ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Jenova Returns'
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- Game: Final Fantasy VII (Square, 1997, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Steffan Andrews
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'J-E-N-O-V-A', 'Jenova Complete'
- Posted: 2008-02-12, evaluated by djpretzel
It's been over a month since our last posted mix from Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream, which is pretty good considering the flood of submissions it prompted, and the high quality of the album overall. You'll continue to see more in the future, but we're trying to spread them out so OCR doesn't become the "All FF7, All the Time!" station. Sorta like TNT's love affair with Law and Order - not that I'm complaining; Sam Waterston is the man - but "We Know Drama" sometimes seems like it should be revised to "We Know Dick Wolf Crime Drama... and Sometimes Charmed." Also, I hate Charmed. Just had to get that out there. Syndicated cable television shows aside, Steffan's put together a great orchestral version of a classic theme that complements bLiNd's take nicely. The ReMixer writes:
"The aim of this track was to act as if it were a film score cue from of a movie. It bounces and toys with the Jenova theme with the tenacity of a child with ADHD. The stylings are my interpretation of many different influences from the film music world, with a fondness for the quirkiness of Danny Elfman sewn into the arrangement. My favorite passage is the concluding 60 seconds of the track - ending with violin bows flying, a ritualistic sacrifice of a Steinway, and the horn players crowd surfing over the woodwind section. I had a lot of fun writing this, and it was my goal to make it just as fun to listen to."
Project Director Andrew Aversa writes:
"Even before VotL, I was a big fan of Steffan's remixes, particularly 'The Trial in Concert' - but he hadn't done anything since then, so I was really excited to see him signing up for the project. This remix definitely did not disappoint; I'd wager that if you put this in the opening credits of a new Tim Burton film, people wouldn't bat an eyelash. The orchestration is fantastic and convincing, the production is top-notch, and the arrangement is both fun and creative, showing off Steffan's own style while also paying homage to Danny Elfman. Awesome stuff."
There's not too much else to say - Steffan's got A+ grade skills when it comes to arrangement and orchestration, production here is beyond solid, and nothing spells loving like J-E-N-O-V-A. Also, we should be announcing the winners of our music video contest this weekend - stay tuned, some very awesome stuff is on the way. In the meantime, enjoy Mr. Andrews' vision of a well-known theme, in a rich orchestral palette that paints in vivid, immersive hues.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Danny Elfman strikes again.....er...Steffan Andrews strikes again!
Once again, this mix is jsut another example of how Steffan has
grown as a programmer, arranger, and composer in the 5 year hiatus
he took from OCR. It is seriously night and day! The arrangement
for JENOVA here is fantastic. The addition of the battle theme is a
wonderful addition. Great work there. The production quality is
fantastic. The programming is spot on! This could be straight out
of an Elfman movie (MIB comes to mind first). The ending is
wonderous. I agree, it is very Batman esque. Excellent work all
around mate. Come back and give OCR more of this orchestral
goodness. Steffan is truly becoming a master of his craft!
- tweek on November 5, 2009
- tweek on November 5, 2009
This is one of the best homages to contemporary film composers that
exists today, on or off OCR.
Like everyone has pointed out, Elfman is hugely represented. I hear a lot of influence from Ang Lee's Hulk, which admittedly is not classic Elfman, but still his best work in my opinion. It then becomes more John Williams-esque, specifically from his Spielberg collaborations, and then it definately becomes more ambiguous, but I can hear the Batman Begins sound that people have talked about.
The orchestration is super rich, richer than I've come to expect and richer than I really think I deserve as a listener of free music. It's exceptionally fine, so much so that even when the odd unnatural sample makes an appearance, I tend not to care all too much. It's like it instantly gets lost in the excess of quality here.
Definately on my list of favourites, both in the area of arrangement and production. This is so good is scares the hell out of me.
- Marmiduke on July 12, 2009
Like everyone has pointed out, Elfman is hugely represented. I hear a lot of influence from Ang Lee's Hulk, which admittedly is not classic Elfman, but still his best work in my opinion. It then becomes more John Williams-esque, specifically from his Spielberg collaborations, and then it definately becomes more ambiguous, but I can hear the Batman Begins sound that people have talked about.
The orchestration is super rich, richer than I've come to expect and richer than I really think I deserve as a listener of free music. It's exceptionally fine, so much so that even when the odd unnatural sample makes an appearance, I tend not to care all too much. It's like it instantly gets lost in the excess of quality here.
Definately on my list of favourites, both in the area of arrangement and production. This is so good is scares the hell out of me.
- Marmiduke on July 12, 2009
l love that sound scape created in this it has a cinematic feel
that adds drama to this.
Great choice of instruments too.
- metalsnakejuice on May 3, 2009
Great choice of instruments too.
- metalsnakejuice on May 3, 2009
This song is awesome. Unlike some other remixes, this does not just
reiterate a theme over and over again. This takes a theme, plays
around with it, makes it expressive (yes there's the quirkiness but
there's also some fear there too), and includes extremely fitting
sections that make this a highly enjoyable orchestral rendition and
very interesting independent work.
- SoulinEther on March 6, 2009
- SoulinEther on March 6, 2009
I'm a major fan of this song. The first time I really listened to
it, though, I had to do a double-take...
When I got to the end, I could've sworn I was listening to one of the Spider-Man openings!
Good thing I'm a fan of those too, eh? ~(^.=.^)~
- Valerius on January 18, 2009
When I got to the end, I could've sworn I was listening to one of the Spider-Man openings!
Good thing I'm a fan of those too, eh? ~(^.=.^)~
- Valerius on January 18, 2009
This is definitely an epic mix, and really the only way I can
picture the source any more (in my book, it's always a good thing
for a piece to be able to oust its source). Also love the tiny bit
of the battle theme thrown in, it fits perfectly and everything
just sounds like it was made to come together in this piece.
Beautiful work.
- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
I must confess... When I first listened to this song, I was like
'eh, too jaunty' and skipped track after about 10 seconds... A
little later I decided to give it a second look and instantly fell
in love with the entire track.
The Danny Elfman homage is utterly clear and doesn't even try to hide itself, and for that, I love it. It seems to skip at first from something akin to [i]Nightmare Before Christmas[/i] (which I love anyway despite my initial misgivings), before showing shades of Batman (which to be fair should have been honest given the title of the song. :) ).
I really could see Gotham City in a snowstorm, throughout the first half.
The whole thing sense shivers running up my spine and Stefan was right. The last 60 seconds are the best, and simultaneously the worst. Why the worst as well? Because the track is ENDING by then.
Either way, the whole song builds in crashing waves, building up, sinking back again for a moment, before sudenly coming back up again even greater than before, finally reaching that dramatic crescendo, and yet still leaves me wanting more because of how incredible it is.
One of the finest remixes I have EVER heard.
- KitsuneFury on July 10, 2008
The Danny Elfman homage is utterly clear and doesn't even try to hide itself, and for that, I love it. It seems to skip at first from something akin to [i]Nightmare Before Christmas[/i] (which I love anyway despite my initial misgivings), before showing shades of Batman (which to be fair should have been honest given the title of the song. :) ).
I really could see Gotham City in a snowstorm, throughout the first half.
The whole thing sense shivers running up my spine and Stefan was right. The last 60 seconds are the best, and simultaneously the worst. Why the worst as well? Because the track is ENDING by then.
Either way, the whole song builds in crashing waves, building up, sinking back again for a moment, before sudenly coming back up again even greater than before, finally reaching that dramatic crescendo, and yet still leaves me wanting more because of how incredible it is.
One of the finest remixes I have EVER heard.
- KitsuneFury on July 10, 2008
I was really hearing the Spiderman flying through the city theme in
this, but he did such a good job - it's one of my top favorites in
VotL.
- medomai on April 18, 2008
- medomai on April 18, 2008
This is excellent work. If the composer who did the music for FFXII
remixed this track, this is what would come out.
Personally though, I don't like the new music style. It lacks personality somewhat, and bite. That's just my personal preference for games though, your work is in itself flawless.
- Dectilon on March 6, 2008
Personally though, I don't like the new music style. It lacks personality somewhat, and bite. That's just my personal preference for games though, your work is in itself flawless.
- Dectilon on March 6, 2008
Whole thing is great. I just recently finished playing FFXII and
this remix reminds me of a few of the tunes on there. Probably just
due to the orchestration, but that is a compliment.
Also agree on the batman ending, lol :D
- Peconomusman on February 19, 2008
Also agree on the batman ending, lol :D
- Peconomusman on February 19, 2008
artemisjaeger;376799 wrote: Pardon me while I go vomit from all of the cheese my ears just ingested.
Okay, I can't let this comment pass. You are completely wrong and just absurd. Because I know for a fact that it is impossible to vomit from putting too much cheese in your ears. Tried it last week. Seriously.
- Evan Arnett on February 16, 2008
Pardon me while I go vomit from all of the cheese my ears just
ingested.
- artemisjaeger on February 15, 2008
- artemisjaeger on February 15, 2008
I've been listening to remixes on this site here for a while, but I
never got around to registering an account and writing any reviews.
This remix was so good that I decided to register just so I could
post a comment.
This is definitely a colorful and exciting piece. It definitely strays the course of many other Jenova remixes, for instance like the heavier techno, rock, or dark orchestral remixes. Really refreshing piece.
As soon as it opened, I instantly got this feeling of nostalgia. Not just for FFVII, but for something else because of the feel of this piece. It felt something of a cartoon-ish John Williams Fantasy and Flight sort of thing out of Star Wars. After about 20 minutes and relistening to this remix, I realized that the feel of the piece reminded me of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
Great piece.
- kwansoo87 on February 15, 2008
This is definitely a colorful and exciting piece. It definitely strays the course of many other Jenova remixes, for instance like the heavier techno, rock, or dark orchestral remixes. Really refreshing piece.
As soon as it opened, I instantly got this feeling of nostalgia. Not just for FFVII, but for something else because of the feel of this piece. It felt something of a cartoon-ish John Williams Fantasy and Flight sort of thing out of Star Wars. After about 20 minutes and relistening to this remix, I realized that the feel of the piece reminded me of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
Great piece.
- kwansoo87 on February 15, 2008
well well I have to say I was impressed with this. It sounds like
it was made with either ewql silver xp pro or gold xp pro. The
orchestration was perfect in everyway. The one downfall though was
the brass. Low was fine but the trumpet (except for the end) and
the french horn were very odd sounding. I'm not saying it was bad
but you could definitely tell it was synthed. Now all that being
said, I don't think it takes away from the enjoyment of the piece.
I find myself listening to this alot. I have it on my flash drive
and I always seem to be playing it. Very awesome accomplishment. We
should team up and do a colaboration piece or something
:razz:
-Derek-
- derako on February 14, 2008
-Derek-
- derako on February 14, 2008
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