ReMix: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Sahasralah's Homecoming'

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

First, I need to stick in some words of thanks here to everyone helping out with the torrents and also all of you who 've purchased shirts - the torrents are almost up to a combined total of 20 Terabytes, and we sold quite a good chunk of the recent order of shirts quite quickly. We're working on resupplying, but your support in both arenas is really appreciated and really does help the site out. Now on to the music - the fearsome foursome, featuring Thomas Gustafson on saxophone, reprise their collective role as the poster children (men?) for more authentic (compositionally and performance-wise) jazz game music arrangements. This time around it's the lullaby theme, covered in a very mellow, Sunday-afternoon fashion with a solo saxophone taking center stage and the rest of the instruments organically and fluidly backing that up with cool, rubbery bass, a bed of grungy, greasy organ chords dripping with flavor, lovely interpretive and very free-form drumming, and guitar. I especially love the drums here - this is the type of very artistic jazz drumming that, when applied to a synthetic drum kit, really exposes the fact that it's not a REAL kit. The sax lead is of course the focus, and strikes a nice balance between mellow and tense, at times straining into the upper octaves as the other players also increase their tautness and energy. Neskvartetten's ability to take beloved, familiar game music and turn it into something you wouldn't bat an eyelash at if it started playing in a crowded cafe is truly remarkable - from the syncopation and sense of human timing on each and every individual player's part to the recordings themselves, which have a consistently intimate and immediate feel, there's a lot to like here for fans of jazz and Zelda. I can literally see someone reading beat poetry to this back in the mid 1950's, with a beret and sunglasses on indoors, the vibe is that thick. Groovy.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Pretty classy sounding stuff, but personally I find it to be way over-noodled and not cohesive sounding. It's like for a lot of sections, the 5 instruments weren't playing the same song. Production is fine, in a washed-out jazz vibe, but overall, the arrangement meanders far too much for my preference.
Sorry guys. :-(

- OA on November 20, 2009
Zelda's Lullaby was always "meh :|" for me, but this is still great.
Just good live jazz.
Also, Zelda's Lullaby in A Link to the Past?
Does this mix have the wrong info or something?

- 42 on January 17, 2009
Neat idea really. Cool ensemble. Main event sets the sax but may need a but more tuning. Very complex parts tho so kudos on who ever is playing the part. I'd like to hear vibrato on the high notes. Bass helps to smooth the band and percussion is well equipped too. Nice work so far guys!

- Ryu2Wolf on January 6, 2009
I think this theme's been done WAY too much... and this is just one more time I have to sit through it...
No offence, but it really sounds amateurish. The reed breaks a few times, and the group just doesn't sound together. Also, I really don't think this theme fits a jazz setting. It would have to be REAL good, and this just doesn't cut it... sorry guys...

- KogeJoe on February 1, 2007
Actually... I don't actually remember LA having Zelda's Lullaby anyway.
Either way, this is a very smooth piece - well, for very, read rather. The kind of thing you'd want to add a 20's or 30's female vocalist to. I didn't like the start too much - the bass took too long to come in.

- Great King Rat on September 11, 2004
Everything about the file identification now says Links Awakening. But the fact remains that this is a Link to the Past mix. I suppose if you wanted you could say its a mix from any of the games that actually have this tune in it which Link's Awakening does not. So I've changed everything in the file to show the correct information. In OCR format of course.

- Species8472 on June 20, 2004
Bahamut wrote: I must ask one question - why does the picture in the front page show Zelda: Link's Awakening instead of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? The song says Zelda 64 in the file name, and so I just find it odd.

I figured the picture was changed from the Zelda 64 one because of the name "saharalahs" home coming, saharalah being from A Link to the Past, but of course, for some reason, its Link's Awakening :?

- Solid Krono on June 19, 2004
I must ask one question - why does the picture in the front page show Zelda: Link's Awakening instead of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? The song says Zelda 64 in the file name, and so I just find it odd.

- Bahamut on June 19, 2004
It's not really my style, but it's good. I listened to it a few times and it's real easy listening. Not too complicated. Overall good job!

- Decrescendo on June 18, 2004
The bass is a perfect compliment to the Sax. The atmosphere this song gives off is its strongest point. In the beginning, it seems a little scattered to me, but it pulls it together and becomes a very soothing mix. Great.

- -RK- on June 17, 2004
Not really jazz like the Duke, and not really "smooth jazz" (a misnomer if ever there was one) either. It's a bit more unstructured than classical jazz in that, while it comes together as a whole very well, it seems most of the time as if the individual players were doing their own thing instead of playing as parts of a whole, more like a jazzy jam session than a song. However, it's not quite to the point of being Phish on dramamine.
It's not really my cup of tea, to be honest. While I appreciate the performance skills of the players involved, the piece as whole doesn't keep my attention. This would be something I would enjoy more in a live setting where the experience of being there makes ordinary music more exciting. As a whole it bores me, but there is no doubt that the players are capable of playing exceptionally well.
And as Ellington once said "It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing."
D

- Disco Dan on June 16, 2004
Being a sax player myself, I can really appreciate this mix. I'll just say this: I like it. A lot.
P.S. Why is it suddenly listed as a Link's Awakening mix? Zelda's Lullaby is from OoT...

- Ffej on June 16, 2004
Aw man, that's some nice stuff you got there Neskvartetten. I really love the jazz sound and smooth vibes given off from the quiet percussion in the backround. The deviation from Zelda's Lullaby at 1:15 is pretty neat, but you forget that it's still just a remix. Unfortunately, that deviation lasts a really long time. It's more like interpretive jazz with allusions to Zelda's Lullaby, which is neat, but just not solid enough for a title of ReMix. I still really, really like it though, so I give it a 8/10. Way to go Neskvartetten, keep it up.

- Millman on June 16, 2004
Ah, I really like this. Nice, laid-back jazz. Excellent quality on the performance and recording. I kind of like how everything else behind the sax seems a bit hushed, putting the sax up-front, except for around 3:00-ish where the percussion wakes you up.
Good job on this mix. Definately a keeper.

- Corporal Eschebone on June 16, 2004
solid jazz remix. beginning's iffy, but the rest of the mix is great. sounds like something you might hear in a café. very relaxed.

- Thornless Rose on June 15, 2004

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