Yea, I bought a CD. Self-proclaimed 海賊王 BOUGHT something. A CD AT THAT. LITERALLY THE EASIEST THING TO FIND ON THE INTERNET.
 |
| It's so awesome. FUCK. |
I'd also just like to add that this CD is released tomorrow and I've already had it for two days. That just makes me feel awesome.
Okay, onto the music itself. The tracks are composed by members of Capcom Sound Team. Most of Capcom's big name games are composed by various people under that name, which may be why I tend to enjoy Capcom music. It's usually not just one person. However, each track on the album is credited to a composer. There were 3 or 4 of them on the album, actually, but the inner cover only has biographies for two (who call themselves the Rockmen). Yasumasa Kitagawa and Masahiro Aoki.
The first track is actually an original. On an album of arrangements of old NES/SNES games, that's pretty cool. It's just a 1:30 technoy, English rap song introducing the album. I'm not gonna post the lyrics or anything, but I will say that it caught me off guard when I first popped in the CD. LOL.
Next up, the infamous "GAME START" track, originally from Rockman 1, but found in a ton of Rockman games, played when you select a stage. It's 0:24 long, but the first 13 seconds are like an intro to the song, with guitar and some electric organ. It reminds me of something you'd hear on a continue screen for a fighting game. Obviously, the actual melody of the song comes in after that, but if you know the song itself (as anyone who has ever played a Rockman game would) you'd know that it's like 5 seconds long, so I think the intro was just there to pad the track a bit. Still, it's cool. I feel like it's sorta an extension to the original intro on the CD (track 1).
Third, my favorite track from my least favorite classic series game. Darkman's theme from Rockman 5. If you don't know much about Rockman games, basically, every game has 8 bosses, and once you beat them, you go to Wily's castle, which usually has 4 stages. In Rockman 4-6, there was another castle you'd go to before getting to Wily. In 5, specifically, it was Darkman's. Now, the reason I've decided to write this here is because it seems like a trend and/or requirement that the closer you get to the end of a Rockman game, the more badass the stage themes are. Even the novice composers on Youtube who do music for fangames keep this in mind. (http://www.youtube.com/my_subscriptions?feature=mhee&s=UuFStsd2mR5Vtsw1Y10_gDayy9XTZrt3LbSnH6CMgXQ)
BTW, I should add that the composers must have really liked this track too, because there are three different versions of the same song on the CD, Side-R, Side-D, and a Piano Ver.
Track 3 is Side-R, which I'm guessing stands for rock, because it's clearly a heavy rock version. It goes right into the melody, leading with some synth, but as soon as the guitar kicks in, it explodes with badassness. I've always really liked this song (even though I could care less for most of 5's music), but this is clearly the best version I've ever heard. Even though some synth starts it out, once the guitar comes in, it dominates for the rest of the song, pushing the synth to the background. I'm particularly fond of any guitar-heavy arranges, so I can't complain. At around halfway through the 2:40 song, the guitar diverges from the melody a bit, which I always enjoy. You can still hear the organ playing it, but whoever's playing that guitar is having some fun in the meantime. XD After playing the main melody again, the song ends. Considering this is arranged background music from an old Nintendo game, it's not surprising that the songs are super short, but the team did their best to both lengthen and make them sound as badass as possible.
I like the word badass. Shut up. >.>
Track 4. This is an arrangement of Cutman's theme from the very first Rockman game, which is always one of the most remixed songs. Nobody really likes the rest of the first game's music, it seems. Unlike the last track, this one seems to focus on synth and has a lot of bass, with the guitar taking the background this time. For whatever reason no one ever wants to make a guitar-heavy Cutman remix. Or maybe I have heard one, but I just can't remember. Anyway, it's only 1:46, but it's not bad. Not one of my favorites, though.
Track 5 is something I did not expect, mostly because I didn't even read the track list. I was under the impression that this was an album of songs from the original/Classic/NES Rockman series, but there are actually songs from Rockman X too! Rockman X music actually had more of a rock (LOLOOL) feel to it than the classic series, but I liked the music just as much, if not even more (at least for the first three games, the ones on the SNES.)
Anyway, track 5 is the opening stage from RMX. Unlike the classic series (except for 7 and 8), you wouldn't just jump straight to a stage select screen when you started, and instead there'd be an intro stage. IMO, these always had great music, because they'd be the first track you'd hear in the game. The first X game was no exception. As for the arrangement itself... It's 2:20 long, but the first 40 seconds or so are an intro that barely sounds like the song, so it took me awhile to recognize what was playing. It begins by building up with some pretty awesome bass guitar and some epic-sounding strings. The track has sort of this bulky, heavy feel to it. I really just want to use the word epic to describe it, but it's not quite as badass as some of the other tracks. It picks up the speed once the guitar starts playing the main melody of the song, but the strings are pretty present all throughout, so there's still that level of epicness.
I know, I'm shit at writing reviews. Most people probably have no idea how to distinguish epic from badass. (If you're reading this and you're Japanese, sorry for my terribly confusing English!) In all honesty, you should really just listen to the album to get a better idea of what I'm talking about. If you're in Tsukuba and actually have a genuine interest (read: you actually read this far into my post), I'm willing to lend you the CD. Also, I'm sure it'll be on Youtube soon if it's not already.
Now for Track 6! This is the opening stage to Rockman X2, which I always liked even more than the first game's. It opens with some seriously heavy drums, which I have to say sound pretty awesome with my little amp and my Sennheiser HD280s. There's a lot of heavy guitar and drums and a good mix of synth and organ in there as well. This song is quite a bit longer than the others, clocking in at 4:05, which actually makes it the longest song on the whole album. It has a more high-energy feel to it than the previous track. After a minute, the song kinda forgets about the melody and just starts rocking out for another minute. Compared to the other songs, this one is a pretty loose arrangement. What I mean is, it's not so focused on sticking to the original melody that it's based off of. I guess that's why it's so long. I really, really enjoy melody and melodic rock is one of my most favorite genres ever in the world, but at the same time, I love it when songs don't just loop the same melody and then end. You can really get the feeling that the musicians were enjoying the shit out of themselves here and that kind of thing makes me happy, too.
Track 7 keeps with the same theme, moving onto Rockman X3. This time, it isn't an intro stage, but actually a song played during the stage, Zero's theme. Even if you don't know X3, you will know this song if you have played Marvel vs Capcom 3. The song opens with some pretty sweet arpeggios (I think that's what they're called. Honestly I dunno anything about music. I JUST LISTEN TO IT, OKAY?). There's some heavy guitar backing, but the lead instrument in this song is actually an electric organ! It really surprised me, because most X3 Zero mixes I've heard (except for the weird sax one on the PS1 version) like to focus on the guitar, sticking to the style of the original song. While that was what I expected and honestly prefer, I understand that you can't just make an album where everything is just guitarified. I do really like this arrangement though. The organ sounds kind of subdued to me, but maybe that's just because I'm used to how amazing Uematsu and Sakuraba sound when they play it. Somewhere around 0:40 of this 2:46 song there is a bitchin guitar solo, so it's not without that or anything. They actually need it, because the melody of this song is literally only like the same 10 seconds repeating over and over. I say that, but somehow, it seriously is a badass ten seconds. You should also note that this music IS. MY. CHILDHOOD.
Track 8 returns to Rockman X1 for Armored Armadillo's theme (or Armor Armarge as it says on the CD). If you've never heard the old 1993 CD Rockman X Arrange by Alph Lyra, I really suggest you check out their arrangement too, because it's amazing. Been my favorite track on that album for years (It's called Get Through the Dark). Compared to that version, this one seems faster and more rock-oriented. Primarily, it's all guitar, whereas the other version focused a lot on the beat and had some saxes. The guitar has a really different sound from the Alph Lyra one, too. I'd link to a youtube of that, but honestly I don't want to ruin it with how shitty Youtube music quality is. Anyway, both versions of the song are really great and I can't tell you which one I like better. The Alph Lyra one is longer because it's a little slower and takes more liberties, but the We Are Rockman version is much speedier. It reminds me of like...a Guilty Gear version of the theme. In fact, seeing as how Tohru Iwao has done Rockman arranges before, it would not surprise me if he was playing guitar here. LOL! I adore this new version, but I've had the other one for years (since I was like 13) so I'm partial to that as well. IT'S TOO HARD TO CHOOSE.
Track 9. OMFG TRACK 9. By FAR my favorite on the whole thing. Actually, I think I heard a brief sample of this track a few weeks before I left for Japan and immediately decided I would buy the CD upon arriving. You can imagine how excited I was when I realized TGS was selling it.
My screen name on AIM/generic Internet username/persona whathaveyou has been Blues for 13 years or so now. There are several people who only know me by that name. Blues is a Rockman character (see the red guy on the album up there) who is known as Protoman in the states. My AIM screenname, Blues is red, confuses anyone who can't get the pun.
That being said, Track 9 happens to be the ending to Rockman 3, Blues' debut game. This song also doubles as his theme, which is usually just the first 5 notes of the song that he plays on his whistle whenever he makes an appearance, but this song is nearly 4 minutes. Of course, my favorite character from one of my favorite games also has one of my favorite themes! This particular arrangement is seriously the best one I've ever heard. It also differs from the rest of the CD in that it's primarily ACOUSTIC GUITAR. I mentioned earlier how I love melodic rock, but just as well, I thoroughly enjoy the fuck out of anything with acoustic guitar in it. I seriously love this song so much it's hard for me to describe. I really just need to force it on someone and scream "YOU WILL LISTEN TO THIS SONG AND ENJOY IT OR I WILL HATE YOU FOREVER."
Anyway, the song opens straight into the melody, beginning with nothing but the acoustic guitar, playing Blues' theme by itself (not the part that's technically classified as the full ending song). Then, it plays it again, going slightly higher up on the scale, while an organ comes in for backup. UYGWDGYBYEIG IT SOUNDS SO GOOD. *ahem* At 0:26, the rest of the song starts, and some drums pop in. It's very chill/relaxing sounding. I seriously can't even explain how much I enjoy this track. At around 1:27, a smooth-jazzy electric guitar joins in with the acoustic and they both play the melody. I thought this was a great touch. Then, at 2:03, the rock guitar goes for a solo. It's just like "HEY BITCH, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T ALREADY LOVE THIS SONG, HERE YOU FUCKIN GO!" After the solo, the rock guitar actually takes over! It's really kind of a unique arrangement and I can tell you right now that I'm never going to hear a better version of this particular song. Most of the other remixes I've heard like to try to add words to it, but it was always really awkward to me. The song closes with the last few notes played by the acoustic guitar again.
Track 10 is another version of Darkman's theme that I mentioned back in my description of track 3. It's a piano version, so there's nothing by a solo piano. It's very slow, pretty chill and relaxing, only 1:17, and composed by someone named Azusa Kato, who's not pictured/bio'd on the album. Honestly it has nothing on track 3 at all, but I guess it's nice to vary up the style of the album a bit. I just dunno why it was the same song.
Track 11 is the boss theme from Rockman 6. Lots of bass and synth again here, with a fair amount of guitar as well. There's a part around 1:32 that really sounds like the Roller Coaster stage from DKC2. The song is pretty techno-sounding with random guitar solos thrown it. Not one of my favs, though.
Track 12 is Rockman 3's stage select music, AKA my favorite stage select song. These songs are also really super short, so this remix takes a ton of liberties. It's very technoy, with almost no guitar at all. Not my style, again, but I don't dislike it. If I didn't already love the original song it'd probably be a different story.
Track 13 is the third and final take on Darkman's theme. This one is called Side-D. It's...weird. Really weird, actually. The melody is all kinda distorted, there's heavy bass... It sounds really different from the original theme. It's kinda cool, but by this point I was like "Seriously, stop remixing this song already." Track 3 still wins.
Track 14 is the second-most remixed Rockman song of all time, just behind Rockman 2 Wily 2: Flashman's theme. I've heard a TON of different versions of this song in my life, but this one was still pretty cool. There's sorta a funk guitar thing going on, the strings are back, the main synth is really distorted, the bass is heavy as hell. I'm not really sure how else to describe it, but they were probably aware of how overdone this song was (which I bet is why they didn't touch Wily 2), so they did their best to make this one as unique as they could. I do enjoy it, but I don't think Flashman can ever blow me outta the water.
Track 15, only two left to go! I've already been writing this for like an hour. LOL. This one surprised me. It's the ending to Rockman 5, actually one of the better ending songs. It's one of those songs that, even if you're not too familiar with it (or even if you've never heard it) you're like "Dude, this sounds like a credits theme." Guess what. IT IS.
The song has some punchy bass and is very very synth heavy. It has kinda this light happy feel to it. Somehow it reminds me of the music you'd find in a Korean MMO, like RO or something. It's kinda long too, 3:46.
Track 16 is Rockman 2 Title, better known as Rockman's official theme! This song is also really, really, really overdone (Rockman 2 is hailed by most people as the best game in the series. Pretty sure that applies to the music too). This is another synthy guitarless track, but it's cool because it's really the only song on the CD to have some chiptuny squarewave stuff. It has a lot of divergence from the melody, and even the melody itself is kinda on a different scale, so it only sorta sounds like the song from the game. Very loose arrangement, but I think in this case that makes this overremixed song sound very fresh and fun. I think this was also a great choice to close out the album.
Track 17 is sort of a bonus track, done by someone else named Reo Uratani. It stands out because it's the only song on the whole CD to be from DASH/Legends! Not gonna lie, I'm not familiar with most of its music, but did know this song because it's Rockman's theme in Tatsunoko vs Capcom! This song is also the only one aside from my favorite to adopt an acoustic style, so I really like it a lot. The name of the track is "Flutter vs Gazel Shaft." It's 3:30 (actually one of the longer ones). Great mix of upbeat acoustic guitar, piano, and of course that sexy electric organ. Definitely the song I was least familiar with, it's actually one of my favorites on the whole album.
Overall, We Are Rock-Men! is a seriously great, varied album that I'm really happy I actually decided to buy with my own money. In the past, Capcom has put out some arrange discs that I would have been very upset had I paid for them, but this one does not disappoint. If you're a fan of Rockman or just of game music in general (even if you just sorta like instrumentals), I really want you to check out this CD. I don't think you'll regret it. I know I didn't.
No comments:
Post a Comment