OCR01295 - Final Fantasy VII 'Aeris Lives' [Archive]

Wicked

01-02-2005, 03:40 PM

Ugh...see, I love this so damn much. It's one of those songs that's recorded low enough, however, that if I try to go to sleep with my "Best of OC" playlist (which I would include this song in) that if I turned it up high enough to listen to this song, Cataclysmic Clash or Stained Glass Filth would startle the ever loving hell out of me as I'm about to fall asleep.

Aside from that minor gripe, this mix made me want to cry like a little bitch. Very emotional piece and yet another great solo piano work.

Fieari

01-02-2005, 11:14 PM

Wow. This remix defies most words, being more than the sum of its parts. Usually, for a mix I really like, I'll go segment by segment through it, describing exactly what I like about each bit. But this song is so good in so many ways that I'm going to find this task difficult this time. So good, I'm speechless.

Nevertheless, let me try anyway.

The Sound Quality: Excelent. Yes, I had to turn up my speakers, but doing so did not introduce any noise. The low volume is not there to mask any imprefections. Beautiful piano. BEAUTIFUL.

The introduction: I don't recognize the melody, and I'm assuming it's been made up by the arranger. But who cares... it's subtle, it's sweet, and it COMPLEMENTS the rest of the peice. A true introduction. In a word, it's heartrending. In a goodway.

The First Movement: The timing is... perfect. The dynamics are... perfect. The sustains, the pauses, the flow... perfect. This is wonderful.

The Prelude: Beautiful.

The Prelude as Background to Aeris: Stunning. I would have never thought to stick these two together... and... and... WOW. This is.. this is... YES! WONDERFUL! GREAT! PERFECT! AWESOME! And the skill to do the prelude with one hand while the other hand works at something completely different... my hat is off to you.

The Key Change: I disagree with the judge. It does work here, esspecially because things are so strong immediately afterwards. Strong here meaning "awesome".

The Ending: ...

...

I need to go cry now. I'm sorry.

This is wonderful and beautiful and excelenet piano and it evokes emotion and memory and.. and.. and..

Well Done.

jordex

01-03-2005, 12:14 AM

I've been waiting for another one of Aeris' theme, this is the only song from the game that I actually know and this is excellent! It's so beautiful. Its amazing how he fits Prelude into there. This is just... Wow! Again, this is just beautiful and excellent!

Hyperion5182

01-03-2005, 12:22 AM

.....Good Lord what a piece

This piece is perfecton personified.

This ranks in the Top 5 of the best music to be put on this site. Jared used to own the first 10 of my personal fave songs...No longer this is in my own top ten....

When i came here i thought Jared Hudson was the best and couldnt be beaten ever....That opinion has just changed...Jared you got competition

Sheer Beauty and Perfection

Strife.

01-03-2005, 04:06 AM

Great stuff. Very appropriate for the song as well. I agree, it sounds great and offers some great parts. Just allaround excellent.

benevolensaurus

01-03-2005, 06:02 AM

I don't see how you can compare the greatness of a piano piece to the greatness of an orchestral-type piece... I mean, they're both great, but in different ways...

Anyways, yeah, I like this, but I wouldn't say it's as perfect or fantabulous as it's being made out to be. For one, it seems a little "rough around the edges" to me, sort of messy in playing at certain points. For two, at 3:40 that sudden hit in the upper register and change of things is pretty awkward. Other than that, though, I like the overall feel and the way the two themes were blended together, so I'd say this is a pretty good piece.

Well, it's a VERY good piece, to tell the truth. To call it perfect, however, would be overdoing it just a tad. Well, in my opinion, anyway.

CopycattVII

01-03-2005, 09:10 PM

Yes, this should be classified as an Actual Arrangement. I am very pleased to hear an Aeris theme that is wrothy to listen to. The Piano Prelude and mixture of the theme is very classy. And I enjoy how the arranger surprised me a few times. That is true musical emotion. Very well thought and placed. Exellent Job. (^ ^)

Blake

01-03-2005, 10:23 PM

This song is absolutely beautiful, and once it gets to the prelude wiht the melody, a shiver went up my spine. Good stuff as having to play all that takes much talent. Your arrangement, not conservative in my opinion, is five stars. There's nothing really that I find to drag on or anything that seems boring. Everything just contributes to the emotion that you're trying to portray, and I think this is a pure success if you're trying to get the fanboys' shirt collars wet with tears.

Good stuff.

Phil1450

01-04-2005, 01:22 AM

Ahh, I love it. Glade to hear an arrangment that wasn't changed just to be different and was conservative in some areas. Sounds like an excellent piano collections version. 2:46 is my only complaint, just a minor mess up. :)

underthesun

01-05-2005, 02:07 AM

yesh!
one more piece towards finishing my collection designed to make people who thought they know a lot about music embaffled.

good good job

Vash the Stampede

01-05-2005, 05:30 AM

Amazing piece...

Epic1044

01-06-2005, 01:31 AM

There is some good technique here. The arrangement is very faithful as well. Every nuance of the melody and background chords is maintained. The only gripe I have is slight deviations from the tempo as the pianist sets his fingers. A great live performance.

RealFolkBlues

01-11-2005, 05:37 AM

Stunning. Pure. Beautiful. Definitely now ranking in one of my top 5 of the site. Encore, maestro.

Mini Mog

01-13-2005, 08:01 PM

I wasn't expecting what I heard in this remix, but I really adore it!!!! Using the prelude with Aeris' theme was PERFECT!!!!! This is definitely a must have for any Final Fantasy 7 fan, or lover of piano arrangements in general. Great work! ^_^

arborninja

01-13-2005, 10:12 PM

For a while, I made attempts to create a piano arrangement of Aeris' theme to submit to OC Remix. However, with my meager piano skills and no real music theory training, I was doomed to fail. However, where I failed, Kevin has created a stirring and original piece that should grace any frequenter of this site's hard drive. As other reviewers have posted, I, too, am delighted by his use of the prelude theme. The progression ties in quite effectively to the tone of Aeris' theme. I enjoy every part of the song, but I am particularly moved around 3:10. The undulating arpegios coupled with his constant ascension of scales and heavy reliance on supporting bass notes gives the song a truly epic feel. Two thumbs way, way up!

TrenD

01-15-2005, 06:34 AM

-Editz-
Ok I was able to contact Mr. Lau about it, but I wont say what was relayed to me because its not my place. :)
neway
I loved the piece it was so beutiful, done perfectly
congrats :)

Psychochild

01-17-2005, 05:39 PM

..........

Wow. Awesomeness. I've been waiting for someone to do this song on a solo piano arrangment for SO FLIPPIN' LONG, and it was well worth the wait. It's just nothing short of a beautiful arrangment, plain and simple.

The best part, is that he's sneaking bits of the prelude into the theme, and it smoothly goes back and forth...

Bravo. Now, if you can do a piano solo on Kefka's theme, I'd be set! ^^

reincarnationoffoxes

03-23-2005, 11:00 PM

I listened to this song, and the first thing I thought was, "Wow. I have never been able to sit through that long of a piano song before." Maybe it was because it was a revision of Aeris's theme, but then I heard when the prelude and Aeris' theme were mixed together, and I nearly cried. This is truly a beautiful piece, and actually made me start to respect the piano a little more, and it's a really good thing to know that there are ppiano players in the world dedicated to video game music. I do agree that it does get a little eggagerated at 3:40, but it's actually a nice part to the song. It sounds really calm in the beginning, then it becomes strong and really picks up in mood. And at the end when it's quiet, it perfectly, and i mean flawlessly, ends the song in such a beautiful way, I definately have to mark this as a five-star song in my media player.

analyticalchemist

03-24-2005, 03:58 AM

Great piano playing agreed, although whoever said that was right...a few spots seemed a bit muddy or something? Also in the vicinty of 3:40, the scalish part...the harmony sounded a bit unsophisticated, and the notes were like bashed together. But anyway, I still like it.

Xitiomet

03-24-2005, 04:08 AM

Definitly one of the most melodically beutiful pieces ive ever heard!

Schonste

04-18-2005, 06:56 PM

I'm glad this piece finally went somewhere. It had a lot of potential and a lot of it was fulfilled--yet some parts of it sound not just muddy, but out of rhythm. While piano doesn't quite rely on that kind of rhythm totally, if there isn't any at all it starts to lose a lot of its tastiness.

This DOES have a lot of tasty goodness in the middle, though, albeit it sounding rushed and just attempting to throw in some prelude-tastic flair under the actual Aeris theme. It's only semi-hard to swallow, though, and once you actually get used to it, it's really nice.

Despite me beating on the mix, it's still great, and one of my favorites--something I listen to a lot. :)

Makkusu

07-23-2005, 05:41 PM

Waah... so sad. i love that song.

Sirocco

08-10-2005, 09:50 PM

I almost cried with the subtle nuances in the playing. Bonus points to you, my friend!

Bummerdude

09-20-2005, 08:30 AM

This is one of my favorite melodies of all games I´ve played, and KL does a good job turning it into a pianoremix, which is one of my favorite instruments, so this can´t really be any better. It also became a good result combining the FFprelude with aeris theme, and the parts around 4:00 and forward really shows how you can turn it up faster.
Thanks for reviving Aeris for us, Laudude. 8)

YuffieKisaragi

10-20-2005, 05:22 AM

The sweetness of Aeris' theme is only enhanced by the addition of the prelude passages. i'm in love.

lady zelda

02-03-2006, 03:23 AM

What else can I say? This is amazing, the piano is just beautiful. It really captures the beauty from that BEAUTIFUL scene from the game. (I would go into detail, but I don't wanna go into any spoilers.) This is definitely material for a re-release of FFVII. It's the best done remix of Aeris's theme on the site I've heard so far. Keep these coming, okay?! ^_^

Psychotic Ninja

02-18-2006, 11:34 PM

I really loved the piano playing in this song, and Aeris's theme was one of my favorites in the game.

So good remixer + good theme + good piano = Great OC Remix

Maher Shalal

06-02-2006, 06:48 PM

Um, so this is the best piano remix on the site I've found so far. Remixer happen to write down the music for it? Can I have it? Please?

Walter_Sullivan

07-09-2006, 05:27 PM

gotta say, one of the best songs on the site.
never liked aeris, she wasn't much of a good fighter, nor was she a good character. sure she had great personality, but the only things she really did to help the plot was to die.
sorry to any fan's of her's for those comments.
but one thing i can say about her. even though i didn't care much for her, i still weeped for her. and boy did i love her theme.
and this remixer here has brought back all the good feelings that i got from her. warmth, sorrow with a hint of hope, love, and anything else. whilst listening to this song for the first time, i completly forgot any complaints i had about her as the charecter and focused on the good.
well, i've rambled enough.
overall, excellent, excellent song.

Kanthos

10-05-2006, 03:54 AM

Um, so this is the best piano remix on the site I've found so far. Remixer happen to write down the music for it? Can I have it? Please?

Kevin did in fact create sheet music. Get it at his site, http://www.kevinlaumusic.com/.

I don't know if Kevin will ever read this himself, but if you do, great work. You won't remember me, but I met you at a wedding shower in Pickering for Liz and Mark. I'm checking out more of your stuff on your site. Haven't had time to hear much yet (Liz only pointed your site out to me this evening), but I especially like the version of Eternal Harvest. Yes, I know it's a remake, but well done just the same.

BIGSTEVE

10-05-2006, 04:09 PM

BIGSTEVE says this OC Remix is off the chain!!! Love it! I like beyond Midgar better, but this is still really good. It kind of calms you down if you listen to it when you're under stress!

Bottom Line: It's Awesome. Download it.

Aerous

11-04-2006, 06:06 PM

A hauntingly beautiful piece. Not many composers can catch the resonance and the soul of a song, let alone two of them. The majesty, the depth, the simple yet profound manner in which the piece comes across is pure brilliance.

Then suddenly as if the power of the music is not enough to grip and stun you, the prelude passages knock you off your feet in a sublime "One, two" combination. 8O

My review does not do this piece justice, but one hopes that it accurately portrays my enthusiam. Thank you Kevin Lau for the gift of this music.

BIGSTEVE

11-05-2006, 08:05 PM

Uh.....yeah. what he said.

Majestic

11-14-2006, 07:01 PM

This is absolutely beautiful, definitely the best version of all the various takes on this score.

I am wondering if you have the score (music sheet) for this.

sefirosu

01-28-2009, 08:17 PM

Wow. Simply beautiful. I've always loved Aerith's Theme and this remix does it so much justice.
It's one of the few songs I've heard that brings me to the verge of tears.

This is brilliantly beautiful.

_heartilly_

06-06-2009, 06:02 PM

A wonderfully beautiful piano mix. It captures perfectly the character of Aerith, that scene from the game, the relationship, and the emotions that go along with it. It captures that beauty and sorrow at the same time wonderfully. The simplicity of just having the piano play is great, and is in no way 'too simple'. It's easy to go OTT with pieces sometimes, but the simplicity of this was good for conveying the emotions involved.

Someone earlier said that it's good to relax you when under stress, and that is very true. But although that's a good practical use of the song, it's just enchanting to listen to. Well done. And I wish I could play piano this well!

02-25-2010, 07:13 PM

Besides the levels being a little low throughout, this is really well done. Beautiful work!

zarbit

03-14-2011, 06:28 PM

I absolutely love this mix. What you've actually done to Aeris' theme is excellent, and the playing is beautiful as well. The only things I would change are dynamics - I especially wanted more of a forte at the 2-minute mark - but overall a bit louder would be nice. Aside from that, truly amazing. Well done, sir.