Seatbelts: Cowboy Bebop (2LP, soundtrack) [MILAN]

Why you'll love it

Yoko Kanno's score is as famous as the show itself, a wild mix of big-band jazz, blues, funk and rock played by her hand-picked band, the Seatbelts. "Tank!" is one of the greatest TV theme songs ever written.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Original series soundtrack
• Includes "Tank!"

About the album

"I think it's time we blow this scene..." Then the horns come in, and if you grew up on late-night anime you're already grinning. Composer Yoko Kanno assembled the Seatbelts specifically to score Shinichiro Watanabe's space-western Cowboy Bebop, and the band's music is so central to the show's cool that it's hard to imagine one without the other.

Kanno pulls from everywhere: hard bop and big band (Masato Honda's alto sax all over "Tank!"), dusty blues, funk, lounge and the odd blast of rock. It works brilliantly as a standalone listen, too, which is why this one never seems to stay on our shelves for long. See you, space cowboy.

Also at Kops: more Seatbelts on vinyl · browse Soundtracks

Tracklist

Listen

On Milan, a reissue of the 1998 soundtrack.