When I think of F-Zero, I think of fast racing, bright colors, mutants, robots, aliens, and hard-driving heavy metal musick. F-Zero X really drove home the soaring metal guitar and punching drums, and I love that. The thing is, there's a bit more to the tracks from the original game. I found that out when I discovered the F-Zero jazz album that Nintendo released in 1992.
The cover art of this album is great. It's an abstract study in texture, a big jet engine with the classic game logo over the top. A lot of these game soundtracks follow suite with these abstract themes. The colors really bring this one out. One thing that's kind of funny, is that I always see the part on the bottom left as an old-style car like a Model T. I thought it was a play on the futuristic power of the F-Zero race cars, but I think it's just part of the car.
The album starts out with the "Opening Theme" from the game. All of these tracks are from the original SNES F-Zero in a muted jazz fusion style without the over-the-top playing, complexity, or weird effects. "Opening Theme" sounds pretty close to the game's audio but with real instruments. Its city pop feel is more noticeable here with Marc Russo's saxophone. The classic "Big Blue" theme follows. The tempo goes for a bit more speed, but this isn't a blistering rock blast; it's more subdued, more reflective, kind of blue. It's amazing what these musicians were able to achieve with these tracks. "Red Canyon" goes a bit funky, swinging through the rocks with sparse instrumentation. "Fire Field" flares closer to rock with Robben Ford's guitar being the most prominent instrument here with dive bomb solos and all. Alphonso Johnson makes a great counter on bass, and the thin piano brings it all together. "Silence" is a bit quieter and dreamy than I remember the in-game track being. The musicians go for short breaks of seduction and then it's back into the mid-range, upbeat west coast stuff. "White Land" continues the dreamier sounds with keyboard chimes over top of thumpy bass and mystery guitar.
The "Port Town" theme starts the second half with more of that Kind of Blue sound. The "Select Time Theme" is another upbeat piece of near city pop. "Mute City" has a swing feel from the alto sax. I love the way it soars and slides through the song. "Sand Ocean" goes for a slight Latin style with droning sax and a crystalline counterpoint from the keyboards. The guitar solo sounds a bit like Stevie Ray Vaughan right before a drum solo breaks out into textural ambiance. It's almost meditative. "Death Wind" sounds like city pop with the sax replacing the lovelorn vocals of Toshiki Kadomatsu. It's faster with rock guitars. The "Ending Theme" sounds more-or-less the same. I love the sax on this one. It really brings those otherworldly sunsets to life from the racetrack.
F-Zero is a great take on the sounds of the classic SNES game. I've listened to this album so much while working on other stuff; these sounds really get me thinking and feeling energized at the same time. It's a good mix of stuff, and the band has a good bunch of musicians. One day, maybe I'll find the actual CD for this album.
F-Zero receives a Good.
If you want to see more musick reviews, check out my more seasoned companion blog, Skull Valley.
The cover art of this album is great. It's an abstract study in texture, a big jet engine with the classic game logo over the top. A lot of these game soundtracks follow suite with these abstract themes. The colors really bring this one out. One thing that's kind of funny, is that I always see the part on the bottom left as an old-style car like a Model T. I thought it was a play on the futuristic power of the F-Zero race cars, but I think it's just part of the car.
The album starts out with the "Opening Theme" from the game. All of these tracks are from the original SNES F-Zero in a muted jazz fusion style without the over-the-top playing, complexity, or weird effects. "Opening Theme" sounds pretty close to the game's audio but with real instruments. Its city pop feel is more noticeable here with Marc Russo's saxophone. The classic "Big Blue" theme follows. The tempo goes for a bit more speed, but this isn't a blistering rock blast; it's more subdued, more reflective, kind of blue. It's amazing what these musicians were able to achieve with these tracks. "Red Canyon" goes a bit funky, swinging through the rocks with sparse instrumentation. "Fire Field" flares closer to rock with Robben Ford's guitar being the most prominent instrument here with dive bomb solos and all. Alphonso Johnson makes a great counter on bass, and the thin piano brings it all together. "Silence" is a bit quieter and dreamy than I remember the in-game track being. The musicians go for short breaks of seduction and then it's back into the mid-range, upbeat west coast stuff. "White Land" continues the dreamier sounds with keyboard chimes over top of thumpy bass and mystery guitar.
The "Port Town" theme starts the second half with more of that Kind of Blue sound. The "Select Time Theme" is another upbeat piece of near city pop. "Mute City" has a swing feel from the alto sax. I love the way it soars and slides through the song. "Sand Ocean" goes for a slight Latin style with droning sax and a crystalline counterpoint from the keyboards. The guitar solo sounds a bit like Stevie Ray Vaughan right before a drum solo breaks out into textural ambiance. It's almost meditative. "Death Wind" sounds like city pop with the sax replacing the lovelorn vocals of Toshiki Kadomatsu. It's faster with rock guitars. The "Ending Theme" sounds more-or-less the same. I love the sax on this one. It really brings those otherworldly sunsets to life from the racetrack.
F-Zero is a great take on the sounds of the classic SNES game. I've listened to this album so much while working on other stuff; these sounds really get me thinking and feeling energized at the same time. It's a good mix of stuff, and the band has a good bunch of musicians. One day, maybe I'll find the actual CD for this album.
F-Zero receives a Good.
If you want to see more musick reviews, check out my more seasoned companion blog, Skull Valley.
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