Macross Frontier OST 1 Nyan Fro. Review
The internet is fast, but not as fast as I expected, but here it is! 
Most of these are vocals, and I suppose I don’t need to review them so I’ll just place where the songs were used if it’s already known.
If you guys don’t want to read the review, all you have to read is this: I love it, it’s been a while since I heard a Kanno OST sound this epic! There are some missing pieces which assure us that there will be a second OST, so it’s not that bad that the enemy-is-attacking scathing-violins-piece is not in here
By the way, we’re back with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra for the BGM 
1. Frontier 2059 - Intro BGM, as everyone has initially guessed. It starts off darkly and quietly, definitely good for a narration, the deep sounds invoke the image of the vastness of space. The music then builds up nicely, and then finishes quite abruptly.
2. Welcome To My FanClub’s Night! (Sheryl On Stage) - Don’t let the title of this song fool you, it’s Sheryl’s most epic song. It starts off with violins, then develops into a fast-paced pop song. The mysterious feel is carried over to the first verse, then is shed off momentarily in the refrain to return in the verses. In my opinion, the lyrics made it a bit cheesy, but I can forgive that
3. What ’bout my star? (Sheryl On Stage) - This one blends nicely with Welcome to my FanClub’s Night, making you feel as if you are watching a real concert with a real audience getting riled up in between songs. It also has a concert hall echo effect. This song definitely sounds ditzy, but then it’s pop, and it’s catchy and that’s the point! *dances*
4. Don’t be late (Sheryl On Stage) – And this perhaps is the first song we ever heard from Macross Frontier. I love it, it’s very energetic
5. Vital Force – Where was this played? I sure don’t remember but I think I should… It’s a pretty grand piece of wind instruments. The piece is punctuated by drums and violins, building tension, and then, ends more abruptly than Frontier 2059.
6. Triangler – And now our very energetic intro song, the Maaya and Kanno reunion song! I thought that this song was sang in Ranka’s perspective, but based on the CD Jacket, it’s the theme song of a TV drama involving Hikaru, Misa and Minmay.
7. Zero Hour – This piece is trance-y and very Ghost in the Shell: SAC in feel. My memory is so dim. It sounds like a techno version of one of the BGM, “Take Off” is it? I love it this piece.
8. What ’bout my star? @Formo – This is Ranka’s gutsy Formo performance in front of people who don’t even know her. It’s What ’bout my Star arranged in a more down-to-earth feel, which is fitting of Ranka’s character. Very cute At one point, Ranka’s voice is synthed, and Sheryl sings after, providing a good transition. Ranka’s wailing at the background is hair-raising. Megumi’s English is also pretty good
9. Innocent green - This is the scene where Sheryl gave Alto the tickets. Of course you know that’s not the highlight of the scene. It’s a very sweet piece. Some fans mentioned that it’s similar to the bgm of Genius Party’s Baby Blue. Innocent Green = Baby Blue? Haha. The piece is joined by violins in the middle and the end, to make a cliffhanger-like feel.
10. Aimo – Ranka’s song with some chorus effects, a celesta, and some strings at the background.
11. Big Boys – This is the Pirates of the Caribbean inspired track (listen to “Will and Elizabeth”), used in one of the launch sequences and also when Alto saves Sheryl from falling from the roof of the school. It’s kind of a lighter take on the POTC bgm, and it’s very short.
12. Private Army – This one has to be the first bgm in the series that I really wanted to have. It had a flamenco-like vibe to it, and ends in some strong strings. It’s the one played when Alto first went to the SMS base.
13. SMS Squadron Song ~ That Girl is an Alien - This is the macho SMS squad chant, which was played during Alto’s training in SMS. It’s got a light-hearted feel to it, definitely a good comic relief from all the heavy bgm. Supiido, Mirakuru, Supeishi!
14. Ninjiin Loves you yeah! - The carrot song, performed by Ranka in her mall advertising gig. Another quirky song, but poor Ranka, promoting vitamin-rich carrots?!
15. Super Dimensional Chinese Restaurant Nyan Nyan CM Song Ranka Version – This is the background song in the eyecatch, except Ranka sings it instead of Minmeh, and there’s no “Oishii Nyan!” at the end. This and the 2 previous songs make up the “comic” side of this OST.
16. Alto’s Theme – Now this isn’t what I imagined Alto’s Theme to be, it’s a bit tragic-sounding, which reminds of his past as a kabuki actor. I was thinking of something that sounds either brave or rash for his theme.
17. TALLY HO! – This is another one of those “when was this played?” bgms, the song is tense which makes a good battle theme, but I can’t pinpoint exactly where. It tones down a little in the middle, and starts gaining faster tempo again with scathing strings. It also has a hint of the Big Boys melody thrown in it towards the end.
18. The Target – “Our lead characters are winning!” Yes, it’s that bgm. It ends with heaps of tension though, making you feel that it’s not over.
19. Bajura – “Our enemy is here, but we don’t know where…”
20. Kirakira – This is a piano piece that evokes the childish feeling of discovering something for the first time. The orchestra joins in the end, and it sounds pretty melancholic or sad.
21. Aimo~Bird Man – Aimo with a grand orchestral background, and a hint of an ethnic vibe. You’ll hear birds in the background.
22. Take Off - This is the piece you hear when you first see Alto fly in his ex-gear.
23. Infinity - This song took quite a while to grow on me, the chorus actually rocks The verses that are quite jazzy made me change my opinions on this song, it’s definitely good pop.
24. Diamond Crevasse – Of course, this is the most emotional Sheryl song there is, and is also one of the ending themes. You even get to hear a bit of that soul in her voice when she sings the low notes. I wish she sang more like that, but I suppose she was made to sing like Britney just to sound more pop.
Related Articles:
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- The Macross Frontier OST CDs Sales
- Macross F OST 1, DVD and Blu-Ray Release 1 Covers
- Macross Frontier OST 1 - Nyan FRO. - Tracklist (Update)
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- Macross Frontier OST 1 Available Through Amazon
- Macross Frontier OST Release Date
June 4th, 2008 at 3:34 am
You know, the very beginning of “TALLY HO!”, with that fast rythm, is very similar to the end of a track called “Transylvania 1887″ from the recent Van Helsing movie (music by Alan Silvestri). I wouldn’t be surprised if some inspiration came from there ^^
June 4th, 2008 at 6:37 am
The best OST out so far! Been waiting for this!! A nice combination of vocal tracks & BGM. It’s great to hear the full versions of the vocal tracks…i absolutely love Ranka’s “What bout my Star”, Ms. Nakajima-san has an awesome voice so i can’t wait for more from her.
I love all of Sheryl’s songs but some have this ‘Britney Spears’ feel to them (esp. What bout my Star) but they are still great songs to listen too.
I do recognize the ‘where are these played’ songs but i have to watch the episodes again to make sure.
All in all i give this OST at least a 8.5 or 9/10 (mainly cause it is ost 1 & i have to leave room for others). Still i can listen to this all day…so if you excuse me i have to add these to my MP3 player
June 4th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Just think – they’ve enough material left over, or at least enough episodes to probably get OST 2 out. Especially since Interstellar Flight and the new OP definitely isn’t here. Looking forward to the second half of Macross, and what they do with the music in episode 10 given that we’re going to touch on the Legend of Zero.
I am a tad surprised by the fact that Triangler refers to the original love triangle, rather than this one… but not too much, as this current set hasn’t fleshed out their relationships fully yet, unlike Misa watching Hikaru longing for Minmay. It sounds almost like it’s from her perspective, really, now that I think about it.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:33 am
izumo: And yes, they have that feel… but it’s pop music, so that’s understandable – and Kanno’s keeping true to the current ‘trends’ in it.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:51 am
So, which ones are your favorites? I’m so alone in loving Zero Hour, for the vocal tracks I love the Fan Club song
June 4th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Well, we should be expecting the song ‘Watashi no Kare Wa Pilot’ in the upcoming album then. Was looking forward for it to be in this one though…
June 4th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Zero Hour is pretty nice, I just like a lot more bgm tracks over it. Innocent Green is my current fav.
“Just think – they’ve enough material left over, or at least enough episodes to probably get OST 2 out.”
You’re thinking OST 2, I’m thinking OST 4. Macross Plus had 2 OSTs, a best of OST with some reworked versions a mini Sharon Apple/Cream Puff cd. There’s quite a few tracks that haven’t been used like the Sheryl Galaxy talk to Alto, the theme that was used in the panty chase and a few more, theme used before Grace talks to Michael in 9 and I’m sure there’s way more.
We already have the following songs coming in Interstellar Flight, Lion and Northern Cross, and the second half should obviously have a lot of new bgms.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:05 am
@ Mai-san
As for vocal tracks ‘What bout my Star@formo’ is by far my fave song on the disc. It’s so catchy & the inclusion of Sheryl’s voice makes it more enjoyable. I love the back-up Ms. Nakajima-san does when Sheryl sings.
For BGM i agree that Zero Hour is awesome but i’m really getting a feel for Kirakira.
@ Haesslich-san
Does the song Triangler really describe the original Macross relationship? If you say that than the song has much more meaning cause they have yet to fully tell the relationships of Alto, Sheryl & Ranka.
I figure that episode 13 will start it, reading the description of that episode it reminds me of Misa & Hikaru stranded on that planet.
June 7th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Yes it says in the notes that Triangler is the theme song to the MBS drama Trinagler which is based on the original triangle. Wonder if one of the main 3 will be watching tv and see this on and comment now I know how they feel lol…
June 7th, 2008 at 8:29 am
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June 8th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I was kinda worried when I heard that @Formo turned into a duet because I didn’t think there voices could work together. mostly because of how the Infinity “duet” sounded.
But surprisingly they can work. The way their voices support each other make it a really uplifting track, maybe even one of my favorites.
Other than that, I’m stuck on kirakira and Infinity right now. Kanno’s piano playing… 最高
June 9th, 2008 at 3:46 am
OK, this is bugging me, and I hope someone can help me out. I’m trying to place the influences in track 18, “The Target”. The fairly obvious one I guess is from the soundtrack to “The Right Stuff”, but there’s another one I could swear is familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s the part that starts at around 55 seconds into the track. Anyone have any ideas? It reminds me of some other soundtrack (can’t say if it’s anime, a film soundtrack or even another Yoko Kanno track).
June 10th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I’m a bit late but I’ve been looping the OST whenever I drive to work and it’s so so so great. I’m loving “Zero Hour” (yeah the song’s definitely familiar, I just don’t know from where it could be taken from!!) and the Formo duet, so awesome. I could just loop the album the whole day (and basically that’s what I do lol).
June 11th, 2008 at 6:02 am
@naddie: the first couple seconds has a gurren lagann feeling
July 10th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
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September 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 am
Mai – I just relistened to the Yoko Kanno soundtrack for Macross Plus. OST 1 has a track on it (Break Out ~ Cantabile), #8 I believe, which sounds VERY familiar if you listen to Vital Force from Nyan Fro right afterwards. The themes are very similar in composition and style.
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
@Haesslich – Hmmm interesting, the intros themselves are very similar
I need to re-listen to the Mac Plus stuff 
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Indeed. But you’ll find the first half of Break Out to be almost identical in terms of how it’s composed, with it just being a few notes off… but the timing’s nearly identical. You can hear some of the influences that led to her Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex tracks in “Pulse” and “The Borderline” and Cowboy Bebop seems to have taken some musical inspiration from whatever created “Nomad Soul”.
September 30th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Am I the only one who was a bit dissapointed with this soundtrack? I mean, don’t get me wrong here. Big Yoko Kanno-fan and yes, the songs sung by Ranka Lee and Sheryl Nome are still great (yes, I’d normally run myself over with a car for listening to songs like these but damn, just too addicting!) But compared to her other soundtracks, this was her weakest (at least, in my opinion). I’m not sorry I’ve bought the CD (I still catch myself playing ‘What about my Star?’), not at all! Just a bit curious if other peoples have this problem…
September 30th, 2008 at 7:33 am
@Matter – After Kanno did the OST to Darker than Black, I thought that there’s going to be little out there she can do to disappoint me. I find almost nothing good in that soundtrack. Macross F isn’t her best OST, but it still fits the animation to a T, so I’m not complaining. If she made an Arjuna-like OST or a Ragnarok II-like one, I’m certain that it wouldn’t fit at all. This OST needed stuff that are poppish for vocals, and grand orchestras for the background music, and I think it’s done pretty well.
September 30th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I think Kanno has always had some dud tracks…wait…am I allowed to say that here? XD
I don’t find the MF-OST to be poor, perhaps I am only a poor Yoko fan but I find Macross F to be the most listenable soundtrack I have from Kanno. It may not be the most dramatic or the most technically, ground-breaking soundtrack ever, but I certainly prefer it to the choral/stunning orchestral pieces of the Escaflowne soundtrack.
Oh god…that sounded sacrilegious ^^;;;;; I *love* the Escaflowne soundtrack but…er…I like Macross better…..? It’s easy on my ears. Plus, I have a suspicion I’m a huge pop fan = pop songs are automatic win. It has more repeat-listening value for me.