banging JxJ magic (as I was) - a bad move in virtually every respect.

Fortunately, this is succeeded by the refreshingly silly (and refreshingly bluesy) Takoyaki Rock, (and yes, that is indeed a reference to the famous Japanese food of the same name) and a stockpile of Sega Rally tracks, - ten points for guessing the intended pun - all of which bring different and varying levels of quality to the table. The most notable of these is Sega Rally Championship: J.S KickStart Remix, bringing back some truly spectacular melodies and riffs from the series’ past (mainly the original 1995 title), all of which will doubtlessly be instantly recognised and appreciated by fans of the games.

The final group of tracks on the CD are comprised of both serene and speedy tunes, and are all brilliant in their own unique ways; British Rain (great title there, Jun) provides a superbly tranquil interlude between two action-packed tracks, Chase the Wind is suitably fast-paced and serves as a pleasant (albeit admittedly abrupt) temporary gear-shift to something with a quicker tempo, and the final track on the compilation - entitled My Own Destiny - is a marvellous ending to a wholly wonderful album - absolute gold.

So, then; The Works is another work of genius from guitar prodigy Jun Senoue, and should be regarded as one of the best (if not THE best) SEGA-related compilations ever to have been produced. It’s a magnificent mix of styles and emotions and creates a first-rate blend of both calm and adrenaline-fuelled rock, whilst managing to retain all of its freshness and originality throughout the entirety of its highly enjoyable duration. Make no mistake: this is Japanese guitar-based music at its absolute finest; bereft of nigh-on nothing and filled to the absolute brim with truly timeless classics, The Works is an exceptionally excellent compilation that just “works” - it’s work that Jun should be well and truly proud of.

High point: The nigh-on orgasmic guitar solos in Dreams of an Absolution; as Admiral Ackbar would have said it: “Your ears can’t repel guitar-power of THAT magnitude!”

Low point: Hearing Where I Want to Be, and truly wanting to be somewhere else. God only knows what was going on in Senoue-San’s head when he ousted Junko Noda and replaced her with a sickly-sweet-sounding Miley Cyrus clone…

10/10 - Aside from the marginal (and, indeed, ignorable) low-point, The Works is - to be as blunt as possible - perfect. What else is there left to say?

-~-

And now, it's over to the general public (so to speak); what did you think of The Works? Was it the magnum opus that I portrayed it as, or do you have different opinions? Let us know with a (reasonably man-sized) reply!

Edited by Extaticus
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