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OCR01838 - Portal "Live from [SUBJECT HOMETOWN HERE]"


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Hehehe... I just got done listening to it, VERY nice... love the original and this does it a fair amount of justice.

But, near the end, I couldn't help but think... "Portals: the Musical." This almost makes a good opening theme for it (though, it's really the closing theme... but Things could be worked around and stuff.)

Ehehehe... "Portals: the Musical"

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Excellent, but I think asking for a review from me is a conflict of interest >_>

Thanks to everyone who checked out the arrangement and interview. Again I'd invite you to check out some more of our recordings on our website. And if anyone can make it, please come to our FREE show, this Saturday May 9th at 3PM in the Dekelboum Theater of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the UMD Campus. We're also on twitter @GamerSymphony, and have a facebook group "Gamer Symphony Orchestra." Check them out for regular updates!

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Having won the GSO shirt from MAGFest (it's awesome -- thanks!), I figured I owe you guys at least a listen and review. :P

First of all, congratulations to whoever is involved in managing the group. I can't begin to think of all of the logistical problems involved with getting this many people to show up, organize and coordinate performance sites, promote yourselves, etc. without (presumably) receiving the support that is given to official university ensembles.:nicework:

As to the actual piece and performance, I love the arrangement. The mix of slow and fast styles is excellent -- my only complaint is that I wish the final slow section would have been just a few clicks faster. There are some strings out of tune, especially noticeable at the beginning, but that's hard to be picky about because of the live performance. Kudos especially to the vocalist -- an excellent performance from her that's studio quality.

One note: the performance recording I'm listening to sounds like it fails to capture the entire orchestra somehow. Are there sections that aren't recorded as well? Occasionally I lose track of a string section when the entire ensemble is playing.

Thanks for getting this on OCR -- if I'm ever in Maryland (I have inlaws in DC, so it's certainly possible) when you have a show, I'll be in your audience.

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I'm not sure how I feel about this piece, it loses most of the feel of the original.

I think it's an interesting adaptation, and during the second verse it starts to take on more of the slightly off-beat, happy-go-lucky feel of the original.

I like the inclusion of the instrumental/horn/latin version from the game, it adds a lot of flavour.

It's a quirky piece that I'd have trouble not enjoying, and admittedly it does grow on me as a listener as it goes on. I think it's just the HUGE drop in tempo from the original that throws me, as someone that's listened to the original hundreds of times (sang it instead of Happy Birthday at my birthday).

It's a good arrangement, just unexpectedly so.

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This is amazing--mad props to everyone who participated in this.

It's no secret (well, maybe it is since I've never really said it), but I really dig these live orchestra arrangements--the Wild Arms one simply thrilled me, and once again you fine, fine people deliver.

It's kinda funny, but just the other week a friend of mine had me listen to the original song (highly addictive), so it sort of added a new dimension of appreciation to listening to this mix--not that I don't enjoy good music regardless of whether I've even heard of the game it's from, but knowing the source tune does add that extra level of familiarity that made me crack a smile more than once while listening to this.

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This is interesting but I know the original too well to get excited over this. I don't mean to be negative, it's just that I have a hard time with anyone but GLADOS singing the song!! The music is really good, maybe the song will grow on me after a few more listens.

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Since this is a live performance, you have to be a little more forgiving towards the things I'm bringing up, but they still make the song a lot less enjoyable to listen to.

The strings (or, these are the most obvious ones, at least) are sometimes horribly off tune and the vocals are too, although it doesn't hurt as much to hear a voice off key as it does a violin. There also seems to be plenty of microphone popping that bothers me a bit.

Aside from these things, and it's not like they can be helped now, the arrangement is nice and the idea is fun. I just have a hard time listening to anything that's off key. Keep practicing :)

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Since this is a live performance, you have to be a little more forgiving towards the things I'm bringing up, but they still make the song a lot less enjoyable to listen to.

The strings (or, these are the most obvious ones, at least) are sometimes horribly off tune and the vocals are too, although it doesn't hurt as much to hear a voice off key as it does a violin. There also seems to be plenty of microphone popping that bothers me a bit.

Aside from these things, and it's not like they can be helped now, the arrangement is nice and the idea is fun. I just have a hard time listening to anything that's off key. Keep practicing :)

My musical skills are still in the dump but I thought it was just me when I thought that something was off in the recording. I have to agree with Dafydd on all the issues he brought up. What got me the most though was the balance between the orchestra and the singer. To me, the singer's voice dominates the instruments too much throughout most of the song. It really made it difficult for me to appreciate the orchestra, strings especially. If this was not a live recording and the volumes tweaked a bit then I'd be happy.

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My musical skills are still in the dump but I thought it was just me when I thought that something was off in the recording. I have to agree with Dafydd on all the issues he brought up. What got me the most though was the balance between the orchestra and the singer. To me, the singer's voice dominates the instruments too much throughout most of the song. It really made it difficult for me to appreciate the orchestra, strings especially. If this was not a live recording and the volumes tweaked a bit then I'd be happy.

You're right about this too.

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I have to say either this is a really bad recording, or the orchestra needs quite a bit of work (or maybe a little of both). I want to like this because it's live, but I can't, because I've heard better performances recorded from my days in highschool band/orchestra. :S

Now I feel like a jerk for saying harsh things but I dunno what else to say besides that I'm really disappointed by this one.

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Epic indeed. The fact that this is all recorded live is more than enough to give this a listen. My ear isn't exactly trained to notice offkey immediately, but some moments of the track felt a bit awkward. Perhaps your previous take on Wild Arms was better performed. However, that doesn't beat the number of times a smiled as I listened. Your take on Still Alive is really interesting and quirky. I mean, the fact that this is an orchestration of an already weird track makes it hard to choose between taking it seriously or laughing at those quirky lyrics that are trying to be sung seriously.

Keep it up, guys!

EDIT: been checking out some of the other recordings you guys posted on the official website. I'm happy that you're covering underrated stuff such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Kirby Super Star. Don't see a lot of remixes of those games. Nice work.

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