Posted 2011-04-25, evaluated by the judges panel


While halc & Nutritious are excellent new judges, it's also really worth pointing out that Stevo has taken on considerable & unique responsibilities helping out the site staff, kicking asses, coordinating meetings & events, etc.; as the staff roster changes over the years, there are always new faces & roles, but I feel like lately we've been a lot more organized and productive in moving the site forward, and he's been a big part of that, so kudos. Times two, because he & Avaris put together a warm, emotive acoustic-guitar centered instrumental for Wind that lends some of the same intimacy that the Humans half of the Xenogears album enjoyed:

"I wanted to have a sad, depressing take of the Prelude at the beginning. The healer is in the party for a reason, and no one likes to get hurt. I was aiming to get out the fears that someone who would need to go to a healer would have: what if I can't be fixed? After about a minute of a minor-focused rendition of the Dear Friends progression A with the Prelude theme incorporated on top with acoustic guitar and a variety of orchestral instruments, the healer's theme of Dear Friends is switched to major with acoustic guitars carrying the song. The healer evokes a warm, caring aura, the kind that only family or close-friends can give off. When in the healer's pressence, it seems that everything will end up all-right. The warm acoustic is backed by some subtle instruments meant to reinforce the Dear Friends melody with some small counterplay (I'm not sure if I'm using the right terminology here). As it switches to progression B, the guitars strum a bit more and the theme is carried on with a hopeful trumpet laying on top of the melody, low strings still holding the basic chords. At the end of progression B, a last resonating guitar note echoes as the pain is now completely gone and the healer's job is done, the fear and doubt all but a memory. This person truly has the healer's touch: to cure ailments and allay fears.

I took care of nearly all the arrangement, playing off of DarkeSword's feedback whenever it was given, and approached Avaris for mastering and production. It would not have had either any of the warm sound and feeling without his touching-up the work I had written. Working with him is always a great pleasure, and one I've been lucky to have taken part in more often recently, such as the Xenogears track "Quickening". I hope the healer's touch warms your hearts."

Yes, he actually wrote that last sentence. Because deep down, BENEATH the beard, he is a glorious manchild, wreathed in the sun-drenched emotionality of the brotherhood... of cheese. Seriously, though, the Stevo/Shaun alley-oop is a proven formula, and this arrangement brings the same closeness & heartwarming sense of peace that their Xeno track did, with some really intelligent, creative blending & modification of themes. Judges had some mixed comments on the production, but really dug the arrangement - Palpable writes:

"Excellent take here, not a huge stretch from the original, but more fleshed out and humanized. The bittersweet emotion of the original is more pronounced. The arrangement is pretty much perfect - there's nothing I would change, it says what it intends to."

Precisely.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 11 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Tuberz McGee
on 2011-12-25 01:42:19

This is such a calm and serene mix. I love it.

The guitar was exactly what this mix needed as a backbone.

The "width" and spectrum of this mix is perfect. I love how much the guitar takes up.

The guitar tone is really glittery and sounds good with the leads AND the rhythms.

All the background pad work only adds to the softness of the track.

My only problem with this mix is that I wish it was longer. I've exhausted the replay value on it. Haha

Waiting for Water to come out was never so hard. But it's the prospect of more mixes like this that makes it bearable.

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Crulex
on 2011-12-19 15:20:13

Nice, somewhat somber opening with the Prelude theme over top of the guitar and bell. I actually thought this was pretty cool to lead in with right before the happier guitar playing moments later as a contrast, and the song just picks up from there. It's got a great peaceful feeling, like everything is gonna be okay. The arrangement is awesome and damn near perfect, and I think the production was rather clean, so really, amazing ReMix with no qualms from me.

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Rexy
on 2011-12-16 14:56:20

I can feel for the writing intent here - nothing is more critical than knowing that you've come down weak, possibly with an illness so terminal that you may be left to die in due time if it can't be cured. It can apply really well towards terminal illness patients, and I can understand how your style managed to fit so well with the recent Songs for the Cure album set.

And Stevo's warm playing style worked really well with this transformation; the prelude section at the beginning, while a little indistinct and with thoughts that it could've been fleshed out a little bit, managed to set the tone well; and by the time "Dear Friends" came in with practically a straight interpretation give or take some nice variation in the acoustic melody performance within the last minute, it managed to give that feeling of hope towards it at the end. Shaun's mastering managed to give it a strong lease of warmth too, and with that kind of partnership working really well over the years we can see that he's got a keen eye on making these elements work.

To be fair though, I was kind of hoping for more - the track set the mood for the vision wonderfully well, but I wasn't really expecting it to end this quickly and abruptly. :? So it may have more of a meek interpretation, but that aside with such meaningful production values it can still be seen as a pretty piece of work from the SteShaun partnership. Let's not see it die down in 2012 :D

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OA
on 2011-12-12 14:37:44

The Stevo/Shaun bromance is a thing of beauty, and this track is yet another great piece of evidence. Really nice and simple arrangement featuring some great guitar. Well played, sirs!

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DarkeSword
on 2011-04-26 20:39:25
A very nice rendition of a great set of tunes. Will be field-tested in a hospital to note ratio of calmed alzheimers veterans.

Let us know how that turns out.

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Transmogrificational Tune
on 2011-04-26 19:16:28

A very nice rendition of a great set of tunes. Will be field-tested in a hospital to note ratio of calmed alzheimers veterans.

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DarkeSword
on 2011-04-26 19:02:20

It's the same. :)

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YouGuysRock
on 2011-04-26 17:23:08

What are the changes to this version? I still had the version of this from September of last year, but it looks the exact same...

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Power Smoothie
on 2011-04-26 03:08:37

Favourite track off the album. This is just perfect :

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halc
on 2011-04-25 21:34:57

probably my favorite off the album, discounting AeroZ's tune. ;)

really intimate, heartwarming arrangement here; as always, Stevo and avaris make a great combo, with Stevo's excellent performances and avaris' squeaky-clean production. excellent stuff. :nicework:

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djpretzel
on 2011-04-25 17:52:02

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy V (Square , 1992, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"The Prelude"
"To Dear Friends"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_5_A_Healer's_Touch_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,316,976 bytes
MD5:
04e842e868a0f454465f2a1fc8b26323
Bitrate:
224Kbps
Duration:
3:06

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