OCR00747 - Xenogears "Pilot the Yggdrasil"

[OceansAndrew]

Super intense Orchestral work here, the shifting textures are fantastic and very inspirational. Though I think the piano was mixed quite a bit louder than it normally would have been in a traditional orchestral setting, the choice was a good one, as it lent a lot more power to certain passages.

There were a lot of well thought out chord changes from the original which were all tasteful and colorful, and though this has a lot of power and emotion in it, I agree with CasualT that some full orchestra crecendos would really give it the final boost it needed.

Stellar work though, this track deserves the attention it got back in the day.

[Lucentas]

Truly epic. If/when I build my own airship and go careening through the skies, I will definitely play this piece nonstop over the intercom and drive my crew/passengers completely insane.

It will be awesome.

[Marmiduke]

I remember adoring this back in the day, and whilst today the samples are far from mindblowing, I can still see why I loved it. It has so much enthusiasm packed inside it, always ready to explode into a crescendo or a big, new chorus. That's what this mix is all about: delivering all you'd expect, while being a bit unpredictable at the same time.

The arrangement in particular I would point out as being a highlight. Jared Hudson has a very nice technique of letting a mix build it's muscles before it unleashes its strength, and that's definitely the case here. The sweeping main melody makes few appearances in full, but they are used for maximum pay-off because of some great mixing skills.

I wish the samples held up a little better, but I'm determined to not let it get in the way of an old favourite. Nice, meaty orchestral treatment from one of the nicest, meatiest game tracks of all. Altogether awesome.