LUPIN III EPISODE: 0 First Contact

Yuji Ohno started moving away from the heavy synthesizers that dominated the 90s TV specials a couple of years before this soundtrack came out. However, this CD is notable in that it was the first TV special soundtrack to begin incorperating classic Lupin themes, redone for the new milennium. This particular disc brings us updated versions of the "Magnum Dance" and "Lupin the Third '78," both of which first appeared on the original Lupin LP back in the late 70s. Here, those tunes are re-introduced to the Lupin world, and they sound even better than before (at least to this reviewer). Each song appears twice on this disc, but all four versions are TV size, which knocks a bit off my rating. The other notable new pieces of music are the last two tracks, "First Contact M-1" and "M-2". M-1 is a very slow jazz piece, and not particularly to my liking, but M-2 is a toe-tapping, medium-paced, conga drum-driven piece that has become my favorite piece of Lupin music from recent years. Filling out this CD are a couple of vocal tracks that I rarely listen to (though one is a new, slow version of "Love Squall"), and some recycled bgm from past Lupin specials using the afore-mentioned synthesizers.