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This is the Chrono Tirgger arranged CD, though it's not in the "orchestral rendition" style that we're accustomed to - the medium used in Brink of Time is decidedly modern, showcasing techno and jazz. Not necessarily bad, of course, but the instruments and styles present are woefully mis-implemented in their individual compositions; the laid-back approach and the meandering filler rob CT's more rousing tracks of their breathless, driving momentum (see the cacophonous "World Revolution"), and the obsession with deafeningly off-key electric instruments deprives the more atmospheric pieces of their subtle power and beauty (take the Kingdom of Zeal theme, which would have been an interesting mellow rock variation on the original had not the obnoxious electric guitar in the forefront totally decimated the harmony of the ethereal chorus in the background). In some cases, the Jekyll/Hyde metamorphosis is truly amazing - it surely must have taken some "imagination" (a word which carries far more positive connotation than the actual phenomenon to which I'm applying it) to believe that the best arrangement of the imposing, foreboding "Zeal Palace" would be four minutes and thirty seconds of a bass just going up and down its scales and thirty seconds of the actual melody (played on shrieking guitar, as usual), or to convert "To Good Friends" from a bittersweet farewell to what seems like the cap-off to a relaxing weekend in Tijuana (beatnik chick in the background la-laing along with the melody, strummed out on a ukulele-like instrument). But neither take the prize for the worst track here; that honor would have to go to the desecration of Magus's theme, which, through random sax blasts, tone-deaf electric guitar and banjo, and an incomprehensible mix of heavy metal and neo-country music, has been mutated from an ominous, combative, majestic leitmotif for a dark, regal wizard into the aural acid trip of an urban cowboy barfly. The only uniformly excellent track on tap is the Ocean Palace - mournful horn and plucked guitar oh-so-evocative of the sea preceding a smashing arrangement of grand trumpet flourishes and properly pressured piano and violin. There are other passable tracks here - the pleasant Millenial Fair (thankfully calm electric strings and pastoral woodwind, very nice), the CT title theme (when it - and not its bizarre padding - is actually being played on its designated track), and Guardia Forest (whose relaxed, dreamy jazz provides a glimpse of what this CD could have been) - but they're not enough to outweigh the CD's bad points. Far better to put the money towards a CT OSV instead.
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