[orkybash]

Chrono Trigger 'The Trial in Concert'

I am honored to start off the review thread for this remix. Simply put, it is AMAZING. The only disadvantage to it showing up on Overclocked is that it's been around on other sites for a while, and the bitrate had to drop in order to get it under the filesize limit here. But if you download one CT remix from this entire site, let this one be it!

[OverCoat]

I am so glad this got put up! I remember another solo he did of the Trial a while back. The old one was more progressive and got better, however, this one starts off with a bang and gets even... bangier? Oh well, this is still awesome. The Trial is one of my favorite off the Chrono Trigger soundtrack and I am delighted that the song gets some recognition.

YOU MUST ALL DOWNLOAD THIS!

[Xaleph]

This is so INCREDIBLE

you must download this asap!!

ASAP

10/10

he is an incredible pianist, dl this now!!! This is what pianists love to hear when they listen to piano, not yanni, but something like this!!! I think that ghetto lee lewis would agree, we've all had 10-14 years of piano lessons, competitions etc etc... THIS IS A DOWNLOAD!!

[Steffan Andrews]

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

[WhalePorn]

Very very very cool. Good job spekkiosaurus

[Ghetto Lee Lewis]

Congratulations Spekko!! In contrabution to this magnificent achievement, I'm posting my review I wrote on vgmix.com a few weeks ago (also in one take). Of course, the quality of the vgmix.com version would be better because of the higher bitrate. It's barely noticeable though. I'm just glad you posted the whole thing instead of just half of the song like you said you were going to. Well, here is the review in its entirety. Keep in mind, however, even a review such as this can't possibly do justice to this song. This review and others can be found at vgmix.com

http://www.vgmix.com/songview.php?songid=896

One of the best (if not the best) solo piano version of a videogame song I've ever heard. Spekk plays like he's had a lot of Classical training with his playing. He has a style reminiscent of some of the great romantic composers, i.e. Liszt, Chopin, etc. His playing also takes on more modern characteristics of style as well, i.e. impressionism (i.e. Debussy), ragtime (Joplin, Gershwin-ish). However, most of the Romantic-ish composers did very little of actual improvisation. For an improvised arrangement, Spekko's version of this song has amazing structure.

Technique: From rapid octaves and stride playing to two-handed arpeggios, Spekk shows amazing mad skillz at piano playing. He manages to keep a level of excitement and drama throughout the piece.

More about the actual piece. The song begins with ragtime-stride stlyle playing. At about 0:38, the song begins to pick up tempo a bit and maintain a free-er style of playing. Spekk builds up the tone a bit and adds some nice little arpeggios at 0:58. He then takes a lighter approach to the piece, with some very stylish trilling at 1:03. At 1:18, he picks up the heavy tone, building up to an angrier style at 1:40. The angryness drops off at 1:51, however, transitioning to a calmer, but still involved style, with some extended arpeggios at 2:06, but then going into a softer more sensitive, yet more emotional mode of playing, picking up both the volume and intensity at 2:33. However, the piece quiets down again at 2:56, eventually fading to a nice soft ending at 3:14.

The piece is far from over, however, for at 3:17 the main melody starts again with a bit more foreboding intensity than it had originally. At 3:25 the song gets a bit crazier when Spekk begins playing rapid alternating ocataves with the left hand, while the right hand plays brief sections of the melody (with added arpeggios, although still keeping the rhythm in the left hand) to introduce the theme at a more rapid pace at 3:38. That section breaks of at some rapid arpeggios at 3:48 to introduce the second theme, still played rapidly, but with a bit less energy (the left hand playing 2 or 3 octaves higher). This time the right hand fills small sections with trills rather than arpeggios. Probably the most noticeable flaws in Spekko's technique arrive at 3:58, while fumbling with a very small number of notes. However, he doesn't let that slow him down, and continues to build emotion and drama to a brief burst of energy at 4:03, which elapses to a spasmic sort of theme at 4:08, which transitions with more extended arpeggios at 4:14, which levels off at 4:18, with calmer playing of the original theme, yet that keeps a foreboding intensity until it climaxes with arpeggios at 4:44 (that begin a bit spasmically), leading back to a slower, yet louder and more intense rendition of the main melody at 4:47, which builds to a mad octave sub-theme at 5:07, leading to some very long, (it's madness) very rapid arpeggio playingplaying at 5:16 which continues with small sections of part of the melody until 5:36 and drops off into some more quiet playing. At 5:51, a descending melody begins and speeds up to even more mad arpeggios (both hands, up and down, insanity at its best) at 5:53, which drop suddenly at 6:08. Thus begins a very fast, octave-alternating, very interpretive, high-energy rendition of the main melody, which calms down a bit at 6:33, only to begin more rapid descending arpeggios at 6:37. which continue for about 2-3 seconds. Spekk then begins the emotional portion of the melody (with much emotion), which builds until 7:22. The rest of the piece finishes with some quiet playing, and simply winds down for the finish at 7:43

Wonderfully amazing, especially for an improv. piece. 9.6/10. (lack of points due for lack of quality, not played on a grand piano, subtle errors and flaws in technique)

I admit to messing with this song a bit on my own piano, but I couldn't play anywhere near this amazing for this song. Spekkosaurus has got some serious mad skillz.

:)

[MKnight]

I love this awesome piece of work. Pretty fast pacing piano work. its on my top ten list. (i downloaded the OC Remix one not the VGMix one)

[PlatformerMastah]

[post deleted]

[Seith]

It's here, it's there. It's all over the piano smorgasbord. One time it's soft, emotional, sad, provocative, another time it's peppy, campy, delightful, another it's rushy, silent-film-y (at one point, I picture goofy firemen at the bottom of a burning building holding one of those trampoline thingies while a lady screams and flails her arms out of a window with flames licking out around her :) )

[and Poisonpikachu too!]

Damn man, I'll eat my hat this is so good.

When I listened to it at first, I couldn't speak. Still, I don't know what to say. Its beautiful, its classy, its first rate.

I'd tip my hat to you, good sir or madam, but I'm digesting it now.