Soundtrack Spotlight is a weekly CFD! feature devoted to all things VGM. Every week we celebrate the best in game music, highlight new releases and forgotten tracks, and bring you a spectrum of auditory awesomeness.

Albums: L.A. Noire Official Soundtrack & L.A. Noire: Remixed

Composed by: Andy Hale

Remixed by: Ticklah, Midnight Sun, Maximum Balloon, DJ Premier, Truth & Soul, Moodymann

Not only can the game parts of L.A. Noire not be contained by any fewer than 3 DVDs, its complementary musical selections have to be spread across 2 separate albums. In addition to the smoky blend of mellowness, jazz, and mid-century swing found on the official soundtrack, a second release comprised of remixed jazz selections (and part of the Verve Remixed series) is being simultaneously released.

The main soundtrack works to great secondary effect within the game, sliding in a bit of aural nuance to the thematic proceedings. If that’s not your thing, though, the peppier, just-as-good remixed album might be right for you.

Available at Amazon.com

Main Theme

Hard Bop Chase

Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Midnight Sun remix)

(I Always Kill) The Things I Love

Sing Sing Sing (Truth & Soul remix)

Stone Cold Dead in the Market (Ticklah remix)

A Slick Chick (On the Mellow Side) (Maximum Balloon remix)

That Ol’ Devil Called Love (Moodymann remix)

Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens (DJ Premier remix)

Available at Amazon.com

—–

Album: MDK 2

Composed by: Jesper Kyd, Albert Olson, Raymond Watts

Though not everyone who sees it in the WiiWare marketplace will remember MDK2 (which is strange for a game featuring head-mounted sniper rifles and a four-armed, gun-toting dog), many should be familiar with one of its composers. Kyd, more recently recognized for his work on the Assassin’s Creed games, rounds out the trio of composers responsible for the thick, pulsating consistency of the game’s soundtrack.

Track 02

Track 04

Track 10

Track 14

Track 15

—–

Album: Dear Esther Soundtrack

Composed by: Jessica Curry

As I and fellow CFD! editor Scott Thompson can attest to, Dear Esther (a highly-lauded Half-Life 2 mod) is, frankly, a wonderfully intriguing experience. It’s light on actually gameplay (the most you’ll do is walk the environment), but extremely elegant in the way it presents its quasi-narrative and dictates its pace and atmosphere, a key part of which comes through the somber, often-disturbing soundtrack.

The Beginning

The Beach

The Cave

Jakobson

Esther

Always

The Code