Before Crisis FFVII & Last Order FFVII OST :: Liner Notes Translated by PQTN

	Album Title:	Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII & Last Order Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack
	Record Label:	Square Enix
	Catalog No.:	SQEX-10087
	Release Date:	December 19, 2007
	Purchase:	Buy at CDJapan

Commentary

Takeharu Ishimoto - Composer

Listening to "Rebirth" makes me recall how lean and mean I was back then. Before being assigned to Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, I lost twice in competitions among in-house composers. While I had been told "a rock composer wouldn't fare well in our company", I still continued to submit a rock tune for my third application because "that's the way life goes on".

We're often forced by others to give up our principles we'd like to adhere to, but I think we shouldn't give way to careless words or pressure. As for why I worked on Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII despite not being a composer at the time, it was not because I was an in-house staff member. It all started from my demo that displayed a rebellious mind that represented rock. I would like to continue to offer interesting music to all of the people who have accepted my music.

Hajime Tabata - Before Crisis Director

I've now worked with composer Ishimoto together in multiple projects, but the project that triggered our collaboration was Before Crisis. Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII was a memorable work as it was both the debut work for Ishimoto as a composer and my first attempt to develop a game for cell phones. Initially, I couldn't grasp the nature of the hardware and wasn't confident about completing the work to a satisfactory standard. Nevertheless, Ishimoto ran confidently for its composition role, saying "I also want to attempt something new! Let's make a good game for sure!".

Ishimoto's themes offered a very exciting and fresh sound that depicted the images of Turks — the young, modern, ascetic, and energetic protagonists — in a straightforward manner. It wasn't until his tracks ran on the game that I felt the world of Turks — that was still Final Fantasy but different from the original — was finally established.

The project was the first step of the composer Ishimoto who always challenges himself tocreate something novel. He now does well at the company. This album is, as a debut work, full of unrestricted talent and energy. I'm also going to taste this soundtrack freely as a fan along with you.

Kosei Ito - Before Crisis Producer

Three years ago when we recruited a composer for Before Crisis, it was Takeharu Ishimoto who raised his hand obsessively. He had a hard rock spirit and still does. One thing that has disappointed me for three years was that the startling coolness of his original music became trivialised on modern cell phones. He still carefully selected timbres for the sound of cell phones, though.

The sound that startled us three years ago has been brought back to life! For all those who played or have been playing Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, thanks so much for getting this CD. The story of the Turks and the events before the first Mako Reactor bombing incident is over. However, I think this project is the start of the composer Takeharu Ishimoto. Let's enjoy the continually expanding world of Ishimoto!

Akio Daitou - Last Order Publicity Producer

Hello everybody. I'm Daitou. Thanks for purchasing this soundtrack! I contribute to these liner notes as I was involved in the production of Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.

We asked Ishimoto to score Last Order: Final Fantasy VII as we fell in love with the "Theme of Turks" that he arranged for Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII. He created music that got to our hearts straightaway as we expected — no, actually, he went beyond our expectations. In a meeting with Mad House whom we offered the anime production to, Ishimoto stated flatly "no problem" to numerous demanding requests in a limited time frame without so much as turning a hair. While I was nervous about the project's progression, he came across as a God (laugh).

Please enjoy Ishimoto's sound! It wonderfully presents the serious story of Last Order: Final Fantasy VII from the main part dominated by heavy guitar to the acoustic guitar use in the last sequence.

Tetsuya Nomura - Before Crisis Character Designer / Last Order Supervising Director

I was told "there is a rockin' guy" and listened to a MiniDisc through the small player of the meeting room. Oh yeah, it was the type of music that hadn't come from our sound team so far. That aggressive track was exactly what 'rock' means unlike those previous 'pseudo-rock' efforts. I was surprised to learn our sound team actually had such a composer and, at the same time, wondered why this person had never scored any title till now. The answer I got was 'he is a sound engineer, not a composer'. I asked about the details and learnt he originally wanted to be a composer but the topsiders didn't accept him.

I didn't dislike an ambitious spirit such as his, or rather, I became curious about him. That one MiniDisc was the only material we received when recruiting a composer from the sound team. Only he composed themes for a cell phone game that was by no means an extravagant project. It would have been a good opportunity for him as well. I understood why I felt 'rock' out of the sample. Above all, the sample was, actually, shockingly good. "Let's go with Ishimoto", I replied. Soon after, the face of the staff member who brought the MiniDisc soured briefly. "I mean, the rockin' stands for... his personality. He may conflict with you...", he explained. I see, he is 'rock' in that way! In short, 'rock' represents someone aggressive. He was worried if Ishimoto could do well with a stubborn middleman like me. However, the result is self-evident.

As for Ishimoto's performance since Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, he has become the busiest composer among the sound team. The orders to him are always from the titles that I'm also involved in. He might constantly compose new music to get back the times when he couldn't for so long. I hope the simple words he told me — "I love composing music!" — will always be the driving power of his composition. Also, I'd love you to feel the feelings he put into this album, which triggered the birth of "composer Takeharu Ishimoto".