Dragon Quest on Piano Vol. 1

	Album Title: Dragon Quest on Piano Vol. 1
	Record Label: Apollon
	Catalog No.: APCG-4004
	Release Date: August 10, 1990
	Purchase: Buy Used Copy

Review

Prior to listening to Dragon Quest on Piano, I expected a complex piano album, for it was recorded at Taihei Studios and produced by Koichi Sugiyama after all. What I got was mostly dull and lacks creativity, and stands in no relation to similar instrumental approaches like the Final Fantasy Piano Collections or the dreaded Suikoden Piano Albums. The recording quality is nice though (a little more reverb could be added for my taste). Dragon Quest on Piano comes in two albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2. The first one, which is reviewed here, combines the original sound versions of Dragon Quest I (8 Tracks) and Dragon Quest IV (23 Tracks). Mr. Sugiyama’s CD works for piano, arranged by Tomoyuki Hayashi, are too contrary to his symphonic works and just interesting for eccentric Dragon Quest fans.

Nevertheless, I will list my favourite arrangements, which are quite nice for stand-alone listening. “Interlude” is the password idea and mirrors the independence and humor of the Dragon Quest series. It’s only 32 seconds long, but enjoyable.I liked “March of the Capricious” from the very beginning (when I had all party members in Dragon Quest IV, I always put the princess into leading position, so her theme could be heard on the world map). “In a Town” lives from stacatto played notes in the backing and is repeated. “Elegy,” the theme of sadness, is very relaxing and features the damper pedal is used for performance; it’s too bad there’s no repetition. Same thing goes for “People” from Dragon Quest I; passages with pedal usage are echoed with funny staccato passages, sounding a little like the beginning of a certain early piano sonatas by W.A. Mozart.

It’s a fact: This CD will make a piano expert or virtoso laugh out, because the playing difficulty is so low. Skip this album, as you won’t miss ANYTHING. If you still want it (e.g. to complete your Dragon Quest CD Collection, or as a shining bad example for a instrumental album), good luck finding it. It’s been out-of-print for years.

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