Creid
Creid | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Soundtrack album by Yasunori Mitsuda & Millennial Fair | ||||
Released | April 22, 1998 June 29, 2005 | |||
Recorded | Green Bird Studio, Tokyo Westland Studio, Dublin | |||
Genre | Video game music Celtic music | |||
Length | 49:01 | |||
Label | DigiCube Square Enix (re-release) | |||
Producer | Yasunori Mitsuda | |||
Yasunori Mitsuda & Millennial Fair chronology | ||||
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Creid (Irish pronunciation: [cɾʲɛdʲ]; meaning "Believe") is the arranged soundtrack to Square's role-playing video game Xenogears. It was written by the game's composer Yasunori Mitsuda and performed by a musical ensemble dubbed Millennial Fair. It was released on April 22, 1998, in Japan by DigiCube, and re-released by Square Enix on June 29, 2005. Comprising ten tracks arranged from the Xenogears Original Soundtrack, the album is mostly done in Irish or Celtic music style, with minor influences of Japanese rock according to Mitsuda.[1] Artists from Japan and Ireland were recruited for the project. Four of the five vocal tracks on the album were written by Junko Kudo and sung by Tetsuko Honma, while the title track "Creid" was written by Mitsuda and performed by Eimear Quinn.
The album was well received by critics, who praised both the originality of the concept as well as the execution and track selection. The work on the album inspired Mitsuda to bring Tomohiko Kira, the album's guitarist, back to have him perform in Chrono Cross; this would eventually result in the latter game's ending song "Radical Dreamers ~ Jewel which Cannot be Stolen ~".
Creation
Xenogears was Yasunori Mitsuda's first major solo work, as his previous soundtracks were collaborations with other composers with the exception of the score to
In addition to Japanese musicians, several
Creid was released by DigiCube on April 22, 1998, and re-released by Square Enix on June 29, 2005. The release date was only seven weeks after that of the original soundtrack album and ten after the publication of the game itself. Its ten tracks cover a duration of 49:01.[7] "Stars of Tears" and "Small Two of Pieces ~Screeching Shards~" from the original soundtrack appear on the album as "Two Wings" and "Möbius", respectively, while the other eight tracks keep the same titles.[7] "Stars of Tears", although included on the original album, did not appear in the game, as the scene it was to be played in, an opening cutscene to the game, was eliminated during development.[12] The album features five vocal tracks and five instrumental tracks. Creid was the last album that Mitsuda worked on as an employee of Square; three months after its release, in July 1998, he resigned to work as a freelance artist and formed Procyon Studio to produce his work, though he continued to do work for Square such as the soundtrack to Chrono Cross the following year.[13]
The main lyricist, Junko Kudo, wrote the lyrics to four of the five vocal tracks and had no previous experience with video game-related projects; she was surprised by the length of the game's script when she asked to look at it. She had never met Mitsuda before she was asked to write the lyrics. Mitsuda first heard her work in a song by Mimori Yusa on Yusa's 1988 album Hitomi Suishō, and describes himself as being very moved by the lyrics and becoming a big fan of Kudo's work.[14] Although Mitsuda has said that he is generally not confident in his personal skills at writing lyrics, he wrote those of the title track, which were then translated from Japanese to Gaelic for the recording.[11] Celtic singer Joanne Hogg of the band Iona, who was the singer from the original soundtrack, did not reprise her role in Creid.[9] Instead, Tetsuko Honma sang the four tracks written by Kudo, while Eimear Quinn sang "Creid".[8]
Reception and legacy
Creid was well received by reviewers such as Patrick Gann of RPGFan, who claimed that every track on the album was "amazing" and held the work to be Yasunori Mitsuda's best. He especially applauded the "diverse multitude of instruments" and the fiddle playing of Máire Breatnach.[7] Critics from Square Enix Music Online were also approving of the album, citing the album's "real emotion" and "extremely enchanting themes", with one reviewer naming it "one of the best arranged albums ever". Another reviewer felt that, though it was in his opinion one of Mitsuda's best works, some of the vocal performances such as "Two Wings" and "Spring Lullaby" held the album back.[15][16]
RPGamer praised the album for its uniqueness and for "break[ing] away from the traditional 'arranged versions' of RPG soundtracks".[17] They termed the songs "beautiful and moving" and especially praised the vocals as being an excellent mix of Japanese and Celtic influences. Elliot Guisinger of the site, however, in his review of the album cited the vocals as a weaker spot in what he called "the blueprint after which all future arrange albums should be modeled". Calling the album "a dream come true", he noted his disappointment that singer Joanne Hogg did not return from the original soundtrack.[18] Eric Bowling of Soundtrack Central was also enthusiastic about the album, calling it "a turning point in arranged soundtracks" and "simply beyond words to describe". He noted "Lahan" as symbolizing the album as a whole, calling it a "coming together" of "diverse instruments and people" to create an energetic work of art.[19]
Impressed with Tomohiko Kira's guitar playing, Mitsuda laid out plans after Creid to have him perform in
Track listing
All music is composed by Yasunori Mitsuda
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Melkaba" | – | 7:24 |
2. | "Two Wings" (Futatsu no Hane (二つの羽根)) | Junko Kudo | 2:57 |
3. | "Balto" | – | 5:34 |
4. | "Creid" | Original words: Yasunori Mitsuda. Irish Translation: Blathnaid Coffey | 4:40 |
5. | "Dajil" | – | 4:11 |
6. | "Stairs of Light" (Hikari no Kaidan (光の階段)) | Junko Kudo | 3:44 |
7. | "October Mermaid" (Kannazuki no Ningyo (神無月の人魚)) | – | 4:07 |
8. | "Spring Lullaby" (Haru no Komoriuta (春の子守歌)) | Junko Kudo | 5:28 |
9. | "Lahan" | – | 4:32 |
10. | "Möbius" (MEBIUSU (メビウス)) | Junko Kudo | 6:24 |
Personnel
All information is taken from the soundtrack's liner notes.[8]
- Yasunori Mitsuda – composer, producer, arranger, keyboards, programming
- Millennial Fair
- Tetsuko "Techie" Honma – vocal on "Two Wings", "Stairs of Light", "Spring Lullaby", and "Möbius"
- Eimear Quinn – vocal on "Creid"
- Yoko Ueno – chorus
- Kimiko Komatsu – chorus
- Hitoshi Watanabe – bass
- HATA (Hiroshi Hata) – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric sitar
- Tomohiko Kira – bouzouki, electric guitar
- uilleann pipes, low whistle
- Laurie Kaszas – tin whistle
- Kinya Sogawa – shakuhachi, shinobue
- Haruo Kondo – bag pipes
- Maria Kalaniemi – accordion
- Anne-Marie O'Farrell – Celtic harp
- Laoise Kelly – Celtic harp
- Máire Breatnach – fiddle
- Tamao Fujii – percussion
- KALTA (Hidenobu Ootsuki) – co-arranger, drums, programming
References
- ^ a b Yasunori Mitsuda (July 2002). "Questions from July, 2002". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ Elliot Guisinger (2005-04-30). "Original Soundtrack of Life". RPGamer. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
- ^ a b Xenogears Original Soundtrack (booklet, Japanese). Yasunori Mitsuda. Tokyo: DigiCube. 1998. SSCX-10013.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Brandon Daiker (2006-05-30). "Play! A Video Game Symphony". N-Sider. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Chris; Harry (October 2005). "Interview with Yasunori Mitsuda (October 2005)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Procyon Studio staff. "Xenogears". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ a b c d Gann, Patrick (2000-10-15). "Creid: Yasunori Mitsuda & Millenial Fair". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ a b c d Mitsuda, Yasunori (1998-04-22). "Creid liner notes". DigiCube. SSCX-10018.
- ^ a b Yasunori Mitsuda (June 2002). "Questions from June, 2002". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ Procyon Studio staff (April 2000). "This month's friend… KALTA". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ a b c Yasunori Mitsuda (April 2002). "Questions from April, 2002". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ Yasunori Mitsuda (September 2003). "Q & A | Form" (in Japanese). Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ Mitsuda, Yasunori. "Profile - Resume". Cocoebiz. Archived from the original on 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Procyon Studio staff (March 2000). "This month's friend… Junko Kudo". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ Aevloss. "Xenogears Creid :: Review by Aevloss". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ Simon. "Xenogears Creid :: Review by Simon". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "Creid: Yasunori Mitsuda and Millenial Fair (Xenogears Arranged Version)". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ Guisinger, Elliot. "Xenogears Creid - Soundtrack Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Bowling, Eric (1999-01-29). "CREID: Yasunori Mitsuda and Millennial Fair (Xenogears)". Soundtrack Central. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Procyon Studio staff; Yasunori Mitsuda (1999-12-24). "This month's friend… Tomohiko Kira". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ Procyon Studio staff; Yasunori Mitsuda (May 2000). "This month's friend… Miki Higashino". Procyon Studio. Archived from the original on 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ "Xenogears Light". OneUp Studios. Archived from the original on 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
- OverClocked Remix. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ^ Maas, Liz (2010-10-06). "Xenogears Orchestral Arranged Album In The Works". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
External links
- Creid at Yasunori Mitsuda's website
- Yasunori Mitsuda's official website (in Japanese)
- Yasunori Mitsuda's official website