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Warhawk - arranged by Q

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

We've all heard Warhawk covers before. In fact, BIT2 has an excellent Warhawk cover on it. This one is not as good as that one, but it's pretty good. It has a lot more spacey-ambient feel to it, due to the lots of reverb and echo in it, plus the carefully selected mellow instruments. I think it's a very nice cover, although I wouldn't select it as the soundtrack to that shoot-em-up C64 game.
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Comic Bakery (rearranged) - arranged by David Filskov

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Starts out okay - but then it just remains okay. I expected more from David who gave us such great remixes before. Oh, no, there are even leftover arpeggios here and there! Starting at 1:11 I like that whining sound in the left channel. But this is the only highlight in this tune, the rest is just average stuff. Too bad, because I had high expectations for David.
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Unsound Minds (feat. S.A.M.) - arranged by Taxim

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Starts out with the untouched original SID, then SAM, the C64's speech synthetizer announces that now comes the same thing with real cool sounds - and BOOM! I am bombarded by this techno-cover of AMJ's tune. Like with Cyberworld, it was a good choice for this SID.
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Last Ninja 2 (Central Park) - arranged by Christian Leuenberg

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

I have heard better LN2 covers. This one sounds weak (the instrument selection is at times rather questionable) and unpolished. Sometimes it sounds like it was put together in just a few minutes.
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Times of Lore - arranged by Scorpion

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

No, no, no, no, no! Another misfired attempt. Unlike Commando, though, it actually comes close to what I would make of this tune: harp for the background, a sharp brass-like lead, and later expand the tune with some choir. Also, nice fadeout at the end! What's bad here is the inclusion of that bass. That was a big no-no! Another big no-no: the lead doesn't change from the brass-like instrument to a more dull one, like in the SID… Gosh, people, you really know how to push my buttons, forcing me to do this myself! 😉
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Last Ninja '96 medley - arranged by Scorpion offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Retro in the sense that it has samples from the original SID in it, but it sounds good.
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Giana Sisters - arranged by KnibaL offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Umm, it's an interesting attempt at covering some of the tunes of the game, but as a whole, it just doesn't work for me. We can hear big bells, good drums, and all kinds of other instruments in this MP3, but it has no soul. Plus, Hülsbeck already showed us how these tunes should be covered.
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Platoon - arranged by Dan Tootill offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A much underrated tune by Jonathan Dunn. I'm glad somebody had the guts to cover it. This cover sounds a little dull to me, again, like if it's really a module, not a pure synth MP3. Not bad, not bad, but it closely approaches that average crowd I talked about before.
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Bruce Lee - arranged by Plough

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

On the plus side, it is a cover of a rarely remixed tune. It is also not bad if we don't listen to that synth-choir bass line. I kinda expected something more, like an expanded version of the theme, but alas, I didn't get it. Too bad - this was very promising.
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Bubble Bobble (Hillbilly Rodeo mix) - arranged by DJ Pretzel

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

I like remixes that stay true to the spirit of the original SIDs! This hilariously funny cover does just that, and sounds like a track off the old The Hillbillies TV series, complete with yahoo! shouts and bleating sheep. If you want a good laugh, download this MP3!
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Monty on the Run hi-score - arranged by Mark A. Knight

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Very pleasing, very nicely done - but I am darn sure I've heard it somewhere before. Hmm, Chris, isn't this your MIDI conversion? … The MP3 ID says arr. from midifile. Arranged? This is *it*! Nicely selected instruments, though.
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Thrust - arranged by Boz

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

So-so, but has its good moments.
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Sanxion - arranged by Peppy

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Similar to his Parallax cover, the violin here also puts a new, so far unheard view on this tune. Overall, this remix is far from being good - except for the violin (or cello, or whatever).
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Bruce Lee - arranged by Morten B. Nielsen offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

This cover must be a MOD/XM, not a pure MP3. Because it sounds like one, and it is not very good, either. Gets good points for nice effort from me, though.
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Katakis medley 2000 - arranged by g2sonics

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Jaw-dropping start! Really good! Unfortunately, the rest of the tune is a little thin on the lead, although the other parts of it (drum, bass, choir, etc.) remain good. Great switch at around 7:15, I quite like it. All in all, a pretty solid 10+ min. mix, not something that blows your head off, but coherent, even a little on the ambient side of the dance genre.
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Nemesis the Warlock - arranged by o2

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

O2's cover reminds me a lot of that Synergy album titled Audion form which Hubbard liked to draw inspiration so much. The lead line in the first few minutes of the tune is somewhat soft. Some surprising synthetic voice in the middle makes for a nice break. What I am really missing both in this and SoedeSoft's remix is the awe-inspiring buildup, similar to what is so prevalent in most early Vangelis tunes, where a simple melody line is first introduced, then it is repeated over and over again, each time adding new layers to the music. O2 did a better job in this department, but I am missing that climactic last repetition. Somehow, it just doesn't have that punch to it all the way thru. (Which, IMHO, is also missing from the original SID, which might be the reason I don't quite like it.) All in all, I prefer O2's cover over SoedeSoft's, although both are well done.
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Last Ninja 1+2 (Jungle Ressurection) - arranged by Bart Klepka

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Matches the mood of the original, even with the added dance/jungle/house/ whatever rhythm. Retains the best sounds from the original and uses them as regular samples - smartly done.
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Last Ninja 2 (Streets) - arranged by Bart Klepka

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Ugly analog base drum taints this otherwise crappy tune. Too bad - it could've been less bad. With that base drum it's downright ugly.
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Last Ninja 2 (Into the Ninja Hood) - arranged by Bart Klepka

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Not a bad remix at all, but nothing outstanding. It is a pretty smart remix in the sense that the whole thing fits the mood of the original LN2 tune it remixes.
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Extirpator (Sanxion) - arranged by PG

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

It's an okay remix, but I like Chris Abbott's version better.
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Lightforce - arranged by Paradroid

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Pretty faithful to the original, but we've heard Lightforce covers like this before… It's fairly good, though.
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Monty on the Run Highscore - arranged by Purple ThirdEYE

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

It's trying to make a pop love-song out of the hi-score tune. I fully expected a singer coming up instead of the lead instrument.😉 (We have to write some lyrics to this song, folks! A little cheesy, but it drew a smile from me. It gets boring in the middle (I think it's missing a melody line from Monty), then - it switches to Commando hi-score! Ha-ha - great pun!!!
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Last V8(When Kings Collide) - arranged by daFrenz

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Original SID with breakbeats. Uses the original SID only as long samples in the tune. Two minutes into the tune the solo finally appears, which is not bad. But the tune just goes on and on building on the first few bars of the SID, and never reaches the climax. Murders the original SID. Avoid it.
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Zoids - arranged by o2

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Well, well, this is not exactly how I always imagined this track, in fact, this is totally opposite of that - but it's f*ing awesome! Okay, okay, I admit: the reason I like this cover is because it sounds so much like one of my favorite composers, Jarre. No, seriously, this cover is a perfect example that we are all different (thank God!), and that two people can interpret the same SID in entirely different ways. And on top if it, it's very well done, too. Sounds like something right out of Oxygene (or O2 - get it?) or other early Jarre albums. Who would've thunk that Zoids could've been composed by JMJ? … I am impressed! (Maybe I should play a little prank on the people of the Jarre mailing list and present this track to them as a recently unearthed, so far unreleased early Jarre composition.😉
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Gerry The Germ #7 - arranged by o2

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Pretty funny.😉 Like it should be! This remix starts out pretty simple, but in the middle there are things added to it that make it into something bigger. I like the use of filtered lead instruments. I quite like this cover!
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Dulcedo / Cogitationis - arranged by Per Eriksson offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

It's always strange to hear Chris Hülsbeck remixes/covers, since we all know his signature style from his CD albums. Per, also take note that Chris never used arpeggios in his remakes like you do in this MP3 starting at 1:30… The cover sticks to the original arrangement (which, IMHO, is pretty good to begin with - any change can only screw it up , but overall it sounds a little thin, less bombastic than the original SID. But it's definitely a keeper.
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Druid II - Enlightenment - arranged by No-XS offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Pretty much what you'd expect here: starts with string pads, goes on with 'fantasia'-style bright pads (possibly some stock sounds from a synth), but the addition of the harp is nice. The middle livens up a little (with stock (?) brass lead), but at that point, it feels like it's just dragging on. The closing choir is a nice touch again.
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Drudgery - arranged by Eric Delos offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A little-known DRAX tune is covered here (hey, it was little-known to me! , or shall I say, plagiarized. I just don't hear what was added to this… this… whatever. I can add reverb and simple drums to SIDs myself, but that wouldn't make me a good arranger, would it? Same here.
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Dominator (SASHed Mix) - arranged by Putzi offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Same tune, same arranger, slightly different mix. Same comments, although I like this remix a tad better than the previous one.
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Dominator (Alpha Mix) - arranged by Putzi offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A remix of tune #2 with some bits and pieces of the SID left intact. I can't say I am very impressed by this cover, but it's not that bad, either, as it has its good moments. Just not many of it.
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