 | Album Title: Music Inspired by Final Fantasy |
| Record Label: Big Ear Music | |
| Catalog No.: 40131-2 | |
| Release Date: September 26, 2000 | |
| Purchase: Buy Used Copy |
Overview
As far as fan-arranged albums go, Music Inspired by Final Fantasy is the worst available. The first reason is the dull arranging by Sherman F. Heinig, which fails to expand at all on the original material. The album is devoid of any original, musically rousing content from start to finish and features arrangements practically identical to the originals, merely re-sampled using different sound modules. That leads to my second major criticism: the completely misleading advertising for the album. Do not be misled by the album cover, which clearly states ‘Hollywood Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Perform the Music of Nobuo Uematsu’. This supposed orchestra and choir are just poorly implemented MIDI synths; there is no live performance, despite the album cover’s implication. To add insult to injury, this album is identical to an album entitled Final Fantasy 1994-1999, except with the addition of a bonus track from Final Fantasy IX. That bonus track is actually taken straight from Project Majestic Mix, and though there are some cuts, it isn’t original in any way.
Body
The first three arrangements are from Final Fantasy VI and are more tolerable compared to the others, since the synth doesn’t significantly undermine the original. They are hardly inspiring, however. For example, the “Opening Theme” sounds pathetic compared to the Milan Symphony Orchestra’s marvellous performance in Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale; the organ in the introduction sounds crude and unmusical, while the main melody is underwhelming and the use of the bass guitar during certain progressions does not fit at all. The track that follows “Opening Theme” is “Tina.” It is almost identical to the previous track, except for the addition of some repetitive countermelodies and the deletion of the introduction. There are plenty of great themes in Final Fantasy VI, so arranging the “Tina” theme twice is ridiculous and reflects Heinig’s laziness. Putting these two arrangements back-to-back is idiocy, plain and simple. The arrangement of “New Continent” sometimes sounds a little more powerful compared to the original. However, the synth used for the main melody is jarring and pierces the ears, making it difficult to listen to the theme all the way through; this quality isn’t present in the original.
The Final Fantasy VII arrangements aren’t the worst of the crop on the album, but are all poor nonetheless, because they are practically identical to the originals, merely created with even more cringe-worthy synth (which says something, considering how bad Final Fantasy VII‘s synths were). “Prelude,” Heinig’s best contribution overall, starts off fairly well, with the famous arpeggios that everyone knows and loves being accompanied by some atmospheric sound effects. Unfortunately, the arrangement is hardly effective when the tune enters, since the synth instrument first used wavers in a disconcerting way and the solo trumpet, which is eventually added, is completely inappropriate for the overall style of the arrangement. Though it loops more successfully compared to the original, the fade-out is less than effective. “Main Theme” is another amateurish arrangement that sounds dismal compared to Hamaguchi’s arrangement in Final Fantasy VII Reunion Tracks, thanks to the poor synthesizer programming and the fact that several portions of the original are needlessly cut. While not quite as underwhelming as the arrangement of “Opening Theme,” it still seems ridiculous that Heinig would arrange it in such a way when there is already such an accomplished arrangement. “Cosmo Canyon” and “Shinra Army Wages a Full Scale Attack” are plain contributions to the album, made laughable by some further dodgy synth implementation. The brass synth of the latter is particularly bad, and appears to mimic an out-of-tune children’s brass band more than anything else.
It is with the Final Fantasy VIII arrangements that the album plunges to rock bottom. The arrangement of “Liberi Fatali” is utterly repulsive and proves to be a grave insult to Shiro Hamaguchi’s and Uematsu’s original masterpiece. The synth vocals used are feeble and disgusting, and while the instrumental parts are better, they lack the power of a full orchestra. Furthermore, several changes were made to the instrumental parts that were completely unnecessary and sound very inappropriate. “My Mind” is almost as bad. Though the original was bland, this arrangement is even duller, since the pleasant countermelodies from the original are completely cut from most of the arrangement, leaving just an infantile chime melody accompanied by a stagnant bass line. The results of Heinig’s arrangement of “The Spy” merely repeat what was done with the “New Continent” arrangement earlier on the disc; occasionally it sounds more powerful than the (not particularly good) original, but the synth is often too harsh to be enjoyable. “Mods de Chocobo” is a further example of poor synthesizer operation, and though most of it is adequate, synth vocals are integrated in really inappropriate places, which fail to fit the overall style of the arrangement.
The final track on the album is the only credible arrangement. It is an arrangement of “Vivi’s Theme” from Final Fantasy IX, entitled “Alexandria,” which succeeds in being original, memorable, and exciting. This is because it actually comes from a talented arranger, Stephen Kennedy, who has made solid contributions to several fan-arranged albums, including Project Majestic Mix, where this arrangement originally comes from. It is disappointing that Kennedy would allow this arrangement to be added to the album, as it seems to sacrifice his past efforts to lend fan-arranged albums credibility. That is, of course, assuming that he did give permission; with people like Heinig around, one can never be sure. Furthermore, though it is a grand finale to the album, the putrid mess that precedes it means the album really isn’t worth purchasing for a single gem. Indeed, it would be much more advisable to find a copy of Project Majestic Mix on eBay, as that album contains many fine arrangements, not just one.
Summary
Sherman F. Heinig has truly disgraced himself here. It is more than clear that the album was not intended to be a Nobuo Uematsu fan’s dream album, but rather a tacky rip-off intended only to make a quick profit. Anyone who is prepared to insult Nobuo Uematsu’s music by making horrific arrangements of masterpieces like “Liberi Fatali” and then sell them for profit does not deserve any respect. Heinig not only does this, but also misleads people by claiming it is performed by a live orchestra and choir that do not exist. This makes him a pirate, plain and simple, and he does not deserve any more money for this farce of an album, which would have taken a couple of days to create. Huge numbers of people must have been misled into buying this album, believing that their favourites have been arranged into full orchestral and choral performances, and this is truly unfortunate. All I can do is pity them, and at least hope this review will prevent more people in the future from falling into this hideous trap.
