After a few listens through I've posted early impressions on the album page.  Look for a boatload of samples later today or tomorrow.

Long preview short - I'm a happy camper

As I'm one of the few who hasn't played the game yet, I'd love to hear how well the final track list covers the selection of music from the game.  I'm certainly quite happy with what's included, but am curious if any major stage themes or character theme arrangements got cut in order to make room for those bonus tracks.

Always such a nice surprise (for me anyway) to get a quality multi-disc OST without a ton of filler!

I'm still waiting for mine to ship, but having heard the game rip, and having played the game, I'm really pumped for the soundtrack. I wasn't going to get it at first, but upon hearing the game rip, I immediately ordered it. Some really good stuff. I absolutely love the stage theme for Brazil at night time and the Tokyo Overpass Stage's use of vocoder is absolutely to die for.

I too am waiting up my copy, but an analysis of the tracklisting appears to show that all of the major ones made it in.  However, as Herrkotowski ascertains in this thread, it doesn't look like the excellent (albeit brief) character theme cues from the anime intro/epilogue vignettes made it in.  It might also be worth noting that, judging from the 1:34 time lengths, none of the versions of "The Next Door/Indestructible" are the full length versions.  You can hear the full 3:35 version of the Japanese version here.  Not certain if they did a full version of the English one.

At this point, I'm most wondering how the TGS '08 PV BGM and Shop PV BGM sound like.  Please tell me at least one of those include the trailer rendition of the amazing Volcanic Rim theme.

Oh, and Adam, can you verify if they included the "heavy damage" variations of the main stage tracks?  Are they integrated in the disc 1 tracks themselves?

And finally, did they do away with the announcer's obnoxiously preachy speech in "Staff Roll"? :p

I can't afford it right now but it's a must buy for me too in the near future. Been listening to character themes on youtube and it's definetly moving on with the times.

My favorites so far are Cammy and Sakura's updated themes!

Samples are up on the album page!  There are still a few more tracks I'm tempted to post samples for but I think I've covered a lot of the biggies.

Yeah Capcom had implied that pre-release.  Doesn't make much of a difference to me but the album edits definitely feel abbreviated, even without having heard the full-length versions.

I included those samples with you in mind   You will find your beloved Volcanic Rim theme, which I think we can safely call the SFIV main theme, in the Shop PV BGM track.  The TGS bonus track mostly dresses up Ryu's theme.

Here's a short sample of the SFIV Orchestra Version final track if anyone's interested.  I didn't find it interesting or representative enough of the soundtrack to include it in the album page, and will take the file down after a day or two.
http://www.soundtrackcentral.com/street … t-2-23.mp3

Hard to say without having heard them in-game.  I don't notice any SSF2 Turbo HD speed-ups anywhere.

Several but not all of the stages have two tracks on disc 1, and China's and Vietnam's at least share the same melody.  Are those the heavy damage versions or does the game just have two variations of the same stage?

Edit: The heavy damage segments are in there!  See my next post below.

No preachy speech to be found, it's all music.

The stages that have two versions on them, one of them remixed I assume, have two variants. For example, Brazil's Pitch-Black Stage seems to have a more upbeat tempo and some other things thrown into the mix (going off of memory here). But yes, there is a clear difference between Brazil Inland Jungle and Pitch Black, despite sharing the same melody. I do not believe these are the heavy damage versions.

Then it's all good. ;)  Thanks, too, for the Shop PV clarification and the rest of the offered samples.  I'm really digging the "AC Mode Select Screen" variation of The Next Door, which is a track that ISN'T featured on the console release, but (and as the name implies) the Arcade only.  The review's an excellent read, too.

That's correct.  There are heavy damage variations for every stage, even for the ones that have two versions such as the Inland and Pitch-Black Jungle.  As an example, I've uploaded a sample of the in-game Crowded Downtown China heavy damage variations.  (There are actually TWO variations per stage, one for when you're getting low on health, and the other when either character has a fully armed Revenge/Ultra meter at the ready.)

I have to wait until mid-March, since Castlevania Judgment is part of that CDJ order.

Thanks a lot for the sample Adam as they really giving me the motivation to save up to buy it.

Glad you guys enjoyed the review and samples!

After hearing Angela's sample (thanks Angela!) I can confirm that the heavy damage themes are in each stage track, for the tracks I've listened to more closely since then and I assume all the rest as well.  The stage tracks seem to go like this:

intro - main stage theme - main theme repeated - heavy damage 1 - heavy damage 2

I'm very impressed both that Fukasawa composed heavy damage themes that fit in so well with the main compositions, and that he implemented them so smoothly into the album (which even though I didn't know it at first, is probably a big part of why the it doesn't grow repetitive to me like most OSTs).

My copy of the soundtrack came in this morning.  It pleases on just about every level, and is a fine representation of the SFIV score in general.  I am indeed happy to hear those heavy damage variations, and I'm really digging the PV Shop and Orchestra Versions of the Volcanic Rim theme. (Sorry, it'll always be "Volcanic Rim" to me. ^_^)

Also, I couldn't resist putting together an edit of the AC Mode Select & Character Select Screens.  It's kind of easy to hear that, at some point, they were likely one of the same piece anyway.  Check it out:

AC Mode Select & Character Select Screens:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4enmnznkjgl

Thanks for writing that review, Adam. I was pretty excited about this OST after playing the game for a few hours at a friend's and listening to the bonus disc that came with his CE of the game, but now I'm even more pumped. Can't wait to hear this one in its entirety!

Hey, so...... would any of you be interested in an in-game recording of these vignette sequences?  Now that I've unlocked every character, I should be able to give it a shot.

I'll do it so long as at least one person says "yes." :)

Yes. I assume you mean the ones in the opening movies? If so, I'd love to hear that piano rendition of Ken's theme...

Done and done:

http://www.mediafire.com/?jmxyhnfhnd0

So we're clear, these are direct in-game recordings, so I couldn't remove voice nor sound effects.  But the fifty tracks include both prologues and endings for each of the twenty-five characters.  I've opted to go with the English-voiced dialogue only; I was planning on doing the Japanese version as well, but I was pressed for time this weekend.  Perhaps later on. 

Enjoy!

After listening to the album a couple of times, I'm not as pumped or impressed as I was initially. As my pusher said, "SF4 is one of those soundtracks that's AMAZING upon first listen but gradually loses its coolness the more you hear it", which I am starting to agree with. Crimson's stage theme still kicks serious ass, though.

All I want is the games' opening theme in English. I like it better than the Japanese version, which I'm sure is the only one on the OST release. About the only thing holding me back from a purchase right now, and I'm sure that'll change shortly.

Actually the English version is on the OST, disc 2 track 1, so purchase away.

-Zane's pusher

But take note that it's only a minute and a half long.  This is all mentioned in my review, by the way.

Just a heads-up, there were Exile CD singles released to coincide with The Legend of Chun-Li movie in Japan.  They each feature the full three minute-plus versions of their respective languages.  The only caveat is that they appear to be digital downloads only:

http://mysound.jp/music/detail/tZL7I/
http://mysound.jp/music/detail/tZL7J/

I don't know. I'm still listening to it on a weekly basis and still loving it. I think it's all a matter of taste. But this is also coming from someone who's listened to the same group for about a year ad nauseum and doesn't think he'll be sick of them any time soon. So, perhaps I'm just immune to the whole "gradually loses its coolness the more you hear it" effect in general.

Actually, I grew towards the album after an initial mixed reception. The original compositions really impressed me even if the arrangements didn't always work for me and the vocal theme proved to be a guilty pleasure. I'd personally highly recommend it too.

Thanks for the Cutscene Prologue~Ending recordings Angela

Ah, you're quite welcome.  A single thank you from, hmm..... twenty six downloads, goes a long way toward validating one's efforts.

I thought it was two . I thanked you over AIM.