Overview

KFSS Studios' Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu Gold Edition is defined primarily by its sample quality. The below-average quality of its samples is the first attribute of this album's 28 tracks that the listener will notice, and it is also likely to be the last thing that he or she will remember when the album is over. Oversimplistic and amateur-sounding harmonies further detract from what could have been a great work. From the first note of the "Prelude" to the last phrase of "Forever Rachel," I was filled with the impression that there should be more, as if everything was still a work in progress where additional instruments have yet to be added. While the album is titled A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu, this album is not a fitting tribute for such a world-class composer as Uematsu.

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A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu was released in the early part of the last decade. It is noteworthy for being hyped as one of the first fan-produced video game remix albums. Unlike most remix albums, it was released on pressed CDs (not CD-Rs), came in DVD-type jewel cases, and included additional printed content. It was priced accordingly, but enough sold that the price was obviously justified by the lack of competition in the market at the time.

Listening to this music ten years later, one can clearly tell that the video game remix community has advanced by leaps and bounds. Today's sampled music produced by even the most economically unfortunate composers is technically superior to what was possible to create back then by professionals. However, even for its day, the much-hyped Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu was behind the times, and it has aged even further now, when this review was published in 2010. The sample quality sounds on-par with early PlayStation games, and the original console was already obsolete when this album was released. I'm aware that, as a reviewer, I'm supposed to overlook any one particular flaw in a work and attempt to evaluate the work as a whole, but the issue of sample quality makes the album hard to take seriously. The sample quality is reminiscent of video game music from the '90s, when music was not something that received much emphasis in games. Often, music existed only because some minimum quality of sound was necessary so as to not distract from the graphics or the gameplay. Unfortunately, this album sounds like it was written for a game where the concern of the publisher was adequate, but not stellar, music.

One of the most annoying samples that frequently appears in this album is the violin. Some music professors and students refer to the instrument of the violin as a technological achievement, capable of producing the most beautiful sound of all the current instruments. As a result, it's logical to think that the violin would be difficult to emulate in software. Sill, the violin that appears in the "Ending Theme" is so unappealing that the theme might have been better off if the sample had not even been used. Similarly, the "Final Fantasy IV Main Theme" is not done justice by the synthesized violin. This poor violin sample rears its head in several other tracks, detracting from each. However, in the album's take of "One Winged Angel", the violins sound spectacular, probably because they were recorded live in that track. Whether live recording was used or whether a different program or different sample was being used to produce "One Winged Angel," the inadequacy of the violin samples used throughout many of the other tracks is readily apparent.

Most listeners of this album will likely be bothered by how tracks never quite seem to "get going." In most popular music, a few bars are often played before the main melody picks up and the entire band or orchestra joins in. Most of A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu remains stuck in those first few bars, with the expected instrumentation never appearing. The casual listener would probably refer to this effect simply as the music being "boring." The pitch range in most tracks is limited, and the harmony is frequently played over and over without much variation, and same instruments that appear in the first second are often the same instruments that will be playing two minutes later and even during the last second. These shortcomings would be fine if the melody were inspired, but even here the tracks stick too close to the source material, a few tracks following the source note for note.

While 80% of the tracks on A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu are below-average, a few standouts do exist. In "Sealed Door," the familiar Chrono Trigger tune of the same name is livened up by a pounding beat. The track builds slowly, adding in each instrumental part until the original melody reveals itself. "You're Not Alone!" is perhaps the only track on the album where the composers took chances, changing up the instrumentation, adding harmonies, varying the melody, and even adding in somewhat of a breakdown for good measure. I also listened to "Cait Sith's Theme" several times simply because it is so different, both from the original and from the album's other songs. The concluding track, a remix of the already arranged "Forever Rachel," didn't impress me as much as did the previous three, but it is better than the album's first take on the piece. Here, I can forgive the track's repetition because trance is inherently repetitive. Again, the listener will notice that the common theme between all of the standout tracks is that their sample quality is noticibly higher — in several cases, the sample quality is the sole distinguishing factor that elevates these tracks above the rest.

Another saving grace, I believe, is that the album didn't turn out as bad as it could have. Even if they didn't succeed in the end, the authors of this work selected the tracks that would give them the best possible chance of success. The chosen tracks were not orchestral masterpieces where the sample quality would have paled in comparison to what a real orchestra would sound like. For the most part, the group also didn't choose over-remixed tunes like the Zeromus theme, Dancing Mad, or others where their work would be compared to the Tokyo Philharmonic or Uematsu's own The Black Mages. Instead, the chosen tracks are mostly lesser covered and trended more towards techno, electronica, and jazz, where the shortcomings in production would be less noticible.

Summary

It would not be fair to trash this album, because its creators obviously were working with what they had. As a small group with limited funds, they produced what they could given what equipment they could afford and given that, at the time, there was no precedent for fan-produced albums. That said, the fact remains that the Project Majestic Mix albums, including A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu, are not worth purchasing. A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu sounds amateurish at times, mostly due to its poor sample quality. However, even if it were produced with today's technology, the music would still suffer from a lack of harmonic and developmental complexity that even the best software is unable to solve.

Overview

Who likes remixes of Nobuo Uematsu's music? Well, here's a bunch more for you. Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu is an album full of remixes created by various individuals at OverClocked ReMix, VGMix and other mixing sites. The remixes are mainly dedicated to the Final Fantasy series, though there are a couple of dedications to Nobuo Uematsu's guest compositions on the Front Mission and Chrono series too. Due to KFSS' crazy marketing approaches, the album was released in a double disc 'Gold Edition' and a single disc 'Silver Edition', the former obviously featuring more remixes and a higher pricetag. However, most of the bonuses remixes in the 'Gold Edition' reviewed here are actually disappointing and superfluous...

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The first disc of the album is common to both editions of A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu with a few modifications here and there. It is by far the best disc on the album and features a number of excellent interpretations. One of the first highlights is the remix of the original Final Fantasy's overworld theme by JAXX. Quite contrary to the humble chiptune original, this track quickly developments into a rock piece featuring high-pitched distorted guitars and pronounced drum lines. It catches the peaceful type of music preferred by JAXX while still including that rock element and enhancing the original. Good stuff.

There are plenty of excellent battle theme remixes on the original disc. "Battle with Gilgamesh" is a stunning piece of remixing which definitely makes it one of the best on the album easily. Remixed by Chris Tilton (now a pro), it's a very upbeat version of the original, but gets just the right feelings across and even manages to integrate a rock organ. "The Man with the Machine Gun" meanwhile offers that anthemic electronic remix of Laguna's battle theme everyone has long desired. Jan van Valburg is clear familiar with the mainstream sounds used in European clubs back in the day. Granted, it gets a little repetitive, but it's got a cool beat. The collaborative arrangement of "You're Not Alone" meanwhile is probably my very favourite on the album. It's interesting that it adheres exactly to the structure of the original, but enhances every section with contrasting guitar sounds and epic melodic renditions.

Later in the first disc is a pretty good version of Final Fantasy VII's "Anxious Heart" by Jan Van Valburg and Stephen Kennedy. It starts with a soft vocal interpretation of the theme and then transitions into a surprisingly upbeat main part from 0:59. At 2:07, the first part of the melody comes in with a little electric guitar passage as a cool add-on, before there is further development thereafter. I must say the best part is after 4:32 when there is an awesome electric guitar solo in conjunction with the melody. The last track on disc one is a "Prelude" remix, arranged by Sean Stone, from the previous track. It starts off tamely like the original with a little beat added in, but soon enough explodes into a series of electric guitar melodies and solos. Only fan arrangers would dare to offer such a radical interpretation of such a traditional tune.

The second disc of the album is exclusive to the limited 'Gold Edition' of the album. However, the remixes on the first disc — also featured on the regular 'Gold Edition' of the album — are actually far better and there is quite a bit of disappointing material here. "Balamb GARDEN", for instance, is a decent remix overall but lacks the depth of other remixes. There is pleasant interplay between the acoustic guitar accompaniment and male voice interpreting the main theme, adding a bit of timbral richness not present in the original. However, the result doesn't quite capture the freshness of the original and is a little too depressing overall. There are plenty of other somewhat disappointing tracks on the disc, though not of them are bad, merely inferior to their originals.

Probably Stephen Kennedy's best solo arrangement, "Compression of Time" is my favourite track on disc two. Gregorian chants replace the synthesized saxophone motif of the original and the result sounds ten times better. As the remix develops, there is bittersweet interplay between a clean violin interpreting the melody and the backing chants, before everything fades off into surreal nothingness. Moving on to the "One Winged Angel" remix by Randy Brown, it's a fascinating take on the original due to its use of high-pitched horror strings. These elements, while still obviously synthesized, are a little higher quality than those of other string samples elsewhere on the album. It all adds to the strange and horrifying effect.

There are also some tracks on the second disc that have been remixed more than once. The album opens with an interpretation of "Forever Rachel" using orchestrated instruments and military ipercussion. The remix is rather bland at the introduction and rather anticlimactic at the conclusion, but is still a decent interpretation by Tilton. The sentimental piece is revisited once more at the end of the album — following a giant interpretation of Final Fantasy VI's ending theme — in an entirely different trance remix. The way the acoustic original melody are mixed with the generic trance beats is very predictable and uninspiring here. However, the remix is still quite uplifting in places and, even with its lengthy track time, not a complete waste of time.

Summary

In summary, Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu is a highly ambitious and mostly accomplished collaborative project from the remix community. Though there is quite a bit of inconsistency in the quality of the remixes, both in terms of intricacy and implementation, there are plenty of very diverse and fresh interpretations to counterbalance this. That said, it may be better to stick to the single disc 'Silver Edition' rather than the double disc 'Gold Edition'. The former retailed for ten dollars less in its original print and, while no longer officially available, can be found at eBay for reasonable prices. The second disc has its moments, but everything in its sounds rushed barring "Compression of Time", so it is safely skippable. Regardless, one version of the album is a must-buy.