OCR00800 - Chrono Trigger "The Trial in Concert"

[orkybash]

Chrono Trigger 'The Trial in Concert'

I am honored to start off the review thread for this remix. Simply put, it is AMAZING. The only disadvantage to it showing up on Overclocked is that it's been around on other sites for a while, and the bitrate had to drop in order to get it under the filesize limit here. But if you download one CT remix from this entire site, let this one be it!

[OverCoat]

I am so glad this got put up! I remember another solo he did of the Trial a while back. The old one was more progressive and got better, however, this one starts off with a bang and gets even... bangier? Oh well, this is still awesome. The Trial is one of my favorite off the Chrono Trigger soundtrack and I am delighted that the song gets some recognition.

YOU MUST ALL DOWNLOAD THIS!

[Xaleph]

This is so INCREDIBLE

you must download this asap!!

ASAP

10/10

he is an incredible pianist, dl this now!!! This is what pianists love to hear when they listen to piano, not yanni, but something like this!!! I think that ghetto lee lewis would agree, we've all had 10-14 years of piano lessons, competitions etc etc... THIS IS A DOWNLOAD!!

[Steffan Andrews]

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

[WhalePorn]

Very very very cool. Good job spekkiosaurus

[Ghetto Lee Lewis]

Congratulations Spekko!! In contrabution to this magnificent achievement, I'm posting my review I wrote on vgmix.com a few weeks ago (also in one take). Of course, the quality of the vgmix.com version would be better because of the higher bitrate. It's barely noticeable though. I'm just glad you posted the whole thing instead of just half of the song like you said you were going to. Well, here is the review in its entirety. Keep in mind, however, even a review such as this can't possibly do justice to this song. This review and others can be found at vgmix.com

http://www.vgmix.com/songview.php?songid=896

One of the best (if not the best) solo piano version of a videogame song I've ever heard. Spekk plays like he's had a lot of Classical training with his playing. He has a style reminiscent of some of the great romantic composers, i.e. Liszt, Chopin, etc. His playing also takes on more modern characteristics of style as well, i.e. impressionism (i.e. Debussy), ragtime (Joplin, Gershwin-ish). However, most of the Romantic-ish composers did very little of actual improvisation. For an improvised arrangement, Spekko's version of this song has amazing structure.

Technique: From rapid octaves and stride playing to two-handed arpeggios, Spekk shows amazing mad skillz at piano playing. He manages to keep a level of excitement and drama throughout the piece.

More about the actual piece. The song begins with ragtime-stride stlyle playing. At about 0:38, the song begins to pick up tempo a bit and maintain a free-er style of playing. Spekk builds up the tone a bit and adds some nice little arpeggios at 0:58. He then takes a lighter approach to the piece, with some very stylish trilling at 1:03. At 1:18, he picks up the heavy tone, building up to an angrier style at 1:40. The angryness drops off at 1:51, however, transitioning to a calmer, but still involved style, with some extended arpeggios at 2:06, but then going into a softer more sensitive, yet more emotional mode of playing, picking up both the volume and intensity at 2:33. However, the piece quiets down again at 2:56, eventually fading to a nice soft ending at 3:14.

The piece is far from over, however, for at 3:17 the main melody starts again with a bit more foreboding intensity than it had originally. At 3:25 the song gets a bit crazier when Spekk begins playing rapid alternating ocataves with the left hand, while the right hand plays brief sections of the melody (with added arpeggios, although still keeping the rhythm in the left hand) to introduce the theme at a more rapid pace at 3:38. That section breaks of at some rapid arpeggios at 3:48 to introduce the second theme, still played rapidly, but with a bit less energy (the left hand playing 2 or 3 octaves higher). This time the right hand fills small sections with trills rather than arpeggios. Probably the most noticeable flaws in Spekko's technique arrive at 3:58, while fumbling with a very small number of notes. However, he doesn't let that slow him down, and continues to build emotion and drama to a brief burst of energy at 4:03, which elapses to a spasmic sort of theme at 4:08, which transitions with more extended arpeggios at 4:14, which levels off at 4:18, with calmer playing of the original theme, yet that keeps a foreboding intensity until it climaxes with arpeggios at 4:44 (that begin a bit spasmically), leading back to a slower, yet louder and more intense rendition of the main melody at 4:47, which builds to a mad octave sub-theme at 5:07, leading to some very long, (it's madness) very rapid arpeggio playingplaying at 5:16 which continues with small sections of part of the melody until 5:36 and drops off into some more quiet playing. At 5:51, a descending melody begins and speeds up to even more mad arpeggios (both hands, up and down, insanity at its best) at 5:53, which drop suddenly at 6:08. Thus begins a very fast, octave-alternating, very interpretive, high-energy rendition of the main melody, which calms down a bit at 6:33, only to begin more rapid descending arpeggios at 6:37. which continue for about 2-3 seconds. Spekk then begins the emotional portion of the melody (with much emotion), which builds until 7:22. The rest of the piece finishes with some quiet playing, and simply winds down for the finish at 7:43

Wonderfully amazing, especially for an improv. piece. 9.6/10. (lack of points due for lack of quality, not played on a grand piano, subtle errors and flaws in technique)

I admit to messing with this song a bit on my own piano, but I couldn't play anywhere near this amazing for this song. Spekkosaurus has got some serious mad skillz.

[MKnight]

I love this awesome piece of work. Pretty fast pacing piano work. its on my top ten list. (i downloaded the OC Remix one not the VGMix one)

[PlatformerMastah]

[post deleted]

[Seith]

It's here, it's there. It's all over the piano smorgasbord. One time it's soft, emotional, sad, provocative, another time it's peppy, campy, delightful, another it's rushy, silent-film-y (at one point, I picture goofy firemen at the bottom of a burning building holding one of those trampoline thingies while a lady screams and flails her arms out of a window with flames licking out around her )

[and Poisonpikachu too!]

Damn man, I'll eat my hat this is so good.

When I listened to it at first, I couldn't speak. Still, I don't know what to say. Its beautiful, its classy, its first rate.

I'd tip my hat to you, good sir or madam, but I'm digesting it now.

[Asterin]

I simply cannot believe you played this entire piece in one take. Spekko, you are quite simply an amazing pianist. The piece is long and excellent, faithfully recreating the original Chrono Trigger theme while successfully creating new piano elaborations. I am a huge fan of piano pieces, (perhaps since I play piano myself), and this is probably the best piano-only OC remix I've heard.

[phase cactus]

i have problems with the file. my winamp doesn't know how long it is

and stops somewhere between where it thinks the end is and where it actually is

[MkVaff]

I don't usually post reviews but I gotta say this thing is incredible. Even though I like to do the occasional piano stuff myself I couldn't even dream of doing anything like this... at least not without the years of effort that Spekk has spent harnessing his piano chi. It's nice to see people still practice the piano now and then, the results of such long term effort are apparent here. I don't think I'd be out of line in hoping for a similarly fantastic follow-up to this song =)

Kudos man, awesome, awesome work.

[Hobbes]

i have problems with the file. my winamp doesn't know how long it is

and stops somewhere between where it thinks the end is and where it actually is

Yeah - I had the same problem, but I'm just gonna redl it and hope it works this time.

But from what I've heard, the song is really great. REALLY great. The extent of my musical knowledge comes from playing piano (except for a few year stint playing tuba in middle school), and I always love it when people do remixes on the classic solo piano, all old-school style. What impresses me is that this was done in one take... that's pretty tough to do.

But yeah. Download this if you enjoy music that's good.

[LewsTherin]

Awesome. Simply Amazing.

[neostormx]

I listen to this masterpiece more than average. So much skill is involved. Amazing.

[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.

[Ignis]

I first heard this from VGMix and wow. DJP was right. Spekkosaurus has skillz. After hearing it a few times it makes me wonder how someone's fingers could move so fast. Bravo.

9/10

[Rychan]

Hmm... I must say this didn't strike me at first. It seemed kind of unexceptional and unemotional. I have listened to it several (uh.. 50) times sense as it grew on me. Definite thumbs up. Keep up the excellent work.

[VicksCornatto]

I just have to say... let this be a good example how slow things come up... I love this peice, and heard it like 3 months ago when speiko uploaded it to VGmix, but with that aside...

I said this before and will say it again... I really hate myself for not being able to play the piano like that, and furthermore... with this level of skill I recomend that Speiko would make a piano version of all the songs in CT. And make a cd, and sell it... I know copyright is a problem, but I belive he should try to find out if he could possibly do it... I really think speiko could pull it off... (I would buy the cd in a second) !!!

of coarse... 10/10

[black duck]

Mad props for this song.

It does, however, remind me of a silent film-- the whole evil guy (curly moustache and all) pinning the damsel on the train tracks, and then the wimpy protagonist saves the day.

Nicely done!

[ella guro]

The fact that someone can sit down on the piano and have this come out just amazes me. Still, if I'm going by how well the actual arrangement is, I'd have to only give it a 7/10 or so. I know it sound blasphemous for me to say that, but I just felt the need to be technical. Because, as much as I'm wowed by his mad skillz, it's just not something I can really sit down and listen to.

I dunno, perhaps I'll give it another go...

[Impeesa]

Most excellent work. While I agree with one of the earlier posters that a better recording on a proper grand piano would have preferable, I also think at the same time that it just wouldn't be the same without the saloon-style tone that the upright gives it.

--Impeesa--

[Majin GeoDooD]

I said this before and will say it again... I really hate myself for not being able to play the piano like that, and furthermore... with this level of skill I recomend that Speiko would make a piano version of all the songs in CT. And make a cd, and sell it... I know copyright is a problem, but I belive he should try to find out if he could possibly do it... I really think speiko could pull it off... (I would buy the cd in a second) !!!

wow that would SO rule... i'd also buy that in a second..

I've yet to listen to the remix, it's up next in my playlist, got Beatdrop's new FF8 remix on right now, cool schtuff .. But i enjoy CT music and piano remixes, i'm sure i'll love it

*edit* After listening to it, I have one thing to say...

HOLY AWESOME!

I need to grow two more arms so i can give this four thumbs up, so for right now, two thumbs up. Awesome job!

[A.N]

this is my first reply ever, i wasnt gonna ever reply on a board on this site,but after hearing this, and ALL IN 1 SITTING, i had to create a account just to say congrats, thats some crazy talent you have.

i hope to hear some more....

Truly amazing... really