EntroPi

Ok. This is just... one of those pieces where you sit there like a deer in the headlights for minutes after the song's over - and it's not on repeat. I'll post here what I've posted at VGMix... I'm lazy. Enthalpy and entropy - two very important parts of the universe. Anyway... I think it still holds it review quality, although I don't like some of the way I've worded some things. But, the message is the same. ************* Playing ************* The song argues for itself here. Spekkosaurus is obviously an extremely talented player - the parts especially at 1:40 etc. show that all too clearly. But what makes the playing so much more meaningful is the next part. ************* Improv ************* He goes in with a melody and basic idea of the original CT piece, and comes out with this. This, my friends, is gold. This makes the track 100 times more commendable. And he covers about 7 minutes and 50 seconds with this. He is able to do so many subtle variations on a theme and make it fresh all the way through. Plus - plus he takes the original to places where it never went before. 5:20 is a good example of this. And 5:53. And... see? So many place it would be too hard to talk about it. This is where the TALENT is, people. ************* Arrangement ************* This song reeks of style. It is style bliss. Style rapture. It totally capture the mood of a 'trial' with just a simple piano solo. Improv falls under here too - incredibly done. All the tonality is preserved - chords / arpeggios etc. perfectly chosen. Syncopation INCREDIBLY done, down to minute details. Dynamics? Check. Perfect tempo control? Check. Just the right amount of fills at the right time, done the right way? Checkmate! I could say a lot more about this piece, folks. But it's when I really realize what Spekko's done with this piece that I am left completely speechless... I would have preferred more stereo separation and a better recording setup overall. But there's not much he can do about that, so... A must download - I don't care what kind of Spam you eat, this guy knows - and loves, obviously - what he's doing.

This mix's main limitation is that it isn't a live recording, and there's really no way to get around that... But, for what he had to work with, Matt did an excellent job and shows some good insight into piano-playing techniques. Although I do have to say, the velocity towards the end of the piece sounded to me like it was controlled by some sort of LFO...

10/10 I especially like the little details, like when the hi-hats come in, the good stereo detunage, and how the bass becomes more prominent during the 'break' sections.

This song is excellent and just what the doctor ordered, but I have two major gripes. A) An excellent piano sound is used but the melody/bass is far too much separated, ruining for me what would have been a very realistic piece. I can't hear them perfectly, but I'm fairly sure that some (well most) of the bass octave to chord transitions would be impossible - it's just not possible to move one's hands instantly. That 'holding' effect comes as a result of pedaling, which I didn't hear, as it should have affected the melody as well in that case. And, obviously, the sound of the notes. But I'm getting picky here. 9.5/10 for this awesome piece - kudos to McV for daring to do ragtime.

I particularly love the hi-hats here. There's just so... groovalicious. Also, it's pretty happy, and how can you complain if something's happy? Everything was very chosen... even the pizzicato works wonders with the guitar. Major props.