Reviews by rafael |
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The Desert Dream (Part One) - arranged by FeekZoidReview by rafael, 25/04/2004 Ah… the Desert Dream. Days gone by and all that. Actually, to start off - what really makes this remix for me is the intro with Cinemaware's It came from the Desert intro speech integrated - direclty from the classic three disk Amiga game. What a brilliant idea. The speech sample set the atmosphere perfectly and blends nostalgia of the game with Kefrens' amazing Amiga demo, which in fact appeared some years later but rounds up the idea of this remix nicely. Laxity wasn't really (in my view) one of the best Amiga musicians, also being coder if I remember correctly, though he did create this little masterpiece. A catchy melody, some excellent samples and an impressive standard-setting demo to go with it. But I'm off the topic now, Freekzoid's remix is really excellent too: The eerie intro, some clear and crips sounds, good porting of the original to a more modern synth sound and great mastering. The tune itself gives little room for manouvering, so Freekzoid has gone for expanding on the basic idea of the tune, leaving it shrt and simple but amazingly to-the-point. Thumbs up! |
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Nicky Boom 2003 Clubbin It Mix - arranged by M.A.FReview by rafael, 09/04/2004 Nicky Boom was definitely not my favourite Amiga game - at a time when platform jump' n runs were an overkill on Commodore's machine of the 90ies, I used to prefer action and action adventure games, so needless to say the tune from this game did not stick in my head (hence the grey smiley for nostalgia…). A lot of games from the UK (and this one was if I'm not mistaken) used dancefloor sounds and sample-o-ramas like Renegade's Magic Pockets, Xenon 2 and Gods, which is where this take on the Nicky Boom tune takes over from. Some strangely detuned sounds kick off the track followed by a dance environment suitable for destroying your hi-fi's sub-woofer alright. There's some straightforward arrangements here, neat production - it just lacks the bangs & whistles however. I would have liked to hear some more up to date dance sounds… Nevertheless, the track does make me smile from about half way through, with the actual melody taking over and spreading its feel-good vibe. Michael, my suggestion would be to re-re-mix this track, remove the slow build up at the start and throw in some more moderns effects and bass. Check out the current batch of tracks from Paul Van Dyk or Blank & Jones to see what I mean. That would probably make the yellow smiley turn into an orange one - if done correctly. Nice work, nonetheless. |
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X-Out (Level up mix!) - arranged by Awesome-AReview by rafael, 22/03/2004 This track is strangely captivating. In general, X-out is a Huelsbeck classic and much ignored really - what a shame. The mighty intro tune is pretty well known but this little gem from the loading theme has its moments too. So at the core there's enough music in here to make for an interesting tune. Technically speaking it is, as said above, strangely surreal - I actually find the jungle-esque drums very fitting, getting the track off to a good roll. It somehow misses the spot by just a little bit, making you hope that it *really* kicks off with some fat beats and more bass, but then, instead, it calms down again and… ends? A typical case of more would have been… erm… more. |
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Red Sector Theme - arranged by CirdanReview by rafael, 20/12/2003 This remix of one of the best known and memorable Amiga demo sounds is just so neat. Back then, Red Sector was establishing themselves as the Amiga demo group. I recall with nostalgia watching the red Sector Megademos and looking forward to my own Amiga. One of the reasons I sold my 64! The instruments here are nicely selected and sound quality is good. Only gripe I'd have is the fact that it is - again - (and this is seemingly the case with most Amiga remixes so far) too straightforward. A few variations, some extra effects and a different arrangement to make it more YOUR work Cirdan, that would have been great. Still, a great track and one I'll gladly listen to over and over again. |
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The Wolfchild Rebirth Project - arranged by LomaxxReview by rafael, 19/12/2003 Wolfchild from Core Design was one of my favourite action games on the Amiga. It had nice console-like graphics and an intelligent level set-up with lots of hidden goodies. Looking back I think it didn't get the praise it deserved. Music wise, the tunes were catchy - this remix by Lomaxx is pretty faithful and seems to be quite precise. Maybe TOO precise, remix not being the right word. In fact, it sounds very much like something you'd expect from the same game, had it been written today with the same tools, but with more channels and effects. Ironically, that's where it scores: The nostalgic value, because it's so much like the original. So technically, there are no stuns here. The tune is faithfull, the sound quality is alright. It's just that the theme is not (musically) a stroke of genius - Lomaxx, you'd need to compensate that. A straight mix, nothing more, nothing less. |
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Hollywood Poker Pro - arranged by RaptureReview by rafael, 10/12/2003 Sigh. This is nice. Rapture (Fabian del Priore) has really captured the spirit of the original - it's also one of my favourite SIDs/Amiga sounds. The sound quality is good, there's some distinctive 80ies computer sounds in here and the conversion is faithful to the original arrangement.If I really had to pick out one thing I don't like, I'd say it's the lack of originality - but then again it's a matter of taste. In my view it's slightly better than Fabian's CD track on Remix64 Vol. 1. Ok, it doesn't have the 80ies approach that's true, but the strength of this remix is the faithfulness. Good work Fabian. |
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Apidya Subtune1 (Infected Edit) - arranged by DHS of TSWReview by rafael, 09/12/2003 Now THIS is *tough*. Tough in terms of what DHS has done with the tune. I really enjoyed Huelbeck's work on Apidya and arguably, his soundtrack CD to this game was on par with his Turrican work. DHS has effortlessly made this tune stand along with Huelsbeck's own studio renditions, following Chris' approach to the 4th level, techno-driven sound. I know DHS doesn't really approve, but it's still definitely Apidya sounding, just a lot more tougher than the Amiga 4 channel melody. The track is based on the first world music, has some really mean thumping bass and a production worth of release on today's commercial albums. Well done! |
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