http://ff6.ocremix.org/

Has anybody here given this a listen? It's OCRemix's most ambitious project so far and it doesn't disappoint. I highly recommend it. Among its 74 tracks are some true gems. "The Impresario" is arguably the best VGM remix ever.

I've only given it one full listen through so far and from that I had over 70 minutes' worth of four-star tracks (and one fiver).  That's quite respectable for any four-disc album, fan-arranged or not.  (The fifth disc seems more an add-on than part of the album proper to me.)

"A Fistful of Nickels" for Shadow's theme is my personal favorite - great concept and so much fun to listen to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PbAebwc2zE

Lots of other great stuff on there too.  The mix of styles is pretty random and some arrangements are far removed from the originals but that's to be expected.  It actually reminds me a lot of the SQ series in that regard, as well as in overall quality.  Seriously you could take an hour or two from the collection and pass it off as the next SQ album and nobody would question it.  Which is not a bad thing I'd say.

right out of Kill Bill?

I don't know, was there a similarly titled track on Kill Bill?  That soundtrack as I recall had some Western influences and the OCR track very obviously does so there's bound to be some similarity.

I am still LOVING that track by the way.  It would be even better (perfect actually) without the small bit of harmonica but still... love it!  I added the YouTube link to the post above for those who haven't heard it.  Really just download the whole album though - it's free and there's some great stuff on there!

The arrangement, "A Fistful of Nickels," is a pun on the title of Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars," as well a nod to the composer of the Dollars Trilogy: Ennio Morricone. Zircon borrowed stylistic orchestrations from Morricone's Spaghetti Western style, such as the use of the following:

0:05: Short whistling that bends downward in pitch at the end.
0:32: Vibrato in the whistling.
0:48: Vibrato in Soprano's voice.
1:13-1:21: Piccolo Trumpet(?)
2:32: Use of Electric guitar (However, I get more of a Michiko Naruke vibe, especially from her Wild Arms 3 soundtrack)
2:36: While not a style/orchestration item, the strings for a moment is quoting Morricone directly (1st four notes from of the repeated motif). The piece in which he quotes from directly and adds upon is, I believe, "Ecstasy of Gold" (haven't heard the soundtrack for 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" for a while, so I could be mistaken).

Other items of interests : use of Harmonica, Mouth Harp, and Dramatic progression of music. What I really like about this arrangement is that it has that Morricone progression of building to a climax, pulling out all the stops along the way. I could keep talking about Zircon's excellent arrangement...but I'll leave it at that.

Two pieces worth listening to for reference:

The Good the Bad and the Ugly Main Theme
The Ecstasy of Gold

I've posted STC's first YouTube video, a 25 minute highlight compilation from FFVI Balance & Ruin.  If you haven't yet downloaded this impressive (and free) album give it a quick listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C9F2OaOv8w