The Music of Cowboy Bebop is arranged and composed by genius composer Yoko Kanno, creator of the memorable music from such series as Vision of Escaflowne, Earth Girl Arjuna, and  Macross Plus. With Cowboy Bebop, she changes style dramatically and dives into a rich world of bebop jazz. "Swanky" is the word that springs to my mind when listening to it. There are fast paced piano pieces, slinky saxophone tracks, and quirky vocals, such as Cats on Mars. I can't recommend the music enough! As of this writing, there are five Bebop CDS, but more are on the way!  CD covers and track listings are displayed below. 

**I have also included links to an online store where you can purchase LEGITIMATE Bebop soundtracks. These CDs were released by Victor, and usually have a catalog number that begins with VICL-. If you see Bebop CDs for sale that are released by Son May or Ever Anime, and the price is very low, those are BOOTLEGS, and should NOT be purchased. Please support the creators of Bebop and buy the REAL thing!**

Most of this music was performed with the assistance of the Seatbelts, a group of musicians gathered by Yoko Kanno. Many of them are the same people that helped her out with her previous anime soundtracks (Escaflowne, Macross Plus), but for Cowboy Bebop, they gave themselves this cool name and created a new identity for themselves. Learn about the seatbelts HERE!

Cowboy Bebop OST 1: 
Victor Entertainment
VICL-60201, ¥3045
**$29.95 at AnimeNation**

 

Track 01: Tank! (3:30) OPENING SONG 

Track 02: Rush (3:34) 

Track 03: Spokey Dokey (4:04)   

Track 04: Bad Dog No Biscuits (4:09)   

Track 05: Cat Blues (2:35) 

Track 06: Cosmos (1:36) 

Track 07: Space Lion (7:10) 

Track 08: Waltz for Zizi (3:29)   

Track 09: Piano Black  (2:47) 

Track 10: Pot City  (2:14) 

Track 11: Too Good Too Bad (2:34)   

Track 12: Car 24  (2:49) 

Track 13: The Egg and I  (2:42)   

Track 14: Felt Tip Pen  (2:39) 

Track 15: Rain (3:23) 

Track 16: Digging My Potato  (2:34) 

Track 17: Memory  (1:31) 

Cowboy Bebop: Vitaminless (maxi-CD) 
Victor Entertainment,
VICL-60248, ¥1785 
**$17.95 at AnimeNation**

• Track 01: The Real Folk Blues  *lyrics    ENDING SONG 
• Track 02: Odd Ones   
• Track 03: Doggy Dog   
• Track 04: Cats on Mars   
• Track 05: SPY   
• Track 06: Fantaisie Sign * 
• Track 07: Piano Bar   
• Track 08: Black Coffee (Hidden Track)   

Cowboy Bebop:OST 2-No Disc
Victor Entertainment
VICL-60202, ¥3,045
**$29.95 at AnimeNation**

• Track 01: American Money (1:07) 
• Track 02: Fantaisie Sign (5:19) * lyrics
• Track 03: Don't bother none (3:39) *lyrics 
• Track 04: Vitamin A  (0:10) 
• Track 05: LIVE in Baghdad (3:22) 
• Track 06: Cats on Mars  (2:44) 
• Track 07: Want it all back (4:01) *lyrics 
• Track 08: Bindy  (2:18) 
• Track 09: You make me cool (3:11)   
• Track 10: Vitamin B (0:08) 
• Track 11: Green Bird  (1:53) 
• Track 12: ELM (5:04) 
• Track 13: Vitamin C (0:06) 
• Track 14: Gateway  (2:58) 
• Track 15: The Singing Sea (4:39)   
• Track 16: The EGG and YOU (3:42) 
• Track 17: Forever Broke (3:14) 
• Track 18: Tank! Power of Kung-FOOD Remix (5:28) 

Cowboy Bebop: OST 3-BLUE
Victor Entertainment,
VICL-60203 ¥3,045
**$29.95 at AnimeNation**

• Track 01: Blue (5:05)  lyrics 
• Track 02:Words That We Couldn't Say (3:29)  lyrics 
• Track 03: Autumn in Ganymede (3:55) 
• Track 04: Mushroom Hunting (3:19 
• Track 05: Go Go Cactus (2:38) 
• Track 06: Chicken Bone (4:56) 
• Track 07: The Real Man (4:01) 
• Track 08: New York Rush (5:05) 
• Track 09: Adieu (5:40)  lyrics 
• Track 10: Call Me Call Me (4:43)*  lyrics 
• Track 11: Ave Maria (5:49) 
• Track 12: Stella By Moor (1:09) 
• Track 13: Flying Teapot (3:33)   lyrics 
• Track 14: We Qui Non Coin (3:44) 
• Track 15: Road to the West (2:56) 
• Track 16: Farewell Blues (5:31) 
• Track 17 (Hidden): The Real Folk Blues (No 3-4 -See You Space Cowboy-) (5:56) 

Wow, a lot of songs in English on this CD. And a great variety of types of songs as usual! I think my favorite song on this CD is the title track, 'Blue' which begins with absolutely stirring vocal harmonies before settling down to great English vocals by Mai Yamane. Another favorite is 'Adieu', a vocal version of the song 'Memory' on OST 1. With vocals, this song shas a very sultry feel too it. Way cool :) 'We Qui Non Coin'  is a lot of fun, and is sung by Ed's voice Actress, Aoi Tada.'Chicken Bone' sounds like it is sung by 'Gabriela Robin' but it is listed as by someone else. It's a funy song about.. yeah, chicken bones ^_^ Ave Maria is, of course gorgeous :) And I think 'GoGo Cactus' is one of the few songs in Bebop that sounds like it would be heard in a cowboy western movie :) Yes, another great collection of music to pick up....
 

This is an awesome CD! Yoko Kanno said at AX that in the past she did not enjoy other people's attempts at remixing her works, she did in fact like the remixes of her Bebop  mixed on this CD :) All the tracks have been given a techno-twist to them that really gives these already great songs an even cooler beat :) In between the music tracks are those 'Radio Free Mars'  'drama'  tracks (sort of) in which an English speaking DJ running a pirate DJradio station out of Mars plays these remixed songs. I really like the DJ, he is very entertaining. However I will say that the rumor he says  on it is false ^_^ Yoko Kanno reports that she was not a former pro-wrestler, though she does tend to thrash around a lot in the studio :) There is even a refrence to Star Wars on this CD :)

• Track 01: WHAT PLANET IS THIS.
• Track 02: Ask DNA (opening theme of the movie) *lyrics
• Track 03: COSMIC DARE (PRETTY WITH A PISTOL)  *lyrics
• Track 04: Hamduche
• Track 05: Is it real?

The wonderful music continues with this soundtrack to the Cowboy Bebop movie, "Knockin on Heaven's Door." Once again we have an interesting selection of music by Yoko Kanno, with support from her group, the SEATBELTS, who worked with her on the previous CDs. I think my personal favorite tracks on this CD are 'Yo Pumpkin Head', 'What Planet is This?', 'Diggin', 'Gotta Knock a Little Harder', and 'Rain'. Yes, the version of 'Rain' on this CD is the actual version that appears in episode 5 of the anime. It's the female vocal version with Mai Yamane. I know that this version has long been sought after by fans, and I am glad they finally released it! I think the most disturbing song on this CD is '24hours OPEN', which is basically just convenience store muzak and the sounds of machine guns and screaming. Okay..... ^_^;

• Track 01: 24hours OPEN
• Track 02: Pushing the sky *lyrics*
• Track 03: Time to know? - Be waltz
• Track 04: Clutch
• Track 05: MUSAWE
• Track 06: Yo pumpkin head
• Track 07: Diggin'  *lyrics*
• Track 08: 3.14 *lyrics*
• Track 09: What planet is this??
• Track 10: 7minutes
• Track 11: Fingers
• Track 12: Powder
• Track 13: Butterfly *lyrics*
• Track 14: No reply  *lyrics*
• Track 15: Dijurido
• Track 16: Gotta knock a little harder  *lyrics*
• Track 17: No money
• Track 18: Rain (demo version)
• 
  
  Bonus CD - Cowgirl Ed OST (VIDY-30)
  
• Track 01: Goodnight Julia
• Track 02: PAPA Plastic
• Track 03: Telephone Shopping
• Track 04: Kabutoga ni kodai no sakana
• Track 05: Slipper Sleaze
• Track 06: 23 hanashi

COWBOY BEBOP CD BOX SET
Victor Entertainment,
VIZL-64 , ¥10,290,
Released: June 21, 2002
LIMITED EDITION

There are fake/bootleg versions of this CD set ALL OVER the internet. It really annoys me! The fake sets usually only contain 4 CDs and do not have the smaller CD single bonus CD. Please avoid bootleg sets, support Yoko Kanno! Basically if you see this set for $15-30, it's a BOOTLEG. None of your money goes to support the musicians or artists who created the music and the show.

DISC 1

• Track 01: Dialogue 1-1
• Track 02: Tank! (TV Edit)
• Track 03: Dialogue 1-2
• Track 04: Want It All Back (clavinet hater version)
• Track 05: Sax Quartet
• Track 06: Dialogue 1-3
• Track 07: Encore un verre
• Track 08: March for Koala
• Track 09: Dialogue 1-4
• Track 10: Felt Tip Pen
• Track 11: The Egg and You
• Track 12: Dialogue 1-5
• Track 13: Pot City II (Yab's Dub)
• Track 14: Dialogue 1-6
• Track 15: NY Rush
• Track 16: Dialogue 1-7
• Track 17: Fe
• Track 18: Piano Black
• Track 19: Dialogue 1-8
• Track 20: Spokey Dokey (alternate take)
• Track 21: Forever Broke
• Track 22: Dialogue 1-9
• Track 23: Road to the West (with rythm)
• Track 24: Dialogue 1-10
• Track 25: Meteor
• Track 26: Dialogue 1-11
• Track 27: Digging my Potato
• Track 28: Dialogue 1-12
• Track 29: Rain (demo version)
• Track 30: Dialogue 1-13
• Track 31: Green Bird

DISC 2

• Track 01: Dialogue 2-1
• Track 02: Cats on Mars
• Track 03: Doggy Dog II
• Track 04: Doggy Dog III
• Track 05: Dialogue 2-2
• Track 06: Piano Bar I
• Track 07: Give and Take
• Track 08: Dialogue 2-3
• Track 09: Cat Blues
• Track 10: Dialogue 2-4
• Track 11: The Singing Sea II
• Track 12: Dialogue 2-5
• Track 13: ELM
• Track 14: WALTZ for ZIZI
• Track 15: Dialogue 2-6
• Track 16: Kawaisou na Faye (knee sock)
• Track 17: Farewell Blues (alternate take)
• Track 18: Dialogue 2-7
• Track 19: Words That We Couldn't Say
• Track 20: Dialogue 2-8
• Track 21: Space Lion (orgel version)
• Track 22: Waste Land
• Track 23: Dialogue 2-9
• Track 24: Goodnight Julia
• Track 25: Space Lion

Wow, this set is so cool! Lets see... I don't know if there is only one pressing of this set, or if what I got is the first pressing or what. But this set comes with a large poster that advertises the box set and has a picture of Spike, and a track listing. The main package is flat, and 2 CDs tall. It's a cardboard box, with a picture of Spike, and Cowboy Bebop embossed onto it. The actual CDs are in this book that you slide out of the box. You open it up, and there are 2 full-sized CDs on each side. In the middle is a thick booklet that has all sorts of Bebop info (all in Japanese, of course). There's stuff like interviews with the creators of Bebop, info on the songs and Yoko Kanno, Pictures of all the CD covers, pictures of the Seatbelts concert, song lyrics, etc. The CD single that comes with this (aka Disc #5) contains 3 tracks. The first is Ed's song, and it is basically a remix of Bebop's OP song 'Tank!' with Ed singing along ^_^ The second is Andy's song, and it is the song "Go Go Cactus" with Andy singing along very enthusiastically ^_^ Finally there is another remixed version of 'Tank!' this tie with Ein 'singing' along. The Tank Remixes are very laid back. I like them. Legit, real versions of this set have the 5 CDs. Bootleg/illegal versions of this set have been popping up all over the place. Those sets only contain 4 CDs. Don't buy those!

Yay, another Bebop CD! This CD is awesome! It is mostly tracks that are already on other CDs, but there are a few new tracks that are from the Cowboy Bebop video game coming out in 2005. What struck me, when I first looked at it, is how cool the booklet is! It's bilingual (yay for English!) and it's very funny. It presents itself as "A Collection of the Twelve Hottest Space-Drive Music Hits of the (20)70's!" and each track listing has a cute story to go with it and a picture of the 'original album' it first appeared on. For example, for the song "Gotta Knock a Little Harder" the blurb reads: "From the Album Sea Rats Facing Extinction (2070). YK personally donated 0.002% of the proceeds from the album sale to a nature conservation group devoted to halting the extinction of sea rats. The creatures had formed a staple part of YK's diet in recent years, and although she claimed in interviews that she did not like them, she was prompted into action by news of the declining sea rat harvest." Very silly! If you don't have much money, and can get only one Bebop CD, I think this is a good one to get.

Technically, this is not a Cowboy Bebop CD, it is a SEATBELTS CD, however, it does contain several tracks from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, so I am including it here anyway. This is an amazing 3-CD set that contains a selection of music from the various series that Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts have performed the music on. These include Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, Turn A Gundam, Macross Plus, and Macross Frontier among others. I couldn't resist getting this one, even though I have the music spread across other CDs. This is a great set to find a bunch of the best tracks in one place. It is worth noting that soe of the tracks are listed as "Eco. Size" meaning they have been edited slightly. They aren't as short as "TV Size" versions of songs, but there may be a verse missing, or other edits for time. It is not really noticeable, actually.

• Track 01: Fly up in the air (eco. size)-(Macross Plus)
• Track 02: Tank!(TV stretch)-(Cowboy Bebop)
• Track 03: Kouya no Heath (Sousei no Aquarion)
• Track 04: Turkey (eco. size) - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)
• Track 05: WHAT PLANET IS THIS. -(Cowboy Bebop - Knocking on Heaven’s Door)
• Track 06: High Heel Runaway (Darker Than Black)
• Track 07: Ask DNA (eco. size) - (Cowboy Bebop - Knocking on Heaven’s Door)
• Track 08: could you bite the hand? - (Wolf's Rain)
• Track 09: player (eco. size) - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. S.S.S.)
• Track 10: Power of the Light (eco. size) (Brain Powerd)
• Track 11: Kagiri naki Tabiji - (Turn A Gundam)
• Track 12: DANCE OF CURSE (eco. size) (Escaflowne)
• Track 13: Genesis of Aquarion - (Sousei no Aquarion)
• Track 14: lithium flower - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)
• Track 15: Shiro, Long Tail’s - (Wolf's Rain) [3:11.65]
• Track 16: inner universe (eco. size) - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)
• Track 17: Lion - (Macross Frontier)
• Track 18: Chikyuu Kyoumei - (Earth Girl Arjuna)
• Track 19: Rakuen ~secret garden - (Wolf's Rain)

• Track 01: MOON (eco. size) - (Turn A Gundam)
• Track 02: high spirit (Sousei no Aquarion)
• Track 03: Yakusoku wa Iranai (eco. size) - (Escaflowne)
• Track 04: be human - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)
• Track 05: GET9 (hyper eco. size) - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)
• Track 06: The Garden of Everything - (Rahxephon)
• Track 07: CORACAO SELVAGEM - (Wolf's Rain.)
• Track 08: Hamduche - (Cowboy Bebop - Knocking on Heaven’s Door)
• Track 09: VOICES -(Macross Plus)
• Track 10: Cloe (eco. size) - (Earth Girl Arjuna)
• Track 11: White Falcon (?GUNDAM)
• Track 12: THE REAL FOLK BLUES (save money size) - (Cowboy Bebop)
• Track 13: I Do - (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C.)
• Track 14: End title Nostalgina (Turn A Gundam)
• Track 15: Yubiwa (Single Ver.)- (Escaflowne)
• Track 16: Toki no Kioku - (Please save my Earth)
• Track 17: BLUE - (Cowboy Bebop)
• Track 18: The Story of Escaflowne (eco. size)- (Escaflowne)