OUS-003 Xenogears Light | an arranged album

[Mustin]

Please post your thoughts on the album here.

[Dale North]

So, so good. And thats probably due to my very small level of involvement. Dshu rocks my face off. Greg's performance was exquisite. I heart Mazedude's arrangement so much. Christian owns - I got lost in his arrangements - so inspired. William's playing left me breathless. Everyone did an outstanding job.

This is the strongest, cleanest thing to come out of OneUp yet.

[Nólaquen]

So, so good. And thats probably due to my very small level of involvement. ... This is the strongest, cleanest thing to come out of OneUp yet.

Are you saying that you're wimpy and dirty?

I have to say, though, that the album itself has continually taken my thoughts away from the stresses of the day. I only remember a few of the orignals, but with this album it doesn't really matter. The arrangements and the soundscapes are good enough to stand on their own. Relaxing, but engaging is how I'd describe it.

[Dale North]

Nah, I'm a cleanly man - but I am pretty wimpy.

Relaxing/engaging is a good description

[joe_cam]

I dont have it yet.
But the song from Rush's show was damn good. I can't wait for the CD. Then I'll totally drool over it in the proper manner.

[Ybrik Metaknight]

Man, this thread existing here right now is a bit of a tease to those of us who don't already have our copies....

[Paul van de Geijn]

I must have said this many times, but still. I totally dig this album. It's very relaxing and I'm starting to love some tracks, which I didn't really liked in the beginning, more and more.

Christian's songs are great, though, it's not really my style, but that's changing.
The Wingless rocked my butt off! What a great changes he made.
Dale, as always awesome!
Tim, it's all about the Rhodes man.

Everybody did great. Hope we can all work together sometime.

[Je-Money]

Man, I came home expecting the Dragon Quest VIII OST, but was pleasently surprised when I found this. I can't believe it's here. Heck, a day before street date. I haven't listened to all that much, what with homework to do, but from what I've heard, it's amazing. Completly worth the wait. As I've said before, I discovered this site by searching randomly for Xenogears Piano. I have waited patiently for this for about a year, and I'm surprised by how it holds up to my expectations.

All the music is beautiful. I cannot describe them in words. Well, not now, after I listen to it more and finish piano homework I'm sure I can describe it better. The case is cool and the linear notes are great as well (I missed the remixer's comments with VBOS). The way the Xenogears quotes are in there is also awsome. Completly different than I thought it would be. The sheet music is also a great bonus, thanks.

No real complaints, I would have liked them to be numbered, but hey, it's in my hands now, so I can't complain.

To anyone who hasn't ordered it yet, do so now. You don't want to miss out. To all the staff, thanks. I wish I could give you more than my thanks and $30, but that's it. Take the day off guys, you deserve it.

Always impresed,
Bryan

[Hthe8th]

Just arrived. Very impressed with the quality so far. I was wondering if you had a list of real names-> VGMix tags just for knowings sake.

[Dhsu]

Christian Pacaud = CPacaud
Kunal Majmudar = ktriton
Josh Barron = josh_1
Jay Semerad = Jay Semerad
Dale North = Dale North
David Hsu = Dhsu
Erik Xian = Iggy Koopa
Paul van de Geijn = Paul van de Geijn
Tim Sheehy = Kaijin
Luke Nickel = lightwarmth
The Wingless = The Wangless (loalz)
Mazedude = Mazedude
Will Buck = Conqueso
Blak_Omen = Blak_Omen
Kevin Stephens = Kevin Stephens

[Conqueso]

I only go by Conqueso *coughorpikanerdcough* on forums. I go by Will Buck on VGMix (which I no longer frequent) and OCR (which I do).

Hey, I gots a spiffy title. Awesome.

[joe_cam]

Was very pleased to see it arrive in the mailbox today. All 4 discs and 4 sheets of Broken Mirror sheet music. HAWT. One was autographed by the lovely Mustin, the handsome Dhsu, and the FABulous Daru Norff. Three sealed copies remained, one of which went directly to my mom. Two left and oh shit... The disc was loose in one of them! SHIT! Opened it up to find it crazy scratched. Damn.
Listened to this bitch at work all day, and this is absolutely the perfect "background music" CD... This isn't the CD you want to listen to when you're driving a car or clubbin. This is the PERFECT CD to listen to while doing paperwork, web surfing, taxes, boxing up CDs, or going to bed.
The whole CD was incredible and was worth every penny.
Also, it has quite possibly the funniest liner notes EVER... I honestly laughed out loud for a good two minutes when I read Dale's "thoughts" on the song he performed. And how many people like walks on the beach anyways?? Especially who are in FUCKING OKLAHOMA??? And single.... *giggle*

The packaging is also quite fantastic and rivals the packaging of SQUAREDANCE's Limited Edition. Great DVD style case with a horizontal layout instead of vertical. Quite unique. Loved the colors and the inner covers are a great read.

MISTAKES!!!
Yes! I found TWO mistakes already!
First is on the back of the case, it says "Based on games rated E" while Xenogears was a T rated game!
Also, on the disc itself is the first typo to be found! The misspelled word is "authorised" instead of "authorized"

All in all, this is a tremendous effort that gets FIVE dancing milks (out of 5)...

[Mustin]

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...orised&x=0&y=0

And yes, I noticed the "E" when I picked it up. Should be "Music" instead of "Games." We'll have it fixed for next time.

[Nólaquen]

Authorised is a proper british english spelling.

[joe_cam]

Oh, so it was spelled that way for Variable Rush who lives in England?

[Dale North]

no, it was spelled for Mustin, who regularly uses brittish spellings

[Mustin]

And this... is why I love Dale and N?laquen.

Also, all three of our graphic artists reside in England.

[Fotophool]

Well, back to the topic......

Yeah, I'm really floored by this CD. It seriously is excellent. All of the arrangements are top notch and the playing is superb. Were ALL of the instruments played live? There are several instances where performances (mostly the piano) aren't credited.

One little issue I do have is that the violin sounds too thin to my ear. Greg's performances are very good, but it seems to me like they needed a little more oomph while playing or a bit more massaging and body in the mixing. It's especially evident in "Grahf", but is better in "Shattering the Egg" (that violin part from 2:30 is absolutely wonderful).

Aside from that (and I really don't mean to rip on it or him, because it's still terrifically done), this music is truly phenomenal (Christian, I am owned by "Bonds of Sea and Fire"). I'm going to force people to buy this at gunpoint, I think.

[joe_cam]

I'm going to force people to buy this at gunpoint, I think.

THAT is promotion!

[Jay Semerad]

This CD is great - even better on CD than when we heard the mp3's!! Bizarre -

I'm glad I got extra copies because I have to give them to my parents, my editor, etc etc - Look for my Music4games.net feature on this album next month! I'll treat it as a post-mordem to the CD making process and I'll probably want to get bit quotes from Mustin and a few of the other composers. Email me if you're an arranger that wants to be featured or lend some advice

Again, thanks guys! Really cool seeing my arrangement show up in paper!

Jay

[CPacaud]

I was watching some old pics of my high school years while listening to the old master MP3s (I don't have the CD yet...) and.... got a little... erm, emotional.

THANKS OneUp Studios for making me GAY ! ;P

[chrono26]

i got it!!! this album is absolutely phenomenal. each and every track is well arranged and filled with emotion. i wouldnt settle for just listenting to it while working or sleeping. This cd is worth listening to for the sake of listening to it. the quality(both sound and arrangement) is incredible. Im sure Mitsuda is very proud. This was worth every penny. and i cant wait to start playing that sheet music! i'll be listening to this one for a long long long long long time. i think i'll write a review soon. great job, everyone who had a part in this! this album is 10 times better than i could've ever imagined.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

IT'S FUCKING BRILLIANT!

I got it today, and I've just given it a quick listen on crappy headphones, but even so I'm impressed. There isn't a single song on there that doesn't give me a joygasm.

Usually, I want to pick one or two favorites and post about them, but I love all of them. This is definitely one of my new favorite CDs. Not my top favorite, but hey, second only to Time & Space is nothing to be frowned apon.

My parents haven't heard it yet, but I'm willing to wager a fair amount that my dad at least will become a fan of Mitsuda and OUS after hearing it, and maybe my mom as well.

[Variable Rush]

I just got my copy. It's great, though I was a little sad at not scoring an autographed copy, and I don't know if it's #108 or not, but hey, it's the music that really counts, right? If I want I can take a marker and put 108 on it and make Mustin and co. sign it when before I gun them down, I mean, next time I see them.

Paul van de Geijn, your mix is THE BEST, I want to have your children.

[sabin1001]

I just got it today. Listening to it as I'm posting.

So I have to say "wow." I thought I was just buying this album for completeness's sake as I tend to not really dig the lighter remixes. But I was shocked by how well this music works in this style. Like this is really really good. You guys rocked the cosmos.

But, Mustin, you haven't played Xenogears. ; ; And you don't even particularly dig its music. ; ;

Bad Mustin. No cookie.

[Vanion]

Got mine back on Wednesday, and have listened to it several times since then. Awesome album, every piece is beutiful and well done. I'm going to take it with me to the office Monday and let the staff there listen to it. Who knows, might help Mustin sell a couple more cds.

[Paul van de Geijn]

My 5 albums got in today and it looks really neat! Music sounds even better on disc and damn! Artwork is so sweet! Awesome

[Lunar Moog]

Wow guys, this is amazing.

I couldn't wait to get this CD, I was so excited about it. It has exceeded my expectations in every way. All of the instrument playing is top notch, and the arrangements are beautiful. I've never played Xenogears and I've only heard it's music in a few remixes, but this is awesome. I've always loved and been inspired by piano music, and this is definitely some of my favorite piano music ever. The packaging is GREAT as well! The horizontal style was a surprise and looks really cool, and the art looks great and blends well with the clear plastic case. The liner notes are very well done and I was excited to see the sheet music, I can't wait to check it out.
[/ramble]

So, in short: wonderful job guys. I'm having eargasms.

[chibishin]

Congrats on an awesome album, I really enjoyed it. I am, however, irritated with a tiny problem. I don't know if this was intentional, but all of the sound seems to be coming from the left channel. Could somebody confirm this for me? When playing the CD or the mp3s via any number of methods, this seems to be the case. I can set the left/right balance all the way to the right, crank the volume, and barely hear anything. Set it back 100% to the left, and it's clear as day. I'm satisfied with the music itself, but this is not what I'd expect for $30. Anybody else experiencing this?

[joe_cam]

Congrats on an awesome album, I really enjoyed it. I am, however, irritated with a tiny problem. I don't know if this was intentional, but all of the sound seems to be coming from the left channel. Could somebody confirm this for me? When playing the CD or the mp3s via any number of methods, this seems to be the case. I can set the left/right balance all the way to the right, crank the volume, and barely hear anything. Set it back 100% to the left, and it's clear as day. I'm satisfied with the music itself, but this is not what I'd expect for $30. Anybody else experiencing this?

Pretty sure it's just you. I've had no problems like that.