A Night in Fantasia 2009 CD FINALLY arrived!
Finally! It's been, what, almost a year? sadlfjsldjfksalkfj. Totally worth it. As predicted, I forgave Eminence for the lengthy delay the second I heard the first strains of 'Radical Dreamers Symphony' again. ;____; My tears, they are happy ones.
Forgive me, but I needed to fangirl in someone's general direction, and LJ has become the default for such things.
You can hardly tell it's a live recording, either! As always, they do an amazing job mastering. I honestly don't understand how Eminence can constantly be in dire financial straits, when they are quite possibly the best in the business. Obviously they need to get someone business-minded in there. And some decent marketing.
Track List goes:
First CD - Games
AFRIKA Symphonic Suite - 9:16 - I still don't care about AFRIKA. Technically very good music, but sounds too generic. I've heard far too many tracks just like it, and automatically background it.
Radical Dreamers Symphony - 5:48 - YES YES YES. This alone was worth it. asldjkfsladjflsajf. *plays again*
Gears of War 2 Symphonic Suite - 11:01 - This didn't actually come up that amazing on the night, but came up marvellously on the CD and may actually now be one of my favourites.
Soul Calibur: Resonance of Sword, Decisive Soul - 5:28 - Nicely done. Don't have a lot to say otherwise.
Prince of Persia - 7:09 - Very nice, very melodic.
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War - 7:57 - I forgot how wonderfully this built up. And the choir came through so marvellously! I really need to get my hands on the Ace Combat soundtracks sometime.
Shadow of the Colossus - 10:33 - This was liberally helped by post-production preventing the lead vocals from drowning out everything else. Still far from my favourite piece from Shadow of the Colossus, but much more balanced and enjoyable now.
Second CD - Anime
Laputa, the Castle In the Sky Symphonic Suite - 6:42 - If you have the slightest amount of interest in orchestrated anime soundtracks, you would have heard this by now. Eminence does a lovely version, but by no means is it especially unique. Did they somehow forget that A Night In Fantasia 2004 Ghibli Edition they released?
Princess Mononoke Symphonic Suite - 10:14 - Delightfully long, and as good as the first official orchestration. Actually, I think they might have done the Forest God part better, even. The last minute is the best.
My Neighbour Totoro Symphonic Suite - 6:10 - Again, I have this on like five CDs. Granted, each one is slightly different, but not a necessary inclusion Eminence! That said, as a medley, it's one of the better ones.
Astro Boy Symphonic Suit - 4:37 - This was more fun live, but that's the nature of this theme. It made a healthy jump onto CD.
Sincere Feelings, One Rainy Day and Haruhi's Thoughts - 6:34 - This still strikes me as an odd choice, but the piano comes out more clearly in the recording. Possibly it suffered from its position in the set list during the concert.
Tsubasa Chronicles Symphonic Suite - 4:48 - Too short. Seriously, so good. Should actually just be called 'Song of Storm and Fire suite'. Although the vocals were perhaps a little too low in the mix, and I picked out a couple of weird changes I didn't notice in the live performance. :/
Deathnote - 5:02 - Also too short. Not the CD's fault. I just wanted more. Definitely the best offering on the second disc.
Overall, all of the tracks I really wanted on the CD were on there, except the Idolm@ster one, and that apparently made an appearance on the Live DVD! Haven't watched that yet. Too busy fangirling over the music.
About half of the tracks have the applause on the end, which is a very minor annoyance - for live performance recordings, I prefer it when they only keep it on the last track, but I suppose if the audience cuts in early, there's not a lot to be done. ^_^ This has made a lousy Tuesday immeasurably better! <3 Eminence. I hope they announce their next performance soon.
Forgive me, but I needed to fangirl in someone's general direction, and LJ has become the default for such things.
You can hardly tell it's a live recording, either! As always, they do an amazing job mastering. I honestly don't understand how Eminence can constantly be in dire financial straits, when they are quite possibly the best in the business. Obviously they need to get someone business-minded in there. And some decent marketing.
Track List goes:
First CD - Games
AFRIKA Symphonic Suite - 9:16 - I still don't care about AFRIKA. Technically very good music, but sounds too generic. I've heard far too many tracks just like it, and automatically background it.
Radical Dreamers Symphony - 5:48 - YES YES YES. This alone was worth it. asldjkfsladjflsajf. *plays again*
Gears of War 2 Symphonic Suite - 11:01 - This didn't actually come up that amazing on the night, but came up marvellously on the CD and may actually now be one of my favourites.
Soul Calibur: Resonance of Sword, Decisive Soul - 5:28 - Nicely done. Don't have a lot to say otherwise.
Prince of Persia - 7:09 - Very nice, very melodic.
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War - 7:57 - I forgot how wonderfully this built up. And the choir came through so marvellously! I really need to get my hands on the Ace Combat soundtracks sometime.
Shadow of the Colossus - 10:33 - This was liberally helped by post-production preventing the lead vocals from drowning out everything else. Still far from my favourite piece from Shadow of the Colossus, but much more balanced and enjoyable now.
Second CD - Anime
Laputa, the Castle In the Sky Symphonic Suite - 6:42 - If you have the slightest amount of interest in orchestrated anime soundtracks, you would have heard this by now. Eminence does a lovely version, but by no means is it especially unique. Did they somehow forget that A Night In Fantasia 2004 Ghibli Edition they released?
Princess Mononoke Symphonic Suite - 10:14 - Delightfully long, and as good as the first official orchestration. Actually, I think they might have done the Forest God part better, even. The last minute is the best.
My Neighbour Totoro Symphonic Suite - 6:10 - Again, I have this on like five CDs. Granted, each one is slightly different, but not a necessary inclusion Eminence! That said, as a medley, it's one of the better ones.
Astro Boy Symphonic Suit - 4:37 - This was more fun live, but that's the nature of this theme. It made a healthy jump onto CD.
Sincere Feelings, One Rainy Day and Haruhi's Thoughts - 6:34 - This still strikes me as an odd choice, but the piano comes out more clearly in the recording. Possibly it suffered from its position in the set list during the concert.
Tsubasa Chronicles Symphonic Suite - 4:48 - Too short. Seriously, so good. Should actually just be called 'Song of Storm and Fire suite'. Although the vocals were perhaps a little too low in the mix, and I picked out a couple of weird changes I didn't notice in the live performance. :/
Deathnote - 5:02 - Also too short. Not the CD's fault. I just wanted more. Definitely the best offering on the second disc.
Overall, all of the tracks I really wanted on the CD were on there, except the Idolm@ster one, and that apparently made an appearance on the Live DVD! Haven't watched that yet. Too busy fangirling over the music.
About half of the tracks have the applause on the end, which is a very minor annoyance - for live performance recordings, I prefer it when they only keep it on the last track, but I suppose if the audience cuts in early, there's not a lot to be done. ^_^ This has made a lousy Tuesday immeasurably better! <3 Eminence. I hope they announce their next performance soon.