Customer Reviews

Video Games Live, Vol. 1

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Video Games Live Vol. I music album. Trust me to everyone who is considering buying a copy: it is worth it. The more people who buy this album, the more sales they will get, and the more chance VGL Vol. II will come. Jack Wall actually said he wants to make AT LEAST four albums, and that won't happened unless this album is successful. So if you know anyone who enjoyed this album and pirated it, PLEASE, PLEASE, urge them not only to not do something so illegal, but to purchase this album whether here or in digital format (also offered by Amazon) to help promote future volumes by making this one successful!

First thing: Where were these songs when I went this last time to VGL '08? Hahaha. Yeah we had some fantastic music, but one thing I noticed was a total lack of the use of the live choir. It's like they were standing back there for no reason the whole time except to sing in the Halo Suite, God of War, & Sweet Emotion.

That's not the case with this album. If you are a fan of live choirs in orchestrated music, this has an abundance and beautiful harmony.

Track o1:: Kingdom Hearts [3:37]
For fans of the intro track to the KH games...this is the Hikari Orchestrated track, but better. Definitely more bombastic, the horns are louder, the bass is louder. It's gorgeous.

Track o2:: Warcraft Suite [5:05]
A montage of music throughout the Warcraft games. Many of you will recognize the main songs throughout the track as the themes of Warcraft III & World of Warcraft. Emotional music accompanied by a beautiful choir...nothing makes you want to commit massacres of entire villages of centaurs and jungle trolls quite like this. The various different songs are seamlessly interwoven within this track. Definitely a favorite, really gets that dramatic feel down beautifully.

Track o3:: Myst Medley [6:04]
The one and only Myst. Yet another choir-accompanied piece, this track definitely captures the ethereal quality of the Myst soundtracks. This is a beautiful and moving track, complete with dramatic solo chanting and rising melodies. Around [4:10] the ethereal child solo turns into the bombastic melody I'm sure Myst fans will recognize.

Track o4:: Medal of Honor (LIVE) [5:43]
I'm not familiar with the source material, so I'm not sure what particular songs are included in this. All I can say is that it's a beautiful, moving track. Starts off with a choir, then moves down into a soft moving orchestra piece, and then a rising choir and melancholy violin, piano, rises back into a rousing melody, then finishes with percussion.

Track o5:: Civilization IV Medley [4:56]
This has turned out to be by far one of my favorite tracks on the entire album despite not being familiar with the source material (I'm going to go find it now.). A nice medley of various tracks from the game of various ethnic origins, around [2:00] a soloist kick in alongside with the choir for some beautiful African (?) singing. This is a very beautiful, very moving track that both fans and those like myself not familiar with the source material will enjoy.

Track o6:: Tetris Piano Opus No.1 [1:09]
Martin Leung plays Tetris on piano. Yes! Korobeiniki!

Track o7:: God of War Montage (LIVE) [3:35]
I'm not familiar with all the source material, though I do plenty recognize the rousing choir and symphony accompanied by soloist from the various game footage I've seen. Very cool track, GoW fans will definitely enjoy this one.

Track o8:: Advent Rising Suite [6:27]
Again, not familiar with the source material. I feel ashamed to call myself a game music fan now hahaha. Anyways, beautiful and moving track with orchestra and live choir. Definitely a joy to listen to.

Track o9:: TRON Montage [5:18]
I would literally kick an elderly woman (a mean one, of course) to see this song live. The second the first note hit I knew which track it was. The way they've recreated the completely digital soundtrack with a live orchestra, and even have the choir. Oh man. This has hit the nostalgia chord for my favorite Disney film dead on. Beautiful.

Track 1o:: Halo Suite [6:38]
The song I spent the entire show waiting for. Halo's soundtrack is hands down one of my favorites, and this does not disappoint. A montage of themes from Halo 3, the Halo 3 version of the main theme plays a huge part in this Suite. Oh yes, Tommy Tallarico on guitar. This is a very moving track, call me dorky, but listening to this stirs something inside of me. I love this song.

Track 11:: Castlevania Rock (LIVE) [4:44]
To quote Jack's shouts at the beginning of this live recording..."The one, the only, Castlevania!" You've got it: Vampire Killer! If I said this is the best rendition of the song I've ever heard, I wouldn't be exaggerating. Orchestra, electric guitars, drums, everything. It's amazing. Hands down the best ever!

I give this CD a full 100%! Whether or not you've been to a VGL concert before, you MUST buy this album! It's worth it for all game music fans! Even friends and family who do not know anything about game music still enjoy this album as well. The music is just that beautiful.

I had the pleasure of attending Video Games Live furing its first run in San Jose, CA two years ago. It was a highly enjoyable concert, even though I personally felt it was run a bit too much like a rock concert. I was there for the music, and didn't appreciate bouncers all over the place watching me.

I, like many others, been looking forward to this album for a long time, waiting patiently while the organizers worked through all of the legal red-tape. I really, really respect the organizers for all of their hard work, and congragulate them on their incredible success. Having said that, I'm a bit disappointed with the final product. All of the advertising I had read regarding this album lead me to believe it was to be entirely studio recorded (at Abbey Road Studios, no less), utilizing the Crouch End Festival Chorus, one of my favorite choruses, made famous by their collaborations with the City of Prague Philharmonic. Instead, the album is a mix of live performances, studio recorded elements, and in the case of Advent Rising, simply a re-edit of tracks from the original soundtrack release (seriously guys, that's just lazy).

Still, despite all that, there is much to recommend here. The Civilization IV Medley is probably my favorite track on the disc, as well as the God of War Montage (finally, recorded by a live orchestra!). Other honorable mentions include Medal of Honor, and the Warcraft Suite. I'm hoping this is merely an appetizer for what is to come, and if sales warrant it, perhaps they WILL fund a proper studio recording of these pieces, and that will make me a happy man indeed!

Worth every penny. While it's not every song performed at the live performance, it's a good handful of the songs. Every last one sounds gorgeous and the quality is amazing. This is a must have if you've been to the live performance of Video Games Live! Although, any game fanatic would enjoy it.

Amazing, truly.

Video Games Live is a concert series featuring music taken from, or adapted from, (or whatever) video games. The music of such great games as Warcraft, Medal of Honor and Halo are included here. But, this is not merely music lifted from the games. Instead, the music is very well arranged and has all of the quality one would expect from great concert music.

Now, I must admit that I am not familiar with all of these games. I mean, I do recognize the Halo music and Tetris (of course), but I must admit that I am not familiar with all of these games or their music. Nonetheless, I found the music to be really well done, and all of the tracks to be excellent to listen to.

So, if you have a favorite game, and want to hear the music in all its glory, then get this album. Heck, even if you just like great orchestral music, then get this album. You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it!

In many ways this album is about what you would expect - and in other ways it is completely over-the-top ("Introducing...the one! The only! Castlevania!). All in all it is good fun (I was going to say if you are a video game player, but really anyone can appreciate the music here). Give it a try!

Incidentally, I purchased this via Amazon's download service and I am well pleased! So great to have DRM free music for a reasonable price.

Anyone that loves video game music will love this CD. If you're playlist is dominated by video game OSTs, but it is missing this, you should be ashamed.

For those that are unable to attend the actual event and hear this music played live, this is the next best things. It's beautiful and moving, but sadly short. With luck, there will be more volumes to follow.

I went to the video games live concert back in the winter and was blown away and immediately began salivating for the album to purchase. As soon as it was available, it was in the mail bound for my address. While it does explore some of the more obscure titles out there (Myst, Civilization, Tron [Tron? What the heck?]), some of the more obvious tracks are omitted. Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Metal Gear Solid: these were all highlights of the show and what people came to hear!
Its an enjoyable album and still one of my favorites, but I'm eager for volume two to come out and (hopefully) enjoy those classics I crave.
Oh, Halo and Castlevania are awesome renditions, by the way.

This CD is great. It is like having the concert at home. I highly recomend this to anyone who likes music, video games or both.

I saw the VGL concert in Orlando this past January and went with an open mind and a few inhibitions. I left extremely happy. The show was well put together, Tommy Tallarico an excellent host, some great video montages of our favourite games and above all, a more than faithful representation of some of the most famous gaming themes to date.

The release of this CD was delayed for quite some time and though the content is excellent, I was a little disappointed. Granted, Kingdom Hearts, Halo and Advent Rising in particular are highlights and worthwhile inclusions but being a 90's gamer more, Sonic, Metal Gear Solid, Earthworm Jim and Mario, not to forget Final Fantasy were all inclusions that I was looking forward to seeing.

However, I had heard that there were some issues with the distribution of those particular themes (with Sega etc) so perhaps it isn't any fault of the producers of the album.

On the upside, you have an excellent album here, perfect for reminiscing or just keeping in the background when you are working. It also means however that there is plenty of scope for a second Volume and I for one am looking forward to it! I would love to hear Command and Conquer: Red Alert and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion one day too.

Update: My opinion is that the many of the studio recorded tracks sound extremely similar to the original recordings. I don't consider that a desirable trait, but I'm sure many people do.
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--------------Original Review---------------
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Only the titles marked with (Live) are actually live recordings by Video Games Live. The rest of the tracks are sourced at the given video game's original soundtrack. The Kingdom Hearts song is the recording of orchestral version of the song Simple and Clean that is played as background music in several parts of Kingdom Hearts.
The Warcraft suite is just one of many studio recordings heard in the actual game.
The Advent Rising "Suite" is just two of the three MP3s available for free at [...] Why are they on one track? For no good reason.
The Halo Suite is similarly an unoriginal studio recording right from the Halo game.
Those are just the ones of whose source I know by heart.

These are certainly great recordings, and I would be fine with them, but I bought this disc expecting 11 recordings by the Video Games Live orchestra and received just a few VGL tracks and a bunch of tracks I already have from other soundtracks I bought.

The contents on this disc are severely misrepresented, and the true source of the music is not made known until you listen to the tracks and/or read the INSIDE booklet which details where the music comes from. If you would be buying the MP3s, you can at least get the (excellent) advent rising tracks for free from the game's official website.