Nobuo Uematsu - Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Released: January 25, 2000
Label: Squaresoft
Background Info:
Nobuo been called the John Williams of the video game world, and the description is apt. Born in Kouchi City Japan on March 21, 1959. Nobuo started playing the piano at the age of 12 and has never been formerly taught. By his own admission, he said he wanted to learn to play the piano because he wanted to be like Elton John.
After finishing high school, Nobuo graduated from University of Kanagawa and his major was surprisingly not music! When Nobuo turned 22, he joined many amateur bands as a keyboard player, but he discover that he love writing music more then playing, so he decided to pursuit a career as a composer and sent out many demo tapes to many companies. One of them finally hired him to write some music for radio CM.
In 1985, one of Nobuo's friend, who was working at a video game company called Squaresoft ask Nobuo if he wanted to write music for some of their video game and the rest is history.
In his spare time, Nobuo enjoys listening to Irish music, watching Japanese pro wrestling, drink/make beer and learn how to play the Fiddle.
Currently Nobuo Uematsu resides in Japan with his wife Reiko and his dog Pao.
(Note: Thank you to http://www.nobuouematsu.com/ for the background info on Nobuo Uematsu)
Rundown:
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec is a CD of 13 songs featured throughout the game 'Final Fantasy VIII'. All the songs on Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec are fully orchestrated. 'Final Fantasy VIII' is an RPG video game on the 'Playstation' console, it sold millions worldwide and like many other Final Fantasy games had great success.
Review:
Liberi Fatali
It is simply one of the most amazing classical songs of the last century. The song is featured at the very start of the game, and starts it off with a bang. The haunting vocals repeating of "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" really puts a chill down your spine. The vocals set the mood perfectly for the rest of the album. The strings are amazing as well, and fit the song perfectly. Nobuo manages to build up the tension very well with this song, with every second having you on your seat. Possibly the best song on the soundtrack.
Song Rating: 5/5
Blue Fields
This is a much more relaxed song than
Liberi Fatali. It has a nice relaxed feel to it, very peaceful yet at the same time has something mysterious about it.
Blue Fields in the game itself was very plain and boring, it was not meant to be an extravagant classical song. Nobuo has done a good job of converting this song from the game to a proper song. However it is not the most exciting song in the world, but does add a nice break from all the other full on dramatic pieces on this soundtrack.
Song Rating: 3.5/5
Don't Be Afraid
Is the battle theme for Final Fantasy VIII. In the game it can be quite an annoying track that gets on your nerves after playing for awhile. However on this soundtrack Nobuo does well to add some extra oomph. The orchestras playing is spot on in this piece, with not a slip up to be found. At 3:49 it is very repetitive and gets quite boring after one or two listens. Not the best track on the album.
Song Rating: 2.5/5
Balamb Garden
This track was always one of my favourites in the game, I could just leave the playstation on with it playing in the background and listen to it for ages. It has been wonderfully recaptured in full orchestral form, it is one of the most relaxing classical songs I have ever heard. The Violins and Cellos work together perfectly, to create a great song. Nobuo has also done well to avoid the song becoming too repetitive by adding in variations to the game version.
Song Rating: 4.5/5
Fisherman's Horizon
This is another very relaxing and pleasant track. He has captured the feeling of being in a seaside village perfectly. The string and the wood wind section fit together well, with each section swapping between lead and harmony. The flute sounds perfect for this track, as do the other horn instruments like the trumpets. The build up of this song is very nice, slowly building up until it reaches its peak and slowly slows back down again.
[i]Song Rating:[/u] 4/5
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Has its good points and its bad points. It is not an actual song in the game, and borrows parts from other songs like Edea's Theme and Liberi Fatali. However it is a much darker song than Liberi Fatali, representing all the villains in the game. If you have played the game, then you will probably recognise parts of the song from the game. The vocals and the strings fit together nicely, although they are much the same as Liberi Fatali, just darker and less frantic. The build up at around 2:10 is quite nice, but leaves you expecting a bit more of a build up of tension and suspense. The song for me is partially ruined by the wailing female vocals that do not fit in with the chanting of "Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec" or the strings at all. They sound totally off key and are hard on the ears. When I first heard it I thought someone had come up behind me and was taking the piss out of the song by wailing loudly.
Song Rating: 3.5/5 (Would be a 4/5 without the wailing)
Eyes On Me
This song is more of a pop song than a classical song. It is exactly the same as in the game. I am not a big fan of this track, it is a bit too simple and generic for my liking. It is a very pretty song though, and when featured in the game can be a bit of a tear jerker. It is probably the only song that is better in the game than on this soundtrack, because in the game it fits in perfectly with what is happening at the point in time. The light strings and guitar in the background also add a nice ambient effect, when mixed in with Faye Wong's vocals. Not surprisingly it is Nobuos most commercially successful songs ever, as it is a pop song through and through, unlike his other work.
Song Rating: 4/5
The Man With The Machine Gun
This is another great conversion from the game to full classical form. It features a very fast beat for a classical song and also has drums featuring in it to add to the pace of the song. There are clear influences of rock in this piece. The violins and trumpets in this piece are used wonderfully, at times sounding more like guitars than classical instruments. One of the best game to soundtrack conversions on the soundtrack. The only negative feature of this track is that it stops and starts a bit too much, breaking the rhythm and flow which makes it such a good track, once or twice.
Song Rating: 4.5/5
Dance With The Balamb-Fish
Another light hearted and playful song, with the violins constantly going up in 3rds and 5ths to create that playful and effervescent feeling. It is a very classical tune, that borrows influences from composers such as J.S Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. Once again the flute and the violins fit together in harmony.
Song Rating: 4/5
Love Grows
A truely wonderful track, one of the most beautiful classical songs ever. Every instrument in the song fits together in unison, working together to create an amazing feeling in the song. The song fits together nicely when the piano is doing up and down scales at about twice the speed of the strings, which creates a wonderful stillness versus speed effect. This song is basically Loves Grows but with instruments replacing the vocals, and a much more classical theme in it. Every point in the song is totally different from any other, and leaves you wanting to listen to it over and over again to re-capture every single moment in that song one by one.
Song Rating: 5/5
The Oath
A sader song, the trumpets at the start create a nice mellow and sad mood, until it builds up into the strings which further push the sad mood. It drops back down into violins. The flute the comes in about 3:10 is beautiful and helps capture the emotion of the song completely. The song suggests that somebody in the game at that point is going to go off and risk his/her life for someone or something, and as if the challenge is inevitable. The building up of the song near the end suggests that the man/woman decided to take up the challenge. After this the song drops back down into neutral tone violins, which leaves the listener in suspense of what is going to happen.
Song Rating: 4/5
(Sorry for that not really being a song review, more of a song overview, I felt it was more appropriate for that song)
Ending Theme
At 13:20 this piece is a mammoth. It starts out well, with violins doing short little bursts in between silence, which creates a mystery about the song. The piece continues like this for the next few minutes, leaving you in suspense of what is happening. The song is more like a story at this point. Until the piano starts slowly going up in 3rds and the vocals come in, when you realise it is an happy ending. The song borrows from
Eyes On Me using the lyrics from that song, but having strings much more prominent in the background. The song slowly builds up into a extravagent peak, with trumpets, trombones and other brass instruments adding to the effect of celebration. Much like in a parade or festival. This latter part of the song sounds much like something from
Black Dyke Mills Band and many other brass bands. The composing on this track is wonderful and the song fits nicely together with no boring or dull parts, which is good for a 13 minutes song.
Song Rating: 4/5
Fragments Of Memories
The last track on
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec is a pretty basic track. It is all string instruments, but Nobuo manages to vary the pitch and pace of the string instruments nicely to keep the song from falling into that repetitive category. It has some nice build up points like at 2:20 and 0:55 but they don't really go anywhere and just fade back into the tune. Not the best of tracks on the album, but still quite nice.
Song Rating: 3.5/5
Conclusion:
Overall Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec is an amazing album. It has some amazing classical tunes like
Liberi Fatali,
Love Grows,
Balamb Garden and
The Man With The Machine Gun. It is one of the best video game soundtracks ever, and a possibly one of the best soundtracks ever. The game may have been a bit of a let down to some people, but this album makes up in every way possible. The album does have its weak points however like
Fragments Of Memories and
Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec's wailing. But these weak points do not take away much from the overall album, as they are still good tracks.
The album is both good for people who have played the game and people who haven't. Unlike most soundtracks playing the game or watching the movie is not necessary to enjoy the album, playing the game just adds extra enjoyment to listening to the CD.
