Summer is around the
corner and if you live in an area where the temperature hovers around
28 degree's (about 82 degree's to Americans) and to cool off you
probably swim in the pool or take comfort in the shade. During these
relaxing moments, the sort of music you would like to accompany you
would be more relaxing and calming. That is where Transfiguration by
Altered Beast truly shines. Instead of a hard-rock or metal cover,
the music is far more Adult Contemporary or smooth light Jazz. It is
Music you can relax to.
The team behind the album
did a great job taking some well known and not so well known music
and turned it into a great summer album. Taking songs from Super
Mario, Final Fantasy, and Gitaroo Man, The Altered Beast team have
truly crafted a wonderful experience. Normally I would be more harsh
on a band that relies on the same tried and tested tracks, but what
makes Transfiguration different is that they took different tracks
from the more common games. Unless you are going through OCReMix, you
would not find a cover of Final Fantasy X's To Zanarkand theme or the
menu theme from Metroid Prime.
I do concede that there
are some of the more common covered songs such as Dire Dire Docks.
Green Hill Zone and Zelda's Lullaby, but these songs are easily
outnumbered by the other remixes. That is what makes this album
great, aside from the music choice, they took untouched songs from
common games and gave them exposure. It is rare to hear a cover of
the Overworld theme from Super Mario 2 and like the cartridge itself,
any remixes from Earthbound is a rarity.
One of the best examples
of this is there cover of Fisherman's Horizon. Now I make it no
secret that, aside from a few songs on the album, I cannot stand the
music from Final Fantasy VIII. It's bland, uninspired and plainly,
just ill fitting for a Final Fantasy game, much like how Final
Fantasy VIII itself is compared to the rest of the series. However,
The Altered Beast team turned the original track from a bland
experience into one that invokes imagery of summertime fun.
When it comes to albums,
I have gotten to the point where seeing the same song remixed is kind
of a downer. I do enjoy Chrono Trigger music, but one can only get
excited for a new re-arrangement of To Far Away Times or Zeal Island.
I believe The Altered Beasts realized that, so they took extra care
in choosing their music for the album. They have a Mario track, but
instead of the classic theme, they took a rather obscure track and
remade it to fit their album. Same with Metroid and Final Fantasy.
They could have easily chosen a popular track and be done with it.
But instead they decided to pick the more obscure tracks. It's a
great idea and I hope more bands follow suit.
When you need something
soft and peaceful, Transfiguration is the best album to listen to.
With summer around the corner, this is the kind of music you want to
listen to while sitting in a gazebo reading the news or dozing off.
This music is one that is more relaxing then stimulating and for
those hot summer days where you simply want to sit back and relax and
imagine yourself on a hammock on a beach somewhere, sipping a cold
drink while reading your favourite book.
This is a great way to
start summer and you can find the album on their homepage at
loudr.com.
This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.
No comments:
Post a Comment