I received Lack of Love OST in the mail today, and while I was listening to it I was pretty much blown away. I haven't heard anything about it outside of Ongakusei's review over at Chudah's Corner, which is a shame. So that got me thinking about other random albums that I have that I haven't heard anyone else mention or talk about, and wanted to share a few and hopefully get a few recommendations back from you guys.

Here are my random VGM(ish) recommendations:

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN - Nanosounds

This is a smooth jazz fusion type of album composed by Junichi Nakatsuru, Keiki Kobayashi, Ruyichi Takada - three members of NAMCO's recent sound team. It's a short disc with only six songs, but it is damn good. It reminds me a little bit of the Rockman X Alph-Lyra arrange album, but this is more straight up fusion. It's very different from the other Nanosounds albums, which focus more on electronic music, but is still a great listen. Unlike the other three albums I've listed, this one is readily available over at VGMWorld.

L.O.L. Lack of Love - Ryuchi Sakamoto

I want to say that a lot of this album is new age, but I can't. It's... I don't know. It's awesome. Read Onga's review because he put it into words much better than I could. Er, can. Whatever. I do not have a lack of love for this soundtrack. And yes, I did just go there.

Super Runabout - The Surf Coasters

The Surf Coasters aren't obscure by any means, but apparently this album is. Unlike Runabout and Runabout 3 OSTs, which are available just about anywhere, Super Runabout is a bit of a tough find. I picked up my copy for about 500 JPY last year off YJ and haven't seen it there again since. The album is a great, grungy surf rock type of album that has a lot more depth and improvisation than the other two Runabouts. This is one of my favorite instrumental rock albums of all time, and is years beyond just about anything else the Surf Coasters have put out as far as progression and composition are concerned (although their other stuff is quite good).

This is NAMCO! - NAMCO Sound Team

This was released back in '89 or '90, and is an old-school arrange album that takes old NAMCO arcade melodies and reinvents them for a full band. It's not just straight up rock or anything though. "Pac Man a GO GO" is done in a swing band style, "Mappy's Lullaby" is for solo piano, "Rolling Thunder" is synth rock, "Solo Suite Xevious -No 1.-" is solo clarinet, etc. It's very interesting and varied and is a great arrange album. It gets a little repetitive at times, but this is a total gem that is well worth dusting off and adding to your collection.

I remember you turning me on to Super Runabout a while ago, and yeah, that CD definitely kicks butt.  I'll try to give LOL a listen tonight and let you know what I think.  As for FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, that sounds hot cause smooth + jazz + fusion = lovin'.

I'll have to see what kind of random VGMness I can come up with for this random thread of yours.

-Mike

RE: L.O.L: Checked out some tracks from Galbadia Hotel. Onga's right. The music is really different.

What kind of game is this, exactly? Onga says it is like a life simulation RPG, but . . .

I recommend checking out "Birth", "Dream" and "Artificial Paradise". It's like I'm floating away...

I found some good info here, complete with a breakdown of what music plays when: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/dreamcas … f_love.txt

EDIT: Just found this good, but somewhat hard to understand, review on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pARffij0KaA

Good topic. A few come to mind... I know there are probably more fans of these soundtracks here than just myself, but I'll mention them anyway, cause I feel like writing some shit...

The one that instantly comes to mind is American McGee's Alice, one of my favourite soundtracks ever. The mood in this soundtrack is just unique, and captures a dark Wonderland perfectly. The short editorial reviews over at Amazon describe the sound of this CD as close as could be attempted, so I'll let them do the talking:

Chris Vrenna's soundtrack to the American McGee's Alice video game is fittingly twisted. Sounds created with toy instruments and percussion, music boxes, clocks, doors, and sampled female voices (including Jack Off Jill singer Jessicka) are manipulated into nightmarish soundscapes. A harpsichord and a clock ticking over a bed of rhythmic effects invoke a sense of Victorian horror, while also playing off of modern motifs. Fans of the game and connoisseurs of dark and spooky music will be delighted by Vrenna's surreal score.

With the soundtrack to American McGee's Alice, Electronic Arts' new video game, Chris Vrenna (formerly of Nine Inch Nails) provides musical menace to accompany the heroine's adventures in a Wonderland gone to hell. The sounds of dilapidated toys and ghostly machinery converge with the haunting ambient electro-soundscape produced and composed by Vrenna.

I don't feel like wasting time on describing it further, anyone into moody music should just get it, ASAP. This was released in the same month as the Silent Hill 2 OST - October 2001 was a good month in VGM history...
Speaking of this CD... Where is Darkheim (or jmj[those numbers from that Baroque-track]) these days...?

Another CD I've almost never heard anyone else mention is the Iridion Perfect Selection. This CD is pure old-school VGM awesomeness - released in 2003! Its arranged music from the Iridion series of GBA space shooters, composed by Manfred Linzner. High-octane melodies that stick to your brain like cotton candy and super-glue. I think this music even beats out the classic masterpieces Chris Hulsbeck created for the Turrican series, if you like that kind of European C64/Amiga techno chiptune-sound, you're really going to love this one. This is a homage to old-school VGM at its best (right down to adopting "Perfect Selection" in the title), and its such a shame that A) very few people have even heard about it, and B) the original CD was printed in extremely limited quantities, so its hard to find (but when it does come around, it usually goes for about $30 thanks to low demand - see point A). Go look for this one in stead of those laughable recent Rockman arrange CDs.

Another one is Maken X Original Soundtrack. I've mentioned this CD now and then, but not gotten much response. Its a great techno/rock soundtrack by Shoji Meguro, one of his absolute best. What makes it stand out is that its so much more hardcore than most of his other soundtracks. When I listen to some of the electronic pieces on Maken X, I wonder what happened in Meguro's later soundtracks like DDS and Persona 3... They're still cool, but compared to this, they sound sooo slow and sluggish.

Metal Gear 2 - Solid Snake should also be mentioned. It might seem insane to list a MG OST in this thread, but, really, I haven't heard anyone talking about it. This is the soundtrack to the second game for the 8-bit MSX (released in 1991), and the soundtrack is easily my favourite in the whole series. Awesome from start to finish, and unusually complex melodies and structures for being 8-bit music. "Frequency 140.85" must be the best sneaking-theme ever, and "Theme Of Solid Snake" and "Zanzibar Breeze" are equally wonderful. I even went so far as to shell out the insane amount of cash needed to get the original piece of plastic and paper from Yahoo! Japan as recently as a year ago (I very rarely do stuff like that anymore, so that should be a recommendation if anything).

I guess I could fit the PS2 Shinobi OST in here, too. I know this must have more fans than just me, but I haven't heard any talk about it. Brilliant fast-paced melodic techno + traditional Japanese instruments = yes please!

Oh, and then there was that really rare one... Final Fantasy VI, something? Rare one from back in 1994, too bad I'm the only one that noticed it...

I'm going to add Homestar Portable OST to my list up there. It's a recently released CD with music from the stargazing PSP game, "Homestar Portable". It's a great blend of some light orchestral work, some piano and ambiance all wrapped up into a little new age shell. I basically put this CD on, lay down, and then end up either accidentally meditating or falling asleep. It's such a comforting and wonderful little disc.

I'll throw a recommendation in for Homestar too.  Though for me, I listened to it a few nights ago when it was snowing out.  I was just lying on my bed, looking out at the snow, listening to this great little CD.  As I told Zane before, it was truly a moment.  I guess that was the CD's true intention anyway, as it's a soundtrack to a star gazing / constellation "game" for the PSP.

-Mike

I agree with Daniel K Maken X has a really neat soundtrack to it.  I've always thought about getting the OST because I liked it's music from playing the game on Dreamcast.  I remember seeing Maken X Remix Soundtrack L'Image a few years ago at an online game store... maybe it was at HimeyaShop or PlayAsia....ah well, it doesn't matter but it struck my interest when I saw it and was thinking if it's any good.  Anyways the game has cool music and was suprised somebody mentioned it because it wasn't a very popular game to begin with.  Good music good game, imo.

I'd recommend the earliest Hitoshi Sakimoto's score I can find online called Magical Chase. http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/7043  I'm thinking it's the kind of score that might appeal both to enthusiasts of the composer and those who just like nostalgic chiptunes compositions.  There's these songs called Rampish Chase and Azure Way that have this amazing energy and depth.  I think it's just astonishing.

The OST CD is very rare these days. But it seems like Synsoniq actually still has it in stock. Watch it, though... They charge 55 euros for it! That's f---ing absurd, even by their twisted standards. But I guess if you really want an original copy, you could get it from there... Tracking down a used copy of it nowadays is bound to cost in that range anyway, so you might as well get a sealed one. However, its quite easy to download on the VGM Central DC hub for example, so I'd say save your money.
But yeah, awesome soundtrack.

Maken X Remix Soundtrack L'Image is still widely available, for example at Play Asia. Its pretty good, the pace of the music is turned up a few notches, so it really gets the blood pumping. The main problem with this CD, though, is that its short. The whole thing is only about 20 minutes, but they still charge full-CD price for it! Crazy. What's there is good, but its not worth buying, IMO.

You know what, I'll throw my two-cents in.

Lemmings 3D - Psygnosis

I've always been a sucker for the Lemmings series for straightforward puzzle solving, but not so much for the music.  This soundtrack, however, changed all that.  You can probably find a rip somewhere, and it's well worth the download.  Every area has its respective theme (Castle, Egyptian, Tropical, etc...) and each one is so darned catchy!  Really, a diamond in the rough.  If anyone wants it, I'll upload it to sendspace or one of those other file uploading services.

Wait... Was this released as an album? I thought this thread was just about officially released albums (since Zane said "So that got me thinking about other random albums").

I'm not knocking your recommendation, its just that if we expand the subject to unreleased soundtracks, I have about 514 recommendations to give... (I can almost see the biennial "What great soundtracks didn't receive OST releases?"-thread coming up... ).

EDIT: I guess this would apply to jeriaska's recommendation as well. Nevermind, it was a moot point anyway, since the thread was about spreading love for random VGM.

Interesting.  Thanks for the info Daniel.

I'm going to add....

Eretzvaju Original Soundtrack

This is one of my favorite OSTs ever.  For one song "Feel The Mystical" is worth the price to pay to get a hold of this soundtrack.  The song has awesome synths, slick melodies, and up beat as hell.  I was estatic when I got my copy of this soundtrack because for years I loved Evil Zones music (aka Eretzvaju of course).  But then theres also wicked tunes such as..."Decision", "Dunjia-S", "Road for Oneself", "Rough", "Near By The Death".....YES!  It's not a very long OST and is pricey now a days but DAMN I love it!  I paid a little over $90 for my copy and don't regret it one bit.  Quality game music, this is the real deal.

I'd like to mention some nice little quirky gems:

Tekken 2 Strike Arranges
A cool techno/industrial-ish album. Some tracks may drag a bit, as can be expected from this kind of music, but the majority is pretty hip.

in the wake of Doshin the Giant
Imagine a tropical island in vgm with animals and birds. You will a mix of melodic rhythmic guitar pieces, ambient indie rock and well jungle sounds...

Ristar 
Ofcourse many around here will know this one, but many others don't while they should. This soundtrack has a lot of charm and is easily the best Genesis soundtrack...too bad no OST exists.

Xak, All Sounds of - マイクロキャビン - I doubt most anyone here has played or heard of it, but it's a tight little game not too different from Ys, and like Ys, it has some tight little musics.  Just nice, layered, old-school rpg compositions and one of the only straight-up midi soundtracks that doesn't make my ears bleed outside of Dragon Slayer IV, which says a lot.

Only the last Xak game (The Eternal Reccurence) had MIDI arranges, the earlier ones were pure FM.

At first I thought this was the long-awaited Homestar Runner console debut

In all seriousness, though, that description makes it sound worth getting. Does anyone know of anywhere that it's being hosted?

No wonder it doesn't make my ears bleed.   Speaking of Xak III, there's an incredible arrange from that game on Woodsoft's Retro PC CD.  It seriously might my favorite track ever done by the camp.

I think I prefer their Ryu Umemoto arrange album, but then I simply love Ryu Umemoto's work...

Speaking of which, his ultimate work, The Girl who Chants Love at the End of This World: Yu-No is worth a repeated listen. Three versions exists, the original FM PC-98 game score, the Sega Saturn rearrange and the slightly remixed OST (done by Keishi Yonao IIRC).