Fieari
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Posts posted by Fieari
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I have a question, before I review this.
Some time ago, someone sent me an MP3 labeled "Metal Gear Solid 2 - Orchestrated Theme (GREAT Quality).mp3" with an ID3 tag saying it was by an "Unknown Artist". Is that the previous version mentioned? I can hear similarities in places, but this new one sounds VERY different in all areas...
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This was released as a quicky bite on the PMM website several months ago. My opinion hasn't changed much. While it's INTERESTING to hear the Final Fantasy battle music played in grunge style, I don't happen to like it. To garage-y. It's not the sound quality that bothers me... it's the flat notes, the twang, and the... irreverence to the original that gets me. This has an ENTIRELY different feel to it that the original. I'll agree that once it gets to the FF6 music, they play it closer, and thus better... but I'm still uncomfortable.
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I wasn't wrong. I mentioned it was exactly as if the MP3 had only been partially downloaded? Well... there's a reason for that. That reason might just have turned out to be that it WAS only partially downloaded. Apparently, my internet connection died in the middle of the transfer, and instead of telling me this, it just stopped the download and pretended it was finished. A redownloading of the file fixed the problem.
So then! Now I get to review this beautiful work!
The first thing I have to do is compare it to FFmusicdj's "Breath of Fire - Sad Melody" mix, which I think I also reviewed. It might have gotten erased in the recent board mix up thing, I'm not sure I haven't checked, but basically, the consensus is that he (or she?) took a beautiful melody, and made in weird by turning it into techno. I argued that while it wasn't suitable for everyday listening, it had it's place, as it conveyed the mood of energetic lonelyness fairly well. "Sad Melody" starts out with a rather pretty piano rendition of the basic tune.
DC13's version of this song ALSO starts out with a piano playing the melody.
Except his piano rendition goes beyond pretty, into stunningly beautiful. It the entire peice was nothing but piano... this would be a gorgeous mix, and one that I would surely listen to time and time again! But somehow, and this is an amazing feat, let me tell you, it gets better from here. The beginning piano bit is possibly the most beautiful part of the peice... going beyond just the melody, and adding the kind of ornementation that the piano was BUILT for... but the rest is still... wonderful.
The timpani comes in with a nice roll, which is what God made the timpani for in the first place, and the piano is delegated to the background, where it fills in with some nice sounds that complement the music. A flute comes in with the actual melody, which sounds pretty nice. Now, I'll have to admit, I'm a floutist, and this sample doesn't actually sound as good as I can make my flute sound, but it's a sample, and one has to take these things into account.
The piano and the flute go on for a little while in this manner, with some sparklie sounds that add color here and there....
I have to agree with some of these other reviews. The Pizzacato is simply great. There isn't a LOT of it, but what there is really adds to the peice!
The only things I could really say to improve this, would be perhaps if there was slightly more echo, or lingering, with the shimmering bells (because a real one resonates a little bit after being used)... and of course, as I mentioned, a better flute sample... or even the real thing! The arrangement itself is perfect and lovely. I'd LOVE to hear more orchestral style peices like this, esspecially with more piano! I'm falling in love with the piano...
Keep up the good work!
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It.... cuts off.... suddenly, abruptly, in such a manner that I expect in regards to an MP3 that didn't get downloaded all the way. At 3:02, it just stops, mid note, mid melody. Yet the download page also agrees that 3:02 (well, the download pages says 3:03...) is the length of the track! What gives here?
I was all set to give a gloriously gushing positive review to this, since I LOVE what I've heard so far... but... it cuts off! That's just wrong!
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I was dissapointed the first several times I listened to this track as well. It starts with such a beautiful piano track! Why couldn't it continue in that vein? And yet again, I find a song that I consider to have been ruined by the addition of a drum loop. As I've said in other reviews, I don't like drums. I -love- rythym, I just like the beat to be covered by an actual instrument, you know, by emphasizing the beat, instead of with a drum, which in my mind is an artificial time keeping device. And artificial is bad.
But play it several times I did, until I stopped, and in the process of playing it those serval times, it lodged somewhere in the back of my subconscious. Some of you may know that I listen to remixes while I do things like write, for I love writting stories. And then there came a time when I was writting a story that came to a section of that story wherein my subconscious dredged up this song again, and I just HAD to hear it. And ever since then, I've recognized that it does, indeed, have musical qualities, and that just because those qualities aren't the kind I like when I'm lounging around, say, web surfing, it does set a very specific mood. Let me try my best to describe that mood. I'll probably miss the mark, because describing emotions with words is tricky, but here's my best shot.
It starts out just as advertised. A sad melody. Well... not precisly sad... more meloncholic. Lonely. And then, without much transition, it turns straight into techno. Techno is energetic, electronic, and bouncy, almost by definition! But because of the intro, what it's a techno rendition OF stays firmly in the mind, and despite being techno, the sensation of lonelyness remains. Energetic, power driving, yet alone. Which is odd. Which is why it took a while for me to find a place where it would be usefull... to make me want to listen to it.
The reason I would listen to it before I started appreciating it as a whole was for two little parts in it. The beginning, and at 2:45, when the drums are dropped out (THANKFULLY!) and it's piano mixed in with the electronic instrument. I find this portion of the song to be actually beautiful... emotionally stirring, sweet, calm, like overlooking a cliff on a windswept day. Later, the drum loop cuts out again, leaving just the electronic instrument... and that part is ok as well... but not as pretty as when the piano is there.
So I still don't play it REGULARLY... and it's not on my WinAMP random playlist, but every once and a while, the mood that this song captures is actually welcome, and I go hunt it out in my folder and hit play... it does it's job then. Well done for that. I'd also like to add to FF DJ that he does great piano work, and that I'd love hearing a non-techno peice from him that featured the piano as the main instrument... perhaps it should have some other instruments to back it up, but the piano should be the focus. I hope to hear that one day from you.
Until then...
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The intro is great for the first time you listen to it! However, when you just want to hear that funky latin beat some more, you really want a version that skips the whole thing and gets right down to it. That's definatly my only request. This track is GREAT.
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To begin: I like it.
I was just sitting here a little while ago thinking about ReMixes on this site, and how some just lack a... polished feel to them. And I was trying to think of examples of the better ones and the worse ones... I won't name any of the worse that came to mind, but this one, interestingly enough, came to mind as a good one. I like how it opens... the "whannn" sound using different vowels and pitches really appealed to me!
Now that I've been given the suggestion that this might not be as good as I always though it was, I have to consider things more specifically though. Indeed, perhaps it COULD have been better. There are better mixes of this particular song on OC Remix... which is not to say that this is bad because there have been a large number of megaman remixes that I've simply just deleted after listening to once! (hint to future remixers: the original NES track with a drum loop added is not going to stay on my PC) But yet... yet... desipte the fact that there are better... I STILL LISTEN TO THIS ONE. I don't know what keeps drawing me back... I definatly like the opening to this peice. Perhaps that's what keeps drawing me back. The rest of it is decent... so with an exceptional opening, that brings its average score up significantly! I guess that has to be it.
Nothing bad in this mix. The opening is GOOD. Works for me!
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Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge a movie by its posters. And for the love of all things pleasing to the ears, don't judge a remix by its title!
I must regret to admit that I did that last one. But now I repent! I repent indeed! "FourLittleMetroids" sounds... flat to me. It sounds like a bit of kiddie music... child's play. Not serious music. And so I never even downloaded it until today, when I decided I just had to have some more metroid music, and kiddie stuff be darned, I'd listen to it anyway.
This track is NOTHING like I imagined it from the title. NOTHING. If I was asked to say what one thing I would change about this mix, I would pick that you ditch the title and find something more appropriate. My friend standing over my shoulder suggests "BloodScrotum"... but I think that would be a bit over the top myself. Since the title is set though, all I can judge now is the music. And this... this my friends is perfect.
I mentioned I was looking for metroid music. The beginning of this little medley destroys any doubt that this might not live up to the name Metroid. The first thing I thought when I heard that slight throbbing noise at the beginning was "Oh crap... that's what a metroid sounds like in real life. I know they don't really exist, but that's what they sound like anyway!" If you've heard the fiendish creatures in the actual games, and then listen to this, you'll know what I mean. It takes the ESSENSE of what you hear in the games with limited sound processing, and turns it into something truly frightening...
And then it slowly puts in some shinning tones that I can only describe as "stars". In other contexts, you could call it crystalline, but this is metroid. We're looking at stars here. This put me right into the mood of the piece as a whole. Once I was irreversibly sucked into the piece... no... sucked into this WORLD, AmIevil evilly throws some distortion guitar at my head. The echoy... clangy... metallic sound thrusts the image of a rusty heap of a junker spaceship into my mind, complete with leaking pipes and cramped corridors. If there's a piece of music that can draw about the IMAGE of entering the first level in the first Metroid for NES, this does it. And there are these thud sounds that give you the sensation that there's something alive down there, and it's not friendly.
And then we get into the heart of the music! The scene is set, we've got a gun, a powersuit, and breasts*. We're going to kill some alien scum all the way to 2:40!
The action adventure music ends. Piano kicks in. Lonely, solo piano. Mournful. Creepy. Dark, dangerous. And then a flute adds ambience... sewer music. Brooding. Cramped. And you can SMELL the mildew and slime in the air. It's all put into this music right here. 3:35 brings sounds of your computer, scanning for life forms. Then, BOOM! Back to the adventure!
The scene is set, we've got a gun, kill the blasted critters!!
The guitar here really adds to the piece. Its shrill notes propel you through the soggy caverns with a forceful power that makes you (ok... maybe not you. But me at least) get up and run, shooting vaguely octopus looking aliens as I go!
I mentioned earlier that the only thing about this mix I would change if I could suggest it would be the name. That was while I was still listening to it for the first time, I was only halfway through. Now that I've gotten to the end, I have one more small thing that could have made this track better: an ending. As it is, it ends with some clicky noises that remind me of alien insects, which is good, yes... but I want a rehash of what we just went through. I don't want it to end right here! If you aren't going to add more melody, go back to the old stuff, and mix some variety in or something... and then let me down gently! You've started me on this epic journey and given no climax! I want a climax darnit! End it AFTER we've slain the evil space pirate hoards, not BEFORE!
Now I have to go find a song that has this mood, and contains a climax, so I can feel satisfied in returning to the real world. I was DRAWN IN dammit! Now I have to kill the bad guys or THE DAY ISN'T SAVED! Does anyone have any recommendations as to where I can go? Because for right now, all I can do is put this in WinAmp on repeat, and just stay here, never leaving.
Ah well... it's not such a bad fate, when you get right down to it. Endlessly blasting away the bad guys...
Here's a set of scores I made up on the spot.
Metriod Look And Feel™ - 100%
The "Oh Crap the Metriods are going to SUCK MY LIFE OUT!" factor - 94% (-6% because I'm sure I have that freeze gun around here somewhere...)
Epic Quest - 98% (-2% for not having swords)
Annoying Labyrinths - 70% (I beat metroid eventually... but that doesn't mean finding my way around identicle looking corridors wasn't annoying!)
Pnumonia - 80% (Damp sewers are bad for the lungs. Fortunatly we have breathing units installed in this suit!)
Big Guns - 100% (Oh yeah)
Title - 10% (ick)
Climax - 10% (there really wasn't one...)
Predicted Repeatability - Three weeks nonstop. Then it'll get played when WinAmp finds it on random.
Overall - Kickass!
*I don't actually have breasts. But Samus does, and that's good enough for now.
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I remember reading earlier that the entire set of vocals was done by two guys. I was FLOORED to hear that the black chick was actually a guy doing falsetto! It sounds SO REAL! The quality is AMAZING! And the way they worked the lyrics into that phone call! Brilliance!
I seem to remember that Gato had two songs... the one they sing in this Mix, and then another song when you finally beat him up and he gives you your 15 silver points. If they had added that one to the end, it might have made this even funnier... but I might even be wrong, and there wasn't any more. I'd have to go play again.
I have to go back to giving out mad props now. The "WhooooaAAA!" sound effects in the R&B section... also amazing quality! That section has to be my favorite, followed by the boy band one (Antonio wasn't kidding when he said that they did boy bands better than actual boy bands...) and then the other two. I wouldn't have minded if they had actually extended each version out longer! Anyway, the R&B version is my favorite, esspecially because the lyrics contrast so STARKLY with the mood! It feels like this deep... intimate love song... and he's singin'.... "Beat me up and earn 15 silver points..."
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I'm going to have to agree with EmptyMy here.
In my opinion, part of Monkey Island's charm was, and I quote from the back of the carboard CD-case... "Ear splitting reggae music!"!!!!! Somehow metal just isn't as much fun. I'd really go for a live performed reggae rendition of Monkey Island though... I really want to hear the Steel Drums go at this music.
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Before I begin, I would just like to mention a few words as to my personal tastes in music, so you know where I'm comming from.
I'm a flute player with about 10 years experience, 6 years experience in improvisational melodies. I love orchestral music... not nessesarily classical music, since I think much of classical is too dry, but certainly orchestral... movie scores sometimes have good examples of this... and of course, video games. Final Fantasy music has some very good orchestral stuff. I maintain, in general, that I like all good music, regardless of genre. I also maintain that certain genres are more difficult to produce good music than others... there's very little good rap in my opinion, very little good country, etc... but there are examples.
The last thing I want to mention about my personal taste in music is that I have a general dislike for drums. No, I don't know why. I just don't like them. Don't get me wrong, I love rythym... I just don't like drums capturing that. I'd much perfer an actual instrument to pull off the beat...
That gotten out of the way, I like this track. A lot!
It starts out with bell tones, or perhaps a high octave on the piano, in a resonant room, such as a cave. It gives it a crystaline feel to the music... something we associate with water, which is very good, since if I recall from the game (I haven't played Secret of Mana in a year or two) this is the water palace... or maybe the water cave theme. Hearing the opening notes, I have a very good feeling about the rest of the track... and I've barely heard 5 seconds of the thing!
Then it pulls of exactly what I was telling you before about having a beat without drums. Behind the first bell or piano thing, is a second series of notes that acts as the percussion for a few wonderful measures. On the beat, there's a sharp and clear high pitched note that I quickly fell in love with, followed by beautiful scales or arpeggios running up and down for a lovely ornementation. A breathy organ sound fills in the background for a nice wall of sound to fill in the gaps, and provide a bass for the music.
And then a soft drum beat comes along, at about 38 seconds. I feel the peice could have done without the drums entirely... but at least, even for me, a drum hater, it doesn't distract or take away from the music!
And then the melody shifts at around 56 or 57 seconds, taking the song into a new direction, just what was needed to make certian it didn't become repetitive. Variety is the spice of life! I can't tell whether it's a key change, or if the instrument goes down an octive (or half octive, or...)... but it's deeper, fuller, with more depth, and I love it. Here I can actually say that I like the quiet bass drum pushing the beat along a bit. I really enjoy how, since this is obviously 6/8 time, on the 8th beat, the drum drops out, making a syncopated feel. Brilliance!
The drums leave entirely at 1:14... taking the song from something driving, energetic (but still mysterious) to a dreamy, quiet, contemplative mysterious wonder... back up to the higher crystal notes, we're reminded once against of a crystal cave... the two threads of melody weaving together provide all the beat I need. Lovely! The melody gets softer and softer, with the background getting louder with it's much simpler tune, and then...
At 1:33, BOOM! The drums kick back in with an interesting loop that keeps the music going for a little longer! The high notes are JOINED by the lower ones that we heard before. The pattern shifts, and we get more variety. Have I mentioned I'm loving this music?
The drums drop again, and we have more echoy stuff, with ambient whale song in the background. And then the breathy organ comes back in. And I am subjected to sheer aural bliss until almost everything but the highest of notes plays for 5 more notes, a near solo, and then it ends.
And in the wake, I stay quiet for a few moments, reflecting.
I like. Wonderful. Bravo! Hurray! Hurrah! I shall dance in joy with this music in my own mind!
Congratulations on a fine and wonderful peice!
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In my grand tradition of reviewing those songs in which I love, I've decided to take a moment to give a few words to Kailem's new work. Now, I only say new here, because DJ Pretzel says he (she?) has written other things... but those aren't on the site, and since he says this is an improvement on the others, they probably weren't worth listening to anyway.
This one is.
Unless I'm entirely mistaken, this song is based off of "The Upper Lands"... the forest you go to in order to find Sprite's home. You know the one... where you start off in the four seasons land, you fight really hard monsters for your level (at least, for my level... maybe I should have leveled up a bit more before going to the Upper Land?) and you find a moogle town? Yeah that place. Catchy tune, remember? Nice fluty sound throughout it. Well, this peice doesn't have flutes, but it's still catchy and fun...
It starts off with a dramatic series of short repeating piano runs that really grab your attention. That was the first thing I liked about this peice. And then the melody comes in, with what I can only describe as bell tones, mixed in with this shimmery sound that's the aural version of sparkly bits comming out of the top of your camp fire. Then theres a more oriental style bell, with echoey stuff in the background. And then at 1:03, everything cuts out suddenly, dropping you into three seconds of silence...
And then it comes back in with a driving series of repeating chords! I like this piano stuff! It just fits the song so well, even if it wasn't part of the original melody (maybe it was though, and I just don't remember it...). When the snare drum starts in, it just adds to the peice, making it start sounding like a marching band tune. And that bass drum does nothing to disuade me of that!
A nice rythym is beat out on a flat drum of some sort. I'm also enjoying that. And at the end, everything cuts out, except a harp... which slowly fades out....
Ooh! I hope to hear more by this person! Well done Kailem!
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Welll... I was a bit iffy about this track at first as well. But it's grown on me. A lot. The midi-like synth tones gave me the premonition that it would get very repetitive and ugly as the track went on... but it didn't. And although I could have wished for a bit more variety in the main instrument (starting with the synth tones, and later blending into a more classical instrument perhaps?), it sufficed. That is to say, it wasn't bad, and it wasn't exceptional.
But that's just the instrument.
I saw no need to adjust my speakers throughout the peice. The loud parts were loud, and the soft parts were soft, but this works MUSICALLY. Variety is the spice of both life AND music... and volume changes are just part of that!
1:28 is where this mix really blew me away though. I like quiet music. And this is a wonderful example of such. It's MUSIC. The background comes foreward in an ear pleasing manner, and the foreground waits until 1:53 to come in. And when it does, it's mixed with this treble instrument that washes out certain parts of the melody in a very... hm, I want to say rythmic manner, but I'm not sure that's the term I want. Syncopation might be a bit closer. But although the melody is washed out for those few notes every once and a while, it's still there, and that gives the steady tone varying color... a suggestion of the melody without overwhelming you. This section is a mastery of subtlty!
I'm listening to it again now, and that synth really sounds... mellow? Hollow? Something like that. At the beginning at least. When the drums come in, that adds the needed depth, and when the wall of sound comes in behind it, that adds more... with the hollowness of the main instrument still there in the forefront. This is a good contrast, and works pretty well. I tend to like songs that have a different kind of contrast, and are deep and developed throughout the range out sounds*, but this is ok.
All in all, this is a song that is worthy of being an OC Remix. It has a quality that sets it apart from some of the songs I've seen posted in the WIP forum (formerally the ReView forum) that just didn't cut it. I've downloaded those, played them once, and either had to turn 'em off in the middle of the song, or I listen through once, then delete 'em never to be heard by my ears again. This, I've already listened to at least 5 times, and will probably be played again, such as when I'm writting, doing homework, or surfing the net. It's going into my "Secret of Mana" winamp playlist for certain.
I'd like to hear more from this mixer... this is a good start. The instruments could be changed to improve this track greatly, but the arrangement itself is wonderful. I can't wait to hear what he might be able to do with some other songs... esspecially if he gets some better samples!
* Mustin's "Cry From the Forest" is an exception to this, where the NES tones in the middle really really ADD to the peice... but this might be due to the fact that ALL the other instruments are very real sounding, esspecially the piano and chello... and that's just gorgeous. The NES tones are thus a much, much deeper contrast, and of course, the ral sounding instruments came in first, giving the listener a positive first impression, as opposed to the negative first impression this song gives the listener.
OCR00715 - Tales of Phantasia "Journey to Thor"
in ReMix Reviews & Comments
Posted
Must I be in the minority here, in declaring my enjoyment of nearly every single portion of this mix? The strings at the beginning, contrary to Orky's experience, are what turned me ON to this peice right from the start. The strings sound like they are being made on very old instruments, perhaps a bit rickety... and this gives it a very colorful flavor. I surely wouldn't want to hear these strings playing something calmer... or something more elegant or elaborate... keep them away from anything classical, but for this peice, they are perfect. Perfect in all it's rust filled glory.
But as much as I enjoyed the opening, (and the FX really back up the color thing I was describing earlier... this mix was made for "Outdoors" thinking)... as much as I enjoyed the opening, 1:47, and the wind rushing up to that point, was what made me sit up and really pay attention here. The sudden and stark drum blast brings me to mind of the sound of fireworks being sent up... not fireworks exploding, but rather that FOOMP sound when the rockets are first lit. On an open field, sitting in the right spot, this sound just reverberates through your chest cavity. I have a fairly decent, if now aging, subwoofer... and while I didn't get the entire effect of hearing a rocket go up, there was enough to stir the memory, and my imagination accomplished the rest. I like how the double beats, and the triple beats are laid over top of each other in an unordered fashion... giving it a NATURAL feel, as opposed to an orchestrated one. Perfect for explosions.
The rest of the mix didn't have many SPECIFIC items that can be brought directly to mind, but there was still enough to hold my attention at all times. It never got repetitive, the trademark of a poor quality mix. The one other mentionable spot is at 4:30ish, pointed out by djpretzel as well, the piano came in with a solo. You may have read some of my previous reviews here... if so, you know that I love piano solos in the middle of a piece (and if done well, as the entirety of the piece as well, but that's a different case) and this one was no exception. What a perfect way to end a solid mix alltogether?
This one is a keeper. I've had it on repeat for a while now. I'm loving it anew with each time. Eventually, the passion will subside as I slowly memorize each nuance, but it will forever hold its place on my random WinAmp playlist, this I promise.
DJ Carbunkle, I know this one has been in the works for a while. Congratulations to you, it was worth the wait. Huzzah!