tachibana.blog

In this post, I’d like to dive into the history and depths of the first Serial Experiments Lain soundtrack CD.

Now, to clarify, there are actually three official Serial Experiments Lain soundtrack releases:

1. Serial Experiments Lain Soundtrack – Music By Nakaido “Chabo” Reichi
2. Serial Experiments Lain Soundtrack – Cyberia Mix
3. Serial Experiments Lain – Bootleg

In this blog post, I’ll be focusing on the first and main soundtrack, but together by Nakaido Reichi.

The CD had two official releases – one in Japan (PICA-1178), and one in the United States (5197-2).

The Japanese release of the album was comprised of 14 tracks, landing just under 50 minutes in total length. The US version, however, had only 13 tracks – though its reported length totaled just over 50 minutes.

The Missing Track and Mysterious Extended Mix

The missing track in question is track 10 – 遠い叫び, translated as “Far Cry” or “Distant Cry” – the ending theme of the show.

Of course, this raises the question: how did the US album become longer than the Japanese release, despite cutting a song?

The answer is surprisingly simple: It’s all thanks to the second track on the album, パルス・ビート or “Pulse Beat”. On the original Japanese release, this song was 2:48 in length. On the US release, it’s listed as a staggering 8:48!

Or…. so it would seem.

See, the US album isn’t actually 50 minutes in length, and Pulse Beat isn’t 8:48 long. This is a misprint on the US release’s label – the song is identical to the Japanese release, clocking in at only 2:48 in length.

Counterfeits and Questionable Translations

Like any CD, the Serial Experiments Lain soundtrack has been fraught with counterfeits and fan copies over the years. I would usually call these sorts of things bootlegs, but you have to be careful throwing that word around with Lain releases, considering there’s an official release titled “Bootleg”, lol.

Interestingly, these counterfeits often use rips of the Japanese release, meaning many of them have the full 14 track album. They also often feature track listings that were translated in-house, leading to some interesting departures from the official English track names.

One such example: 阿呆鳥のバラード is translated as “Idiot Fowl’s Ballad” in English, but the song is called “Albatross’ Ballad” in one of the counterfeit albums sold in Taiwan.

This begs the question: which is more correct? Well, 阿呆鳥 is defined in the Japanese dictionary as “Albatross”, but the word is made up of two shorter words – 阿呆 meaning “idiot” or “fool,” and 鳥 meaning “bird”.

So… in a way, both releases are correct? I’d be curious to hear the opinion of someone with better Japanese skills on which translation is more accurate.

A Promotional Cassette Tape?

According to an entry on Discogs, there may be a single promotional cassette tape floating out there, used to promote the album…

I don’t have any additional information aside from these photos, but I may attempt to reach out to the tape’s owner on Discogs to ask them a few questions about it. If I receive a response, I’ll be sure to post about it here.

In Conclusion

I think the Lain Soundtrack is quite an interesting release, with many hidden secrets to uncover. Promotional mixes, bootleg copies, mis-translations, and incorrect printings – a pretty interesting set of quirks for an anime OST!

I’ll likely write more on this OST in the future, as there’s additional information I’d love to dive into: the various recording studios where the tracks were recorded, the staff, engineers, and artists involved in the project, and more. There’s a lot of minutia to dive into!

As always, thank you for reading – let’s all love Lain.

I’ve included the full track listing of each of the official releases below, as well as that of the counterfeit release.

Japanese Track Listing (Official)

1. Lainのテーマ
2. パルス・ビート
3. インナー・ビジョン
4. 霧の異次元
5. フリー・ゾーン
6. Working Manのテーマ
7. トカゲのように…
8. 阿呆鳥のバラード
9. 坂道のテーマ
10. 遠い叫び ~エンディング・テーマ~
11. 孤独のシグナル ~イメージソング~
12. Lainのテーマ (Reprise)
13. 時空の風
14. 家族の肖像

English Track Listing (Official)

1. Lain’s Theme
2. Pulse Beat
3. Inner Vision
4. Misty Strange Dimension
5. Free Zone
6. Working Man’s Theme
7. Like A Lizard
8. Idiot Fowl’s Ballad
9. Hill Road’s Theme
10. Signal Of Solitude ~ Image Song ~
11. Lain’s Theme (Reprise)
12. Wind Of Space-Time
13. Family Portrait

Counterfeit English Track Listing

1. Lain’s Theme
2. Pulse Beat
3. Inner Vision
4. Strange Dimension Of Mist
5. Free Zone
6. Working Man’s Theme
7. Like A Lizard
8. Albatross’ Ballad
9. Theme For Slope
10. Cry In The Distance (End Theme)
11. Lonely Signal – Image Song
12. Lain’s Theme – Reprised
13. Space-Time Wind
14. Family Portrait