ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "My Old Kakariko Home" 4:11

This "Kakariko Village" ReMix from Zas comes off like a dusty, agrarian Tom Waits instrumental, and that's some high praise in my book. First, some background, as this mix was submitted NINE years ago:

"Way, way back in 2012, Zas submitted a trio of arrangements from his ostensibly in-progress Zelda: Ocarina of Time album Seven Years. But since the album's remained labeled in-progress to this very day, Larry decided to finally bite the bullet on the wait and release Zas's great submissions officially on OCR, a trifecta of personalized pieces that hold up beautifully today and will continue to do so long from now."

Larry wrote the above note, invoking himself in the third person, Bob Dole-style (or Karl Malone, if you prefer), but on the judge decision for this specific track, he also wrote this:

"Easy call here. The structure's retained but with an extremely personalized set of instruments, loads of different variations, and other subtle expansive writing touches. The excellent mixing and production further contributed to a serene experience. A cover with true uniqueness and style throughout!"

Agreed; while the FarmSounds™ & pleasant, acoustic/folk instrumentation charm right from the outset, it's the Waitsian addition of brass (muted & open) and some absolutely sublime chord changes that ooze into one another & surprise/delight in the second half that really caught my ear. Oh yeah, the organ as well; this arrangement has some real compositional depth that belies its initial folk "simplicity," and while a more basic take might still have been peaceful & relaxing, this one hits some chords/transitions that just make me smile. It really does remind me of Closing Time, except in this case it's a melody I'm quite familiar with, so I know what to expect, and what's been changed, and can appreciate that dynamic more. This evaluation dates back to the legendary OceansAndrew's judge panel tenure, and I would be remiss not to quote him:

"This is super charming. The arrangement stays pretty close to the original early on, but about 2/5 through the chords really begin to deviate in fun and interesting ways, giving a lot of new color to the familiar aspects of the piece. The performances were very nice, and the sound effects used were tasteful and appropriate.

Production is a bit lofi, but it works with the live and warm feeling."

Correctly right. I'll be listening to this over & over for the chords, specifically - I love what Zas did, it makes the mix, and the expanded folk-plus-jazz instrumentation is icing on the cake. Not to beat a horse, alive or dead, but if Tom Waits did a Zelda album, I'd want it like this. More to come, but for now we must bathe in the friscalating dusklight of this time capsule of a time capsule from Zas - highly recommended!