ReMix: Chrono Cross 'Dream Shore Sonata-Fantasy'
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- Game: Chrono Cross (Square, 1999, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): MC
- Composer(s): Yasunori Mitsuda
- Song(s): At the Dream's Shore ~ Another World
- Posted: 2003-10-17, evaluated by the judges
Now THAT was some baseball. Call them what you will - Evil Empire, the best baseball team money can buy, etc. - I've been a Yankees fan for the last four years or so, and even in their losses, they've provided some great, memorable moments for the sport. My sister's fiance is a diehard Boston fan, so you can image the fun family friction :) But I digress - Michael Contraveos' latest solo piano arrangement from Chrono Cross is a very dramatic, emotive, and reconstructive ReMix, with a crystal clear piano that survives the scrutiny of sustained lower tones quite well, considering their extensive usage here. This seems a bit more pensive and impressionistic than MC's other arrangements, but no less effective for it. Judge Israfel writes: "MC sets the standard for how to sequence piano in my opinion. Those who think that you need a live performance to capture the "human" element in piano works need to seriously check out MC's music. Nice arrangement and some of the best sequencing you're ever going to find." to which Digital Coma follows-up: "Perhaps it takes someone who can play piano to sequence piano? I wouldn't have even known this wasn't live. This is good work; I'm happy to see MC's recording has improved considerably since his last solo submissions. A somewhat concise arrangement as far as thematic piano goes, but develops greatly within its time frame." - very exploratory, meandering but never losing focus or becoming self-indulgent. I'd tend to agree with Coma here - it's hard to imagine sequencing piano this well without being able to play comparably. Thus, while it's several ballparks (forgive the expression ^^) out of my league, I can certainly still appreciate it. Recommended.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the I personally love this mix; the way the melody wanders in and out, the quiet, introspective feel, all of it. I listen to this one often, and will continue to do so for a long time. Great work.
- DragonAvenger on October 6, 2008
If you have a longer version of the song, please post it - I'm sure the people on this site would appreciate it. Also, if you have the sheet music or some form of the arrangement itself it'd be brilliant if you could post it. I wouldn't mind a shot at playing the piece myself, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
- Jimlad on November 2, 2006
k-wix wrote: yea, i have another version of the song, its a solid 2 minutes longer, and it seems like its deeper (more bass) .. I like my old version better.. i've had it for awhile. Spiffy mix though.
Plzzzzzzzz k-wix lemme have it. Plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
- Mo0Bert on March 29, 2005
Dhsu wrote: The only thing I didn't like about this arrangement was the ending. Dude, that is NOT an ending...it *can't* be! There has to be more...there just has to be! *sobs*
Agreed. :lol:
Anyway, the piano is lovely. Nice work. :wink:
- Txai on March 24, 2005
WHOA! I CAN BET 100 EUROS ON IT!
- frashpikass on March 24, 2005
- Vero on January 2, 2005
- DragonFireKai on August 26, 2004
This piece is elegant, sophisticated, and entirely original. I love it. A lot of artistic license was taken with this piece and the result is incredible.
The style really reminds me of that of Keith Jarrett, and I mean that in a very positive way.
A slightly darker piece, but definately something one could relax to.
- Indigo on November 15, 2003
lord-of-shadow wrote: Although the sequencing may be utterly masterful - I wouldn't know, myself - I have the same complaints others have mentioned.
I cannot hear the original melody in here. I played through this, then went directly to my MP3 of the original... I still couldn't detect any similarities. That in itself isn't enough to ruin the remix for me... after all, I've enjoyed remixs of music from games I've never played or heard before.
However, this remix... just doesn't seem to do anything for me. There is no emotion, no sense of... anything. It's just a bunch of piano keys, and that's how it sounds throughout the entire thing.
In the best remixs, I get swept up, I forget to identify the individual instruments, and generall some emotion is inspired. This remix doesn't even possess the barest shadow of any of those qualities.
Wow something is wrong (with you) if you can't hear the original in this. Especially if you're listening to them back to back.
- sgx on November 3, 2003
I cannot hear the original melody in here. I played through this, then went directly to my MP3 of the original... I still couldn't detect any similarities. That in itself isn't enough to ruin the remix for me... after all, I've enjoyed remixs of music from games I've never played or heard before.
However, this remix... just doesn't seem to do anything for me. There is no emotion, no sense of... anything. It's just a bunch of piano keys, and that's how it sounds throughout the entire thing.
In the best remixs, I get swept up, I forget to identify the individual instruments, and generall some emotion is inspired. This remix doesn't even possess the barest shadow of any of those qualities.
- lord-of-shadow on November 1, 2003
- Dread Pirate Salty Pete on October 30, 2003
The piano /sound/ itself is excellent to begin with. I can't count the number of mixes that have been ruinied for me by poor patches. And the sequencing, which is so often rigid and unmusical in remixes. This, I go, "what, it's not live?" If you had sequencing like this more often, I daresay there would be an increase in the number of respectable jazz arrangements that don't use live instruments.
The mood of this is great. So introspective. Especially in the first part of the mix, the influences of melancholy Russian composers just scream out to me.
I loved the groove the original in the game had; it was done so well that a lot of remixes that try to keep in that same vein can't really outdo it. Thusly, I'm glad MC went in an entirely other direction with this... especially since 99% of the mixes that go in this piano direction make me feel all juicy... mmm...
- fisherman on October 23, 2003
Dhsu wrote:K-Cut Deluxe wrote: The combination of bass, acoustic guitar, violin, and pads worked so beautifully in the original song, and the solo piano doesn't nearly capture the feeling for this particular song. Maybe this is me just venting on the asinine idea some people have that any song played solo on a piano sounds better, when it's actually highly dependent on the individual song and the style it's recreated in.
Why exactly does a remix need to "capture the feeling" of the original song? Isn't the point of arrangement to give something your own interpretation, your own spin, your own FEEL? In fact, "Dream Shore" is actually already an arrangement of another theme, originally from Radical Dreamers, which had a very different feel itself. Listen to Jaroban's "Interdit" remix to hear just how different two interpretations of the same song can be, and yet at the same time BOTH be excellent pieces of music. As long as MC captured his OWN feelings in this arrangement, it's fine as it is.
There wasn't really much of a difference in terms of arrangement between this mix and the original. With the exception of that part between 1'40" and 2'00" (which I actually thought was excellent, and would like to see more of this), the rest is too derivatitve of the original, especially in the presence of so many other mixes of it. And as for "As long as MC captured his OWN feelings in this arrangement, it's fine as it is", you don't have to tell me that, I know. But this is a reviews board for songs that are publicly posted, so you're going to be hearing how others react to these mixes. The original (and the original from RD, as well as many of the mixes here of "Dream Shore"/"Far Promise") all had a level of emotional impact [i]to me[/i], whereas this mix seemed dulled down. In fact, I feel as though some of the bits of improvisation contributed to this. Perhaps it was his intention to make it feel differently, but it doesn't work for me. I'll still be looking forward to more of MC's stuff though. So don't worry about it.
- Kaleb.G on October 18, 2003
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