[Album] Final Fantasy IX (SSCX-10043)

Final Fantasy IX ranks near the bottom of my ranking of Uematsu-composed FF scores, barely above XI (as a whole) and 2. I find it his most uninspired work to date and I would count only MAYBE a dozen tracks from the whole thing worth remembering.

While VII and VIII had issues with filler tracks, both had many high points that made it easy to pick out the great from the ugly ducklings. The high points in FFIX aren't quite so obvious and much of the soundtrack blends together in a flash of theme rehashes throughout the whole thing.

Going from memory, I remember and enjoy: "Rose of May" (aka Loss of Me), "Battle 1", "Gurgu Volcano" (for obvious reasons), "Feel My Blade", "Hunter's Chance", "Quina's Theme", "Qu Marsh", "Vamo allo Flamenco", "You're Not Alone" (probably the score's high point) and...That's it. To the score's credit, I only remember and DISLIKE one song: Melodies of Life, Japanese or English, is as bland as pop ballads come. I was still reeling from the tripe that was "Eyes on Me" when I first heard it and this did little to forward my acceptance of vocals in game music. Can't say I actually remember much else...

I truthfully did not enjoy the game (I quit after 10 hours), but I got probably less from the score as a whole. As a throwback to the "classic" FF scores, it does nothing to recapture their memorability and charm, rather being intent on throwing crap against the wall, in hopes that something...anything will stick.

A solid ** out of *****.

Jam it back in, in the dark.