SSCX-10032: Racing Lagoon ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

[Ramza]

added full scans. I didn't replace the front/back (or case front/back) because the former looked decent and the latter help to tell the story that this is "reverse packaging" (i.e. - the outer tray is the front cover, the booklet's back is the case back).

But yeah, obi/discs/booklet/tray is now a part of the set.

[Ramza]

And with that said:

http://vgmdb.net/db/covers.php?do=view&cover=63675

with this image, I hereby question the linking of Ryo Yamazaki as a "composer" for this game. If he's a composer, then so is Iwasaki (listed here as "VAG 40") and we may as well throw Minoru Akao (the classic Square sound programmer) into the mix.

[Secret Squirrel]

It looks like the Synth Programmer credits were misinterpreted as the composer.

[Ramza]

Easy mistake to make, since Yamazaki (alongside Eguchi) ARE called out for individual tracks. But it is as you say. They are being credited for synth programming work on those specific tracks.

[CHz]

I made a couple of edits to the English tracklist. Track 1.23 is actually "Un Official Race Entry," not "Unofficial Race Entry," and the second character's name in track 2.04 is apparently Manabu Oda, not Shinji Oda (sources: Japanese wiki article for the game and this fansite).

[Despatche]

Added in those crazy ellipses. I figure "don't we do this a lot? why not".

Last Battle is very cool and what is it doing in this game?

[Medina]

I changed that title to an alternate title. Racing Lagoon ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK can be seen on the spine and both the discs. I think they were just trying to be artsy or cool with the ellipses. It's fine that we include it though.

EDIT: Also put a space between レーシング and ラグーン, as it appears like this on both the spine and the obi.

[Mortavia]

So I'm giving this soundtrack a lot of chances, and so far I'm only warming up to it a little bit. I dunno, it's okay, it's certainly not bad, but at the same time not many of the songs make a lasting impression on me by the time they finish. I've gone through the first disc three times now, and I liked Aoi Kawashima, Johnny's and Quiet Storm. The others didn't suck, but just weren't... very memorable. Kind of too schmaltzy. The battle songs, for having such high energy, are surprisingly boring. They do a lot of stuff but it's really just "stuff". Some of it crosses that point that's juuuuust a little too freeform jazzy for me.

Maybe this soundtrack just isn't my cup of tea. I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as I did other Matsueda/Eguchi works, like The Bouncer and Final Fantasy X-2, or even Matsueda's own Front Mission 2. I know Racing Lagoon is its own work and I'm not trying to compare it to their other works, but on an enjoyment scale it ranks lower for me than their other works, that's all.

I'll give disc 2 a few chances later on, I have a feeling it's going to be more of the same "stuff" though.

[strugglepoo]

Digging this soundtrack a lot. What else should I check out from this duo?

No full composer breakdown. :-( What the heck does it mean when it says music by Matsueda, but composed, arranged and programmed by Eguchi...? Music producer I guess?

[Mortavia]

Hahah, I asked the same question in the discussion of another soundtrack by these two to get to this soundtrack.

Personally, I really love The Bouncer. Final Fantasy X-2 also has some good stuff I think, but others weren't so receptive of it. But I think you can't miss with The Bouncer... it's really good, especially disc 2. Don't be turned off if you don't think disc 1 is so hot, it's more story/event BGM and isn't as fun to listen to outside of the game (to me, but it still has a few keepers).

Also, I listened to disc 2 of Racing Lagoon a day or so after I made my post, and I liked North Yokohama a lot. The other stuff... just not my cup of tea, though not *bad* music or anything. But anyway, yeah strugglepoo, I'd hope that you would enjoy The Bouncer, it's great stuff.

[Jormungand]

Originally Posted by strugglepoo

No full composer breakdown. :-( What the heck does it mean when it says music by Matsueda, but composed, arranged and programmed by Eguchi...? Music producer I guess?

There is a full breakdown--it's what you see in the notes section. The tracks credited to both Matsueda and Eguchi are exactly that: collaborations. Both were co-composers, and Eguchi was the arranger and producer.

All other tracks are purely Matsueda.

[fusoxide]

The notes are rather confusing. Did Eguchi handle arrangement work on the sequenced tracks (i.e the ones that aren't the opening, battle and ending themes) too? The ones that have more specific credits in the notes are those with live instrumentation, and the "music by Matsueda; composed/arranged/programmed by Eguchi" credits likely still apply to the others. In the RocketBaby interview with Matsueda, she spoke about how she handled composition and Eguchi handled arrangement. It would make sense that Eguchi arranged every in-game track since the whole OST is quite electronic-oriented. So I guess every track is technically "composed by Matsueda (and Eguchi?); arranged by Eguchi".