Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections Field & Battle
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Album Title: Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections Field and Battle |
| Record Label: Square Enix |
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| Catalog No.: SQEX-10177 |
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| Release Date: January 13, 2010 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
Less than a year after the release of the Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections, it was announced that there would be a follow-up album. With such a short time window, it was understandable that the album would only feature nine tracks as a mini-album, having a lower price tag to match. As revealed in the title of the album, the track list would this time focus on field and battle themes, rather than character themes like the previous album. With the same team of arrangers and performers (plus one new performer for “Night of Fate”, as well as Hiroyuki Nakayama taking and arranging role), the album was a chance to show that they had learned from the mistakes of their previous album, which mainly offered merely serviceable arrangements. Problems of the last album stemmed from repetitious arrangements with an overabundance of decor and showy passages that did little to enhance the simple melodies. For the most part in Field & Battle, these concerns were addressed and remedied.
Body
As per the title of the album, many of the tracks combine both the field and battle themes of a particular world. Starting off the album is a new song from Birth by Sleep, “Scherzo Caprice on a Theme of Neverland” contains a mix of both the field and battle theme of Neverland. While the arrangement doesn’t show many of the problems of the first album, the original instrumentation seems a better fit for the bubbly melody. Another track that meshes field and battle themes is “Wonderland’s Surprises”, which abruptly cuts between the field and battle themes of Wonderland, much like the game does when enemies appear as Sora explores. It’s a great and creative way to mesh the pieces together, and it helps that the arrangements for both pieces themes are appropriately sweet and bouncy. It could easily cut out a section or two for time, but otherwise it is a great and fun arrangement. “A Very Small Wish ~ Monstrous Monstro” is a little more straightforward, cleanly separating the field and battle tracks. The performance of the field theme really improves on the original, giving it a tinge of mystery and cheekiness. The battle theme is intense and quick paced, with a great use of dynamic changes.
Not everything is improved from the previous album. “Sinister Sundown” was released a few months prior to the album on a Square-Enix music sampler, and it certainly has all of the trademarks of the first album. The arrangement has unneeded runs, repetition, and awkward transitions with an awkward placement of Roxas’ theme in the middle (although when it was mixed in with “Sora” from the last album, it fit in very well). Despite some good ideas, it ends up feeling rather bland. “Hollow Bastion” is caught with some past mistakes, putting the simple melody through many keys and octaves. It does a bit better with the progression, and largely gets by riding on the strength of the original. However, it simply could have been much better if it took the ideas of the other tracks of this album and included the battle theme rather than focusing on the field theme alone.
“Night of Fate” starts off very stiff, loud, and detached, making absolutely no use of what makes a piano unique. It’s a problem that can be seen in amateur arrangements, which fail to adapt songs to truly work for solo piano. Very quickly though, the arrangement picks up on the dynamic range, and the song goes from its strong opening to a mysterious intermediate before building up again to a thunderous finale. It really borders on being a bit repetitive, but the strength of the performance alone carries the track. Also devoted to battle is the “Medley of Conflict”, which uses “The Encounter” as the underlying theme that connects the other battle themes in the medley. The arrangements are for the most part fantastic, showing sides of excitement, drama, and desperation. The only notable flaw is that two of the transitions bring the song to a halt and hurt the pace of the medley.
The last two pieces to be discussed are the emotional centres of the album. “Lazy Afternoons” has an arrangement that really works well at capturing the relaxing feel of the original piece, then by the end throws in a strong emotional buildup and climax that doesn’t feel forced or out of place. This arrangement could have easily been a mere transcription (as it seems to at the beginning of the piece) and few would have complained, but the added progression of the piece really makes it into one of the highlights of the album. The finale of the album is the stunning “Musique pour la tristesse de Xion”, which not only includes Xion’s character theme, but also her battle theme titled “Vector to the Heavens”. As with the original piece, “Kairi” and “Dearly Beloved” make their welcome cameos here as well. At the beginning the arrangement rushes in a bit too soon, but that is quickly forgotten as the piece pulls the listener through with an emotional performance. The first half displays all of the sadness and longing of the character, then builds up tensions before releasing it in the explosive ending. The choice of having strong chords rather than arpeggios leading up the climax was a good one, as it gave each note palpable weight and added more tension. Fantastic closer to an album that was much improved over its predecessor.
Summary
Field & Battle is definitely another worthy entry into the Piano Collections series, even remedying the mistakes of the previous album for the most part. Although the track list is smaller, the album includes more themes, each memorable and none overstaying their welcome. None of the arrangements feel like simple transcriptions, each bringing something new to the piece while still retaining the feel of the original. It’s still a short album, but it leaves us wanting more in a good way. With the library of Kingdom Hearts music continuing to grow with each new game, hopefully it won’t be too long of a wait before the next Piano Collections album for this thriving series.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on April 28, 2014 by Christopher Huynh. Last modified on April 28, 2014.
About the Author
Christopher Huynh recently finished an undergraduate degree in Physics at McMaster University. He has some proficiency in singing, piano, organ, cello, and gaming. He hopes to continue exploring the vast world of music while sharing it with others however possible.
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Thanks so much for the review, Christopher. You covered exactly what I would have and more! Definitely agree that this album is a significant step-up from the predecessor.