Video Games Live Level 2 [Soundtrack]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Shout Factory
• ASIN: B003ZIQ5T4
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,609 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Legend of Zelda Suite

2. Baba Yetu [Duet Version] [Version]

3. Revenge and Redemption

4. Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross Medley

5. Lament of the Highborne

6. Mario Solo Piano Medley

7. Super Mario Brothers Medley

8. Warcraft Montage

9. Staff Credits

10. Overture

11. Megaman Montage

12. Wings of Liberty Theme

13. Final Fantasy Solo Piano Medley

14. Halo Montage

15. Castlevania Rock Overture

16. One Winged Angel [Rock Edition] [Version]

Editorial Reviews

Video Games Live is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras & choirs perform along with exclusive music arrangements, solo performers, electronic percussionists, and unique segments to create an explosive entertainment experience!

Video Games Live bridges a gap for entertainment by exposing new generations of music lovers and fans to the symphonic orchestral experience while also providing a completely new and unique experience for families and/or non-gamers. It's the power & emotion of a symphony orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great music, poor recording, October 28, 2010

By 

Elder Dragon Legend - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Video Games Live Level 2 (Audio CD)

There is a fundamental difference between the needs of a concert environment and the needs of someone listening to a CD. In a concert, you expect the rousing noise from the crowd, getting into the music. Indeed, you welcome it; it's a large part of what makes going to a music concert enjoyable.

When you have a CD, whether in your home or traveling via MP3 player, you don't want a crowd. Or at least, you don't want just the audio of the crowd at some other event. When you're playing a CD, you want as little as possible between your own environment and the music itself.

Video Games Live Level 2 fails at that.

The first VGL CD, Volume 1, was recorded primarily in a recording studio. There was no crowd noise, and there was reasonable acoustic balance between the various parts of the orchestra/performers. Level 2 clearly was recorded at a VGL event, rather than a closed recording studio.

This is evident in the fact that, at the beginning of virtually every track, is massive crowd noise and applause. Again, fine if you're actually at the concert. But imagine hearing that crowd noise smothering your favorite piece of music over and over again. Every time you want to hear the music, you have to hear the same crowd reactions.

It would have been acceptable if the crowd noise was before the beginning of the music. But it isn't; it's during the opening of each piece. You will be unable to hear the actual start of each track because of this. The crowd noise might not bother you when you first hear the piece, but the more you listen to it, the worse it seems to get.

Compounding this is the difficulty of properly recording an orchestra in a live concert environment. It's very hard to get the microphones positioned in the proper place to get a good balance of the orchestra. And this CD is a prime example of this problem.

Certain instruments will be much louder than they should. Certain parts, particularly the vocals, will overpower the rest of the orchestra. All in all, the pieces sound quite out of balance.

On the individual tracks:

1: The Legend of Zelda Suite: This will be familiar to anyone who has had the fortune to come across the old Orchestral Game Concert CDs. It's the same piece. That's not a bad thing, as it's incredibly good. Just try to overlook the crowd noise.

2: Civilization IV: Baba Yuta: The vocals are really, really loudly mixed here. Honestly, the version from Volume 1 was much better.

3: God of War: Revenge and Redemption: This is little changed from the Volume 1 version. Indeed, it sounds like the exact same composition. It's a waste of a track if you have Volume 1. If you don't have Volume 1, then the sound mix will hurt this piece. The solo vocalist is very loud.

4: Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross Medley: This could have been incredible. Then the crowd started yelling at the start of each segment of the medley. This kills almost any ability to enjoy the music for what it is.

5: World of Warcraft: Lament of the Highborne: It's not bad.

6: Mario Solo Piano Medley: This is exactly what it says: a solo pianist playing Mario music. It's quite good, but to be honest, I feel it kind of misses certain opportunities. It plays most of the themes from Super Mario Bros 1, but then it jumps to the "athletic" theme in Super Mario World. There was a lot of good Mario music between those games, and after it for that matter. That being said, what is there is quite good, and the crowd is mercifully silent.

7: Super Mario Bros Medley: Again, this composition is taken from the old Orchestral Game Concert. If you have that music, then you don't need this track; the crowd noise really hurts the piece.

8: Warcraft Montage: If you bought Volume 1, just skip this track. It's the same stuff, only with a crowd. If you didn't, you probably should; you'll appreciate this music a lot better, as this version is really unbalanced by the bad sound mixing. The vocals are way too loud, and certain parts of the orchestra are almost inaudible.

9: Sonic the Hedgehog: Staff Credits: I'm honestly not that familiar with Sonic music, and I was never much impressed by what I heard. This stuff sounds mostly OK, and I imagine a fan of Sonic music would enjoy it. But the poor sound mix strikes to some degree; I can hear some faint hints of nuance, but it's way too soft. Also, the crowd loves to chime in at various intervals, destroying the experience.

10: Advent Rising Overture: As with the WarCraft Montage, skip it if you got Volume 1; it's the same stuff. Since this is a vocal piece, the terrible sound mix strikes again; the voice drowns out the orchestra. It so bad that the soloist drowns out the other vocalists.

11: Megaman Montage: For me, this track is instantly killed by the announcer starting the piece with, "This is the music from Megaman." Really? I need to hear that *every* time I listen to the piece? I know it's Megaman music, or I will in a second once it starts with the classic Megaman 2 intro music. The piece itself sounds pretty decent, though naturally the crowd tends to intrude on occasion. It does include some Megaman 3 music, which is overlooked far too often in Megaman medleys.

12: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Theme: Exactly what it says. You'd be better off getting the actual soundtrack though (it has some great pieces); unfortunately, it's only (legally) available by buying the collector's edition. This piece is just a short section of the full theme of WoL. And of course, the full theme doesn't have crowd noise.

13: Final Fantasy Solo Piano Medley: Again, the crowd is silent. It goes through Aeris's theme, Eyes on Me, Terra's Theme, Melodies of Life, yet another rendition of One Winged Angel, and a few others. It's pretty good, but there were some missed opportunities to branch out into some of the less popular works. Did they really have to do yet another rendition of OWA? Haven't we had enough of that piece yet?

14: Halo Montage: Similar to the Volume 1 version (though there are compositional changes), except with bad sound mixing, crowd noise, and about a minute less music. The composition is fine, and it sounds like it's reasonably well performed. But the composition is failed by the recording.

15: Castlevania Rock Overture: Again, the announcer tells us that this is Castlevania music. This happened on the Volume 1 version of this piece as well (that track was from a live recording). In this case, the announcer is actually a part of the performance. He pipes in to prompt the crowd in places. This is not good for the overall piece, however. The composition is pretty decent overall, though the sound mix really hurts in places. Some of the melodic lines are too soft relative to the rest of the performers. The version on the Volume 1 CD really is much better.

16: Final Fantasy VII: One Winged Angel (Rock Edition): Because we haven't heard it enough. If you want the definitive version of the non-Advent OWA, just buy the first Distant Worlds CD.

My suggestion? Pick up Volume 1 if you haven't, then Distant Worlds if you don't have that either. Then Distant Worlds II. Then... well, just keep going. If you don't have access to the Orchestral Game Concerts, then that might be enough to prompt you to get this CD. This disc is OK, but there are a lot better game music CDs out there that you could be spending money on.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Experience You Won't Soon Forget!, November 4, 2010

By 

Michael (Philadelphia, PA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Video Games Live Level 2 (Audio CD)

I discovered Video Games Live last year. I loved the first album, and I had the opportunity to see the show live in Philadelphia in the fall of 2009. The first album was very good, and the live show was spectacular. So, is "Video Games Live: Level 2" worth your quarters? Read on and find out.

Another reviewer complained about the sound of the crowd interfering with the listener's ability to hear the music. I don't know about you, but when I listen to a live album, I expect to hear the crowd. The roar of the crowd before, after and during a song is what gives me goosebumps. The "Castlevania Rock Overture" is a great example of how the crowd brings the music to another level. During the song, Tommy asks the crowd to participate by yelling: "hey, hey, hey!" It may sound simple, but it's the small things that count. Listen to any great live album, and you'll notice that the crowd always makes the music more enjoyable. Video Games Live is a "live" experience, and the crowd is an integral part of this experience. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone buying this album.

Overall, this album is excellent, and if you go for the downloadable version, you'll get two extra tracks (e.g., "Myst" and "Mass Effect"). "Video Games Live: Level 2" is filled with engaging and powerful music, including "The Legend of Zelda Suite" and "Civilization IV." The song selection is incredibly diverse too. You can rock out to "Megaman" or enjoy the beautiful "Final Fantasy Solo Piano Medley." Regardless of your taste in music or games, you're bound to have a smile on your face after listening to this album. It's a top-notch collection of some of the most moving music in video game history. While you're at it, pick up the Blu-Ray/DVD of the concert, and get a ticket to see the show in person. Video Games Live is an experience that can't be missed!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Video game music like you've never heard it before!, October 1, 2011

By 

Pen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Video Games Live Level 2 (Audio CD)

Video Games Live (Volume 2) contains fantastically orchestrated versions of some of the most recognizable video game music ever. Since I have been a gamer most of my life, when I hear the familiar tunes from Mario or Zelda, they are so well done I can tell exactly where I heard it in the game. If you love classic video game music, and want to hear it played by some of the most amazing professional musicians in the world, this CD is for you!

I guess my only gripe about this music collection is that the song chosen from Sonic was very random and lackluster. Also I didn't recognize about half the songs, but hey that could be my fault for not playing those games, and you can't please everybody!