The Katamari Damacy Original Game Soundtrack

If you've played the game, you know how unusual the story is. The music goes with the game very well.

The vocals are mostly in Japanese, and it's less of singing, but more of a mix between singing and talking. Regardless of what language the vocals happen to be in (whether it's Japanese, English, or just some human sounds), this soundtrack is more about the melodies and music rather than what the people are actually saying. This is ok, since it's for a game soundtrack, not really for concert-purposes or karaoke.

Here's a somewhat quick rundown of the 21 tracks:
Tracks 1, 2 and 3: repetitive but catchy -- I vote most likely in this album to get stuck in your head. These first three tracks are the main melody of the game: a minute to six minutes of a man or chorus singing "naaa na na na na na na na na na na na na na!" Track 3 is just the pretty piano solo version of the melody.

Track 4: Repetitive beat with people trying to talk-slash-beat-box; not terrible, but just a simple song, really. Five and a half minutes of the repeating rhythm just might put you in a trance.

Track 5: Phantom of the Opera? Nope. But that's what you might think with the opening chord played by the organ -- the song then turns light and cheery.

Track 8: Less cheery, sounds a little sly but has a good beat. Almost sounds like a song that would be on a funny detective show set in the roaring 20s.

Track 10: Has a jazzy feel to it, probably goes with that funny detective show theme. Very very nice piano solo in here (has bits of musical melody from "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing" and the beginning sounds like an old "Chips Ahoy!" commericial). Other distinctively jazzy pieces include tracks 12, 14

Track 16: Cheery and the beginning reminds me of the kinds of songs the Carpenters would sing... until a chorus of kids come in singing "la la la la laaa..." melodies and a kid sings in Japanese.

Track 17: Has a soothing effect; mostly a chorus singing "ahhh" on different pitches that creates that easy feel, but with outer-space type sound effects in the back. Quite all right with me.

Track 18: An 8-second sound effect that's like a trumpet fanfare.

Track 19: The new whistle song! Hahaha! What you hear in the beginning of the song that sounds like whistles blowing are actually supposed to be women screaming in the game (only because they get rolled over by a big Katamari). Bits of the main theme are in here.

Track 20: More vocal, with a chorus and soloist -- though the music still sounds a bit outer-space-ish. The guy that sings sounds pretty sappy. But I guess that just adds to the humor of the game/soundtrack.

Tracks 6, 7, and 15 all have a midi-like feel, each with their distinctive sound effects. Tracks 9, 11, 13, and 21 are all techno-ish and run on the very repetitive side, again with their extra beats that separate the tracks from each other.

This album has a variety between feeling jazzy, techno, and midi (less of this, but is appropriate because it's a game), but it's easy listening overall and a nice album to own. You don't have to know the game to really listen, but I'm sure if you have played the game you will know the music better.

Usually, when I listen to this, I'm doing something else. Rarely is this a soundtrack for "just listening." And quite often, I feel I'll either hum along or bob my head here and there because the music is catchy in that funny way. It's a pretty "colorful" soundtrack.

Despite the repetitiveness of the main themes and techno-beats, I do recommend this soundtrack to own whether you're driving, just lounging around doing something, or writing a review. I think many of the jazzy sounding tracks are what make this soundtrack distinguished. A lot of the jazzy instrumental solos (from piano to saxophone) are really good listening tracks -- maybe if you have a friend that has this album, you might just want to copy these particular tracks if you don't want all the techno and midi sounding or short tracks. Though, I must say, the quality of all the tracks are good. This album is not a "cheap" sounding album (most likely because of the inclusion of the jazzy pieces).

Pros
Generally upbeat, cheery, and nice; jazzy tracks are good

Cons
Repetition, repetition (can feel dragging sometimes)

The Bottom Line
Easy listening and very cheery. Always makes me smile.

Recommended:
Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out