Review by Paul Coddington

I expected this album might be comparable to the wonderful "Evangelion PianoForte 1", but it wasn't. The original work by Sagisu Shiro is excellent, but this interpretation falls flat. It is "Evangelion Meets River Dance, with Elevator Music and a Little Touch of Disco". Some tracks are very good despite this: the opening track shines. The recording quality is poor by modern standards. It is uncomfortable to listen to with headphones. Track levels are inconsistent: one has to adjust the volume often. Worst of all, this disc seems to be a victim of the Loudness War. It sounds over-compressed, peaks at 100% frequently with persistent clipping distortion in the loudest tracks. Much of it has a distorted "FM radio"-like fuzziness, especially in the bass. If you are looking for an excellent re-interpretation of this wonderful music, it would be best to purchase "Evangelion PianoForte 1" and "The World! Evangelion Jazz Night" ahead of this. Of course, your equipment might deliver different results. Perhaps mine does not handle such high raw data levels that well.

Selections from Sagisu Shiro's greatest soundtrack arranged for piano, with excellent performances by notable guest artists.

A vibrant re-interpretation of Sagisu Shiro's greatest soundtrack, with excellent performances by notable guest artists.

Looking for a high quality recording of classic march music combined with an excellent score? Look no further. This soundtrack sparkles.

Probably the best soundtrack album ever made. I should hope people will be listening to this centuries from now.

A magnificent reinterpretation of Shiro's masterwork, the original soundtrack to "Neon Genesis Evangelion". Features new arrangements of the familiar, with all new pieces. This performance is recorded with speaker popping clarity and has a rich, powerful, and highly percussive sound. Several character themes from the film are not featured (Misato and Ritsuko's themes) and will probably appear on the actual soundtrack album when it is released (this is a selective collection of full length tracks which fit together as a whole and the missing pieces would have broken the overall mood of the album). Shiro continues to stand out as one of the great soundtrack composers of our time. Highly recommended.

Having never heard of Hikki before this time, I purchased this single because it is part of the soundtrack for the new Evangelion movie. I am most impressed by the quality of her work, which unlike a great deal of pop music these days has quality lyrics and musically interesting arrangements. Her biography on Wikipedia indicates an artist of outstanding talent who has accomplished a great deal at an early age. I will be looking forward to hearing her next album (and catching up on the others which I have missed).

People who are only familiar with Shiro's orchestral works may be surprised by this eclectic mix of Gospel and R&B with a Jazz influence. This album is well recorded with a great deal of "zing", "throb" and vocal presence: ideal for auditioning a new hi-fi system or showing off the one you already have. The sample tracks do not begin to reveal the sound quality of this recording. Loren (of "Loren and Mash"), who performed that remarkable song "Thanatos" featured in the movie "End of Evangelion", is featured, along with others, all of whom have magnificent voices and are a pleasure to listen to. A very relaxing album, ideal for curling up in the dark on the sofa at the end of a hard day with a glass of wine in hand. Sadly, Shiro's non-soundtrack albums seem to go out of press rather quickly ("Evangelion: Vox" and the other "songbooks" are unavailable at this time), so grab it while you can.