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Zoids - arranged by o2Review by tom, 29/01/2003 If somebody knows how to sound like JARRE, then it's definitely O2.A great remix of a great SID! It shows me that the man behind the machines is important, not the machines behind a man ;o)… which means i do own a SUPANOVA, too, but i can't make it sounds like JARRE!!! |
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Comic Bakery (Larger than Pop Boyband mix) - arranged by PRESS PLAY ON TAPEReview by mahoney, 28/01/2003 You're the best! I just love you, from the deepest of my heart! You've made my day, no, you've made my summer sunny sunny you're in my heart, ha ha haaa ha! This remix should be the mandatory first one to listen to for _any_ person visiting the realms of C64-remixing! Not everybody will enjoy the style or the performance, but this is a remix that _everybody_ get feelings for or against. And it is _the remix_ that isclosest to real life, where at least I get a feeling that we C64RMX-nerdsmaybe have a little part of this thing called the world! If you, yes -you- reading this review haven't seen the video that PressPlayOnTape did for this song, then HURRY!!! Find it, get it, see it and show it to your grandmother before it's too late! Thanks Søren and Theo, this made my summer a bright and shiny one! / Pex MahoneyTufvesson |
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Sidology Episode 3 - arranged by machinae supremacyReview by mahoney, 28/01/2003 Machinae does their thing, once more. This time, harder rock than their Gianna Sisters-remix, which is _the benchmark_ for hard rock mixes. The technical skills and the great sound/mastering makes this remix outstanding when it comes to Technical Impression. However, not being the greatest fan of screaming guitars, this ones gives me a headache after a few minutes. :/ This Sidology Episode #3 gives me the same feeling as movie The Lord of the Rings did: No pauses, some really good parts skipped, no time for thinking, compressed into a raving, thrilling, compact attack where every second is a matter of life and death. Please let me breathe, and let my ears rest! |
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Nemesis the Warlock - arranged by o2Review by mahoney, 28/01/2003 Agree with Tomsk, this is fantastic stuff. O2's best remix, imho! Starts slow, in a neat, nice, simplistic manner, grows a little, grows some more, gets bigger, even bigger and then suddenly at 3:12 those lovely tingles at the back of my neck sends these awesomely (!) wonderful feelings to every cell in my whole body! The one, single arpeggio at 4:49 is a great detail, pinned by a genius! Too soon, the fadeout comes and I feelWhy is this remix soooo short?, and wondering how the -frog- those six minutes could pass so quick? If I could bring only one remix from r:k:o to a deserted island, this would be my choise! |
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Zoids - arranged by o2Review by mahoney, 28/01/2003 Carsten, excellent lead instruments, a great atmosphere and a 100% performance makes this an outstanding remix. Though, if I had to rank your mixes, Nemesis the Warlock takes the first place. It has a few more surprises and a natural evolution, where this Zoids-remix has a more constant, steady flow of entangling sounds and notes! Great music, by a great remixer! |
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Cobra (skyline remix) - arranged by Thomas DetertReview by mahoney, 28/01/2003 This could be the main selling song on anySynthesizer greatest-CD of early 90'ies. Jan Hammer, well, he's there somewhere, and boy have you done a great piece of art here, Thomas! Being one of my very favourite SIDs, I'm just drooling here, listening, dreaming and having a very good time! Some spots reveal that it's a sampled guitar, but turning off the nitpicker in me those few seconds, I really love this remix! The drums are calming, soothing, just wonderful! |
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Firelord - Symphonic - arranged by Glyn R BrownReview by mahoney, 28/01/2003 Glyn, you've made a great SID-song sound fantastic! You know how to avoid all pitfalls and trouble that samples orchestral sounds can give you, and I bow in respect. I just wonder how many sleepless nights and days you spent tameing that orchestra, Glyn! Great work! |
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Great Giana Sisters - arranged by machinae supremacyReview by mahoney, 28/01/2003 The first time I heard this, I thoughtThis is too good to be true!. And that feeling hasn't left, it's still there. Love at first sight! A good balance between screaming guitars and music (which might give a little hint of what I generally feel about hard rock) makes this song _the best_! Thanks for the ride, Machinae Supremacy! |
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Scroll Machine (5th Dream About Happiness) - arranged by LManReview by tom, 28/01/2003 Huhh… i love this SID piece that much! Great Job here MARKUS, well choosen sounds, clever arranged and remixed. It's one of my favourite SID remixes!!! |
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Sigma Seven (Chariots of Fire) - arranged by Thomas DetertReview by LMan, 27/01/2003 Awesome! If you wouldn't know better, you'd say it is Vangelis. It sounds so much like Chariots Of Fire, and Sigma Seven fits perfectly into that mood. Very beautiful arrangement, and technically flawless, while the Vangleis-like sound does everything to spark nostalgia. |
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3 Channel Game tune (Tracexperiment) - arranged by Kent WalldénReview by Tas, 26/01/2003 starting of moody and slow, the piece rips into action around the 2 minuite mark. The remix has strong elements of jarre and 80's dance. There's plenty of variation here to keep the listener fascinated, and the beat goes along in typical foot tapping style. The remix is well produced throughout with some lovelly chosen instruments. i did find however towards the end that trace kinda lost the plot a little as it gets kinda boring. All said tho, it's a really valliant effort and one thats worth listening to, at least for a while anyway |
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Zoids - arranged by o2Review by OJ Oscillation, 25/01/2003 this is the one version of getting my blunt lightened. those pure athmopheric ambience makes me go into myself and chill out to a great melody. also the mixdown could have been much more bombasticly, eventually, but i can't keep stop floating away. someone should throw an anchor for me.o2 knows how to feed you without any oxygenmask. keep breathin' this sound. |
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Last Ninja (Big Beatnik Mix) - arranged by Dr Doom & Komatr:ohnReview by OJ Oscillation, 25/01/2003 well, this remix makes me really going to funk my bones.it's a perfect big beat style version. it sounds so pressure styled and not boring. it even got the cool sid synth ring modulated bass line in it, i like to hear. some scratches here, some there (cool fx). the right amount of get it on. there's nothing more to say than: perfect 10. |
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Faery Tale Adventure - In The town - arranged by choscReview by beldin, 24/01/2003 The C64 version of the original Faery Tale AMIGA soundtrack is poor and full of errors. With its inaccurate transcription of the notes of the original, this remix also sounds quite like it is based on the weak C64 material. A monotonous drum track and a few synth-sound fill-ins, which don't fit well, stretch this remix to a length of 2:29. It fails to capture the atmosphere of the AMIGA soundtrack. |
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Panther - arranged by PGReview by beldin, 24/01/2003 Surely a working way to remixPanther, speeded up a bit. I find Whittaker's unspectacular original sid somewhat boring except for the synth sounds in the introduction (first minute or so). The remix is better and features a great conversion starting at 1:55. |
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Toni Niemelä - Giana Sisters (psychedelic remix) - arranged by Toni NiemeläReview by beldin, 24/01/2003 To me it sounds like Giana Sisters with a rather unfortunate choice of instruments. The mixture of flutes and synthetical e-guitars, heavily sliding and equipped with vibrato, is too wild for my taste. |
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Terrafighter theme - arranged by FerraraReview by beldin, 24/01/2003 Real nice slow arrangement with a catching theme and an ambient atmosphere. A drawback is the muffled sound and low quality of the used sounds. |
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Lightforce 2k theme - arranged by mladenReview by beldin, 24/01/2003 It's a fast dance-floor style remix of the first part of Lightforce. Comes with some nice sounds and effects. You won't regret the download. |
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Big Benn - arranged by Bart KlepkaReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 A megamix of many Benn pieces, from Ark Pandora through Last Ninja. A suitably frenetic intro is joined by a strange piano lead to complement a straight dance rhythm. The main piece is taken forward by Ben's SID burbles, but in this case, the cover would have been better suited by having a sharper and more stabby replacement for these: the burbles aren't segregated enough to suggest the necessary madness, and just don't feel punchy enough. At 1:48 the tune seems to go a bit Pete Tong melodically, but since it's 720, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, since that's got some odd chords in it. When Bombo kicks in, the whole thing begins to sound like Robert Miles (as if it didn't already!). Some pads float about to add width to this section, which work well enough. The main problem with the megamix is that the necessity for a constant beat and sound means the individual parts have to be bent and shaped to fit: a process which mangles some more than others. Ben's Last Ninja Wilderness tune loses its Swing-type beat, for instance. Much the same happened on Chris Huelsbeck's 'Giana Sisters Megamix", which was disappointing for me as a fan of the individual pieces, because none of the parts had the atmosphere of the original. So, this cover, while technically very well done (I'd argue with the lead in the Last Ninja section though) falls victim to its own structure and ends up less satisfying to Ben fans as a result. Efficient but strangely unsatisfying. |
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Bruce Lee (Psycho Mix) - arranged by Bart KlepkaReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 'You have offended my family… '. True! Hey, he's got a drum machine and a synth! And they can be linked up!!! Wow!!!!!!!! OK, sarcasm alert. It's SID and drums time. It's hard, it's nasty, my bum remains unmoved. Bruce Lee just isn't the tune to do this to with any effect. At 1 minute the tune stops being horrible and starts being detuned and horrible. Then it returns to abysmal. Not my cup of tea at all, though some of the later basslines and breaks show some rhythmic skill. It's still vomit-inducing though. Almost redeemed by the clever use of Bruce Lee samples in the middle, it could have worked if it wasn't so damned harsh! Urgh. Chris hell. |
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Last Ninja 2 (Into the Ninja Hood) - arranged by Bart KlepkaReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 'It's the music: can't you feel it in your soul? '. Well, kinda, I guess. Very strange slurp-drums make this sinister sounding cover sound trippy, but the beginning doesn't quite work: the triangle lead is out of place for what's trying to do (doesn't quite convey the funkiness that the rest of the piece is aiming for). Once again, clever use of samples and breaks, but the whole track is very repetitive. To some that may be just what the Doctor ordered, of course, since Bart seems to be mostly centred on the commercial dance sound. Quality stuff, but a bit too repetitive for me. You might disagree! . |
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Last Ninja 1+2 (Jungle Ressurection) - arranged by Bart KlepkaReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Oooh, spooky. Some nice atmosphere for the first 20 seconds gives way to a really nasty drum set which the tune could well do without. It's like two different tunes are being played here. At 1:00 a slower breakbeat comes in to lend the piece some badly needed coherence, but this tune stops and starts in a way that severely unsettles the listener (that would be me!). Somewhere in the world, there's a piece of video action from a copshow that suits this piece. It's one of those pieces of art that makes no sense because there's no coherence, unless another consistent element is added (in this case, that would be video footage). Towards the end, it sounds like Fat Boy Slim. An audio experience in dire need of some stable video. |
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Operation Wolf (Tune 5) - arranged by Marcus Hoffrén offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 SID, echoes, filters, drums. If you like that, you'll like this (as long as you're a Jon Dunn fan). The original tune has some unpleasant bits though. Not a great advancement over SID + drums, but more subtle at least. |
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Zoids (Chopper Zoid mix) - arranged by MixerReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Zoids/Ancestors. A majestic tune which stomps its way into our hearts. How can you ruin it? Simple, you speed the tune up by a factor of 2, then add organ stabs. It trivialises the tune, and it's impossible for me to take it seriously. |
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Ninja - arranged by PacoReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 One of Rob's more overlooked pieces, this is a fairly straight cover. Nice gong, some breathy synths. The challenge comes when the Rob bass/drum thing comes in. In this case, nothing much happens to make you funk up. The drum section doesn't have any drive, and the bass is heavy and leaden. In the second part the bass works better because it's up and octave. All in all, a nice version of the SID. It won't knock your socks off, but they may get just a teensy bit dented, and later in the tune the synths sound really 80s, with some nice replication of the SID bending. A cover which gets better as it goes on, this one is worth the download. |
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Gyroscope (Smooth Mix) - arranged by MistaDistahReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 When MistaDistah says 'Smooth Mix', he's not kidding. A hollow whistle/bell instrument combines with razor smooth bass and choir to build up in the middle of the tune to organised chaos. Then a breakbeat and some guitar come in for the repeat of this relatively simple tune. Nicely done, relaxing and inoffensive. With a slightly more breathy choir, it can easily be imagined coming out of hi-fi speakers. Great download. |
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Last Ninja 3 (Old School Sonny Chiba Remix) - arranged by MistaDistahReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 Puzzling vocal sample at the beginning gives way to hard breakbeat and SID from Reyn Ouwehand's LN3 title. Miscellaneous instruments and portions that are out of harmony with the original SID follow, and then the tune takes on its own two-chord tune, with more miscellaneous SFX coming along. Some nice Vangelis bell sounds in places don't really make up for this. This really doesn't have much in common with the SID apart from using the beginning of it as a sample. Puzzling and offputting. |
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Wizball Song 2 (Orchestral Bouncy Remix) - arranged by MistaDistahReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 The words 'flatter to deceive' apply to this remix, which is an interesting take on the SID. Elements from the SID, orchestral hits, a hip-hop style brush breakbeat all combine. Sounds interesting, and is for about a minute. Then you realise that nothing else is going to happen that's more interesting: OK, the drums develop into a more standard house pattern, but that's about it. This is most definitely a case of 'I've just bought a sample CD and I'm going to use it'. Some nice ascending orchestral chords at 1:30 onwards make me think I've been a bit harsh, since some of them are quite epic. The SID is almost optional here though, and the piece doesn't quite know where it's going. On balance, the world is better for this piece existing, so I recommend a download. don't expect anything more from Wizball than the paint mixing noises though. Download it if you're in an experimental mood. |
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Lightforce (Existenz Mix) - arranged by MistaDistahReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 'You didn't get here in time! My game is dead. You murdered my game! ' What does this have to do with Lightforce? -bing- who answered 'nothing'? You're correct!! But what of the rest of the cover. Odd chord stabs on what sounds like a murdered banjo don't inspire confidence. At 0:30 the Lightforce riff strikes up, accompanied by an ascending (and quite painful) siren type sound. When a drum fill strikes up, you expect a breakbeat to kick in, but all you get is a wooden kick/snare combination. All in all, a painful cover to listen to. The nice pads are generally overlaid by an overuse of filter resonance which overshadows any pleasant feelings you get from this, the lead is pretty boring, the bass isn't a patch on the SID, and there's an irritating typing noise throughout. Lightforce is difficult to make unpalatable if you get the tune right, but this one manages to make it audibly annoying. Plus the whole thing seems to have been lifted from my MIDI file, as witnessed by the single note riff at 6:30 and elsewhere throughout the tune, which in my MIDI file were orchestral stabs. Way to make my MIDI file crap, Mista. Extremely irritating. Plus marks off for cribbing my MIDI file without credit. |
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Delta - arranged by octave sounds offlineReview by Chris Abbott, 23/01/2003 A Delta cover that on the surface appears to do the right things: there's the dance breakbeat, the lead is correct, and it's all there structurally. Problem 1 is that the bass doesn't get the most important bit right: that bass run down in the fourth phrase of the verse. If a cover gets that right, it's home free. This doesn't. It's important because the soul of the piece is in this section: it's the first technical test of how well an arranger has understood the piece. Problem 2 is the lead instruments are undynamic, sluggish and generally over-reverbed (hey, sounds like Back in Time 1, hehehehe), and just don't caress the ear like they should. Lead instruments should be pleasant to listen to, not a chore. If you can overlook the accuracy problem, not a bad download. |
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