On August 27th, 2002, the New Japan Philharmonic performed 15 pieces from SSBM, live in Tokyo, Japan. Fortunately for fans of Smash Bros. and Nintendo music, Nintendo recorded the concert! The US release came in the form of a Nintendo Power "subscription bonus," bundled with the January 2003 issue.
New Japan Philharmonic - Smashing... LIVE
Planet Corneria - This is the Star Fox theme music. It has a really sweet intro filled with the flutes and tubas. It gives you this feeling of being in space like no other song can give. It has this weird superhero sound to it and that's effing awesome. Then is goes in for one more chorus encore and fades into our next track.
Jungle Garden - This is Donkey Kongs theme music and it's played very well. This has some really cool bongo drums in the backround of the trumpets. It sounds really 'Jungle Bookey' if you know what I mean. It gives that sense of being in the forest and having all the little animals eat cookies and sing songs for 14 hours, holy cow! Anyway, it's a great track and deserves recognition as one of the best on the album.
Great Bay Shrine - This is Zelda's theme song. It has that old feel, like castle music. It has a really fast tempo that carries the song all the way through. You can almost picture an 'old english' castle with all of the phesants on the outside doing their day jobs. Then it fades out with a raging applause.
Dr. Mario - This song is really funky and it has some pretty cool bass. But the instrument that carries the whole song is definitey the xylophone. Then the sax comes in for a little while and changes the songs feel. Then back to the pure insanity. This is one of the better songs on the album as well.
Original Medley - This is one of the slower songs on the cd. It's a little too slow as you can barely hear the instruments as they play a soft composition. It's four minutes too long because it maintains the same speed throughout. There really isn;t much else to say about this track, other than that it's not that good.
Fountain Of Dreams - This is Kirby's theme song. It starts off slow but goes into this epic battle song. It's great! It could be in Lord Of The Rings. It's really fast paced and the violin makes the song. If anyone has played any Kirby games on the Nintendo 64, then you/ve heard this song before. This is a greeat song and is one of the best.
Pokemon Medley - This is obviously the Pokemon theme song. It takes a while to kick in. When it does, you're in a mess of crazy trombones and trumpets. They are a great addition to this track. It makes the whole song worthwhile. After the song is almost over, it goes into one more crecendo, then it ends with the audiance roaring.
Opening - This is another one of the 'less good' songs on the album. It has a less intense feel but still manages the quiet instruments. It's a tad annoying to hear. This song is not one of my favorites, as it has the quiet instruments. I guess I can't give it that much crap, as it gets louder in the end.
Planet Venom - This is another Star Fox song. It's one of the better tracks on the album. It has that same spacey feel but at a faster pace. It sounds extremely epic. But the other song is in the beginning of Star Fox, and this is the ending song. It carries out till' the chorus encores one more time.
Yoshi's Story - This song is one of the more playful ones on the album. It just sounds a little too joyful. It just sounds 'gay', as in happy. But the only appropriate form of happy for this song is most definitley 'gay'. There really isn't much else to say other than that it's a little annoying.
Depth Of Brinstar - This is Samus' theme song. It has the same epic feel as the two Star Fox ones. The space comes in a little too but not as strong as the previous SF ones. It has some really cool noises. It carries the epic-ness all the way through. But make way for the next track because it's gargantuan.
Smash Bros. Great Medley - This is the longest song here. It comes in at a whopping 15 minutes long! The song has all these really cool portions. It's like it borrows a little from each song. It has all of the spacey, epic, old english, and foresty parts from each song. It has this really awesome violin part that sounds like it's in the old days. All I can say is wow, this is awesome. Best song on the cd, period.
Fire Emblem - This is named after the popular game boy advance game. It has a really old feel, as did the Zelda song. The violin and trumpets carry the song behind the xylophone and the bass. This is a great song and is one of the better ones that this cd has to offer.
Green Greens - This is one of the more 'Disney' sounding tracks on here. It has a really cartooney feel which makes me go 'yay'. It just makes me happy for the time being. It's good to listen to if you're feeling depressed. It just has that essence to it.
Rainbow Cruise - This song can be found in Mario 64. It is the song when you beat the game. It also has that feeling of happiness. It has a great intro and goes into pure joy for the middle. Then at the bridge there is a minor pause and the chorus encores as the audiance claps along to the song. It's one of the better songs on the album. It's also a fantastic close to the album.
Conclusion
All I can say is wow, this was fantastic. the fact that it was Nintendo music blew me away! I love this cd. I will admit that it did have some down points, mainly in the beginnning of the cd, but it just feels so epic as the cd progresses.
Pros
+ Nintendo Songs
+ Great Orchestra
+ Violin and Trumpet were great
+ Mood-Changing songs.
Cons
- Only released in America through 'Nintendo Power' (but it is available for DL)
- Some songs were a little corny.
Recommended Tracks | AKA: Fantastic Four
Planet Corneria
Fountain Of Dreams
Smash Bros. Great Medley
Rainbow Cruise
