Listen to the Best New Album of Video Game Music Right Now

07 Nov 2011Kotaku

Last week, we streamed a recording of the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing the theme from Modern Warfare 2. This track was from the orchestra's upcoming album named "The Greatest Video Game Music." Today, the album was released, and the nice folks at the London Philharmonic have allowed Kotaku to exclusively stream the entire album for a week.

It's all here, and it's good stuff. The playlist skews more towards recent, AAA games, but there are some classics in there as well. The pieces might not feature any of the off-the-beaten path favorites I'd like to hear, but the arrangements get enjoyably creative, particularly with the older pieces, and it's cool to hear this music performed by a human orchestra (albeit one occasionally assisted by synths and sampled beats), rather than the thunderingly enhanced orchestras on most game soundtracks.

Tetris (soprano sax soloist!) and Angry Birds (Bassoonist! Also, entire woodwind section!) were both standouts for me. Also, gotta love the electric bassist on the GTA IV track, which wins the "most uncanny sound-alike" award. I also dug the percussion-less take on Drake's theme from Uncharted, which gives the performance a noble, almost mournful quality. The recordings sound much better through headphones or through a good sound system, since you can really feel the orchestra breathe.

The tracks themselves are in video format, and you can clip through them in the gallery at the top of the post. We'll have all the tracks hosted here all week. You can order the entire album on Amazon for $2.99, and get a dollar off on Monday by following this link and using the code "GAMESMP3."

Full Track List:

1. Advent Rising: Muse (Composed by Tommy Tallarico, Emmanuel Fratianni, and Laurie Robinson)

2. Legend of Zelda: Suite (Composed by Koji Kondo)

3. Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2: Theme (Composed by Hans Zimmer)

4. Angry Birds: Main Theme (Composed by Ari Pulkkinen)

5. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali (Composed by Nobuo Uematsu)

6. Super Mario Bros Theme (Composed by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo)

7. Uncharted - Drake's Fortune: Nate's Theme (Composed by Greg Edmonson)

8. Grand Theft Auto IV: Soviet Connection (Composed by Michael Hunter)

9. World of Warcraft: Seasons of War (Composed by Jason Hayes)

10. Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty Theme (Composed by Harry Gregson-Williams)

11. Tetris: Theme (Composed by Alexey Pajitnov)

12. Battlefield 2: Theme (Composed by Joel Eriksson)

13. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (Composed by Jeremy Soule)

14. Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare: Main Menu Theme (Composed by Stephen Barton and Harry Gregson-Williams)

15. Mass Effect: Suicide Mission (Composed by Jack Wall and Sam Hulick)

16. Splinter Cell: Conviction (Composed by Michael Nielsen, Kaveh Cohen, and Amon Tobin)

17. Final Fantasy: Main Theme (Composed by Nobuo Uematsu)

18. Bioshock: The Ocean on his Shoulders (Composed by Garry Schyman)

19. Halo 3: One Final Effort (Composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori)

20. Fallout 3: Theme (Composed by Inon Zur)

21. Super Mario Bros: Gusty Garden Galaxy (Composed by Koji Kondo)

You can contact Kirk Hamilton, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

1. Advent Rising: Muse

(Composed by Tommy Tallarico, Emmanuel Fratianni, and Laurie Robinson)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

2. Legend of Zelda: Suite

(Composed by Koji Kondo)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

3. Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2: Theme

(Composed by Hans Zimmer)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

4. Angry Birds: Main Theme

(Composed by Ari Pulkkinen)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

5. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali

(Composed by Nobuo Uematsu)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

6. Super Mario Bros Theme

(Composed by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

7. Uncharted - Drake's Fortune: Nate's Theme

(Composed by Greg Edmonson)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

8. Grand Theft Auto IV: Soviet Connection

(Composed by Michael Hunter)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

9. World of Warcraft: Seasons of War

(Composed by Jason Hayes)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

10. Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty Theme

(Composed by Harry Gregson-Williams)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

11. Tetris: Theme

(Composed by Alexey Pajitnov)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

12. Battlefield 2: Theme

(Composed by Joel Eriksson)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

13. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion

(Composed by Jeremy Soule)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

14. Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare: Main Menu Theme

(Composed by Stephen Barton and Harry Gregson-Williams)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

15. Mass Effect: Suicide Mission

(Composed by Jack Wall and Sam Hulick)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

16. Splinter Cell: Conviction

(Composed by Michael Nielsen, Kaveh Cohen, and Amon Tobin)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

17. Final Fantasy: Main Theme

(Composed by Nobuo Uematsu)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

18. Bioshock: The Ocean on his Shoulders

(Composed by Garry Schyman)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

19. Halo 3: One Final Effort

(Composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

20. Fallout 3: Theme

(Composed by Inon Zur)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)

21. Super Mario Bros: Gusty Garden Galaxy

(Composed by Koji Kondo)

Full Track List:

(Buy on Amazon)