Yoko Takahashi & Hazel Fernandes -- Peaceful Times - The London-Tokyo Meeting

 

I shouldn't be surprised by anything that Hideaki Anno's（ 庵野秀明）"Neon Genesis Evangelion" throws at me such as the general plot developments and the music. Up to this time, I've eschewed watching any of the franchise because I don't want to get as screwed up as the characters are, but as for the music, the original series managed to throw amazing curve balls such as one of the most iconic opening themes in "Zankoku na Tenshi no Tehze"（残酷な天使のテーゼ）and a jazz standard as the ending theme. It's why I've actually set aside "Evangelion" as a Label in itself...just in case, another great song presents itself.

I only wrote about Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）just last week due to his early City Pop material with Junko Yagami's（八神純子）husband John J. Stanley, and then afterwards, he got involved with his fair share of anime scores, including "Evangelion". Well, talking about that surprise in the first paragraph, it looks like I got nailed again...happily so. Apparently, Sagisu managed to take the Next Episode music clip from "Evangelion" and grow it into a full-blown epic gospel soul tune.

Given the long title of "Peaceful Times - The London-Tokyo Meeting", it is a track on the November 2013 "SHIRO'S SONGBOOK 'Xpressions' Shiro SAGISU". The song managed to shoot some major shivers up my back as the team of Yoko Takahashi（高橋洋子）, the singer behind "Zankoku na Tenshi no Tehze", and British house music singer Hazel Fernandes had gotten together to sing something so joyful (with lyrics by Mike Wyzgowski) that I almost wish that "Peaceful Times" could be used in any future "Evangelion" movie's ending while each main character could walk to the camera, bow and smile like casts used to do in old Hollywood movies. Shinji, Rei and Asuka deserve that much after suffering that much.