Let’s Just Listen

Tasty Morsels of MIDI Memorabilia

Time for the intoxicating mists of memory lane to muster a demonstration.

As the 20th century’s final decade began to blossom , so too did the breadth and beauty of  a game genre that, since the turn of the millennium, literately entered a state of “suspended animation”, the classic graphic adventure.  To execute an immersive title posed similar financial and creative challenges to those encountered when making a motion picture.

A cogent plot and structure, an engaging storyline, believable characters underpinned  by a convincing script, imaginative locations brought to life with vivid animation and masterfully coloured, hand painted backdrops and of course, a befitting and emotive score.  It is therefore of little wonder that some of the finest compositions and the ingenious nature of their integration, reside within the legacy of a company that descended from true Hollywood nobility, Lucasarts.

Perhaps the jewel in the crown -read my personal favourite – was Michael Land’s evocative and omnipresent symphony, which added an infectious sparkle to the enchanting story that sound minds agree, should have concluded Mr. Spielbergs quartet.  Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

Here are some tastefully edited choice cuts chronicling a fraction of the narrative’s dramatic codas.

The first rendered on Roland’s Sc8850 and the second on its shelf mate, the synth that ignited to my keenness to compare, the Fantom XR.  Both have been switched to “GS” mode and spiced up by a tinge of their own reverb.

SC-8850 – New York

Fantom Xr – New York

SC-8850 – Monte Carlo

Fantom Xr – Monte Carlo

SC-8850 – Labyrinth 1

Fantom Xr – Labyrinth 1

SC-8850 – Crabraft

Fantom Xr – Crabraft

Subjectivity should be influenced by simply listening, not tainted by pre-divulged facts but the Fantom’s higher price at the time of release, coupled with genetics that establish it a primary presence in Roland’s “professional” bloodline are worth emphasising in light of what we have learned about the Sound Canvases plentiful and economical virtues.