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Paperboy (Paperboys Lament) - arranged by FTCReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 A very non-FTC breakbeat beginning gets a groove going, and bits of the tune float above a luscious landscape filtering away. Some nice pads and an added melody bit soon come in, and (unlike the Arkanoid cover) add some variety, and a dreaminess to the tune that you'd never have thought was there. A remixer's remix, in that it takes a simple tune and extrapolates it to great sonic effect. Could do with warmer bass though. Essential download. |
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Parallax (Subtune 4) - arranged by FTCReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 OW! A nice first three seconds leads into a painful next three seconds? Why? Because the chord that is being played is wrong! And not just slightly wrong… it destroys what the piece is trying to do: the ambience is nice, the sounds are nice, though still slightly cold, but it's painful to hear. Later drums in the piece accompany some adlibbing of the tune, with some painful discords in the pads here and there, and the whole tune begins to journey towards trance/ambient territory. Once it reaches this point, most connection between the tune and the backing is lost, and the whole piece becomes an unfamiliar SID spinoff. The ingredients are nice, but if you're a fan of the SID, this is not easy to listen to. You might like it. I couldn't. |
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Rolands Ratrace (tune 4) - arranged by FTCReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Kudos for covering a tune that Zzap felt it necessary to comment positively on in their review. However, putting a half-speed syncopated beat on an echoed version of the SID for the first 40 seconds doesn't work. The cover improves when some appropriate chords come in over the SID, but then weird Jarre-like chords fight it out with the SID until the whole thing is a bloody mess on the floor. It's painful to listen to. OUCH!! Painful, when it could have been so much better. |
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Thanatos (sleeping dragon mix) - arranged by FTCReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 First: OK beginning, some nice chords. Then it falls apart. Take an ambient tune called Thanatos. Let's take a rhythm from a drunk Hot Chocolate tribute band. Let's put alcohol into the C64 until it can't hold a note. This might be what you'd get when the blender was finished. Ow! I'm mystified by the high marks on R64 for this tune: FTC has done much better (and god knows I love his stuff!). Ow, my ears. |
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Turrican Intro Speech (nuff said mix) - arranged by FTCReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Nice echoes and use of the Turrican speech, along with the growling bassline and great ambience makes this a good cover. There are suspicious similarities to Infodroid here though in places, confirming FTCs pet hates and likes 😊 It's a great MP3, and… revelation coming… FTC sounds like Vince Clark (Erasure)! Recommended. |
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Way of the Exploding Fist - arranged by FTCReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Hmmm. The lead here sounds a lot flatter than some of FTC's current work, and the trademark delay-large sound doesn't quite work with what is quite an intimate tune. This tune is for fields, outdoors, temples and stuff. It doesn't quite lend itself to large indoor spaces. Some surprising string pads start off nice, but clash quite badly with the tune, and the tune starts to sound painfully messy, especially when odd synth riffs come in. Worth the download, but could have been so much better. |
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Bad Cat 99 - arranged by Frank Veeltmann offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Muffled and unsatisfying, this cover sounds like all that's worst in the 80s. There are some mood-suiting vocals and 80s percussion, but in general this piece leaves no stone turned in its quest for a quality 80s sound. Not good. And attempts to frighten me with samples of news broadcasts threatening Martian Attack won't work you know!. |
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BMX Kidz 99 - arranged by Frank Veeltmann offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 First thoughts: it's the BMX Kidz sid with souped-up percussion. Not bad as far as it goes, but the rest of the instruments doing the reproduction work just aren't up to the job. 100% faithful to the SID, but for a ground-breaking piece like BMX Kidz, a few 80s percussion samples, a slightly improved rhythm section and slightly different instruments don't cut it. I guess it's unobjectionable if you like the original, though. Earth-unshattering, but at least it doesn't ruin the original. |
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Katakis medley 2000 - arranged by g2sonicsReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Sophisticated chord pads and bell trees, along with ominous percussion give a professional sounding start. When the tune proper starts at 1:35, the yawns set in. I'm not sure whether this is because the original piece doesn't set my ass on fire (it doesn't), but the cover is lacklustre. Simple drum beat, simple bass from the SID, static chord pads, and a weird plinky lead. Colour me unstunned. Uninspiring but competant. |
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The Great Giana Sisters - arranged by Geir Ola Brandal offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 A cover of Great Giana sisters has much competition. Instant Remedy's version, Chris Huelsbeck's version, Tom Novy's version, and more. How does this one fare? Not well. No ambience, it doesn't capture the ethereal mysteriousness of the title tune: that echo Chris puts in the original to convey a mysterious sense of landscape that contrasted with the cheerful 2Dness of Mario. Somehow the music made Giana a much bigger feeling game than Mario, though this was an illusion. This cover adds some dry drums to the mix, and a 'news at ten' single note backing, but nothing much else. |
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Boulder Dash (Trash Mix) - arranged by David FilskovReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 It starts with SID… so far so good, it's always a treat. Then the tune is played by erratically filtered and distorted synths, and a pretty apocalyptic breakbeat. Though intriguing, the character of Boulderdash was always conveyed for me by echo and space, mirroring the cavernous spaces in the game. My initial exposure to this music was on the Atari, where it's even more echoey, so this cover just doesn't quite fit into my mental map. It's accurate notewise, but the tune just didn't need this treatment. Towards the end if gets so distorted it's nasty: that's no way to reward people for their endurance is it? Clever but pointless. Brave experiment, but a bit of a travesty. |
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Comic Bakery (rearranged) - arranged by David FilskovReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Unsubtle and unsatisfying version of this seminal Galway tune: the burbles lack the immediacy of the SID, and somehow the wide-open space and lightness of Galway's original is gone. The occasional pleasant harmonies (for instance, on Galway's solo) don't make up for the loss of Galway-ness that's happened here. Was this all done on C64s? It might well have been, in which case: brave move, but why bother? The recording's quite punchy though, and it IS relatively accurate. OK version of Galway's classic. |
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Firelord - arranged by David FilskovReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Synth Firelord? Time has not been a friend to this version. The drums don't work, and it's become clear that this is an orchestral piece. As such, though you can hear the effort in terms of structure, all I hear is how it should have been. Which is unfair of me really, because there's not a lot else wrong with this. Worthwhile download. |
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One Man and His Droid - arranged by David FilskovReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 From the very first bars, it's obvious what David is trying here: Magnetic Fields, played live. Considering the essential Fields-ness of this tune, it's an appropriate choice, and it's carried off with panache, though I wish some of the tune was restored (sometimes just the harmony plays). Crowd noises and SFX sustain the atmosphere, though this isn't a full length version. A very clever ending, too. Convincing! Well done, but I prefer my remixes sounding studio rather than live, but that's personal taste. Remixes like this are quite rare. |
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Chordian - arranged by Marcus Hoffrén offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Hmm, echoey SID. Actually, thanks for the tune he's chosen, this works quite well, but that's nothing to do with arrangement skill. This is one of those remixes that sounds like the SID, but which has quite subtle additions (and the not-so-subtle one of a drum track). Therefore, if you like the original, you'll like this. If not, you won't. Quite pleasant. |
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Bubble Bobble (Hillbilly Rodeo mix) - arranged by DJ PretzelReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Possibly the most inspired C64/arcade remix SID ever. It's a complete piss-take on Bubble Bobble, but it works because (a) the instruments are played really well, and it's well arranged, (b) the vocals and acting are inspired, and (c) the sheep are funny. ROFL! Inspired and unmissable. |
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IK+ (Nokia mix) - arranged by DJ SubslashReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Yes!! Those mobile phone tones are SO great I want them played REALLY loud through my Hifi! Yes!! hahahahahahahaha!! Take an ethnic breakbeat, an out of time Nokia IK+ ringtone and an unrelated speech sample, repeat for a few minutes and you have this. Oh yes, and the background chord stab has no relation to IK+ either. I cannot stand covers like this, but unfortunately when c64 music leaves the scene, this kind of cover happens to it all the time (for instance, Output64). So, bearing in mind I've dispatched Ninjas to the person who arranged this to smash up their equipment, here are my marks: So terrible I'm screaming. |
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Giana Sisters Danceons - arranged by Hiryu offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Giana Sisters underground SID with a crappy breakbeat. That's it! I thought covers like this had died a death. I was wrong… One mark subtracted for an obviously bugged section. |
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Lazy Jones (C-64 Remix) - arranged by DJ Tobi offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 It's easiest to say what's wrong with this half-baked dance mix: the parts representing the C64 are far too dry and don't fit with the rest of the mix: the drums might as well not be there. It's not toe-tapping, it just doesn't work. Also, the breakbeat itself is completely out of character with the inexorable nature of the tunes and the rendition of the infamous subtune 21 is laughable. Pales in comparison with other Lazy Jones covers. |
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Lazy Jones (DJ Tobi Remix) - arranged by DJ Tobi offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Another Lazy Jones remix by DJ Tobi starts off a lot more promisingly than the C-64 remix variant, but there's a puzzling riff, and when the famous subtune 21 sets in, it's obvious that he's tried to work the same sonic effect as Zombie Nation, but failed miserably. This chorus/detuning doesn't work, and the drums are weak and pointless. The kick drum is nowhere near as powerful as it should be (compressesion, try it!), and the whole remix will go nowhere near a dance floor, and with good reason. A poor man's Zombie Nation (I can't believe it, I'm praising Zombie Nation!). OK, but it's way down the list of worthy Lazy Jones covers. |
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Lazy Jones 2001 Deluxe - arranged by DJ Tobi offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Um, are you detecting a pattern here? I wonder if there's a clinical term for Lazy Jones obsession. This dance mix is more clubby, and yet still not toe-tapping. Maybe it's the bitrate, maybe it's the complete lack of atmosphere (sounds like the whole thing is being played in your living room, and some of the breakbeats are unforgiveably weak). I give up… what IS Deluxe about this?. |
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Test Drive - arranged by DJ Tobi offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 It started with a SID, who would have thought it would come to this? 😊 Sid + Drums, that's it. Why? It's not as if this is a good tune. OK, the riff might have made an OK riff around something else, but no one is going to be shaking their little booties to this, even with that breakbeat: getting people dancing is not just a question of drums on top of SID, you know. Pointless cover of a pointless original. |
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The Goonies - arranged by DJ Tobi offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 It started with a SID, who would have thought it would come to this? 😊 Sid + Drums, that's it. Why? It's not as if this is a good tune. OK, the riff might have made an OK riff around something else, but no one is going to be shaking their little booties to this, even with that breakbeat: getting people dancing is not just a question of drums on top of SID, you know. Pointless cover of a pointless original. Well, if DJ Tobi is going to do the same thing, I'm going to use the same review!. |
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Skate or Die - arranged by DJBReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 A brave attempt to rework the SID: suitably grungy guitar, spirited organ and appropriate drums. The production quality is a bit lo-fi: I guess if you close your eyes you could imagine yourself in the cafe with the players. An XM conversion which sounds like it: a good rework, but the problem with covers of Skate or Die is that it's obvious how it should sound: like a live band on a big stage. And this cover doesn't sound like that. Reasonably satisfying cover, but the piece deserves so much more. |
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Temple of Apshai Trilogy - arranged by DjLizard offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Drums and SID on two different paths for the start of the piece, but the piece gets going and surprisingly is actually spacious and even a bit exciting. SID Temple of Apshai, but some added bass, and a mixture of breakbeats and straightforward 80s rhythm. Surprisingly good considering the style and the source material. |
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Bubble Bobble (sadness mix) - arranged by DjLizard offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Sad Bubble Bobble? In the same league as happy Knucklebusters, I think. Quite a clever reworking of the notes from the main theme, and quite an engaging bit of synth noodling (Twin Peaks echo sounds, drum and bass thing, quite eerie FX and production). It isn't Bubble Bobble though. It's not Bubble Bobble, but it is worth a listen. |
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Chilly Willy (Dallas theme cover) - arranged by DjLizard offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 A Seinfeld bass kicks off this (apparently funky) remix of… Dallas! There isn't much feel for the actual melody of the piece here, though some of the synths and the general sound carpet is quite attractive. It won't chill your Willy, it sounds silly, but it is worth a lily. I mean, listen. |
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Ultima V Greyson's Tale (c128) - arranged by Eric Pochesci offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 This is played on a Vangelis instrument, but it sounds cloudy and messy. The choir seems to be uncontrolled and has occasional discords with the tune. Underwhelming. Thankfully short. |
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Noisy Pillars - arranged by FashReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Uninteresting version of the SID replicated almost entirely without additions or subtlety, and without the life and bounce of the source material. Life has been sucked out. Not offensive, just boring. |
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Temple of Apshai (drum and bass) - arranged by DjLizard offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Some things in life aren't meant to be together… yes, I know I've said that before, but it's true! Ask my parents! These two things are almost irreconcilable, though in this case the FX on the SID are nice, with some filter burbling almost managing to pull off the impossible. Strangely engaging at times, despite my reservations. Worth a listen: surprisingly he almost pulls it off. |
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