Posted 2000-07-24, evaluated by djpretzel


My, my, my . . . chrisjh can make a song using a tracker and have it sound like it was produced in a professional studio ^^ That's a big compliment, in my mind, but he deserves it, as the modulation and consistent quality of both arrangement and samples used make his ReMixes stellar. This one's no exception, and is a laid-back but always interesting ReMix from the uber-popular RPG Chrono Trigger. I wholeheartedly recommend you download this, if ONLY to hear how good trackers can sound.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Tables
on 2015-08-28 23:03:26

Goodness, is The New Zeal the first Zeal (remix on this site)? That's so cute.

Oh yeah, I remember this popping up on my shuffled playlists. I've always been fond of it. It sounds like a song half its age, even with this goofy choir effect. Although thinking about it the little voice bits remind me a little of Smooth McGroove? How silly.

Anywho this is a solidly made song with more than enough personal touches and quirks to keep it well above the cover line, even if it is relatively conservative. A warm pleasing delight.

.... aw, I wonder what Chris J Hampton'a songs would sound like if he kept posting mixes. They'd probably be top-notch with time.

... haha, time.

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timaeus222
on 2015-08-27 00:57:43

I can see how this was probably well-liked back in the day. While this does start out fairly conservative, it gets more compositionally interpretive as it goes along, starting to get substantially more personalized at about 2:35. By the time it gets to the end, I actually want to play it again. Good job!

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Crulex
on 2014-06-03 10:46:27

Nice to see this one hold up better than other ReMixes. Probably just me, but the only issue I have here is that the synth is one notch too sharp for me at first, but after that it's not quiet that bad. Other than that minor point (which is, again, just me) this is a decent mix with a good beat.

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Marmiduke
on 2009-12-27 20:19:01

This is hugely impressive considering it was part of the initial wave of Chrono Trigger mixes, and still stands up soundwise to its modern brethren. There are some fantastic samples used here that really make the mix. Zeal hasn't been reinvented here, but it's still a very nice sounding Zeal. A step ahead of others at the time.

I enjoyed the small amount of paraphrasing on the theme, but this comes down to one of those rare covers that are actually welcome and altogether enjoyable. A classic.

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WesternZypher
on 2008-12-02 11:18:58

Excuse the corny phrasing, hah. This has been on my playlist forever, and with good reason. Tis awesomely relaxing.

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Wild Armor
on 2008-10-17 22:53:17

Honestly the first word that comes to mind is Funky. I love any track that has a nice feel of ambiance with an upbeat melody. A little to long though.

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WillRock
on 2008-10-14 13:39:25

Man this remix is sweet, the first lead is fantastic. I lot of thought went into this one, there are plenty of great little touches here and there that make this even better :D

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OA
on 2008-03-04 17:04:40

Zeal before Zeal was cool, that's worth some street cred, right? ;-)

Completely killer beat on this one. Lots of percussive layers and a great feel overall. Production is slightly bland in a few spots, but the rest of the song is definitely strong enough to hang through. The lead has a great unique sound, thanks to lots of modwheel, or whatever the tracker equivalent of that is, and though it stays somewhat similar to the original in instrumentation for the backing parts, the synth and percussion sets it apart enough to be unique.

The arrangement is way too conservative for modern OCR, so it's good that this mix got in while it could; It's nice, but not as expansive as I think it should be, especially with that percussion. Really groovin'.

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DragonFireKai
on 2007-03-05 12:28:25

A very Funky mix of the Zeal theme. IMO, one of the best arrangements of the pre-jp era of OCR.

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dmjarrington
on 2006-06-18 20:44:30
My roommate downloaded this song from OCR, and once I heard it playing while I was sitting around, I had to know what it was. That track was Chris J. Hampton's "The New Zeal," and it's the first track I got from OCR that wasn't a mix of a song I already knew, which says a lot about how good it is to stand out on it's own. It got pretty frequent play on my radio show at Emory University last semester, and will definitely be there to listen to when I go back there in Spring 2003. This'll always be a favorite, if not my absolute favorite OCReMix. Pretty safe to say it's a must download.

listen to this guy... he knows what he's talking about.

/me 3 this song roffel

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Turkaholic
on 2006-03-29 08:19:23

Hmm... the almost tribal drumbeats remind me of Tikal's theme from Sonic Adventure... only 100 times more well done. There's something very laid back about this remix - it doesn't attempt to wow with over complicated tunes or chord progressions, it just... is a well produced, highly enjoyable remix. I love it, top marks n__n

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I_Love_OC_ReMixes
on 2005-12-24 07:33:31

Im suprised, hardley any replies to this AWESOME mix! :(

Anyway I joined this Site JUST to say how MUCH I LOVE all these Remixes, I will comment on ALL my favourite mixes! :D

Been listening to this mix almost Every Day for months. I swore to myself I will register to this godblessed website and give my feedback! I love you all! Merry Christmas!!! 8)

sexy mix chris, love ya for this! 8)

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Bummer
on 2005-09-26 12:08:40

Well, what do you know, a newZeal that´s not only better but also funkier.

Just for the record, I don´t know what a tracker is, but apparently, I don´t need to because that this mix is good anyway. Fine strings with some nice drumbeats that leads the way to a cool technosynth. DUDE! 8)

If I just knew what a tracker is, I would probably be even more impressed, but I don´t.

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Makalius
on 2004-09-02 06:09:46

I have listened to many Zeal remixes and no matter what else you can say about them you can usually say that they are really good and this is no exception. The instruments chosen fit the feel of the piece perfectly and although it doesn't stray too far from the original, this arrangement uses the style of the original, coupled with more modern instruments to create an entirely new feel for the piece. And that's no mean feat. Overall, I have seen a couple of songs that were done better but I would rank this one definately within my top three.

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The Orichalcon
on 2004-09-01 17:19:40

I've been listening to this one for a few months. That main lead is amazing. The rest of the piece isn't too interesting, but that lead is just wonderful. I sit here replaying that part of the piece over and over manually.

Kudos.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Chrono Trigger (Square , 1995, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu,Noriko Matsueda,Yasunori Mitsuda
Songs:
"Chrono Trigger"
"Corridor of Time"

Tags (10)


Genre:
Easy Listening
Mood:
Chill,Mellow
Instrumentation:
Bells,Hand Drums,Sitar,Synth
Additional:
Regional > World
Time > 4/4 Time Signature
Time > Tempo: Moderate

File Information


Name:
Chrono_Trigger_The_New_Zeal_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,014,949 bytes
MD5:
fe3b409b40c8dc68c27ba80d5ef2aa2b
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
4:05

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