EverQuest Vinyl Are Back!

Get your hands on a piece of legendary history that will fill your ears with the classic music that you’ve come to love. Shipping is available to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Once our supplies are depleted, that’s it so don’t miss out! Get your copy today by clicking here.

I still have mine from last time
The record isn't just black though, it's artwork as well!

Please correct me if I am wrong but I recall the music here being newly recorded versions of the original music with variations in the arrangements as well. In other words, not the identical tracks from the game itself but newer versions of these songs.

I think I was able to play samples of some of this somewhere when it was available before? I recall hearing it and the fact that it isn't the identical original music in all its nostalgic glory was a non starter for me personally.

If it is new recordings, I think it is important to point that out to folks before they buy this please. And again, if I have this wrong please correct me as I would like to buy one myself. I play records on a regular basis.

I haven't heard the record, but for the original tunes there is not one "correct version", as it sounded different on different soundcards.
It is a problem with midi music in general, as it doesn't describe what the music should sound like, but instead only which instrument-samples to use. Those instrument-samples were stored locally on soundcard-memory, and different soundcards had different sample quality.

Maybe this record is closer to the intended "ideal", than what was possible with old soundcards?

I think I'm pretty certain that when the original sound track was mastered (even via MIDI), they had already conceived the original instrument arrangement. So as you pointed out, the music, when played on the users system would it have sounded different from the masters.

So it can be very likely that this record was pressed using those masters; producing a recording that would have sounded as if everyone only had one sound card.

That's my two copper, at least.

No, you guys are missing the point here unless I am wrong about this record but I am thinking I'm not. I'm pretty sure I've heard the tracks before from this. They aren't midi tracks at all for one thing. That's what I mean. It's orchestral music on the record. It's not the original stuff at all. That's the problem I had with it. Again though, if they want to clear this up here that would be nice and was the reason for my comment to begin with.

Are these very limited run (about 100-250 last time)?

I don't think they have stated how many copies there are available anywhere at this point so presumably more? They state a limited supply above which you probably read too but that's it.

As the title says "..are back". You can probably search up the other thread when these were sold before (year or two ago at most, if I recall).{see below edit}

I believe you are right, these are the 'orchestral versions', live (or synthesized) instruments not midi.

And I believe these are performed by the composer{Apparently these are remasters}. I also believe, but may be wrong on this point, these were performed and recorded after the fact (of the compositions being 'fixed' in midi versions).

I do not own nor have I heard it.

*EDIT*
https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/who-got-an-eq-vinyl.269200/

Thanks for the link. The music those gifted composers brought to the game from PoP to DoN is incredibly good in my opinion and adds so much to the ambiance in the zones where it plays. I stop and just listen for a bit most times I visit Natimbi and with my love for leveling little guys, that's been fairly often this year. I was there last night with my Berserker. Likewise, the ominous music throughout Omens of War is fantastic. I just love it.

I did go back to check on this. It isn't what you'd hear in game unfortunately. So there again for me personally, this misses the mark. It's cool they did this and are issuing more though for those who would like them. It's not like it was poorly done at all. I just didn't like it being different as a purely subjective thing. The instrumental arrangements are not the same. I do think it should be pointed out in the marketing for these still however. I am probably not alone in wishing this faithfully reproduced the original tracks in all their glory. I posted here originally simply as a head's up to anyone who mistakenly believes that this is a faithful and identical original soundtrack. It is not.

I have listened to it and anyone else who wants a preview before buying can do so as well. I remembered where I had heard them. It was on Amazon where they are still available in mp3 form. This mp3 release on Amazon coincided with the previous limited vinyl releases. Unlike the vinyl though there was never any limited number of copies so this has been available ever since on Amazon. I skipped it myself because it just isn't the same.

Hear samples of the tracks here:
Everquest (Original Soundtrack) by Daybreak Audio Team on Amazon Music - Amazon.com

To immediately hear what I am talking about, play the Faydark sample. You will hear what I mean immediately. If that's okay for anyone checking it out by all means enjoy the music.

I think the same. It should be stated clear this is a remake, which isn't a bad thing at all, but strictly speaking it's very far from being "original". If you are one of those that has listened the midis hundreds of times, you'll recognize the differences nearly instantly, and they will only become more and more evident after each track. Some of them are very unfortunate.

It's fun to listen this new version, and I bet many people will like it. But it does feel like a wasted opportunity. I'm absolutely sure Barbeau would've been happy to colaborate and help deliver what he truly envisioned at the time.

Also, I agree with you on the Omens of War era, the music there is beyond amazing

For sure. “Faydwer’s Dusk” is probably the one that most people remember as the Kelethin theme.

I kind of see your points that someone "might" get confused or disappointed by the "original soundtrack", especially if they're buying the tracks online from itunes. I was a little surprised to get orchestrated versions last year when I bought the album off itunes.

But, related to the records themselves... I'm struggling to understand how anyone that listens & collects music on vinyl would think they're getting a vinyl of the midi tracks & not orchestrations. Printing midi's natively digital/electronic) onto a physical medium that's hyped as having more "analog" fidelity seems kind of silly.

I understand some games have had their synth OST released on vinyl, but often even they get "optimized" at least to some degree to sound better on vinyl and those that weren't were from systems with better sound quality that presented a bit more depth a PC midi. Everquest definitely has some good stand out tracks but I don't think it's midi tracks as a whole are worth vinyl release. Frankly, I'd feel scammed if I had spent $35 for a vinyl of midis.

I like the midis, I think EQ's music was great quality for the MMOs of the time, it's just I don't think they hold up to the vinyl medium without being orchestrated. To me someone's missing the point of vinyl if they expect midis to be printed to it. (To be fair, the vinyl orchestrations almost certainly aren't true "analog" engraving's either, but the point is a midi is about as far as you can get from the "vinyl sound").

I guess I could back up & say. Someone that wants to listen to music on modern vinyl will probably prefer the orchestrated tracks unless they're exclusively collect game OST on vinyl for the pure novelty. Many others I agree might prefer to listen to the midi versions and it'd nice to see an album of those listed online as well. (I'm curious if that's even possible, I wouldn't be shocked if Sony somehow still owns those media rights.)

The music on this vinyl release is the same as last year's vinyl release. The music here is the 20th Anniversary remasters of the original music with SOME tracks that are not currently available anywhere else.

Thank you for that official clarification of what I had largely pointed out above. People can hear this for themselves now and make an informed choice. I would add that by definition a remaster does nothing more than improve the audio quality of an original release with no changes whatsoever to the original performance by the original artist performing the original arrangement of the music on the original instruments used. In other words, the source recording is cleaned up and improved. Period.

The medium music is distributed on is not what defines the music itself. Any form of sound can be recorded and released onto the various media available to us. This is not about vinyl vs any other media format. This is about the original soundtrack not actually being the original soundtrack as you noted yourself. It's just that simple.

I'm glad you were only a little surprised last year and it doesn't seem that it bothered you much. That's fine but in fairness it does matter to other people and full disclosure is always a good thing allowing people to make informed choices. Speaking of which, I am not saying it's bad. I am saying and correctly so that it is different as again you noted yourself AFTER buying it. Personally, I didn't care for it. I'd much rather have an LP or CD of the original tracks remastered and I do mean the original tracks and I do mean remastered, not re-recorded by an orchestra.

As for audio quality, the vinyl is clearly the better choice here over mp3 files which are a lossy format whereas vinyl is not. I would certainly recommend the vinyl here if you already have the means to listen to it and you like the newly orchestrated arrangements.

This is incorrect. You paint a black and white picture "by definition" and "period", where there is a full range of gray area.

A ReMaster can be only re-doing the mastering step. It can also entail remixing the source before remastering.

Even if it is only a re-do of the mastering step, many more adjustments can take place that have more effect on the signal than you may imagine.

To the level this particular recording was 'changed', as always, we leave to the listeners ear. I'll accept your assessment paraphrased as "It wasn't a drastically different remaster".

The analog audio is certainly capable of being more expressive than the midi playing through a computer card.

So now I'm wondering. What if I played the midi tracks through my mixing system and DAW and made my own remix?

If I show a way for anyone to take the midi files, use a free DAW and remix the music themselves, would this be of interest to anyone, without stepping on any toes?

The entire album was graciously posted online to YouTube by the Daybreak Audio Team (I assume with permission lol). I listen to this *all* the time, and the remasters are *fantastic*. Strongly recommend!

It's hard to pick a favorite, but given the amount of time I spent in SK pounding birds in March/April '99, I gotta say it's Sirran's Islands of Air. Dawn over Norrath is a close second.

In my TT RPG VTT game whenever they visit a merchant, I have things setup to play one of like 10 random background songs. One of them is Boomba's Exchange. After a few months of play, it finally got picked. An old EQ player flipped out when she heard it the first time.

I missed this Vinyl the first time but not now. But, I've gotten so much value out of the album on YouTube that I absolutely am going to support this.

So, definitely ordering, and ordering a vinyl display acrylic frame as well and will add to my collection of signed EQ Keith Parkinson (RIP) posters, which I really need to get hung in my new office. :-(

It is not incorrect. As you point out yourself a remaster is one thing and a remix is another although they are commonly done together for an old recording such as Giles Martin's work on a number of the Beatles classic albums with Let It Be being the most recent release that was both remixed and remastered. Remixing an original source and remastering it still yields a version of the original source material. Recording a new version of something is not using the original source material but rather making a new recording of music. How hard is this to understand?

The words remastered and remixed have definitions. There is nothing vague about this. I mix and master my own recordings. I've been a musician for over 40 years. I understand what the terms mean and I understand what you can do during each process and why you would do it. Apparently you also understand a fair amount about mixing and mastering as well so how is it you don't get what I am saying when it is so simple?

This is not the original source recordings. This is a new recording of that music with an orchestra and the arrangements also differ from the original source as well. Therefore, calling this the original soundtrack is somewhat misleading although I do not believe that to be intentional. For proof, see above where someone mentions buying the soundtrack on iTunes and discovering it was not what they expected to hear. Why? Because they expected to hear what they hear in the game, not a new orchestral arrangement newly recorded and for some reason remastered as well. I don't know why a new recording would need a remaster unless somebody doing that ad copy for this used the term without understanding what it means.

My point was simple and true: these are not the original recordings by the original musicians using the original instruments remastered, remixed on vinyl or not. They are new recordings that are not the same. Is this EverQuest music? Yes, newly arranged and recorded by an orchestra. It sounds good but is it the original soundtrack? No it is not. It's a newly recorded soundtrack that is not using the original source files.

Words have meaning but sometimes people can confuse them and I think that happened here.

My only point in bringing this up was not to complain about it. Some people loved this last time and bought them all up in 24 hours I believe it was. Many people will probably enjoy the record this time. Some will buy it simply as a collector's item. That's all fine. I just wanted people to be aware that if you are expecting this original soundtrack to consist of the original source material that you know, this does not offer that but it would be easy to buy it thinking it does. Again, for an example see the post above where someone was surprised AFTER buying it to find this out.

That's all, just a little public service announcement and nothing more which never needed all this debate. It is what it is, a set of new orchestral recordings of EverQuest music regardless of what it is called.

I don't think a company releasing a soundtrack to its game is likely to appreciate a public post on their own forums discussing how to extract the original music files out of the game for free. I guess it can't hurt to ask? I wouldn't expect a yes to that or perhaps any response at all.

For a moment there I thought you understood mixing and mastering music files but now I wonder. I'll tell you why. How do you propose to teach someone to remix a finished single file track? You don't have the original multi-track sources to remix from. You only have finished copies of the master. What are you mixing with what in that case? I'll stop there as I don't think this merits further discussion.

If you meant a simple conversion where necessary you might have said that but I don't think you did because using a DAW for that vs a simple conversion utility is a like using a sledgehammer on a thumbtack. I think anything more would be a waste of time. However, I don't think the company would appreciate you offering tips and tricks for doing that either. It's their IP. Why would they want you giving it away when they are selling it?