Erika Lieberman's "Desert Battle" gives me something I've been seeking, but not really finding, for quite some time now: an ambient track to use as background to fantasy RPG combats set in desert areas. The track moves from haunting winds and exotic melodies to the clash of steel and the shouts of combatants, then settles down again at the end. Despite the product description, this track isn't really "seamlessly loopable, though it begins and ends gracefully enough that you could loop it without much distraction. "Desert Battle" doesn't loop as well, though, as Lieberman's "Prosperous Tavern" track (also available here at DriveThruRPG). The track is exciting and evocative but non-intrusive, so you can easily play it under your RPG session with no worries about players getting more into the music than into the battle it's intended to enhance. The music perfectly fits the theme, too.
My big complaint about this track is technical: the track needs better ID3 tagging, and some album artwork. This complaint also applies to Erika Lieberman's other three tracks released at the same time: "Vampire Castle," "Forest Journey," and "Prosperous Tavern." See my individual reviews of those pieces for comments on their content. Sonic Legends needs to create a virtual, ever-expanding "album" for these tracks, and needs to provide appropriate ID3 tags. Of the four, only "Vampire Castle" came into my iTunes with the track name preserved as such, and with "Erika Lieberman" listed as the artist; all others ended up with the file name ("Prosperous_Tavern_Lieberman") as the track name, with all other ID3 tags empty.
I also have one other reservation: this track is expensive compared to other MP3 products sold at DriveThruRPG and elsewhere. With comparable products running as low as $0.50, and with the iTunes Store and Amazon downloads conditioning customers to expect tracks that cost $0.99 or less apiece, you have to think twice before buying an MP3, even one as excellent as this, for $2.99.
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