ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "The Narshemellow" 3:51

While Balance and Ruin has been out for a good long while, don't let the latency in our posting XPRTNovice's quirky multi-instrumental jazz arrangement of "Umaro" fool ya - things get staggered & stacked up, and "The Narshemellow" was absolutely a highlight of the album. Joe lent his mandolin, guitar, flute, trumpet, bongo, AND vocal (ising) talents to this swanky mix, which sounds Pink Panther-ish to me, i.e. like a 50s/60s-era detective should be stealthily snooping around and looking for clues:

"I started writing this one in the living room while my wife was talking to me (gentlemen, don't do this often). The opening line just sort of came into my head, and I ran downstairs in the middle of the conversation to grab a mandolin and start playing. To my credit, I brought the mandolin BACK upstairs so at least I could continue sitting with my wife. After that, it was a short journey to start adding in all sorts of Django-esque lines. Really, though, I think my absolute favorite part of this song is the title. I'm not sure what that says about my musicianship."

A gentlemen always brings the mandolin back and resumes his spousal co-location duties; I'm pretty sure Emily Post covers that, somewhere. When a musical idea hits you, it IS a good idea to do what Joe did: get it out/down ASAP. It's awesome how quickly an arrangement idea can come to life in your head, but it's equally frightening how quickly it can evaporate if not captured. Palpable sums this one up nicely, as per usual:

"I remember hearing this track (along with many other "Umaro" arrangements) when zircon put out the last-minute call for people to fill the gaps in the FF6 album. Sometimes I am flabbergasted by what people can do in a short amount of time, but Joe's piece actually sounds like it was written and recorded quickly. It's great for exactly that reason. Joe takes the melody of the original and complements it with some subtle live background playing, making it akin to a jam session. The playing is loose and fun, and Joe clearly knows how to put together acoustic ensembles, because everything here fits flawlessly. The flute in particular has some great freakouts that really sell the live sound. The one giveaway that this song wasn't entirely spontaneous is the intro section, which plays beautifully off of the Umaro melody, and works well as a bookend. Though since Joe describes even that coming to him full-formed mid-conversation, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that this whole track was created in five minutes in a hotel room at MAGFest."

But in a GOOD way :) "You'd be surprised at what can be accomplished in five minutes in a hotel room at MAGFest!!" = probably NOT the most wholesome & advisable slogan, but it's true. Musically, at least. Great late-breaking addition to B&R, has just the right amount of immediacy and roughness around the edges, and captures a certain surreptitious swagger with a sweet variety of personalized performances. Delicious!