Early Hisaishi hits completely different when you go back to it. Joe Hisaishi's 1984 score for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind laid the groundwork for basically every Ghibli soundtrack that followed. The Opening Theme has that unmistakable analog synth warmth blended with orchestral swells, very much rooted in its era.
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Stampede of the Ohmu goes hard with these pounding percussion layers and tense string runs that feel genuinely threatening. Then Contact with the Ohmu flips everything into this serene, almost spiritual calm. The way Nausicaa Requiem uses children's choir over sparse piano just.
The Bird Man ending theme wraps it all in this soaring, hopeful melody that sticks in your head for days. If you love Ghibli but never sat with this score on its own, you're missing where it all started.