Cowboy Bebop (O.S.T.1)
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This is the first soundtrack (mostly a score, actually) to the TV series Cowboy Bebop. It was released in 1998, and I'm reviewing it in 2024. It's mostly a jazz (more specifically bebop) album, with music performed by Seatbelts and composed by Yoko Kanno. The liner notes contain lyrics for "Rain", the one track on the album that actually has lyrics.

1. "Tank!": This is the show's opening theme, and one of the coolest pieces of music ever made. I have it as an mp3, so that I can listen to it whenever.

2. "Rush": Great music for rushing around, I guess. Not quite as frenetic as "Tank!", but still... it does zig and zag at a fast pace. At one point I thought I heard a slight James Bond influence.

3. "Spokey Dokey": This is mostly a bluesy, harmonica-driven piece. There is some guitar (or banjo, or something) in it, too. The instruments complement each other nicely.

4. "Bad Dog No Biscuits": This one I would say is more ska-like. Definitely fun. Kinda reminds me of Madness.

5. "Cat Blues": This has a cool sound to it that I'd call "beat". I could imagine it playing in a 1950s coffeehouse.

6. "Cosmos": I'm not quite sure if this is jazz or blues or what, but it sounds melancholy, to me.

7. "Space Lion": This is the longest track, at 7:11. It's mostly saxophone-driven, but there are other instruments, too. It has a sort of cosmic sound to it that might have been more appropriate for the previous track, but it fits this, too. At one point there's some chanting the nature of which I don't know, I couldn't say whether it sounds more Native American or South American or African or Asian or what. But I like it. The whole piece is pretty laid-back and mellow. Great for drifting lazily through space, whether you're a lion or not.

8. "Waltz for Zizi": This is one of my favorite pieces on the album, and I had it as an mp3 for awhile. As the title suggests, it's a waltz, and it's pretty dreamy. It sounds sort of Italian or French or something, I'd say, but parts of it feel more like country music to me.

9. "Piano Black": This one's driven mainly by piano and drums and there are other instruments both familiar and unfamiliar to me. (One of them sounds kinda like a washboard, maybe?) It's definitely jazzy.

10. "Pot City": I don't know what kind of "pot" the title is referring to, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was that kind. It's relatively slow but trippy. Another one I'd call "beat", though I've probably been misusing that word, in regard to musical style. I dunno.

11. "Too Good Too Bad": This is another fun, jazzy one.

12. "Car 24": This one is more horn-driven. It's nice and peppy, but sort of relaxed at the same time.

13. "The Egg and I": This is another one I had as an mp3. It's got a nice backbeat on drums, but what I find most memorable is some sort of flute. There's also a part with guitar. I feel like this is good music to march along to, but not in a military way; it has a certain carefree whimsy.

14. "Felt Tip Pen": This sounds like some good old-fashioned country pickin'.

15. "Rain", by Steve Conte: This is the only actual song on the album. It feels like something that could be played in a church or cathedral. (There is an organ.) I guess I had this as an mp3, too. I definitely like it, though its mood and lyrics are depressing. A good song to listen to in the rain.

16. "Digging My Potato": Another bluesy, harmonica-driven piece, but with drums, too. I have no idea what the title means, it doesn't make me dig potatoes (no more than usual, anyway). But I do dig the music, just like I dig the whole album.

17. "Memory": This is the shortest track, at 1:32. It's either a music box or designed to sound like one. (The internet says "music box overdubbed", but I have no idea what that means.) Either way, it's got a wistful, nostalgic feel to it. It's simple, but pretty. Not a bad way to end an album, though in the show it's used extensively, in one form or another, and was the first piece of music played in the pilot.