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Happy New Year!

My resolution for the year is “diligence”

I briefly considered “clarity”, but when I realized I would have to be more specific i gave up. 

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Primordial Beat~Pristine Beat

If you are going to have a looped song with a percussion focus, this is the way to do it!

I have a slight bias towards this piece, as DDC was the first Touhou game I played as it came out, as opposed to finding it years later.  However, listening to it analytically, it is a bit lacking.  it doesn’t quite have the direction I could hope for, and there are some instruments I’d like to see redone, like slightly more piercing trumpets.  I think overall, this song and Raiko both suffer from a lack of both gravitas and relevance.  As an ex-boss, her stagemates are Flandre, Koishi, Ran, Nue, etc.  most, if not all of whom went on to be power players (or seemingly maligned fan favorites) and Raiko is basically Lyrica prismriver 2.0. 

But back to the song, it is just a hair off of epic, which is shorthand for, “I prefer a remix, and so the original seems worse in comparison, even though it’s still perfectly functional”.  which is a pity, because it’s for a drum who can play the lightning...and is one of the easier levels in impossible spell card. 

In short, I want to like it more than I actually do...more’s the pity: A

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Apparitions Stalk the Night

I have surprisingly little to say about this piece.  it’s short, but it’s a stage one boss. the drums are a little annoying, but the actual tune’s pretty good.  I think it’s mostly relevant as the first boss theme from after the reboot.  Ironically, I think this piece, more than the rest of the EoSD connects to the soundtracks that followed in some way, compared to the others I’ve mentioned.  it feels more like a later track with pared down instruments instead of an earlier track experimenting with fuller orchestrations. 

Unfortunately, it’s just kinda drab and forgettable: A-

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Fantastic Tales from Tono

OKAY one more I don’t like, then we get a palate cleanser, and one that I genuinely do like.  but for now; CHEEEEN

It has the same issue I have with most of the early PCB soundtrack, which I will reiterate to spare you the ire of the other description.  they are all incredibly tense.  they evoke endless winter and desperation well, but when it comes to casual listening, I find it unsatisfying.  the thin, anemic violins/flutes don’t do anything for me, the synth drum is really bad, and keeps on going, with the beat not adding anything.  Compared to the last two, it really isn’t bad, but as part of the greater oeuvre, it’s pretty darn unimpressive. 

Any other time, it would’ve gotten a C, but after the last two, I’m feeling generous: C+

Now I get to move on to a track I don’t actively avoid! YAY!

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Shoutoku Legend~true Administrator

24. twenty-four. four and twenty.  that is how many times it goes “BA-da-da-da-DA-da-da-da” before you get the sweet release of three chords heralding the actual song.  and then it is less than 90 seconds before we hear it again.  that bit in the middle would need to have been presented to Zun by the flying heralds of at least seven different religions to make me forgive the incessant pounding, which changes too slowly and subtly to be a good build.  Bolero can get away with it because the orchestration is different teach time.  THIS just has the same bad synth drums the whole way through.  I may be more emphatic in my reaction than it deserves, but I have this distinct memory of the danmaku all-stars video, where it goes on for about 30 seconds, and the second the real tune starts playing, she’s defeated and the next person comes in.  Without the repeated measure, the actual tune is...meh.  possible B area.

but with the repetition, and nothing else to redeem it, it takes it straight down to a D

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Doll Judgement

UUUUUUUUUUHHHHhhhhhhhhhhgggggggg....... Have I mentioned that I kinda hate the first half of the PCB soundtrack?  because I kinda hate the first half of the PCB soundtrack.  as soon as it hits capital city of flowers in the sky, I like at least SOMETHING about all of the following tracks and even have a couple of S ranks, but I just can’t stand the entire first half.  Furthermore, I have mixed feelings on Alice, because I don’t want to hate her because apparently a lot of people don’t like her, but she hasn’t done anything to endear her to me; she has less personality than people with even fewer appearances, she isn’t particularly good as a playable character, and she has THREE BOSS THEMES and THREE STAGE THEMES, and there is ONE out of those SIX TRACKS that i like* y’know who else has six associated tracks and survived the reboot? Yuuka.  y’know how many of her tracks I like? AT LEAST three.

A-NY-WAY, my issue with the earlier PCB tracks in general is that they’re too tense.  IN CONTEXT, it works, so in the game, they’re fine.  but to listen to, they get repetitive and tedious FAST.  this one in particular spends a lot of time with bad synth drums overtaking the melody.  when the melody actually has a chance to shine, it’s too little too late for me, but apparently some people really like it.  I think a remix might save it, but the famous one is not that remix.

One of my least favorite tracks in the entire series: D-

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Eastern Judgement in the Sixtieth Year ~ Fate of Sixty Years

I’ve seen the next block of songs and I’m not crazy about it.  might as well deal with it. 

I think the phantasmagoria tracks are longer due to the assumption that you’ll be stuck in the stages longer, as there is no set maximum time like in other games.  Incidentally, my beef with this song is that except for one section, everything goes on just a bit too long, like double whole notes when a single would have sufficed.  I will say, the more energetic section (you’ll recognize it by the lack of the incessant arpeggio underneath) is good.  this piece is more lyrical than a lot, but I think part of my issue is that i’ve heard i think at least two versions of it with lyrics, both of which move just a bit more, while still being meditative.  I forget if I’ve mentioned it in a previous review, or some variant of it, but I give tracks bonus points if I can’t find any remixes I like better, and also remove points if I think a remix “fixes” it.

I think this one needs fixing, so I give it...B...it’s kinda “meh” honestly. 

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Greenwich in the Sky

Similar to my reaction to Gensokyo the gods loved, my reaction is, “THIS is the highest ranked track that has only appeared on CD’s?  Not Blue Sea of 53 minutes, or Illusionary bird of the moon, mysterious Cat? or Mary the Magician?” I could go on, but then I’d have to actually think if I liked them better than Greenwich, and I DO like Greenwich in the sky, there are just other CD only tracks I like better. 

I think this song, like Shanghai teahouse before it, I consider extremely repetitive, which makes it harder for me to like unconditionally,  Some of them (especially the ones with long loops) I can ALMOST listen to for half an hour before getting bored.  if this is because I’ve only heard it repeat ten times, instead of thirty, so be it.  but this piece is under 4 minutes long, and I did have to repeat it for review purposes, but it just felt extremely tedious, like I’d heard it 5 times. 

Lest I belabor my point any more, the motifs are light and fun, with just that edge that Zun likes to give to Maribel and Renko’s songs.  the instruments mix a fairly mellow piano file with very buzzy, pointed brass, and it works. 

I think this may be another one people like remixes of better, because I only give it B+

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Heian Alien

My immediate memory of this piece is that it can be overlaid with just about everything (there’s one specific medley I’m thinking of).  The question is, “what does that mean for Heian Alien itself?”

A) it’s minimally orchestrated

B) Zun might reuse similar chord structures

C) the melody is virtually non existent

D) All of the above

(D, obviously) I will say that this piece is probably the closest Zun or anyone else has EVER come to edgy jazz.  the instrumentation plus the rhythm somehow manages to convey intensity and relaxation at the same time, which should be impossible.  For that reason alone, I’ll give the piece an A.  (unfortunately, it lacks the visceral impact I require for anything higher. 

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Centennial Festival for Magical Girls

This is kind of a weird one, and not just because it’s from EoSD.  it has very present drums, and perhaps the oddest thing for me is when it randomly does the “Asian riff” I think it has a proper name, but hopefully you know what I’m talking about.  in a way it fits the contrasting elements of the whole game; Asian magicians using European magic and vice versa, physically skilled gate guard is the worst fighter in the household, playful riff whole going to fight the toughest boss in the game. 

I think it does better than most, worse than some in terms of creating a cohesive musical arc, which I’ve mentioned in other posts.  the individual pieces have movement within them, but they kind of don’t slot together very well; it fluctuates between mysterious, intense and playful at the drop of a hat almost. 

The character associations are Flandre and Patchouli, and the abrupt transitions are appropriate for Flandre, and Patchouli’s section does seem to be more or less internally cohesive, if not terribly...adventurous.

Alas, this is another one that doesn’t grab me, but has no glaring faults: B+

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Beloved Tomboyish Girl

A light fun theme for a light fun character. Bookkeeping: the list has tomboyish girl in love, not beloved tomboyish girl, but since beloved tomboyish girl doesn’t appear on the list, I’m ranking the original, not the remix (because I generally don’t like the remixes).  Not that I have much to say about it that I haven’t already.  it’s okay B+

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Fall of Fall ~ Autumnal Waterfall

How is this below Gensokyo the gods loved? This might even be in my top 10 stage themes (maybe, there’re a lot of them).  it has a strong, distinct melody with clear sections (which I’m big on) and I like when you can tell precisely when the midboss shows up. 

I like the choice of the flutes, it reminds me of Peruvian pan pipes or primal Japanese plains tribes (like the beginning of princess mononoke) If you twist my arm, I will admit it’s slightly less autumnal than other tracks in the game, despite being the one named for the season. 

I think I like it.  I think I could like it better.  A

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Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom~Nuclear Fusion

OOOOOoooooohhhhhh, yeah....that’s some good stuff.  I really like this one.  In all fairness, the first touhou playthrough I saw (probably after yukari) was Subterranean Animism, which culminates with Reiuji Utsuho throwing stars that cover half the screen at you, while claxons are going off, and this theme plays.  I think its possibly the most “final-boss-ish” track in the SERIES.  the staccato chord rhythm really grabs your attention ( if it needed to), I’m usually a sucker for a good arpegiated chord, and it has a slow section to let you breathe (even if the boss fight won’t)

It’s high energy, the slightly wobbly trumpets perfectly evoke fire, and I can genuinely say that I have yet to hear a remix I like better, which means that he’s doing something inimitable, in the rhythm or the orchestration stacks.  I like it. 

S-rank, as if the tag didn’t spoil it. 

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Flowering Night

Sorry for the break; I wanted to play the new game that came out, then I got distracted and now it’s been a week or two.  ANYWAY flowering night...a bit repetitive ain’t it? and not in the good way like bolero, it’s just the same tune 500 times.  This is another one for the pile of “I think they got votes for a reason other than the actual song.” this is the kind of track that makes me feel less bad about not having the music work when I play PoFV.  This is the kind of track that I forget, and don’t mind forgetting. 

I think it might be based on part of luna dial, and somewhere between the two, there’s a good theme for sakuya, but we haven’t reached it yet.

I actually really don’t like this one, and I think it’s my first C-.

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A haiku for HSiFS

Yatadera-chan

final spell was (9) ball, but

She body-slammed me

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Maiden’s Capriccio

Marisa got two (and a half) themes in before Reimu got in one? so much for fan favorite.  But seriously, this is another song that made the transition from chiptune to modern, and its somewhat surprisingly unaltered.  the transition seems to have mostly taken the chance to up the epic factor by about a dozen. 

I will say, (I may be dozing off, but ) the rhythmic chords that serve as the introduction seem more emphasized both initial and later in the piece in ~dream battle than in the original.  I will say, the drums are a bit more present than I think they should be at some points in ~dream battle, but that’s less obvious an issue in the original.  I think the most “physical”(?) difference between them is that the original feels about a whole step lower.  other than that, the filigree is more prominent in IN than LLS, and I think it’s some aspect of that that makes IN feel faster when it isn’t. 

The song works, and even works for a lead, but I am getting just a bit of the descent into background noise that is a blessing and curse for video game music, and so I give it an A+

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Wind God Girl

Ah, the first track i’m reviewing from PoFV...I’ve always thought the orchestrations in this game were a bit...damp.  for some of the other (original) songs it works, but because the actual melody is kind of “firey” and the character has a strong association with wind/air, it comes off as a bit muddled.  I don’t think it even needs a rearrangement, just a different instrument pack. 

The actual melodies, I like, and it even has that differentiation in tone and style that i like so it doesn’t feel like it’s idling like some others.  the countermelodies are effective.  again, I just don’t like the instruments used in PoFV for this track, and so it may be my least favorite Aya theme. 

Good points and bad points, i give it an A-