This is really more of a self-serving post.  I haven't heard too many game scores this year and would like to know what you guys consider highlights of the year thus far--with a brief description of it sounds like, so I (we) can decide what to check out.  Feel free to mention your favorite non-game music releases too should you wish.

Cheers.

Unfortunately, 2007 has been a pretty bland year for me. We talked about this a couple of months ago, too:

http://altpop.com/stc/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2633

Since that thread, I've picked up a couple of really enjoyable albums, namely Gyakuten Saiban 4 and Karous OST. I grabbed Nanosweep 5, too, but it was a little bit of a let down compared to the other ones; NS4 is my favorite, by far, and I was hoping for the same quality with NS5. I still dig the FFXI Box and The Silver CD (oh, yes), but Armodyne and RR7 definitely slipped off my radar and even further off of my CD shelf.

I'm really looking forward to the Dracula X PSP OST and I'm sort-of-but-hardly excited for Beautiful Katamari OST. We'll see how that one pans out. Even though each Katamari release has been, well, varied in quality, every album has put forth at least several good songs, so I'm sure there's a good U tune in there somewhere.

Man, no offense but I dislike these threads because what I'm listening to or purchasing usually falls outside the the realm of the current year so I usually have nothing to add to the discussion.

Anyway, sry - I guess that's my problem.

Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream!111

In all seriousness:

Alphabet Planet - Classic Kikuta.  One CD of uppity, playful melodies and another of  serious jazz fusion stuff.  Awesome to see a two-disc collection from him.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North - Some of Jeremy Soule's best.  He did a great job creating powerful pieces that really stand on their own.  It's as if they were made to be performed at a game concert.

Granado Espada - I don't know if this counts since it's only available as limited promo.  I love SoundTeMP to death, and while I miss the pop they did for Ragnarok Online, I really dig the high quality trance.  The other composers, Osamu Kubota (Beatmania), Kim Junsung and S.F.A. (both ex-SoundTeMP) created awesome tracks too.  Spanning four discs, it may even be more impressive than Voices of the Lifestream!

Voices of the Lifestream.  Don't need to say any more about that one. 

Enjoying the new Velvet Revolver ablum, too.  They've really refined their sound.

Did anyone give DJ Taka's First Album Milestone or Sakuraba's Trusty Bell a good listen?  I was looking forward to both of them, but sort of let them slip by.  I didn't hear anyone say anything good about them, so I figured they weren't that great.

Let me put it this way...This year has been so bad release-wise for VGM (both in terms of disappointments and constantly looking at a bare horizon), non-VGM has become a very welcome option VS the mediocrity and outright crap this year has seen (yes, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Orochi Musou and It's a Wonderful World...I'm looking in your direction). And that's coming from someone who originally turned to VGM partly due to a lack of taste for much vocal music. Of course, most of the CD's I've bought this year weren't 2007 releases, but there were some highlights...

I'll pretty much buy anything Slash is involved in, but this turned out really good. Especially now that Scott Weiland doesn't sound like a robot so much anymore (Contraband wasn't bad, but only has about 5 tracks I really listen to..."Sucker Train Blues" is an insanely underrated song). Libertad's a grower..."She Builds Quick Machines" is the obvious hit single (love the video for this and one of the GHIII songs I'm dying for), but "Get Out the Door", "Pills, Demons, Etc", "Let it Roll", "She Mine" and (surprisingly, since I hated "Loving the Alien) "Last Fight" all turned out great.

Best release for me (overall) was Marty Friedman's "Loudspeaker" (US release...It was 2006 in Japan). Friedman's pretty much god at this point for me. I've had the chance to listen to most of the big solo shredders (Malmsteen, Vai, Satriani mostly...Rhoads, EVH and most of the NWOBHM guys in their respective bands) and I can safely say Friedman's exactly everything I look for in instrumental rock. Really heavy, really technical, really melodic and just plain sick from beginning to end. Really, the best "new" release I've heard since...Hmm, Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks.

Speaking of guitarists...Couldn't resist the new Poison album. CC Deville's probably #2 after Friedman. Even being a cover album (which didn't bother me, since I only knew a handful of songs), I thought it was a pretty strong effort overall. (Good) Hair metal lives...Thank god! Also need to track down the new Donnas album...Not sure if any stores will carry it, now that they've moved to an indie label.

VGM:

Battle Gear 4 - The only VGM OST I've listened to with any consistancy. Solid instrumental rock with synthesizers for back-up. Nothing groundbreaking (and has a share of stinkers, to be honest), but incredibly solid for what it does and "Heaven on a Heartbeat" has become something of a go-to track for awhile now.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (gamerip...no official release that I know of) - Can't quite explain this one. It's not particularly catchy or memorable, but the warmness of the synth (think chippier SNES music) and the way it plods along works. Very, very odd...But very, very good.

Mana-Khemia - Yeah, I bought the damn thing. Yeah, it's the same old-same old with these guys. Yeah, it's nothing to get excited about. But this is still the best "traditional" RPG OST by a mile so far and I'll be right there to pick up Ar Tonelico 2 when it comes out as well.

Sekaijuu no Meikyuu - Really delightful old-school vibes from this one and well-programmed DS synth (much like Pokemon) makes this stand out. I'm really hesitant to try the arranged album for this.

ZXA Tunes - Nothing I wasn't expecting, but it delivered enough to rank among my favorites this year. Holds its' own against ZX Tunes and the other remastered albums (most of which I love...sorry Zero 1, this means everything but you) and that's fine by me.

Alphabet Planet - I want to root for this as an underdog, as it has about 10 tracks total that show why (below) average Kikuta is better and more interesting than a lot of regular VGM composers at their best. But those other 15 or so tracks? Oh yea god, are they annoying!

And I just got Wanderings 2 in as well and that seems pretty solid so far. A little power-chord happy, but mixes stuff up enough (keyboards, violins, harmonicas) and offers some rather compelling melodies so it's not "just" another VGM rock album.

I can't quite seem to get into the new Wild Arms XF OST (or back into Vth Vanguard). It's good music and not your average RPG music...I just find myself completely indifferent to it and what it tries to do. PS3 Sonic came and went, but I find it harder and harder to like Kobayashi. My fingers are crossed for the new Dracula X OST (I'm not expecting a miracle here), Ar Tonelico 2 and Legend of Heroes VI 3rd Chapter (getting kind of ridiculous with the names, but SC's OST turned out to be one of my favorite soundtracks from the "new" Falcom...Much better than the disappointing Ys Origin) and I expect Black Mages III and another SSH Atelier album to be announced soon.

And I can't thank the guys who found and encoded all of those doujin albums enough this year. Almost too much to mention turned out amazing: Legacy, HIGH SPEED, Rock Buster 1 and 2, Megalomania, Kid Overdrive, UUDDLRLRBAStart, Sword of Justice, CROWZ FEST, Nidhoggr, Resolution Trigger, CT Journey Through the Brilliant Days, Guarvail, Arabure and parts of Le Cercueil du Reve and the new Woodsoft Sega album. 4 amazing Rockman arrange albums, 2 1/2 amazing Chrono Trigger albums and a couple of amazing original J-shred albums are nothing to sneeze at.

Whew...I've kept myself busy this year!

Wow, we actually agree on something.  Was fortunate enough to see the Revolution Tour thing with Velvet Revolver and Alice in Chains, which is my favorite band.  Velvet did covers of Vasoline and Interstate Love Song (my favorite STP track), and GnR's Patience and It's So Easy, or whatever it's called.  Great show.

I think they do the "It's So Easy" cover a lot. I've seen it on Youtube quite a bit. I think I read that and "Mr. Brownstone" are the more commonly done ones at their shows (because of Scott's vocal range). I'm really surprised they haven't released a studio version of it (as a B-side on a single or something). I want the "Ain't Talkin Bout Love" cover they did for the Van Halen thing...That turned out really good.

I'm not much of a fan of much of the popular hard rock of the 90's, so I just know a couple Alice in Chains and STP songs by name (think Guitar Hero). I prefer the metal/rock from the late 70's/80's (and the so-called "Retro Metal" today...Wolfmother, Crash Diet, The Donnas, WigWam, Poison's semi-revival). Seems like all my favorite groups just either died out or started to suck once we got into the 90's.

I was actually rather annoyed when I read Velvet passed over Sebastian Bach in favor of Scott...

I've spent a lot of time recently, listening to the Gyakuten Saiban Jazz Album. I'm growing to like it more and more. Yes, it is essentially a "smooth jazz" album, arrangements that were easily made and not at all hard to imagine before they happened. But the melodies are just so good, I'm willing to keep listening. Great solos too.

Back in January, there was .hack//G.U. Game Music O.S.T.2, covering music from Vol.2 and Vol.3 of the series. I like this a lot.

Just two to consider, if you passed them at the time of their release.

Ramza

I've been wondering the same thing about Trusty Bell.  There was a big lead up on the forums before it got released...and then once it was out, no one commented on it.

As for Milestone, I think it's a pretty decent album if you're into IIDX.  The general comment I hear from others is that the first disc is OK, but the second disc is outstanding.  Personally, I like them both, but do feel the second disc (which is made up of other Bemani artists remixing Taka tracks) is the stronger one.  The album is essentially full-length versions of dj Taka's IIDX classics.  The highlight of the album is A -少年A-, which is essentially a cross between A and moon_child, remixed by wac.  Probably the biggest downer is Absolute 2007, which is very surprising considering how good the original is.

The 2007 release that I like the best is probably the IIDX Gold OST.  I loved Happy Sky, but really didn't like DistorteD, so Gold is much more up my alley.

As someone who only owns by Sakuraba Star Ocean 3 OST1 and Tales of Destiny, I will go on the record saying I really like Trusty Bell as well, and will get it too. So...yeah.

-Joshua

Those who didn't listen to Trusty Bell yet but are still interested can listen to nearly half the soundtrack (32 tracks/~1 1/2 hours) right on the official US website.

i think all bets will be off when this comes out...

Beautiful Katamari Damacy Original Soundtrack
Catalogue Number   COCX-34602
Publisher   Columbia Music
First Printing   November 21, 2007
Price   2940 Yen

I skipped the soundtrack to the PSP game, but I'll give this one a shot.

If you liked these samples, it'd be good to check this out when released. I won't hype this album since such an activity must damage the reputation of those liking it, but it will most likely be by far the best release of this year, for me. 2007 is a transit period, after all. More companies focus on handheld consoles where I personally think good VGM rarely comes from (I know many disagree with this notion, though).  However, Q4 of this year has some intriguing albums to be released.

Speaking of new soundtracks...

http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNu … SD-00168~9
http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=KDSD-00170

Normally, I'd be excited by the promise of new Guilty Gear music, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and rubber-banded in that position for the next three months to make sure these turn out good. Based on gameplay videos, even that might not be enough...

And another exciting Kenji Ito release for all of us to look forward to:

http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=VGCD-0123

Joy!

Culdcept II?

I wonder how it'll be different from the old one. Maybe they'll actually split the tracks like they should have been...

-Joshua

Yeah, I wonder what's "deluxe" about it?  The original version was already two discs.

Thanks for sharing your picks everyone.  Will give a look into it.

Who's the composer of this thing?

NIN's Year Zero album has some great songs if you're into industrial

Manson's Eat Me, Drink Me was pretty weak though.

Not fully confirmed. Keiki Kobayashi is the only announced composer and he is also the music directer (according to the Press Start 2007 booklet). We can expect the same members involved in AC5 or ZERO to work on this album. As far as my ears go (which is quite unreliable ), all samples I posted, except for this, sound like typical Kobayashi-esque music.

EDIT: According to a magazine interview, Tetsukazu Nakanishi continues to be the sound directer. I'm very excited to hear that AC6 has 7.1ch mixed music and some live recording recorded in Bulgaria and London

Scratch that. I just saw several gameplay vids up on GameVideos and they all had very bland and typical JPop music with female singers. Apparently they are licensed songs? Crap.

Haven't bought anything VGM-related at all this year. I find most of the stuff I'm purchasing was released years ago. Funny how that works. The only 2007 music release that I have picked up (non-VGM) is the Ghost in the Shell: SAC CD Box. Considering my only exposure to the music was last year (Rise and Inner Universe), this is my first time fully hearing Yoko Kanno's work for it.

Not a bad buy. The packaging is really worth it, too. That's one sexy box.

it sounds like a SexBox to me!

Lovey, i also recommend getting the Junior Senior double-EP 'Hey-Hey-My-My-Yo-Yo'

http://wc06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=a … fexqqdldae

I've liked a couple tunes by them before but overall too bubbly for my taste.  Perfectly apt for a party though.

Absolut.
( :

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3

If they revert this back to the style of the first Wangan Midnight, I heartedly agree...

It is! It truly is! They really did a great job putting this little beauty together.

Some classics never die: I've still been massively enjoying the SUPER HANG-ON 20th Anniversary album, a great example of a combo OST/Arrange cd that delivers the compelling energy that classic games were all about.

Mirrors looking into mirrors!

GMR was updated with Beautiful Katamari OST info. Yeah, 10 licensed JPop tunes and 8 seemingly short tunes and jingles? No thank you.

http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=COCX-34602

Uhh....some of those song titles don't sound like licensed Jpop to me. The series has always had its own unique songs and from the look of it that hasn't changed. Bring it on!

I should have used different words. Maybe they're not all licensed, but the first ten tracks on that album are JPop songs that I am not a fan of, done by the artists in the parentheses. Even though a few have titles like "Sayonara Rolling Star" and "Katamarity", they're not done by the NAMCO Sound Team, which is where the unique songs come from.

If you have a chance, check out the BKD vids up on http://www.gamevideos.com and see what I mean. The music is a far cry from the original Katamari stuff. For the original NAMCO songs, well, there are only eight, and that's not enough for even me to pick it up.

No Kenji Ninuma (Disco Prince, The Moon and the Prince)?!?!  For shame Namco, for shame.

Too bad God Hand didn't come out in 2007, or I would say that.

I've enjoyed all of the new releases I've purchased this year except for the HUDSON & PC Engine Game Music Arranged Album. What seemed like a no-brainer turned out to be a huge disappointment.

Galaxy Force II & Thunder Blade Original Soundtrack
KAROUS -spring rain- Original Soundtrack
Mushihimesama Futari Original Soundtrack
OutRun 20th Anniversary Box
RIDGE RACER 7 direct audio
Senko no Ronde -Carpe Diem- sound tracks vol. 2
Super Hang-On 20th Anniversary Collection
The Silver #02 + PARADE