OCR04203 - *YES* Final Fantasy IX "Be Still, My Wicked Heart"

[Gario]

RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp

ID: 48262
Game(s): FF9
Song Title: Be Still, My Wicked Heart

Songs Remixed: "Footsteps of Desire" AKA "Devil's Ambition", "Slew of Love Letters" AKA "Foolproof Love Letter Scheme", "Black Waltz" and "Feel My Blade" AKA "Sword of Fury"

 

 

 

 

[Rexy]

Arrangement-wise, I'm impressed!  It feels more like a classical composition that takes elements from the four sources and even makes modifications to adapt to its shady character.  I like how "Slew of Love Letters" and the C section of "Sword of Fury" got changed into a more somber mood at 1:34 and 3:26 respectively, and the double-time approach for "Devil's Ambition" at 2:47 also contributed well to the pacing.  It gives me the idea that Kuja is the star of his unique love story opera, based on how the sections linked together.

The production also sounds clean and well-balanced, but it's not without its minor irks.  Articulation isn't even my biggest beef this time, as the instruments are mostly beautifully realized - with only the brass parts sounding not quite as human.  I want to shout out to that synth female voice in particular - the volume shaping and vibrato sound lovely!  If there's one thing I can change personally, it's adding a touch of reverb onto the overall soundscape for that concert hall experience.  I can see this working well without, though.

Unfortunately, this track has a set of crackling pops that would require another render to get them addressed.  I heard some at 0:36 1:35, 1:38. 1:49, 2:06 and 3:56, as well as an audio skip at 3:55.  I also heard what I assumed was bow sounds at 0:03 and 3:15, to save another judge from any misunderstanding.

As it stands, it's a more thorough and advanced arrangement with some well-articulated and clean instrumentation.  I can firmly get behind this, but that's provided the crackles get fixed.  I'm confident that Rebecca will co-operate with us.

YES (conditional on fixing pops)

Edited September 14, 2019 by Rexy

[MindWanderer]

This is one of Rebecca's best arrangements so far, and that's out of a massive library she's produced over the last few years!  It doesn't sound a thing like a medley despite using four sources, and the orchestration is delicious.  The timing is a smidge mechanical, and 3:37-3:50 is orchestrated weirdly.  The bass choir that starts at 2:15 is definitely in the uncanny valley, and I have a hard time believing that the soprano who's been "singing" all along can hit that alto note at 2:21.  This is largely nit-picking, though.

As for those pops.  I don't hear any at 2:06, and if there are ones at 1:49 and 3:56 they hit on the beat and you really have to be listening for them.  The one at 1:39 is super quiet.  That leaves just two, and while they're clearly there, they're also fairly quiet and I can forgive them.

YES

[Sir_NutS]

Pretty ambitious stuff here.  Definitely one of Rebecca's best, as I have barely anything to nitpick here production-wise.  The use of the female singer is awesome here, handled with a lot of subtlety and definitely a highlight of the arrangement.   Another highlight with this one is how well the themes blended together.  It doesn't sound like a cheap medley but like a complete song.

Clean production and the levels on this one are alright, usually I have to turn my volume way up.

I noticed the pops here, and this is the only thing holding this track back.  I'm sure these aren't due to clipping as the track's peak don't reach near 0 db, so the issue is not a simple fix and would require some investigation.  As such, I can't tag this as conditional.  But this remix is also really good, so asking for a resub seems like a bit much for just fixing these pops.  I don't think many people will notice but we don't pass judgement on whether the general public will notice issues with the tracks or not.

I'll give this a bit more thought.

EDIT: 10/06/2020 Well it took me some time but I'm listening again.  I am still hearing those pops even tho on this listen I'm going purely by ear again without checking the timestamps provided in the thread.  I think we need these revised, it's a noticeable technical flaw in my opinion.

YES (Conditional on Fixing Pops)

Edited June 10, 2020 by Sir_NutS

[prophetik music]

On 9/18/2019 at 3:03 PM, MindWanderer said:

...and I have a hard time believing that the soprano who's been "singing" all along can hit that alto note at 2:21.

i think it's just an E in the staff, well within a coloratura's range. i think i heard a high Db above the staff in this, and i'd expect a coloratura to be able to sing a 2.25ish octave range, which is in the A-Bb range. so actually pretty well rendered considering the dramatic change in timbre that most big-voiced sopranos have down lower as they get into their chest more.

i'll start with arrangement. from the negative side, there's something weird at 3:52 in the keys, and there's some more mess a few seconds later in the reeds. it also just sort of ends. beyond that, though, this is some of rebecca's best scoring, and the care taken with that synth voice is fantastic. i agree that it needs some concert hall verb (the whole thing is a touch dry) to make it more believable and flatten out the uncanny valley, but overall this is delightful.

about the pops:

• 0:03 is just low pizz. i'm guessing that the sampler that rebecca's using uses a messy pizz attack (which is common), and since pizz has a lot more noise to it than normal notes it sounds a bit strange that low.
• 0:36 is real hard to hear.
• 1:35 has nothing that i can hear. maybe more of the attack from the plucked strings?
• 1:49's is so slight that i'm thinking it's also string noise. there does sound like there's something crunchy there but i can't place it. this sounds more like a compression artifact but this is a wav. wonder if it's a render error? it's very minimal.
• 2:06 has nothing i can hear.
• 3:15's is string attack, more pizz.
• 3:55 has something audible in the right ear. those reeds are real out of tune - is that a live instrument? sounds like someone donked the mic when it had a low-cut on.
• 3:56's got nothing i can hear.

there's nothing here that's causing me to say "no way". this is solid. excellent work.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer]

I'd say this was pretty exposed orchestration that gets by on OCR but obviously is in the uncanny valley, with the early string sustains being the big offender.

That said, this was a cohesively presented medley, and the production was solid enough. Some light pops/deformations around 3:55-3:57, but those weren't a big deal. I wouldn't treat 1:35, 1:38, 1:49, and some other spots as pops; those seemed to be instrumental sounds. In any case, those minor issues didn't prompt me to say we should hold this back.

YES

[Jivemaster]

Decent level of clarity here across the production. Nice spread of instruments. The change at 1:39 was done well. The orchestration has a bit of a dark vibe which I enjoyed, a little Elfman at times. The choir is playful but grounds things nicely. The arrangement is solid, with a decent level of breakdowns and build-ups. Not much more to say here, nice job.

YES

[DragonAvenger]

Yeah, don't see a real reason to hold this back. Listened through and even the noises I was able to pick out were very slight at best. 

Really nice arrangement, really nice tone and combination of instruments to set the mood here.

YES