Update To The Soarin' Project

Thanks to some generous donation, I have received an acceptable quality specimen of track 18 which is the theme from The Great Whales. You can download this below and replace it with the current file. This new file is 320 kbps mp3 and has all the proper tags for the album. Enjoy!

Download from Mega.co.nz

Now, May I Present To You...

Finally, after nearly a year, I have finished collecting all the tracks that are featured in the ride Soarin' found at the Walt Disney World Resort. I have not looked into whether or not this is valid for Disneyland, but I'm sure that it is. Unfortunately it has been announced that Disney will be changing Soarin', which means re-composing the music in the ride. I do not know if this will affect the cue music, and there is a slight possibility that the music will remain the same. Until then, Jerry Goldsmith's theme for the ride will most likely be much better that the new theme.

A few interesting things you will notice in this album is that nearly all of the songs are from a film that was released during the 1980's, and all of them appeared before the 21st century except for tracks 33, 34, and 35. Another thing that you will notice is that you will find that the "J" composers appear more often that others, such as James Horner, James Newton Howard, Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams.

All of these relaxing and sweeping melodies some to a close when track 35 is reached, which is the theme that is played in the ride when that seemingly infinite line is no longer in front of you. The epic conclusion and finale that leaves us all in that happy Disney feeling.

Whether you are a fan of this ride or would like a sample of some excellent music, this album is excellent. Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of this post to catch the link to download this for yourself until March 31, 2016.

Further work on this album would allow me to produce this album in a consistent lossless quality. Unfortunately this may take years and a significant amount of money. Anyway, here is the finished album in high quality mp3, for the most part. Some files are in a slightly lower bitrate and some tracks sound slightly incomplete, either in the beginning or at the end.

If you notice an issue with the track, please tell me and I will work on fixing it. I will also gladly accept a donation of either a replacement track in mp3 or a lossless one in flac so that I can present the final copy of this great collection and wrap up this project quicker.

Here is the full track-list and custom album art:

Playback: 02:45:32

Size: 385 MB

1. End Credits (from "Contact") - Alan Silvestri - 07:58 - 320kbps mp3

2. Re-Entry & Splashdown (from "Apolo 13") - James Horner - 08:52 - 320kbps mp3

3. Prologue (from "Hook") - John Williams - 01:33 - 320kbps mp3

4. Suite One (from "Band of Brothers") - Michael Kamen - 06:31 - 320kbps mp3

5. Main Title (from "The Musketeer") - David Arnold - 02:15 - 320kbps mp3

6. Main Title: Theme (from "Battlestar Galactica") -Stu Phillips - 01:32 - 320kbps mp3

7. Main Theme (from "Last Starfighter") - Craig Safan - 03:07 - 261kbps mp3

8. Awful Waste of Space (from "Contect") - Alan Silvestri - 01:42 - 320kbps mp3

9. Instrumental Suite (from "Indecent Proposal") - John Barry - 03:22 - 253kbps mp3

10. Flying (from "The Boy Who Could Fly") - Bruce Broughton - 09:36 - 320kbps mp3

11. The Broken Cloud (from "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery") - Cliff Eidelman - 03:41 - 320kbps mp3

12. Welcome Aboard, Sir (from "Air Force One") - Jerry Goldsmith - 02:10 - 320kbps mp3

13. The Trees (from "Medicine Man") - Jerry Goldsmith - 06:04 - 320kbps mp3

14. Rocketeer to the Rescue (from "The Rocketeer") - James Horner - 06:36 - 320kbps mp3

15. Yeager's Triumph (from "The Right Stuff") - Bill Conti - 05:33 - 320kbps mp3

16. Mr. Destiny (from "Mr. Destiny") - David Newman - 05:07 - 320kbps mp3

17. Dear Father (from "Jonathan Livingston Seagull") - Erich Kunzel - 01:18 - 320kbps mp3

18. Theme (from "The Great Whales") - Erich Kunzel - 04:03 - 128kbps mp3

19. Have A Nice Trip (from "Explorers") - Jerry Goldsmith - 08:11 - 320kbps mp3

20. Main Title Introduction (from "Steel Magnolias") - Georges Delerue - 04:43 - 320kbps mp3

21. Cody's Flight (from "The Rescuers Down Under") - Bruce Broughton - 06:02 - 320kbps mp3

22. All Systems Go / The Launch (from "Apollo 13") - James Horner - 10:03 - 320kbps mp3

23. Flying Away / End Credits (from "An American Tail") - James Horner - 320kbps mp3

24. Among The Clouds (from "Always") - John Williams - 08:35 - 320kbps mp3

25. Main Title (from "Dave") - James Newton Howard - 02:58 - 320kbps mp3

26. Dorinda Solo Flight (from "Always") - John Williams - 03:17 - 320kbps mp3

27. Main Titles (from "Grand Canyon") James Newton Howard - 03:41 - 320kbps mp3

28. End Credits (from "Field of Dreams") - James Horner - 04:08 - 320kbps mp3

29. End Titles (from "Arachnophobia") - Trevor Jones - 03:55 - 320kbps mp3

30. End Titles (from "Dave") - James Newton Howard - 04:16 - 320kbps mp3

31. The Land Race (from "Far and Away") - John Williams - 04:59 - 320kbps mp3

32. End Titles (from "Emma") - Rachel Portman - 04:21

33. Flight Through Neverland (from "Return To Neverland") - Joel McNeely - 02:43 - 320kbps mp3

34. Closing Credits (from "A Beautiful Mind") - James Horner - 01:38 - 320kbps mp3

35. Soarin' - Jerry Goldsmith - 04:42 - 320kbps mp3

Download: Soarin' on Mega.co.nz

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Definitely one of the best videogame themes ever composed is the theme for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The first time I heard this was when I was listening to London Philharmonic Orchestra's take on some popular themes from videogames in the album The Greatest Videogame Music.

The rather short piece is very intriguing, as it brings in some electronic sounds, but leaves us with a theme that is easily remembered. I personally find that the song by the London Philharmonic Orchestra is a much better piece, as the mixing sounds much better.

The sounds of the orchestra is more prominent and it sounds much more natural and not as harsh as the original mix. This is my opinion, but I would like to hear yours. Which do you prefer?

Take a look at the complimentary links below that holds both tracks available for your listening. Please note that this link will only be live until March 30, 2016.

Download: Sons of Liberty Tracks on Mega.co.nz

Windows and Native Lossless Support

Today is a day to rejoice. Although some strongly dislike Microsoft's tactics of forcing users onto their new platform called Windows 10, there are some features that are so deeply wanted. Microsoft finally decided that it needs to add full support for lossless audio such as the popular flac file. If you have received the latest cumulative update, which was released about a month ago, you should see this. 

I was able to rip my new CD using Windows Media Player in flac format. I honestly have not really cared too much for this in the past, but now I finally see (or hear) why this is so important to some people. If you use Apple's EarPods as your primary headphones, chances are you will not benefit much from this feature because it will not sound much different in terms of clarity. It is also a bit aggravating that iTunes does not support flac files yet.

Another change is seen in Windows Explorer, where you are actually given the ability to change the properties of flac files. I am still holding on to my trusty VLC Player for playback, because I have been experiencing several instances where Windows Media Player suddenly crashes. Fortunately it seems quite stable while ripping CD's.

If you are on the hunt for some high quality headphones to experience the clarity difference between the standard mp3 file and flac, I highly recommend the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Studio Monitor Headphones. Unlike Beats, these headphones produce sound with astounding clarity. The main purpose behind these were to reproduce accurate sound rather than enhance certain areas such as the bass. This is why they are classified as "studio monitor headphones."

They can be found on Amazon for around $170, but can be found sometimes for $99.

What do you think of this new feature? Do you prefer flac over the common, standard codecs, or you have a mixed preference and not care too much?