As with most popular
shows and movies, the music played throughout the show eventually can make it's way onto
CD's. Pokemon got its first with "Pokemon- 2.B.A Master".
The soundtrack was
released on the Koch Records label, in conjunction with 4Kids Entertainment on June 29,
1999, and has been selling moderately well since then. It has favorites such as the "Pokemon
Theme" and "PokeRAP", and 10 other tracks....some that were featured on
"Pikachu's Jukebox" at the end of last few dozen episodes of the
Pokemon League saga, and through the Orange League saga. It also
has the full length "PokeRAP" video on it which you play back on your PC for
those of you who did not buy the first 7 videos which all featured it at
the end.
I can't, and won't
post MP3 files here for this or any CDs for that matter, as well as any lyrics. Go
buy the CD for yourself if you want to listen to the songs.
The track listing is
below, with track times to the right.
| Track |
Song |
Time |
| 01 |
Pokemon Theme (Extended) |
3:18 |
| 02 |
2.B.A Master! |
4:04 |
| 03 |
Viridian City |
3:29 |
| 04 |
What Kind of Pokemon Are You? |
3:42 |
| 05 |
My Best Friends |
3:29 |
| 06 |
Everything Changes |
4:41 |
| 07 |
The Time Has Come (Pikachu's Goodbye) |
3:05 |
| 08 |
Pokemon (Dance Mix) |
3:54 |
| 09 |
Double Trouble (Team Rocket) |
3:53 |
| 10 |
Together Forever |
3:56 |
| 11 |
Misty's Song |
4:43 |
| 12 |
PokeRap |
3:03 |
| 13 |
You Can Do It (If You Really Try) |
3:11 |
Total Running Time: |
48:22 |
For the PokeRAP video,
all the necessary software is also on this CD if you need to install/upgrade your video
playing software. (The software is Quicktime, ver. 3....if you have 4, skip the
install) Install it as you would any software, and then go back and click on
"Play Video" to see and hear the PokeRAP in it's entirety. If you have the
CD already, and are having problems with this part of it, let me know via E-mail or my
guest book, and I'll see what I can do to help you. It shouldn't be too tough though.
My Opinion on the album:
I took a good listen
to most of the tracks on this CD, and I came to the conclusion that overall, it is a good
album. The Pokemon Theme sounds 10 times better than the TV version, and the
extended set of lyrics help also. "2BA Master" (track 2) is probably my
favorite of all on this CD...try singing to this one....it's done quite fast.
"Misty's Song" is on the R&B side of things, while "You Can Do
It..." and "The Time Has Come" is soft adult contemporary/new age
styled. The rest of it is basically between rap styled and dance hall styled music.
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"Pokémon - The
First Movie"
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
[Peak Billboard Top 200 Albums position: #2 -
One week]
This is the soundtrack
for "Pokemon - The First Movie", released on the Atlantic label on November 9,
1999. It features tracks by some of todays hottest teen pop musicians, including
Britney Spears, Emma Bunton (aka Baby Spice), 98 Degrees, N'Sync, and many others.
Again, as with
"2BA Master" I can't put up MP3 files for legal reasons. If you want song
samples, please follow the links to CD NOW or Amazon and search for "Pokemon" in
the music sections of those sites.
This CD is a mix of
teen pop and ballads, basically alternated after the "Pokemon Theme" (which is a
great re-arrangement done by Billy Crawford, of the original TV series theme). From
there on out, some of the highlights include "Don't Say You Love Me",
"We're A Miracle", "Vacation", and "Brother My
Brother". These tracks have nothing to do with Pokemon, but none the
less.....it's still a great showcase of todays better pop artists.
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"Pokémon
World"
(Special Enhanced Collector's Edition CD)
[Peak Billboard Top 200 Albums position: Didn't chart]
This is what I would
call an "EP" (Extended Play) Single release on the Koch Intl. label on Feb 9th,
2000. It has only 3 tracks on it, and the rest of the space is for those of you with
a PC. If you do plan on buying this CD, you better have a PC handy, because about
90% of the disc space is computer related stuff like screensavers, the 2nd Pokemon show
opener (with the new theme of course), desktop wallpapers, and other stuff.
Again, as always, I
won't make MP3's of the songs. Go out and buy the CD. ^_^
The track listing is
below, with track times to the right.
| Track |
Song |
Time |
| 01 |
Pokemon World (Extended) |
3:18 |
| 02 |
Pikachu's Winter Vacation |
1:59 |
| 03 |
Pikachu's Winter Vacation
(Instrumental) |
2:01 |
Total Running Time: |
7:18 |
The installation of software that's
required to run the video portion is pretty self-explainatory, but if you need help, feel
free to email me and let me know about it. (The software is Quicktime V. 3, but if
you have V. 4...skip installation)
My Opinion on the album:
This was an OK CD due
to "Winter Vacation" (Which I happen to like despite it being no longer than
that of oldies (1950's-60's) song. The instrumental version of
"Winter Vacation" has it's melody played by a saxophonist,
so it's not quite a 'karaoke' version. "Pokemon World" itself as a song I
could care less for, much like other fans. I personally perfer the
"Pokemon Johto" theme over "Pokemon World". The video of the opening has the edit version
of "Pokemon World"...the audio only version is the full one.
Unless you have a PC,
this is not a "must-have" in your Pokemon music collection.
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"Pokémon The
Movie 2000 - The Power of One"
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
[Peak Billboard Top 200 Albums position: Didn't chart]
Here's the soundtrack
to compliment the much-anticipated follow up to "Pokemon - The First Movie".
This one's a bit different though. The "First Movie" CD
contained a
lot of artists who were well known and had a hit or 2 already. However, aside from the
well known artists "Weird Al" Yankovich, Donna Summers and The B-52's, this
album contains a LOT of up-and-coming artists and bands...some of these are their first
recordings. New names include O-Town (featured on ABC's
"Making The Band") with 2 songs here, 12 year old Alysha puts in a remarkable
effort with "Dreams", and the groups Dream Street and Devotion 2 Music pretty
much get the message across that most parents out there just don't get what Pokemon is all
about.....and they probably never will either.
All you would be MP3
archivists.....dont bother searching for any files here. Go buy the CD if you want
to hear whats on it.
This CD was released
on the Atlantic label on July 18th, 2000
The track listing is
below, with track times to the right.
| Track |
Song |
Time |
| 01 |
The
Power of One
By: Donna Summers |
3:49 |
| 02 |
Dreams
By: Alysha |
4:04 |
| 03 |
They
Just Don't Understand
By: Dream Street |
2:58 |
| 04 |
WonderLand
By: Angela Via |
3:52 |
| 05 |
With
All Your Heart
By: plus ONE |
3:40 |
| 06 |
The
Extra Mile
By: Laura Pausini |
4:05 |
| 07 |
Flying
Without Wings
By: Westlife |
3:35 |
| 08 |
Pokemon
World (remix)
By: Youngstown w/ Nobady's Angel |
3:48 |
| 09 |
Blah,
Blah, Blah
By: Devotion 2 Music |
2:34 |
| 10 |
Polkamon
By: "Weird Al" Yankovich |
2:03 |
| 11 |
(You
Are) The Chosen One
By: The B-52's |
3 23 |
| 12 |
One
Heart
By: O-Town (Featured on ABC's "Making the
Band") |
3:59 |
| 13 |
One
By: Denisse Lara |
4:13 |
| 14 |
Comin'
To The Rescue
By: O-Town (Featured on ABC's "Making the Band") |
1:45 |
| 15 |
The
Dance of the Bellossom
From the "Pikachu's Rescue Adventure" Score |
1:04 |
| 16 |
The
Legend Comes to Life
From the "Power of One" score |
4:17 |
Total Running Time: |
53:09 |
| "Power
of One" Single |
| 01 |
The
Power of One (Album Version)
By: Donna Summers |
3:49 |
| 02 |
The
Legend Comes to Life
From the "Power of One" instrumental score |
4:17 |
Total Running Time: |
8:39 |
Any software on the
CD's is in self-explanitory installation files....it will start up automatically when you
put the CD in your computer's CD/DVD-ROM drive.
My Opinion on the album:
In my
opinion, this was a far overall
better compilation than the "First Movie" disc was. It displays plenty of
young talent, and lyrically, it keeps in touch with the movie's plot. Some of these
songs on here (More notably: "Power of One", "The Chosen One",
"One Heart") would have become hits if radio stations wouldn't pass this up as
"another Pokemon album". Just because the title is "Pokemon"
doesn't mean the songs all deal with it directly. "Weird Al's"
"Polkamon" is just plain silly and fun, "The Legend Comes To Life" is
a good instrumental closer to the CD, and Youngstown's rendition of "Pokemon
World" is one of those tracks that was made to dance to. "The Chosen
One" by "The B-52's" (the same folks who bought us the 1988 smash-hit
"Loveshack") is my favorite off this soundtrack.
It's the legend put to music.....if you will.
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"Totally
Pokémon"
(Songs from Pokemon: The Johto Journeys)
[Peak Billboard Top 200 position:]
Koch's
follow-up to 1999's '2.B.A. Master' CD & Y2Ks 'Pokemon World' EP CD,
this new set of tracks is done by a group called Johto, and like
the previous soundtracks, has it's mix of music styles and danceable
songs.
The
title track "Pokemon Johto" is the theme you hear on TV, in
extended format. There's also 7 bonus tracks on here subtitled
"Karaokémon".....instrumental versions with no vocal or melody
playback on them. Put this CD in a karaoke machine and try singing
to several of the tracks (lyrics are in the CD liner notes).
MP3
files here? Nope....gotta buy the CD for yourself. ^_~
This CD was released
on the Koch Records label on January 23th, 2001
The track listing is
below, with track times to the right.
| Track |
Song |
Time |
| 01 |
Pokemon
Johto |
2:53 |
| 02 |
Pikachu
(I Choose You) |
4:05 |
| 03 |
All
We Wanna Do |
3:59 |
| 04 |
The
Game |
4:40 |
| 05 |
He
Drives Me Crazy |
3:30 |
| 06 |
You
& Me And Pokémon |
4:06 |
| 07 |
Biggest
Part of My Life |
4:20 |
| 08 |
Do
Ya Really Wanna Play? |
4:09 |
| 09 |
Song
of Jigglypuff |
4:21 |
| 10 |
Two
Perfect Girls |
3:37 |
| 11 |
Never
Too Far From Home |
3:23 |
| 12 |
Pokérap
G/S |
4:14 |
| "Pokémon
Karaokémon" |
| 13 |
Pokemon
Johto |
2:53 |
| 14 |
Pikachu
(I Choose You) |
4:05 |
| 15 |
All
We Wanna Do |
3:59 |
| 16 |
You
& Me And Pokémon |
4:08 |
| 17 |
Song
of Jigglypuff |
4:21 |
| 18 |
Two
Perfect Girls |
3:38 |
| 19 |
Pokérap
G/S |
4:11 |
Total Running Time: |
74:32 |
There
is no software on this disc like with the previous ones due to this CD's
length. 74 min is the average time of most double-length CDs, so
this one goes slightly above the average.
My Opinion on the album:
This
music is more for the second generation of Pokémon fans, who like artists
or bands like "Backstreet Boys", N'sync, Brittney Spears, and
all those other teen-pop icons who are so big today. "Pokemon
Johto" is way better than "Pokemon World" (the second theme
song), because the beat and the song's melody are catchier.
"Pikachu (I Choose You) has that Latino beat and feel to it, (ala
Ricky Martin) and is probably the most danceable track on the disc.
"He Drives me Crazy" is more-or-less an ode to Ash
Ketchum....sounds like it was done in Misty's point of view.
"Song
of Jigglypuff" is a twist on the same song you hear in the TV
series...including Jigglypuff singing it's infamous song in the background
during the song's chorus. "Two Perfect Girls" is done by
Eric Stuart (Brock). Of course, after 120 some episodes, he STILL
can't make up his mind on which girl to choose. Then finally,
there's 'Pokerap G/S'....the Gold/Silver version of the 'Pokerap"
from the first Pokemon generation. This one's much better.
The
last 7 tracks are all Karaoke versions of some of the better songs off the
CD. If you're one of those folks who likes instrumental music,
they're good to listen to, but bear in mind, they're karaoke tracks, so
they have no melody whatsoever...excluding the backup singing. If
you have a microphone or a karaoke machine, these are perfect
if you know the words to the songs.
Overall,
this CD is very good for the second generation Pokemon fans. My
favorite tracks are "Pokemon Johto", "Song of Jigglypuff",
& "Two Perfect Girls">
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"Pokémon
- The Third Movie" (??)
(To be Released in Spring, 2001!!)
[Peak Billboard Top 200 position:]
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