Overview

The celebrated theme songs for Key's visual novel Air were incorporated into the title's official soundtrack and arranged album. Key also made them available in a special vinyl for collectors along with two bonus remixes. At 3000 JPY, there isn't much to justify purchasing this presentation of the theme songs...

Body

The upbeat opening theme "The Bird's Song" sets the scene beautifully with a hybrid of acoustic instrumentation and electronic beats. Lia captures all the lyricism of the melody — delightfully written by Shinji Orito — and lures players into the experience with her unique voice. Cosmic Seekers' remix on Side B of the vinyl has a fast BPM, but is actually a slow burner. After layering some generic techno beats for three minutes, the remixer finally introduces the vocals, but doesn't do anything with them. Soon enough, the remixes is back to repeating trashy beats ad nauseum. The relation between the beats and the vocals is almost nonexistent.

"Farewell Song" is a fine ending theme, a rollercoaster filled with memorable melodies and featuring upbeat and reflective moments. It's not quite as deep as the other vocal themes, but makes up for it with its sheer energy. Tsubasa's remix on Side B also pumps the track with mainstream beats. This time, the approach fits the original better and the vocal parts are incorporated more extensively. However, much of the remix is still dreadfully banal and, at nine minutes, far too long.

Opening a capella and retaining a strong vocal focus throughout, "Blue Skies" really reflects the beautiful tones of Lia's semi-operatic voice. The slow spiritual aura of this one makes it something special. Perhaps for the best, there is no bonus remix of this theme on the single.

Summary

While the theme songs for Air are excellent, they are better enjoyed in the title's excellent official soundtrack or arranged album. The only reason to get this single is to hear the vocal themes on vinyl, but only the most hardcore collectors will want to do this, especially at the price of a full album. The bonus remixes are absolutely not worth your money or time.