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18 Jan 2009 - Preview and Event Report: PLAY! Live Album After a long wait, I can confirm that the PLAY! A Video Game Symphony Live! album has been published. The album was supposed to debut at Canada's performance on January 9, but was delayed due to customs. Nonetheless, several people have received their pre-ordered copies over the last few days although others are still waiting. The CD / DVD release can be ordered from the PLAY! Webshop here. The album has also been released on iTunes here for a lower price. However, the digital release obviously does not include the DVD content. The 75 minute CD features 12 arrangements based on the music from a range of titles. They are recorded from the Prague performance of the PLAY! A Video Game Symphony concert tour that occurred at the Rudolfinum on April 23, 2008. Few details are available about the content of the commemorative DVD. However, it mainly features bonus clips of the Prague performance that will complement the album. This concert report by CloudyMemory gives a perspective on what it was like to be at the concert. He recently submitted it to the site to give some background on the album release. Many interesting items made it to the album. For example, there is the opening fanfare composed by Nobuo Uematsu, an eight minute Commodore 64 medley, and a Battlefield suite featuring percussionist Rony Barrak are all featured. Japanese titles included are Chrono Cross, Kingdom Hearts, Castlevania, Silent Hill 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Western representatives such as Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, Oblivion, and Halo are also given comprehensive suites. For copyright reasons, any Final Fantasy, Mario, Metal Gear, and Zelda material is omitted. The full track listings are below and arranger credits are given exclusively here:  01) PLAY! Opening Fanfare 02) Commodore 64 Medley 03) Castlevania 04) Sonic the Hedgehog 05) Chrono Cross 06) Silent Hill 2 07) Halo 08) Kingdom Hearts 09) Battlefield 10) World of Warcraft 11) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 12) Guild Wars Having just received my iTunes copy, I was extremely pleased with the quality and diversity of the arrangements featured. The recording isn't as impressive as maestro Arnie Roth's other endeavours since there are problems with the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra's performance such as loud percussion and jarring brass. The album didn't receive much post-production refinement so there is a lot of background noise heard throughout. Overall, it is a satisfying listen thanks to the excellent arrangements and often acceptable performances. I hope this preview was useful for giving the general details on this confusing album. In future, album previews will be continued to be posted in the site updates section rather than as a separate feature. Other previews will be released shortly before or after the release of major albums. I'll publish a full review of the PLAY! soon. In the meantime, let's rejoice that it's finally arrived in spite of its performance and recording flaws. More Information: PLAY! A Video Game Symphony Live! Album Information Event Report from the PLAY! Prague Recording Concert |
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