OK, I just got this album and listened to it for the first time last night.  And GODDAMN.  THIS is how an arrange album is done. 

Meguro did everything possible right with this album.  He chose the best songs, he arranged them himself, and completely re-worked them to a degree extremely satisfying for fans of the originals.  It's like he read our minds.  I can't tell you how much Mass Destruction, Burn My Dread -Last Battle-, Want To Be Close, and 全ての人の魂の戦い kick f*cking ass on here.  Most of the tracks on here are practically new songs, yet they stay true enough to the originals to be familiar, and don't stray off into a completely other universe, like some arranges can fatally do.  Basically, he kept the best aspects of each song, built upon them, and infused a serious "kickass" factor.  This is why it's so good when composers arrange their own songs, because they know their own vision.  Not every track on the CD is simply mind-blowing, but the good ones are GOOD, and I haven't been this enthralled with an album in a long time.

I urge fans of the original soundtrack to get this album immediately.  I urge non-fans of the original soundtrack to investigate it as well.  I know there were some mixed opinions about the P3 original soundtrack, but if you at least even KIND OF like the original tracks on this album, you will love it.  I, myself, am not a HUGE fan of the original Persona 3 soundtrack on the whole.  There are a lot of meager tunes spread through out it, and Shin Megami Tensei III and both Digital Devil Sagas definitely had better soundtracks overall.  I also agree with Goldfish that the multitude of remixes of Tantaurus for the main dungeon themes was a complete and unfortunate waste.  However, there are some really adventurous and innovative tracks on the soundtrack that work extremely well in the game, and when Meguro rocks, he ROCKS.  So, take a look at the track list on the arrange album.  If any of the those tracks are ones you reasonably liked from the original soundtrack, it's worth checking out.  If funk/rock/hip-hoppy game tunes simply aren't your thing, well then don't bother I guess. ^^

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%90%E3%83 … 595&sr=8-1

While I still wish we had the composers on board from Persona 2 Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment for Persona 3, Meguro continues to impress, and has proved with this album that he knows how to not only satisfy his fans, but make one hell of an arrange.  I say bring him on for more.

- Justin Pfeiffer

He did a great job with this album. Basically everything else is something I wanted to see on it and I wasn't disappointed with anything, minus the 3 crap-rap tracks that slipped by (sorry, I have no tolerance for this stuff). The non-rap full length "Burn my Dread" (the opener, I believe) is great and catchy. Best reworking was "When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars", with the slick new techno section and added verses. That would've made a nice single, even. "Battle for Everyone's Souls" is less dramatic of an arrangement, but it's a lot more vibrant than the already-amazing original. The jazz numbers help round things out. Overall, I'm really happy with this. Much moreso than the actual Persona 3 OST, since this hit all of my favorites from it.

(and yeah, no tartarus here is definitely a blessing)

What kind of game is Burn My Dread?  PS2? Action, RPG?

Is that a joke?

Burn My Dread is the name of the theme song for Persona 3, which is also the name they chose for P3's arrange album.

And, of course, Persona 3 is an RPG...

Ramza

Not necessarily. Not everyone follows JRPGs as intensely as others. The way the topic is titled it makes it seem like the arrange album for a game called Burn My Dread.

Actually, that would be a cool US name for Persona 3...Since no one cares about the other games in the series, it would be a fresh start without the sequelitis (REAL fans would know the difference)and a pretty bad-ass name to boot.

What's really annoying is that, in the US, they're naming it "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3." wtf? They didn't even include the SMT prefix in the JP version! Why do it in the US? It's so absurd. We're TIRED of long titles.

(also annoying is that US isn't getting the FES content).

My apologies to Stephen, I didn't mean it to be rude. I thought maybe it was him criticizing the thread's title for not saying P3 anywhere...that's why I asked "is this a joke"

Did he manage to retain the jazzy percussion and otherwise electronica-fusion in the arrangement? This was undoubtably Persona 3's finest track vocal and other. Does Meguro use any real instruments for this album or the same synth trumpets/horns like he used on some other works of his? Either way, it's Shoji Meguro who can't disappoint (even though that Devil Summoner Vs. album was lame except for just a few tracks).

The jazziness in When The Moon is still evident overall, but the percussion has been replaced with a sort of jungle techno beat, which turns to a medium rock during the chorus section.  I'm surprised you guys like this song so much though.  It was actually one of my least favorites (of the vocals) from the original soundtrack, and I wasn't jumping out of my seat over the arrange version on here either.  I do like the chorus section, where she sings "When stars are smiling at moon," (which I had always thought was "Well it's still a smiling bull"), but the main section ("I never felt like") just doesn't vibe with me.

Call me crazy, but the rap vocal tracks tend to be my favorites.  Words aside (which are hard enough to make out), rhythmically speaking, the phrasing creates a really awesome effect over the beat of the music that just gets me jammin'.  The dude isn't half bad if you ask me, and has a pretty cool voice too.  Definitely beats the hell out of the raps on Street Fighter III.

As for real instruments on the album, most of the music appears to be generated on high-end synths, but there are definitely real guitars, horns, and bass used in the album.  One track is completely live piano plus vocal (the Velvet Room arrangement).  Which by the way, I think we've had enough arranges of at this point, and didn't see why it was necessary to put yet another one on here.  I would have really liked an arrangement of "Troubled," which is my favorite non-vocal track from the game.

By they way, for the record, I thought the Raido soundtrack was pretty good.  Definitely some great Meguro gems on there.  Am I the only one?

- Justin Pfeiffer

Nah, you're not crazy...The rest of those tracks that have the rap in them aren't half bad (I listened to the original "Burn My Dread" a bunch of times today at work), but the type of rap that shows up in them is the type I absolutely can't take in. They have their audience and they're not "bad", but not for me. Unfortunatly, I don't have a choice with Street Fighter III (since I still play it on a regular basis), so I've just kind of learned to laugh at the guy.

"Moon..." was a grower...I didn't like it so much at first (and I'm not going to actively hunt this style of music out either), but then I came to the realization I had been listening to it for a half hour solid. Just a catchy tune with bad engrish...That's normally a winner.

This album sounds promising, does anyone have any samples they can share?

regards

Here, I've uploaded a couple for you.

Burn My Dread -Last Battle-
http://www.sendspace.com/file/98ii24

Want To Be Close
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ji8j12

It's not just the music itself that's great, it's where it takes place in the game.  Imagine fighting a last boss while you're listening to Burn My Dread -Last Battle-.  Damn.  And, I hope you've heard the original Want To Be Close, because you will appreciate the arrange version much more, as he's completely reworked the song.

Speaking of which, I've had some time to take a look at the liner notes by Meguro.  As it turns out, he feels he's tapped back into his old "roots" with Persona 3 and this album.  After the OST was released, he was contacted by an old friend who was a fellow member of a band Meguro used to play in.  She told him she thought it had both characteristics of the old Meguro, as well as the more recent one who's been doing game music.  He was moved by this comment, and decided to use his "old" self as inspiration for arranging the songs on this album.  I say, if this is how his "old self" rocked out, then damn, bring it back.

- Justin Pfeiffer

Had no idea Meguro was in a band before he shacked up with Atlus. Know if any of that stuff made it onto CDs?

In regards to the Persona 3 arrange album, I thought it was hot stuff, which is saying something considering that I love the OST. My favorite arrangement's Living With Determination, but I'm just a sucker for lounge. I didn't think Mass Destruction could get any funkier, but I was happily proven wrong. And I love the expansion of Burn My Dread (the opening version).

The bad: When the Moon..., which is admittedly better than the original because of the new material, but not enough to make my opinion change; and Deep Breath Deep Breath, which is more uplifting than the original, but just ends up feeling limp to me.

No joke.  I don't keep up with all JRPGs.  And the Persona series is one of the ones I track the least.

Thanks for the sample...hmm, I definitely like the Persona stuff (from previous albums), but I'm not sure I'd pick this up just yet.  I'll have to check out the game for sure..they always get low ratings (6 to 7.5)  I noticed..hmm

Thanks for the samples, man. You just saved me $30.

Ha ha, didn't float your boat huh?  Well as I said before, this album will appeal to fans of the OST more than anything.

- Justin

So did they manage to credit the female vocalist this time around?

I've wanted to buy into the whole Megami Tensei music series, but I'm too much of a completist to even attempt it at this point in time. I think there are as many original soundtracks for the MT series as there are for the Final Fantasy series, but unlike the FF series, most of the MT soundtracks are out of print. Costly series..

There's no sense in being a completist - no way you're going to like every album.

How am I going to know that I don't like a soundtrack if I don't listen to it all the way through first? On top of that, I don't think a soundtrack has to be perfect from start to finish to be worth owning.

As Smeg said, there's no point in being a completist, especially since the Megami Tensei series has varied over the years, and not all albums are good.

Here, I'll make it easy for you.  Just get these:

Persona 2: Innocent Sin OST
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment OST
Shin Megami Tensei III OST
Digital Devil Saga I&II OST

- Justin

^ Addendum:

Megami Tensei 1 and 2 (the second disc is an arrangement by Ryo Yonemitsu)
SMT Devil Children Arranged Album (partially done by Sakuraba...much quality prog-rock to be found)
Megaten World!!!

But yeah, I have to say SMT3's OST is still the cornerstone of the series for me. It's of those soundtracks I don't listen to all the time, but I enjoy it immensely when I do. Definitely get that.

Heh, one more album both of you neglected: Megaten World (PCCG-00257).

[edit] oh wait, there it is in GoldfishX's post.

I'd add the Majin Tensei albums, and of course "Chaos and Order".  The entire series is pretty solid really, that is except anything Persona 3.

I too am glad I listened to this one before buying. What a disappointment. And I even kinda liked the Persona 3 OST.

Yikes, I finally got around to listening to this, and it didn't do much of anything for me other than turning me off.

It's extremely J-disco/J-pop/J-rap, and all the vocal stuff felt like every other mainstream pre-packaged, look-alike dance club fare... Where's the personality or uniqueness?

The sound felt very generic and overly consumer-ish, like it's trying to sell me some mascara and hair-highlights along with it.

And Carl sets the bar for putting the smackdown on bad VGM.

Word.  *raises his glass to Carl*

-Mike