"Snake Eyes," the main theme for the film of the same title, was also recorded as bonus material along with the playful YMO fanfare "Tong Poo," here in a new two-handed piano four-hands arrangement courtesy of a little computer processing. "Energy Flow," "Put Your Hands Up," and "Railroad Man" are new piano arrangements of recent commercial compositions and are all uniquely Sakamoto, except perhaps for "Aqua," a simple piece originally composed for his daughter Miu's album, but no less beautiful than the more sophisticated compositions. But two Romantic composers seem to be more carefully hinted at: a tilt of the hat to Brahms on the beautiful "Intermezzo" and towards Ravel on the challenging "Sonatine" and "Bachata." Yet Sakamoto draws no more heavily from his classical influences than his own output.
John Cage is also emulated more conspicuously on the album's prepared piano pieces (particularly "Sonata," which sounds very much like Cage's fifth sonata for prepared piano which, as coincidence would also have it, was sampled on David Sylvian's "Pollen Path" from "Dead Bees on a Cake" featuring Sakamoto). Most noticeably on the very French-like "Opus," "Lorenz and Watson," "Chanson," and the nearly Bach-like Chorales. Erik Satie, perhaps the single most influential composer on Sakamoto's piano style, can be heard all over the album. "BTTB" is nearly a tribute album to Sakamoto's classical influences. Yet rather than persuade with articulated opinions. For this reason alone I'm deeply indebted to Sakamoto. It's somewhat difficult to describe the impression "BTTB" made when I first listened to the album nearly two years ago, but in the very least I can say this: it was, at the time, my single inspiration for learning the piano and proved an accessible gateway into the music of Romantic and Contemporary Classical. All in all, BTTB is a mellifluous CD that highlights Sakamoto's heartfelt dedication to the piano and fascination with various musical traditions. With "Railroad Man," the CD's third track, the pianist and composer attempts to depict the ambience of steam locomotives. On the CD's first two tracks, "Energy Flow" and "Put Your Hands Up - Piano Version," Sakamoto is concerned with issues of healing and therapy. On BTTB, Sakamoto also plays with a variety of themes. Mathew Passion" and medieval-esque Gregorian chants. 2," were born out of his fascination with Bach's "St. Sakamoto's two choral-inspired pieces, "Choral No. For instance, on BTTB, Sakamoto delves into avant-garde piano techniques, playing a prepared piano on the gently circular "Prelude" and "Uetax." With his song "Bachata," Sakamoto interprets folkloric music from the Dominican Republic. Instead of settling on one or two styles, the renowned pianist and composer experimented with several. At the time that Sakamoto began composing for BTTB, he thought that a CD of piano music felt right, though he was not sure of what kind of styles he wanted to play around with. In a departure from his more electronically amplified works, composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto's BTTB stands as a sometimes contemplative, a periodically nostalgic, and an often new age-sounding acoustic piano album.