Macross Plus - Sharon Apple: Cream PUF

Sharon Apple CREAM P.U.F. features four songs from everyone's favorite virtuoid idol, Sharon Apple, as heard in Macross Plus. The CD has the length and price of a CD single, although it fortunately comes in a normal 5-inch disc with brief liner notes, as opposed to the typical 3-inch Japanese singles.

The CD includes two tracks which are otherwise unavailable on CD ("Information High", "The Borderline"), as well as two tracks from the Macross Plus OSTs. As is usual when purchasing CD singles, I bought the CD solely for one song - Information High. Featured in the atmospheric entry scene of Mac Plus volume 4, Info High is eight minutes of in-your-face high-energy dance music, complete with a fast steady beat, Eurodance English vocals, high-tech ambient sounds, and an explosive climax. The track is a bit more Eurodancey than I typically care for, but that doesn't bring it down. Interestingly, this is the only track not by Yoko Kanno.

The other tracks are diverse and interesting. "Idol Talk" is pure pop and well-done, The Borderline is a slow sultry piece found in the videos' concert sequence, and "Santi-U" is almost hypnotic in its instrumental and especially vocal arrangement. In all of the tracks, Kanno-san makes nice use of ambient sounds effects to match the high-tech concept of Sharon Apple.

The two Macross Plus OSTs and For Fans Only certainly have more music for the dollar and would all make better purchases, leaving Sharon Apple Cream P.U.F. mostly for Macross Plus devotees and those who got a kick out of Information High.