ReMix: Chrono Trigger 'Rhodes to the Past'
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- Game: Chrono Trigger (Square, 1995, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Fatty Acid
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda, Yasunori Mitsuda
- Song(s): 'Yearnings of the Wind'
- Posted: 2004-08-04, evaluated by the judges
Newcomer Fatty Acid aka Joseph Liao (from that "smartypants" MIT college you might have heard of [/jealous]) gives us this slicked back Rhodes-driven (very punny) CT ReMix with a downbeat/jazzy groove, lovely compressed drums, and a tremolo/panned electric rhodes patch that ties everything together and, while not reworking the primary melody, DOES introduce some original progressions and interludes into the fray that give the composition some character. The panel was very split on whether there was enough arrangement involved, but I definitely concur with the (slight) majority, who felt that one can leave the main melody alone, i.e. verbatim, and still do enough additive and instrumentation work to constitute sufficient interpretation. I'm going to quote at length from Mr. Baranowsky, who shares my take:
"No, No, No, No...I will not have mindless simplicity-bashing. Not on my watch. There are ways to make music interesting without utilizing a 12-tone scale based on the ratio of cornflakes to coco puffs in your neighborhood general store. As I have stated before with certain hiphop arrangements, simplicity must be used effectively to maintain any kind of musical interest. There is not always a need to modify the melody into a mutated beast of its former self. This track builds well, sustains a groove worthy of the highest paid jiggity-jivers in the whole damn town, and does enough breakdowns and mix-ups to keep it all jivin' without too much looping. There are subtle melodic mix-ups in the sine-wave lead that absolutely fit the new form of the tune in the best way. The way the rhodes and synth-a-plucks complement the chord changes runs chills down my spine. VERY well done. This is a textbook example of instrumentation and style adding enough to a track to look past the less-than-revolutionary arrangement."
He also added a comment about his personal willingness to defecate on the lawns of those judges who did not agree with his approval of the mix, though it didn't sway any existing votes to the contrary (apparently this is not as undesirable as one would assume). Like his eloquent and emphatic statement says, I think this is a mix that keeps it simple but has enough additions, where they count, to distance the piece from sounding like a cover and bring it into more interpretive territory. This is hard to do with minimalism, especially when the main melody is so core to the original and is kept perfectly intact, but it can be done, and this is a good example of how. I'd love to see slightly riskier pieces from Liao in the future, but this is an excellent first sub that shows production polish, an ear for the mellow, and subtle attention to detail. Good stuff.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - avaris on December 2, 2009
Recommended. :-)
- OA on December 2, 2009
Yet I see that he has many more (such as his original FF X-2 remix and Matoya no Fuuketsu, for example) that everybody seems to love. Where oh where can i get my hands on these songs?? VGMix is and has been down for quite a while...I'm at my wits end! Google refers me to a million japanese sites when I search Matoya no Fuuketsu and Chem sites when i search Fatty Acid Remix T_T
- sittingducks on May 15, 2007
- DragonFireKai on March 13, 2007
like the original, but the presence of
nice beats and soft violins in the back
makes it top notch. Good job, FA.
- Bummerdude on September 12, 2005
- [blunai] on June 20, 2005
great song, love your work Fatty, keep em coming...
- Deathsangel34 on June 4, 2005
The main melody remains solid, but I almost felt as if I was listening to something from Super Metroid (Brinstar) in the first 45 or so seconds.
Anyway, this one gets a solid score from me. Very enjoyable easy listening. Nothing too demanding from the listener, but perfect for relaxing and taking a breather from the hectic nature of life.
-Dust
- AboveTheDust on February 18, 2005
The semi-industrial/elctronic sound in the intro is nice, but it doesn't follow into the melody, which leaves the main portion of the song sounding a bit generic.
- Gnam on October 14, 2004
- flipt on August 26, 2004
- Strife. on August 21, 2004
- Thornless Rose on August 12, 2004
ShrikeArghast wrote: I'd like to add, though, that I often feel that, in their efforts to further individualize their work, that many artists' recent submissions to OCRemix have sometimes faltered in their focus. Many of these folks of late seem to forget that they are [b]remixing[/b] rather than composing new music, and this is a key notation made all the more obvious by this particular remix which, if nothing else, definately holds true to its core.
They [b]are[/b] often composing new music, aren't they? [looks at postcount] Thank you for drawing uninformed conclusions while not reading the site FAQ:
djpretzel (Frequently Asked Questions) wrote: The word "ReMix" was chosen but is not necessarily appropriate, as the tracks here are more arrangements than remixes (think of this as the difference between a "remix" and a "ReMix," mmmkay?). Besides, "OverClocked Arrangements" would have sounded gimp.
- Liontamer on August 9, 2004
I didn't recognize the first part as it was just starting. At 47 seconds the familiar tunes started coming in, quiet and full. The background music seemed to soothe the song in its transit through the times that be. The alterations near the end help promote a feeling of distance and.. I guess.. light..
- Crono3of3time on August 9, 2004
- SixthFlyingMan on August 9, 2004
