ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "For a Few Draws More" 4:56

Boing, boing, boing goes the jaw harp as scene veteran Flake (Brendan Vavra) makes a stellar Spaghetti Western debut on OCR as an arranger! His main Final Fantasy VIII: SeeDs of Pandora contribution features a rugged and rowdy roster of gunslingers, axe-wielders, brassholes, and more! ;-D

• Flake: arrangement, jaw harp, whistling, recorder, banjo, harmonica, lyrics, vocals, mixing, production
• Cyril the Wolf: acoustic guitar
• Audio Mocha: electric guitar
• dpMusicman: snare drum
• TSori: trumpet
• Sorven: trumpet
• ZackParrish: strings
• Ian Martyn: vocals
• Calem Destiny: vocals
• Hemophiliac: vocals
• Lucas Guimaraes: vocals
• Treyt: vocals

So, with this much backup handy... are you folks ready to rob a train? :-D OK, before you're officially signed up as an accomplice, Flake explains the job to you:

""For a Few Draws More" takes FFVIII's "The Mission" and transports it back to the Wild West, drawing inspiration from Spaghetti Western master Ennio Morricone to reimagine the infamous train heist scene from the game. The arrangement adapts the original tune to a unique instrumentation, embellishing the melody and molding the harmony to better fit the Western theme, while also taking some vocal cues from in-game dialogue.

I've been following OCR since the early 2000s, and I'm happy to finally contribute my first arrangement 20 years later! A big thank you to Cyril the Wolf, Audio Mocha, dpMusicman, Sorven, TSori, ZackParrish, Ian Martyn, Calem Destiny, Hemophiliac, Lucas Guimaraes, and Treyt for providing their performances to this project."

Are we shocked that Flake's inspiration is Ennio Morricone? Heck no! Are we shocked he's held out on us this long with gold nuggets like this in his back pocket? Heck yes! SeeDs of Pandora co-director Darkflamewolf is an enthusiast of the genre and jumped at the chance to have it included in yet another of their album projects:

"I love the Spaghetti Western genre and, ever since Deedubs did a fantastic rendition of one for the Arcadia Legends album I directed, I've always been on the look-out to include another song just like it in a future album I'm a part of. So, when Flake came to us to pitch this track, I was immediately on board and loved all aspects of it. Throw in a deep-cut reference to the red/blue guard mini-game during the mission and you got this track being my favorite! [...] Spaghetti Western on an album with a huge dearth of it. Need I say more? It makes an impression on you."

Flake & his performer posse made an impression on judge DarkSim as well, who also has plenty of love and appreciation for Morricone and the Spaghetti Western style:

"To get from the source to Ennio Morricone is quite a leap of the imagination, I'll give you that! I was lucky enough to see his work performed by an orchestra in London last year, and it was fantastic. Great to see you've enlisted the help of a small orchestra yourself to do this vision justice!

Love the opening with the whistling, and mouth-twanger. Interesting to hear a recorder in there as well - even with some snazzy tongue modulation there at 1:06. I like that in moderation, but it does feel overused and unnatural around the 1:50 mark. Cool instrumentation throughout, courtesy of all the supporting cast, and the arrangement - as well as being a creative genre switch - works well. The source definitely lends itself to the genre, now I'm hearing it."

It's fits like a glove, this genre approach, and you can't have too much recorder here (I'm happy to disagree with that stinkin' varmint, DarkSim)! Heck, XPRTNovice better watch HIS back too, because Flake's whistling game here is *on point*. Are these bros gonna have to duel now at 20 paces?!? (OK, maybe they'll just collab one day -- a man can dream.) Impressive in both scope and execution, Flake's grand effort is a must-listen on an album that's genuinely full of must-listens. Don't flake out on us, Brendan, send some more great stuff our way! YAH! :-D