Reviews by LaLa |
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Displaying Reviews 271 - 300 out of 630 |
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Turrican 3 Remix - arranged by nd3eReview by LaLa, 11/06/2020 Hmm, I wonder if this started life as a multichannel MOD, because many of its motifs remind me a lot of those tunes from late 1990s, even the way the patterns are repeated, and the abrupt ending (which to me indicates a cutoff of an infinitely repeating sequence). In that context, this is actually a rather decent remix. |
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Guitar Slinger Plus - arranged by Peter ClarkeReview by LaLa, 18/05/2020 A wonderful acoustic-style remix of a classic tune. There are some sections of it that lean towards country/bluegrass style (e. g. @ 2:04) - I wish that style was explored further. But it sounds amazing as is, no complaints whatsoever! =) And the second, downtempo part of the piece is just be-a-utiful! |
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Cybernoid II - The Alt-Rock Mix - arranged by Peter ClarkeReview by LaLa, 09/05/2020 Ladies and Gentlemen - this is as close to perfection as one can get with a remix. The superb skills of Peter's talent are on full display here: the arrangement is impeccable, the instrumentation is spot-on for a prog-rock styled remix, and it sure sounds like most of it is recorded live playing. And it even adds extras: like the wonderful riffs on the guitars and on the electric organ, not to mention the superb counter-melody on the sax in the later parts. Wow, just WOW! Bravo, Peter! |
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W.A.R. - arranged by V. KaufmannReview by LaLa, 02/05/2020 Epic! The entire ~10 min of W. A. R. is covered here, which is respectable by itself - but this remix is also really, really good! Starts with a synth intro that did not impress me that much, but once the guitar kicked in at 2:30 it really got my attention. From that point on it just keeps rolling, occasionally with dissonant, but mostly with prog-rock sections, with electric guitars dominating the rest of the remix. I think this is as close to the prog-rock style I'm guessing Mr. Hubbard originally imagined for this track as we'll get. Bravo! |
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Ghosts 'n Goblins - arranged by ColmarrReview by LaLa, 20/04/2020 The usual unusual from Colmarr. Like with his other remixes, yet again I'm not sure where to place this remix. It has a definite lo-fi feel to it, sort of reminding me of the music of 70s era American TV shows. But it's not that obvious, so who knows? … I am not even sure the lo-fi mix was intentional? … But definitely gets plus points from me for trying something different. |
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Ghosts'n Goblins (Oxy remix) - arranged by BaRReview by LaLa, 03/03/2020 As a Jarre fan, I'll try to restrain myself and not nitpick my way through this. 😊 The sounds and the atmosphere are about as close toOxygeneas you can get. This is a really good in-the-style-ofremix. I am a bit annoyed by the repeated noisy downersin the left and right channels (ie. the ones starting @ 1:36), but other than that it's hard to find a fault in it. You've weaved the theme of Ghosts'n Goblins into this tapestry of sounds in a very elegant way. Very nicely done! |
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Barry McGuigan World Championship Boxing - arranged by Dr FutureReview by LaLa, 06/02/2020 Plus points for:- choosing a relatively little-known tune - game-appropriate crowd and announcement samples - the choice of style - good mixing - cleverly stretching the 43 second SID tune to almost 3 minutes |
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Traz (Rapture Remix) - arranged by Fabian del PrioreReview by LaLa, 31/01/2020 What's really cool about this remix is that even though the arrangement hasn't been changed much from the original SID, the instruments are switched in and out so frequently, it never gets boring. The sheer number of instruments featured in this remix makes my head spin! It's a great synth-oriented remake. |
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Tusker (Guinness Book Of Long Intros Remix) - arranged by WobblerReview by LaLa, 28/01/2020 If I ignore that long flute tutorial intro and the annoying metronome sound, it's a very nice remix. I mean, she has a nice voice, but it just doesn't belong here. I'm guessing you were high on something when you added that intro. 😉 Other than that, I like the atmosphere of the song, it has a soothing quality to it. |
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Last Ninja 2 - Central Park - arranged by LukHashReview by LaLa, 10/01/2020 This is a good remix, but I think you've set the bar higher for yourself with your previous remixes. In short, I think you can do better.I am especially bothered by two things here: the arpeggios (yeah, I know they're in the original, too, but somehow they stick out like a sore thumb to me), and the strong, pumping sidechaining on the bass frequencies. |
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The Human Race - arranged by MRTReview by LaLa, 21/12/2019 You can hear it in the first bars already that this is going to be special. Has that unique scene-vibe to it that is hard to explain. Love it. |
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Dominator (Welcome to Korriban mix) - arranged by Socky TheRealReview by LaLa, 23/11/2019 First of all: welcome! It's always good to hear material here from new folks! Having said that, this remix needs more love. The drums have a weird phaser/eq effect on them that makes them sound like they're in a metal shed. The arrangement overall has a good direction, and the instrumentation is quite unique. But somehow none of these seem to gel together into an good quality piece. |
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Space Control Remixperience (Live Theremin Mix) - arranged by MartinlandReview by LaLa, 23/11/2019 First off: I'm in awe of your Theremin skills! From what I know, it's a very hard instrument to master as there are zero reference points for the chromatic scale on it - because it's all in the air, literally. So, I bow my head to you for the Theremin parts of this remix.But the rest of the remix sounds rushed and unimaginative - it's essentially the original SID tune sampled and looped. If you replaced that with just a simple chord progression and nothing else, I think that would've accentuated the Theremin track, too. TL;DR: Theremin = awesome. Looped SID sample as a bed = meh. |
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Dynamic Range (Perhaps Not In Range After All) - arranged by WobblerReview by LaLa, 09/11/2019 Wow, the number of times I must've heard this tune in demos and crakctros! … I can't believe it hasn't been remixed before. You're right, Wobbler: I think there's more potential in this tune. Your remix is pretty good by itself, though, and cheers for keeping the whistle intact towards the end. |
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LN2 - The Mansion ACE II (Stealth intAIRsection) - arranged by SIDNIFYReview by LaLa, 04/11/2019 Unfortunately, I can only go as high as a red smilie with my vote, otherwise I would go higher. Let's see: serene intro complete with gentle piano? Check. Skull-shattering electric guitar? Check. SID arpeggios? Check. Ace 2, one of Hubbard's best tunes? Check. Tune from LN2, one of Matt Gray's best ones? Check. Impeccable arrangement and mix? Check. Me voting red on this remix? Check, check, CHECK! Well-deserved winner of the first ever BIT Live remix compo! PS: If you vote anything less than red smilie on this one, please, explain yourself in a shout… |
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Chronicles - arranged by Jogeir LiljedahlReview by LaLa, 03/11/2019 I normally don't comment on remixes where I'm not familiar with the original SID, but I just had to make an exception for this one. Whenever I listen to this remix (and I've done that several times already), I have an overwhelming sense of nostalgia: I can't help but think of this as an Amiga MOD - times a thousand! This arrangement oozes If you are not familiar with it, I also urge you to go and listen to the Dane's original SID, because that's pretty good, too. |
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Lightforce - arranged by SlaygonReview by LaLa, 03/11/2019 When I heard the intro of this song at BIT live, I was like But you know what: this is really great arrangement! It has just enough edginess to it to make it unique (even though it's not fully |
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Bangkok Knights - arranged by Eivind SommerstenReview by LaLa, 03/11/2019 The instrumentation sounds really good, but somehow this arrangement feels too soft for the original material. I like the venue-appropriate (BIT Live) vocal shouts, too. This shows a lot of promise, so I hope to hear more from you! |
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Lightforce (ft Lea) - arranged by MordiReview by LaLa, 03/11/2019 Lightforce Mordified! Lea's delicate voice is what really does it for me in this one. A lovely arrangement that captured my attention on the first listen at BIT Live. |
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Monty on the Run - High Score - arranged by JB XplodingfistReview by LaLa, 18/10/2019 The good: you got all the notes correct and the instrumentation is pretty decent. The bad: everything sounds flat, there are no emotions involved whatsoever, I don't hear many effects, either, which would make it sound a bit more interesting. Getting the melody, the accompaniment, and the drums down should be only step 1 in your remix, and it seems you decided to stop at that point and release it. You should've spent additional time adding more details (e. g. variations) to your remix. |
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Defender of the crown (The Elf's Story) - arranged by Peter ClarkeReview by LaLa, 04/10/2019 Two years later and still top-notch… Full disclosure: I was fortunate enough to have listened to various work-in-progress versions of this track thanks to Pete, and he was gracious enough to even incorporate some of my suggestions into his remix. Which is why I held back on reviewing this track until now. But I think now that nearly two years have passed since, I can do it in good conscience. Although to be honest, there's not much to say about this other than this is how orchestral remixes should be done. And what's really brilliant about this remix is that it incorporates all the major themes (subtunes) of the original SID in one single coherent piece. The various game tunes are weaved together seamlessly, and the resulting epic brings the listener on a grand journey, following the classic story arc of opening-crisis-climax-resolution. The 9+ minutes of this piece just flies by, which is always a good sign. This to me is the definitive Defender of the Crown remix, and I'm sure Richard Joseph would've approved of it, too. I can't think of a better way to honor his legacy than with this remix. |
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Turbo Outrun - Intro [s2] (dnb mix) - arranged by LPChipReview by LaLa, 01/10/2019 I like the idea of this remix more than the remix itself.Cutting up and rearranging the original SID, plus adding a few more instruments to it to enhance it - great idea! But I guess I expected more to come out of this. Repeating the intro bars ad infinitum makes this tiring to listen to. It gets more interesting in the middle, but that's more thanks to Jeroen's genius than anything else. I think, LPChip, you fell in love with your own idea a bit too much, and forgot to give it more polish. |
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Last Ninja 2 - The Streets (Powerloaded) - arranged by Black BozzeReview by LaLa, 21/09/2019 The intro sounds promising, but then it fades into a SID mashup - bit of a letdown. It sounds good, but only because the original SID embedded into this track also sounds pretty good to begin with. I think some more thought given to the arrangement would've helped here. |
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The Great Giana Sisters (Piano Live) - arranged by LightSideReview by LaLa, 17/09/2019 A thoughtful arrangement, very nicely played with appropriate feeling to it. I wish it was a little longer. |
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Firelord - Symphonic (a nod to Glyn) - arranged by Peter ClarkeReview by LaLa, 31/08/2019 Whoo, boy, this is a tough one!On one hand, the technical achievements of this remix (… of a remix 😊 ) are undeniable. The instrumentation is as good as one can get without hiring a real orchestra in Prague (right, Chris? 😊 ). To me the absolute highlight of this arrangement are the new vocals/choirs that appear at 2:02 and towards the end - I wish they were featured more in this remix. On the other hand, this is justa refresh of a previously created arrangement, and thus, feels a bit redundant. Other than the different vocals, it doesn't add much to Glyn's 17 year old arrangement. One of the reasons I really like Glyn's 2019 arrangement is because it is NOT a rehash - he actually changed the arrangement in significant ways (IMHO, to its advantage), in addition to giving it an instrumental update. Don't get me wrong, Peter, the amount of work you put into this is phenomenal, and it really shows (thus my high marks). I know from myself how much one can learn by trying to deconstruct and then reconstruct somebody else's arrangement. But to be brutally honest, your remix is something I might not listen to much ever again, but I tend to listen to Glyn's on a regular basis, and I'm sure I will continue to do so until my ears turn blue. 😊 |
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Challenge of the Gobots (Tribute to Ben) - arranged by Jogeir LiljedahlReview by LaLa, 23/08/2019 Wonderful! I really like the solemn slowed-down tempo here. The soft vocal is a nice touch. I was afraid this remix would go into the uptempo part of Gobots, too, but Jogeir was clever enough to omit that. Still, I wish this remix was longer… |
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Tai-Pan (an ear movie) - arranged by Peter ClarkeReview by LaLa, 20/08/2019 Epic! Great use of the oriental sonic palette throughout, tastefully mixed with the synthy instruments. And big plus points for including subtune #2 in this remix which is my most favorite Tai-Pan track of all. What a trip! I can't get enough of it! 😊 Thanks for sharing it with us! |
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Volleyball Simulator - arranged by Joe [Stainless Steel] BarwickReview by LaLa, 20/08/2019 What I like in this one is that it's trying to preserve the brutish, harsh sonic world of the original. I think it mostly succeeds, with the exception of the plinky leads, which sound out of place here. |
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Rambo highscore - arranged by OJ OscillationReview by LaLa, 20/08/2019 This is really, umm, weird, it's strange, it's totally out there - and that's what I like about it. It's like OJ Oscillation took the original SID, created a remix out of it, then he saidaw, f--k it!, and then twisted and mangled the hell out of that remix - arriving at what you can listen to here. Very unusual, but quite enjoyable. |
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Gordian Tomb (Extended PowerPunch Edit) - arranged by Zee EnergizerReview by LaLa, 20/08/2019 I find it impossible not to move my feet when listening to this great collaboration! Technically perfect, I really enjoy it! |
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