OCRA-0025 - Sonic the Hedgehog: The Sound of Speed

[halc]

Preview it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plqgt38TuPY&
Download it: http://sos.ocremix.org
Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_-_The_Sound_of_Speed.torrent



Post your thoughts about the album here! Thanks to everyone for the patience and support, and most importantly, all the amazing musicians and artists that helped make this a reality!

[Liontamer]

Excitement!

[Rexy]

I wanted to say it in the project thread before it got locked, but if Sonic CD goes ahead, you'd have me to thank for by starting that conversation. :lol:

Anyway, I'm glad to see the album is unleashed; time to download and witness the finished product. :D

[KingTiger]

Finally! I'm sitting at the dentist's office while my wife gets a filling, waiting impatiently for my Droid to download the zip file!

[JH Sounds]

This is probably the most solidly constructed OCR album I've ever heard.

[Sindra]

Woo! First one in!

I'm not sure there's much to say that can convey my feelings, so I'll just quote Frank West:

FAAAN-TASTIC!

With this, my Sonic Remix Album collection is complete! Thank you to everyone who worked on this!

[JH Sounds]

Excellent work, all.

[SuperiorX]

Superb work! Every track is extremely high quality and I can tell there was a focus on detail throughout the album.

I have to agree with halc's review on the SOS website... DrumUltimA & Harmony's track is quite possibly one of the best remixes ever.

Awesome job all around!

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Oh my god, I just noticed. The tracks in the trailer are in the same order as the ending credits of the game.

That's brilliant.

[avaris]

Wicked cool :)

[Kadosho]

Just listening to the SOS album right now. And loving every track!
Given the dedication, the SOS team put towards this album.
I wonder if Sega may offer some special inclusion of these cover bgms in Sonic 20! =D

[Swifthom]

This is the album i've been waiting for since last summer... I'm 3 tracks in right now and what was a pretty crap day is suddenly feeling not so bad after all. I'm really looking forward to the rest :)

[WillRock]

Had this album for a long time, and I have to say that this is probably the most consistantly good album in terms of mood, style and enjoyability that ocr has ever produced. Congrats should to halc for making such a solid and engaging listening experience, and of course to all the mixers for the awesome music :D

[SubNormal J3]

I still need to review Josh's Mega Man album. OCR is on fire this year. Great work you guys.

[Amphibious]

Amazing stuff!

Subsonic Sparkle has an excellent groove! I'm really feeling it.

I really enjoyed Spring Junkie as well. Nice work halc.

Joshua Morse impresses as always with a nice smooth remix, Fifty Rings to Ride.

For some reason, Under Construction sounds like it could be one of Rouge's levels in Sonic Adventure 2. Anyone else getting that vibe? Its a good thing, I really like it.

Caos has some excellent strings paired with a smooth chill beat. Really liking that. Also that piano solo that uses all the melodies from the game pretty much, that's just awesome.

I'm a sucker for smooth jazzy grooves, but all the tracks are amazing of course. Kudos to all who helped make this awesome album.

[Brandon Strader]

Had this album for a long time, and I have to say that this is probably the most consistantly good album in terms of mood, style and enjoyability that ocr has ever produced. Congrats should to halc for making such a solid and engaging listening experience, and of course to all the mixers for the awesome music :D
What he said. I've also listened to this thing about 7 times by now but it never gets old. :-P

[Rexy]

Okay, I've reached "Under Construction" and I got to say really quickly that the reference to "Live at the Springyard" was totally unexpected and a pleasant surprise; instant highlight right there Harmony :D

[psychowolf]

Argh it was released when i was at work >.<
Just finished the album on the first listen,

...
...
Do you guys realise i love you?
...

But seriously this album kicks so much ass that we've run out of ass's to kick.

Personal highlights are Bubble junkie and under construction imo
these two tracks are amazing well done DrumUltimA, Harmony and benjamin briggs.
Not to say that the rest are bad.
No far from it, but those two tracks are the kinda style i enjoy it was refreshing to hear them.
When i heard part of "sound of speed"(green hill not the album...well kinda) in the trailer i fell in love with it

Each track shows dedication and hard work and for that as a listener i thank you guys for it.

So yeah gonna put this album on repeat for all eternity

And also rexy if that album ever happens thanks for the idea :3

[RockinJace]

I was a little sceptical when I heard of the Sonic Remix. But despite that, I am very pleased of this arrangement. I think I will put this on through my cars speakers whenever I'm on the highway! :)

Anyways, I know this is a little off-topic, what is the next Remix? Can someone re-direct me to the write post?

[Koriantor]

Dang, I almost can't keep up! Fantastic work! Downloading now...

[Daniel Rydell]

I'll be listening and Seeding in a moment, but from what I've heard from the trailer and the bits I've picked up? It sounds amazing.

[Gario]

Man, I was waiting for this album for a while - glad I was able to get it before my NM outing for a week. Let's see how it holds up (although who am I kidding, with the remixer lineup that's there it'll hold up just fine, I'm sure).

[Benjamin Briggs]

did you guys hear they did a sonic 1 remix project

they probably just totally changed the original songs and ruined it all :<

I want to thank everyone involved with this project for allowing me the honor of joining you on this release :D

[Klemon]

Congratulations halc et all for an amazing album, I have been waiting quite some time for this and it has not disappointed!

My highlights:

Shifiting Islands - I'm not usually a fan of the Marble Zone music, but this track has turned it into something awesome
Subsonic Sparkle - Like halc, I am also a fan of GaMeBoX's work on Project Chaos and I enjoy his style very much
Hogtied - I just love the way this mix also briefly visits the Robotnik theme from the Master System/GG version! (As well as the scrap brain theme from that edition - "That Freezing Feeling" from Project Chaos also makes use of it)
Clockwork Criminal - Scrap Brain is one of my favourite tunes from the game, and I'm glad this track has done it justice

[RDX]

Listening to the last track...

This was pretty amazing. Definitely one of my favorites, it's up there with chaos and threshold and lifestream and all those guys. I kind of wish Spring Junkie wasn't so liberal, but it's a good standalone track.

Though tracks like Shifting Islands, Bubble Junkie and the last track (Not to mention all the special stage tracks) were beyond awesome. Shifting Islands was probably my favorite, mostly because the synth just reminds me so much of G.E.R.U.D.O. which is prolly my favorite mix on the website.

All in all, this > Hedgehog Heaven :ooo

[Sindra]

Ok, so I actually sat down and had time to go through and listen to the entire album, and I have a question.

Why did we need at least 4 different songs that all featured the Special Zone music? After the first track that featured the theme, I encountered at least 3 others that all opened up the same way - with the same theme, only a different style of music. By the 4th time I heard it, I had to actually speed through half of it because I was sick of hearing that same song remixed for the 4th time on the same album. I just want to know why it was needed.

That was my biggest gripe. Although it annoys me that some people made it very hard to pick out the original source music in some of the songs, I understand that's just how their style is. But having an album with 13 tracks that has the same theme in 4 of them seems excessive.

Other than that, I really liked 'The Sound of Speed', "Clockwork Criminal" and "Final Progression". They really made the album for me. Sorry if I sound like I'm being to critical about everything else.

[DrumUltimA]

So happy to see it released! I had a great time working with Brandon on our track... hopefully we'll have the opportunity to do it again soon!

Looking forward to listening to the whole thing through myself :)

[halc]

Why did we need at least 4 different songs that all featured the Special Zone music? After the first track that featured the theme, I encountered at least 3 others that all opened up the same way - with the same theme, only a different style of music. By the 4th time I heard it, I had to actually speed through half of it because I was sick of hearing that same song remixed for the 4th time on the same album. I just want to know why it was needed.


it was a conceptual choice; unless you really suck, you usually encounter multiple special zones in a playthrough. ;) it was more or less the main motif or 'hook' of the album. sorry to hear you thought it was excessive, personally I think each artist did a great job of making their take unique while also blending in other sources and jingles, but to each his own. glad you enjoyed the album! :)

[GTAHater836]

This is indeed much better than Hedgehog Heaven... but I still like Project Chaos equally as much! RDX, I believe that if they do another Sonic 2 album, which I find highly unlikely because of demand for more games that have no representation by this community, it would be more consistent than Hedgehog Heaven. Most of Heaven was worked on in 2003 to 2004, if I'm not mistaken.

Though I like Under Construction the least of anyone here, this is another album that gets my seal of approval. I can't decide which of these is my favorite: Clockwork Criminal, Hogtied, and Final Progression.

[luhny]

I think this is the role-model of the "3 Strikes Awesomeness" ... uh.. like

1. awesome source material
2. great single remixes
3. arranged in a mood and style that feels like... uh.. an album?! YES! an album!

Listening to the whole album on repeat is not a challenge for me at all. For that major props for halc and everyone who worked on the project.

[Deep Thought]

Damn college campuses and their lack of torrenting...

From what was released on the site, I am very happy with the way things are sounding. The chiptune turn that OCR has taken has yet to disappoint.

On a side note, I'm rather sad that this album is so good, since Project Chaos was supposed to be my favorite, and yet this one's giving it a run for its money. I'm torn between two loves, the game that I grew up on, or its granddaddy.

Defininitely making this the first thing I download once I get home.

[LuckyXIII]

LOVE. THIS. ALBUM.

My favorite, by far, with possible exception being "Relics of the Chozo."

[hookedononyx]

Great job, guys. The title track and Bubble Junkie are probably my faves, but the album as a whole is great.

[halc]

thanks for the great feedback, everyone! :D

[Jono]

Very strong album all-around, but I'm loving "Bubble Junkie" and "Final Progression." Also dig "Hogtied" very much--I'm not usually a big fan of the rocked-out remixes, but I think in this one case it worked very, very, very well.

[TheKrow]

Finished listening to everything today. Totally sick album. Everything was fantastic; I especially liked "Under Construction", the scatting was a nice surprise.

[KingTiger]

This is definitely my favorite album. I especially like the distorted, crazy synth/beat work on "Bubble Junkie."

[south pacific islander]

Good beats as usual. I am going to have a blast playing these on Audio Surf.

[Jewbei]

i really had fun on this abum it forced me to tap into some abilites i thought i didnt even had lol

[Didaji]

Nice one ! :)

[kingzarn]

Wow whoever made this is really really good. On Track number 2 is that real drums and guitar I hear? it sounds really good. The quality of all this is amazing compared to other remixes I've heard, this was so good.

I'm not even an active member of this website but I was so moved that I've now decided to look for other remixes and become and active member and definitely post how much i like this remix

[Flexstyle]

This album has one of the highest average standards of quality across each song that I've ever heard on an OCR album. Granted, the sample size (under twenty songs as opposed to over fifty) is a lot smaller than some albums I've heard, too, but kudos to all involved--it's an album to be proud of!

[PROTO·DOME]

Awesome album halc, bloody good job.

Seriously, one of the most cohesive too (for so many different remixers).

291503428659403864 out of 10.

[BorgMan]

Pfew guys, it took you long enough!

It's a good album, though I must admit that the whole it feels... slow. This is not the speed of sound that I was hoping for, as it lacks a certain dynamic. The Sound of Speed starts it out well enough, but come Shifting Islands it goes in a lower gear that lasts until Hogtied. IMHO, there's only a few tracks that really manage to stand out from the rest, and overall the end result feels... I dunno, bland? It's pretty obvious, judging from the quality of the tracks, that a lot of thought has been put into this album and it most certainly is a great birthday present for our favorite hedgehog, but I'm not sure if this album is up there with masterpieces like Relics of the Chozo and The Dark Side of Phobos. If I had to put it in somewhere, it would be around Delta-Q-Delta and Sonata of the Damned.

Funny, it took us so much years to finally get a Master System Scrap Brain remix on this site, while it is hands down one of the coolest tracks on the original Sonic's OST. I agree with halc that the Genesis version, on the other hand, is really the worst song in Sonic 1, but WillRock has made a great remix out of it. I have never heard a track being remixed in such a way that it actually made me enjoy it while I hated the source. For that I applaud you ^_^

[Rexy]

Funny, it took us so much years to finally get a Master System Scrap Brain remix on this site
Apparently, for the record, Hetcenus beated both Brandon and myself to the punch via his Ice Cap arrangement for Project Chaos. :<

I do understand what you're saying about the pacing of the album, and admittedly I've noticed it to be one of the criticisms that I've noted around the web. But it would probably make more sense if you ended up comparing the pacing of the original songs to the mixes here. It surprises me that you thought there was a lower gear brought in at "Shifting Islands" that remained up to "Hogtied", when I on the other hand thought the first half of "Spring Junkie" pushed the momentum up considerably.

So yeah, a slight clarification there in regards to the pacing, and one that I think may need a little more explanation on halc's part if need be :)

[veeboy]

I'm still downloading the album, but my first impression is that the cover looks amazing :shock: I bet the album is awesome too.

[Brandon Strader]

Don't judge an album by its cover~!! But yeah, it's incredible. :-P

[BorgMan]

Oh my, that sneaky Hetcenus! 8-O

I know that the pacing of the originals is a bit slow, but I would still have liked the album to pick up speed the further we got in the album. And I have to agree that using the Special Stage tune so much is kind of a let down, easily "corrupting" the rest of the album by returning so many times :(

[MTPrower]

I might be the only one to say this on OCRemix, but I will never lie.

I am quite pleased with the quality and the work put into the mixes. But these are remixes I just won't be listening to again. They don't have the right feel. Then again, even SEGA can't get the right feel in their Sonic music anymore. I mean, I know this is OCRemix and you guys tend to shun remasters or things that sound close to the original-- but for the most part, the original Sonic songs were the way to go.

I like a lot of remixes hosted on this site, but a lot of the time I listen to remixes and I say "Whatever happened to keeping in the remix what made the original great?" So I guess I'll always be a sucker for remasters. Sometimes I believe that people who listen to music the most understand it the least-- and people who seem to hate the most music are actually the ones who appreciate it the most. The people who make remixes are often-- but not always-- people of less than great taste. They're just people who appreciate the song they're remixing. That's why there are a hundred times as many bad remixes as good ones. You don't have to have good taste to remix.

There's a quirk about OCRemix-- they say they are all about preserving the greatness of video game music. However, they shun remasters, which is backwards. A remaster is a preservation of the greatness of a song. A remix often does not do that. If I owned OCRemix, I would accept remasters, and prefer them over remixes. Does that mean the remakes I like are unoriginal? Not necessarily. It all depends on the context. Remastering a 16-bit song has preference over remixing it any day in my book.

Regardless, these songs are going to please a lot of people, and I'm all for that. But I guess I'll always be a sucker for remasters, and I'll just move on and keep looking for what I consider to be true preservation of my favorite classic video game songs. Good job, guys. Great quality and very hard work. Just not what I personally am looking for...

[Rexy]

While I understand your feedback in regards to this, and the detail of the post for that matter, your post however can be seen as a huge insult to everyone that came together and worked on it. Let me address some of your points.

You say the tracks don't have the "right feel". Well, if you look back at the history of the project thread, it was one of the fastest to have all of its slots filled up, so those that applied for it seemed very serious to touch deep into it because they got the source tunes they so desired to do. True, I was one who somehow ended up with the source tune practically no one else wanted in comparison, but if we weren't finding any form of idea with the source tune at all then we could've just offered someone else to give it a go. Everyone had their way to interpret the songs they remixed, and for the most part they managed to come out just fine.

Your second point just plain baffles me:

Sometimes I believe that people who listen to music the most understand it the least-- and people who seem to hate the most music are actually the ones who appreciate it the most.

Not true. All it tells me is that "haters are gonna hate" and that's nothing that can be done to change that. Most of the people on the project had taken music classes in some form or other and have understood the structures of the originals a lot more with this knowledge. So if you think we don't understand the music, then you've got another thing coming.

And then, there was the blood-boiling third point:

The people who make remixes are often-- but not always-- people of less than great taste. They're just people who appreciate the song they're remixing. That's why there are a hundred times as many bad remixes as good ones. You don't have to have good taste to remix.

Taste is objective. The remixers on the project have come from many different backdrops in terms of taste and appreciation, and - I'm going to have to be blunt - the group believes that they have better taste than you. All I've seen of you around the forums, in the 3 posts that are floating around, is that your preference lies purely on MIDI-ripping, which has very little skill at all and - when looking for remixes on Youtube at least - would consist of 90% of re-interpreted videogame music out there. That to me tells me that you just "like the songs", in the same way you see the remixers as just "liking the songs".

On the other hand, remixes on the site are seen as more interpretive depending on the artist's vision. Not only do they appreciate the song but they ended up developing ideas to make something quite incredible out of it. You don't have to necessarily "like" the remixes, but for the most part they would give a very unique twist to the original that may somehow give the attraction towards the song, and in some cases it may even grow on you thanks to that unique hook. And that's what makes remixes great as opposed to remasters; if you want "preservation" of videogame music, then OCRemix is probably not for you.

Please forgive me if I sounded somewhat harsh in this post, but I had to come out and say it :\

[GTAHater836]

I've heard at least 40 people allege that I could've competed on American Idol. But skill at singing isn't enough. I envy those who have the creativity, technical know-how, and of course, time management skills to create remixes like these. Many people have tried, few have gotten recognition at O-Clocked. Often times, I pre-conceive of how a song should be ReMixed, only for those ideas to be surpassed when someone actually does it. These remixers know their stuff. I have some appreciation of ongaku, but it's not enough; such is why I could never be an esteemed ReMixer. A good balance of conservative and liberal has kept O-Clocked going because it honors the music of the most misunderstood medium while providing creative takes so it doesn't sound too much the same.

End confession.

[José the Bronx Rican]

"Slow pace" is usually code for "unwanted genres". Call it 'MVC2 Syndrome'. I'm fairly certain this conclusion was reached after "Under Construction" started, because it came after the ONLY song that can actually be considered "slow", 'Fifty Rings to Ride.' None of the other tracks clock in at under a tempo of 100. When you have two consecutive tracks belonging to the 'not that jazzy crap again!' genre, you'll get 'slow' comments from those expecting nothing but grilled face sandwiches, especially after "Project Chaos". I'm exaggerating, of course. This crit might've been avoided for the most part with a slightly altered track order; who knows? The original soundtrack isn't exactly Guilty Gear meets Streets of Rage; it's upbeat, bouncy, and melodic. Sure sounds like what we've achieved here.

[Rexy]

Yes, the pacing of "Fifty Rings" and "Under Construction" does indeed make things difficult, especially since I don't think the project thread openly stated Joshua Morse's involvement until closer to release day (hence my confusion over a third Special Stage track when looking over the track list with no artists tagged).

The biggest problem is, how could the track order be modified? Swapping "Fifty Rings" with "Subsonic Sparkle" may somehow witness similar pacing issues albeit early on with "Shifting Islands" preceding it (though to be fair it's not considered jazzy :razz: ), while swapping it with "Caos" would somehow break the momentum between "Hogtied" and "Clockwork Criminal".
I would probably go for the former alternative, but either way, I'm sure halc has a reasoning for what happened :)

[Benjamin Briggs]

The people who make remixes are often people of less than great taste.if you're going to be a pretentious dickbag please do not insult me by trying to hide it

see generally when I write a "review" of something I tend to leave out the inflammatory fanboy bullshit

on-topic, all I'm going to say is this: every single second of music on The Sound of Speed is BASED ON and INSPIRED BY the Sonic the Hedgehog OST, and an unholy fuckton of people have already downloaded and listened to it. this seems like a pretty damn good method of "preserving the greatness of video game music" if you ask me

[DrumUltimA]

Why do people bitch about free music? You don't even have to pay for it. Do you want your time back or something? If you're bitching about free music, chances are there's not much I can do about that...

[BorgMan]

Why do people bitch about free music? You don't even have to pay for it. Do you want your time back or something? If you're bitching about free music, chances are there's not much I can do about that...
If you can't handle the critics, then don't make music. But just because it's free doesn't mean I don't have to say something about it. Free =/= good! If everybody just screams HALLELUJA because it's free, nobody would ever try to be better than the other and that would make for a lousy remix community...

Thanx for your explenation Rexy! And José, it's not exactly as you are saying. I experience Subsonic Sparkle as being "slow". And I'm saying that while listening to it isolated without listening to the other tracks. Jumping to Spring Junkie, I can adress that matter more clearly: this is music you'd hear in the background of a lounge bar. That's the reason why I'm addressing it as slow, not because I don't like the style of music. I'm a great jazz fan! My main gripe with a lot of the tracks is that they feel out of place with the "Sound of Speed" title, which created an expectation which isn't being fullfiled.

I can't stress enough, though, that I find it an enjoyable album and that I am very happy that all these people came together to make something cool. I am just saying this kinds of things so that people can learn from it and make an even better album in the future; making music is one thing, marketing it is another and is, as you've all probably noticed by now, a pretty big integral part of how people react to something. For example, calling it "Sonic Live: a musical journey through Möbius" brings up different feelings compared to "The Sound of Speed". A complete Green Mile filled with animals playing various instruments and as DJ's (with Sonic the Director, ofcourse ;)) brings up a different idea as opposed to a fast-moving Sonic; that cover would make for an awesome wallpaper, by the way! It's just my two cents, though :)

[Rexy]

"If you can't handle the critics..."?
The poster that came after you flat out insulted the project's remixers by saying their music tastes are weak. There's a difference between receiving criticism and being painfully ridiculed for who you are.

In regards to feelings behind the name, again that's something that might need the attention of the project manager. I guess now you know why some of us may put up naming some of our creations until the last minute :razz:

[halc]

I don't really care if the fact that the word 'speed' is in the title doesn't cross-reference with the songs being upbeat, and it was never my intention to make it that way. I chose the name because I thought it was witty, and that's about it. :)

[SubNormal J3]

I've finally had time to listen to the album, and after only two listens, I can definitely say it is one of the most intelligent OCR albums to date. Lots of well-executed interpretations and performances. Nostalgic, but not cliche. Excellent work you guys.

[DrumUltimA]

Yeah, I'm all about criticism... if I wasn't, I would've quit years ago. There's certainly a difference between criticism and outright bitching. My comment wasn't direct at anyone in particular-I've looked at reviews on other websites too.

My favorite is when people say somebody "ruined" one of their favorite tracks--as if the artist went out of their way to make sure they had a bad experience. I like to imagine the remixer sneaking into that person's house in the middle of the night, hacking into their sega, and messing up the music in the actual game so that they'll never be able to hear it the same again.

[Palpable]

Personally I try to desecrate the source as much as possible in my remixes, so that the original can never be heard the same way by the listener again.

[Level 99]

Personally I try to desecrate the source as much as possible in my remixes, so that the original can never be heard the same way by the listener again.

Have my babies. You obviously know what OC ReMix is about.

[José the Bronx Rican]

What noise do amphetamines make?
I understand disappointment when something doesn't sound like what you expect, but not off a title. We've been learning that lesson for over a century. The Art of Noise's 'Chameleon's Dish' beckons.

'Background of a lounge bar' still does not address the 'pace' of a song, only a generalized impression of its 'style', which, by the way, was not my impression in the slightest. I know it's not the first time it's been done, but 'slow' was always a ridiculous way to describe jazzy/lounge/smooth/whatever music. It can go as fast and as crazy as 'Jonny Quest' big band. I only recall the word being used when the style is not what the listener wanted or expected.

[DjMystix]

Personally I try to desecrate the source as much as possible in my remixes, so that the original can never be heard the same way by the listener again.

This applies to the track "02 - Shifting Islands" which leads me to these questions:

1. On what criteria did you choose those 5 tracks that were posted on OCR frontpage?
2. Why wasn't "Shifting Islands" one of those 5 tracks?

don't get me wrong, all those tracks were awesome but I just absolutely loved this one. If I ever remix a track from Sonic 1, I'll remix this mix.

EDIT:
Just listened to it a millionth time. God I love it!!!

[Brandon Strader]

The end of "A Hog in His Prime" tempo goes up to like 250 during the drowning sequence, so I WIN! I feel bad for you guys wit slow songs. ;-) You got everybody mad... look at that... :-(

[Rexy]

The end of "A Hog in His Prime" tempo goes up to like 250 during the drowning sequence, so I WIN!

Yes, but at the same time, you also lost because the Spring Yard section was at 65. Don't get too cocky. :razz:

[halc]

This applies to the track "02 - Shifting Islands" which leads me to these questions:

1. On what criteria did you choose those 5 tracks that were posted on OCR frontpage?
2. Why wasn't "Shifting Islands" one of those 5 tracks?

don't get me wrong, all those tracks were awesome but I just absolutely loved this one. If I ever remix a track from Sonic 1, I'll remix this mix.

you should do that. it would be slick. :nicework:

to answer your questions, I just kinda went with what felt best to me, while still demonstrating a variety of different styles the album has to offer.. It's extremely hard to choose just 5 tracks when to me, all of them are amazing, though I'd be lying if I said that Bubble Junkie, Under Construction and Subsonic Sparkle weren't three of my personal favorites.. :P

glad you enjoyed the track, it will show up on the frontpage eventually.. as will several others I hope. :D

[Equinox]

I'm extremely disappointed with this soundtrack.

[Studio Eden]

-sighs with contentment-

I've listened to this album for the 3rd time today and while I know that you know my long and wordy review is sure to come, I just wanted to express my appreciation of, once again, allowing me to bask in memories from the past once more. My wish for the Sonic OC Remix Trilogy to become reality has finally come true.

-fangirls lazily while listening to "Shifting Islands"-

[Swifthom]

I've spent a few weeks wondering if I would do this or not but i've finally taken the plunge:

http://imburningout.blogspot.com/2011/04/sound-of-speed-album-by-overclocked.html

The first Sonic the Hedgehog is the last to be formally tackled by OCRemix, and it’s the tightest of the three albums so far weighing in at a paltry thirteen tracks. Led by one of the rising masters of chiptunes style remixing, halc, this album may take some people by surprise with its very interpretative approach to the source material but it certainly ticks many of the required boxes that launch it to stellar status. However this albums central hook, dividing into three separate acts and using the Special Theme as an omnipresent chorus, may prove to be divisive.




Act 1

‘A, B, C, Start!’ may be a little bit of a non track, that barely qualifies as a full remix being only a quick reimagining of the title’s introductory music, inspired probably by a similar remix on the ‘Project Chaos’ album. Both scene setting and nostalgic, but ultimately unnecessary.

The real meat comes soon enough with the titular ‘The Sound of Speed’ by OA and Scaredism, an excellent take on the all too familiar Green Hill music. Sections of this song were trailed long in advance of the albums release and when I heard the guitar leads then I was a little concerned because what I heard followed the original fairly closely. Of course for advertisement purposes I suppose it makes sense, entice people in with something recognisable that they know... However when the song hit for real I was blown away. This truly could be the definite take on this song, which I'm amazed to be saying in 2011 after it's already seen so many different iterations already. At first the guitar (at first) follows the melody fairly closely whilst some great things are going on in the background.

For the first half of ‘Shifting Islands’ by halc, Insixfour and Protodome follows the source of Marble Garden almost to the letter, although thrusting as much mellow jazzy sauce in there as possible. Things wander a little in the middle with some cool synthesisers but by and large this is a fairly faithful retread of some admittedly excellent source material.

‘Subsonic Sparkle’ is the welcome return of GaMeBoX, adding some welcome continuity between this album and its predecessors. A little sparse and interperative those who dug the artists previous instalments will be more than happy; this is a bright and funky song that’ll bring a smile to your face, even if it does abandon any attempt of a coherent melody in favour of an excellent soundscape.


Act 2

‘Spring Junkie’ comes from album director halc, and I know that it’s come into criticism from some sources for nearly abandoning the original song. In fact that’s not true, Spring Yard is here in abundance, but halc takes his own sweet time getting to it as he slowly layers up his soundscapes. One of the most impressive parts is the intelligent use of sound effects throughout. Admittedly I thought it was a difficult one to love at first but by half way though I was tapping along with a massive smile on my face. And I'm sure it'll grow on me more with further listens.

‘Bubble Junkie’ comes from another master of the chiptunes style ‘Benjamin Briggs’ who also contributed to Project Chaos’s impressive roster. It’s a very classy version of the original with a leading ‘wahh’ guitar that just screams out at you. The backing soundtrack is sweet, with vibrant underwater sounds and some sound effect sampling reminiscent of the previous track. This is definitely one of the poster childs of the album.

‘Fifty Rings to Ride’ returns us to the ambient Special Stage music with Joshua Morse adopting a very different approach to GaMeBoX. Piano heavy this rhythm and blues version feels light and sexy, albeit a little repetitive, more from the fact we’ve already heard the source before than that the song itself outstays its welcome, although when the vocals started I was taken completely by surprise.


Act 3

‘Under Construction’ just edges out the preceding track for slowest on the album, being an interesting and unexpected take on the Starlight Zone. DrumUltimA and Harmony present a very relaxed, emotive jam that nearly runs its course for two and a half minutes, when suddenly the artists repeat a trick Harmony previous pulled on a prevous ‘Spring Yard’ remix. This blatant self referencing may potentially be in slightly poor taste however despite the vocals-vibraphone duel coming a little left field I thoroughly enjoyed it, however coming it at five and a half minutes this is the second longest piece on the album which may be to its detriment.

Fortunately just as the album was getting a little slow Brandon Strader and Rexy (another stalwart of Project Chaos) present ‘Hogtied’, a light heavy metal take on the many Sonic 1 Robotnik themes, both from the mega drive and interestingly the game gear/master system version as well. The guitar wails are a little high pitched but for anyone expecting a rock mix in the spirit of ‘Project Chaos’ this is as close as the album will get to delivering.

‘Caos’ by José the Bronx Rican the third and final take on the Special Zone music, and unfortunately due to repetition the song has become reduced to little more than lounge music. It’s saved by some amazing cameos that pop up intermittently throughout the tune, and whilst I don’t doubt the technical feat this mix represents it feels relaxed and completely believable throughout.

‘Clockwork Criminal’ by WillRock takes the underloved source music of the Scrap Brain Zone and spices it up with energetic use of sound effects to compliment the drums. It’s a nostalgic arrangement that highlights the simple but tension arousing main melody whilst building some wicked solos around it.

‘Final Progression’ by ‘Jewbie’ is a great attempt to drive the final boss’s theme into the realms of trance. It retains the menace of the source tune whilst taking the beat into entirely different places. It’s a little sparse for a climactic ending but fits with the rest of the album perfectly.

The final track of this collaborative effort is a collaboration between Brandon Strader (who apparently suggested using the Special Stage as a chorus), halc and some drums and synths from WillRock. It itself is an excellent track but by constant repetition I was growing tired of the special stage music, which has permeated not just this track but the entire collection. ‘A Hog in His Prime’ is a slow building ditty, gently walking you through slightly different takes of each of the previous songs, and some of the small excerpts are so good you wish you could hear them expanded on to become full arrangements of their own, which speaks highly of the time and effort invested in the whole production. It ends on the slightly shocking note of the ever fearful drowning music rather than a crowd-appleasing crescendo, however for a piece that wants to be noticed that’s probably no bad thing.





All in all the ‘Speed of Sound’ is a very tight album, although with so few songs to play with many of the pieces will leave you wanting more. Many of the tracks are not approached how you would expect them to be, and may listeners will be annoyed that a better opportunity wasn’t taken for their favourite songs.

However that’s the interesting thing about this album. Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most covered series in video game remixing, all of these songs have been covered before hundreds of times, the crowd appeasing ‘obvious’ routes have all been done before. So technically this albums greatest achievement is that it actually managed to be entirely original, whilst still retaining clearly the source that its derived from and delivering a consistently high level of quality throughout.


So what if your Spring Yard here isn’t the rock epic you wanted it to be? That song has already been made a hundred times. This probably isn't your dream album, but it is wild and ethereal enough to have floated out of one of your more pleasant nights sleep.

[chaos_deception]

Very Nice Remixes Here Guys, to some of the Greatest Gaming music Ever Composed ( Sonic 1 )

I must say that when I listened to Shifting Islands, '' Marble Zone'' with my headphones it made me cry.

Is this normal or am I just Weired?

[halc]

Very Nice Remixes Here Guys, to some of the Greatest Gaming music Ever Composed ( Sonic 1 )

I must say that when I listened to Shifting Islands, '' Marble Zone'' with my headphones it made me cry.

Is this normal or am I just Weired?

nah, you just have excellent taste in music. :nicework:

[Belisarios]

Great job! My friend enamored in Soniс was delighted) I thank for an album

(Sorry For My English. I'm Russian)

[DjMystix]

nah, you just have excellent taste in music. :nicework:

see? "Shifting Islands" needs frontpage treatment! :)

[Benjamin Briggs]

Great job! My friend enamored in Soniс was delighted) I thank for an album

(Sorry For My English. I'm Russian)
and a great job! to you also :D

[Brandon Strader]

We took the oldest Sonic soundtrack and did this to it

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/226094_218135038199604_100000093275806_875097_2205 698_n.jpg

Can't take the haters seriously when the album is one of the best ever

But really I was just looking for an excuse to post that picture.

[chaos_deception]

Hello again,

can I Be so bold as to ask for the Possibility of a B side Version of this Album being Made.

I enjoyed this Album so much, that I would like some more. Am I Greedy Hmm Maybe so.


What do You all think about this ?

[psychowolf]

I'd personally love to hear a "c" side seeing as someones already asked for the b side.

...brandon i love that picture, the hedgehog looks like he just wants a hug

As i read backwards through this and i know of the hatred this album seems to have in the sonic community(unnessicary in my opinion), which i am sad to say i am a part of.

Taste depends on your very own style, if you dislike this album move on and find something you do like.

Saying that remixers don't understand music and listeners do is retarded, thats like saying just because i play super hang on i can build a motorbike from scratch or something.

I don't understand shit about music but i know what i like and dislike

love the album? enjoy
Hate the album? move on

[KyleJCrb]

I'm quite amazed that there isn't more backlash from the Sonic fandom, considering these are the same people that bitch about the fucking color of Sonic's eyes in newer games.

Personally? Loved it. Couldn't ask for a better tribute to the game that started it all.

[Liontamer]

As i read backwards through this and i know of the hatred this album seems to have in the sonic community(unnessicary in my opinion), which i am sad to say i am a part of.

You can't just throw it out there like that. I wanna see. :lol:

[evktalo]

I'd love if Rexy and Brandon would clean up the production of Hogtied and resub it to the panel - I kind of agree with the criticism about the muddiness, and would love to listen to a version with a bit more clarity!

Also, the album's pretty good :)

--Eino

[Rexy]

Larry, it seems that most of the community hate spawned from Sonic Retro, which I have to say was one of the most disturbing things I have seen as a musician. There are hinters lying around elsewhere too, just got to google them out. O.o

As for resubbing "Hogtied", I may be annoyed that a SECOND passed arrangement of mine got retracted but I'm determined to push for a revision to go onto the site. However, with Brandon taking the news a lot worse than me, I don't know if the OCR version may or may not feature a completely different collab partner. But no matter what, I'm determined to succeed x)

[Samuru]

Awesome album! Thanks so much for this. The song, "Caos", awesome, brought back some nice memories.

[RDX]

I've already posted in this thread, but I just want to say that I really appreciated how short the album was. I can't appreciate a 50 track album, I stop caring around track 6, and then usually I don't even finish the album. That's why real bands don't dump 40 track albums on their fans (Aside from not having time...). Look at Plastic Beach, for example. A common complaint I saw amongst the critics was that it was too long and had little direction, which is definitely true, in my opinion at least.

So good job on keeping it low, even if it was just because the original game only had so many tracks :-)

[Brandon Strader]

The Flower Kings' album Paradox Hotel is my favorite, it is 2 discs and 136 minutes long. It's also epic prog rock so it works. I completely agree with you about short remix albums. They're easier to listen to and involve less work than an album with 70 tracks. :-) Not to mention that they're more affordable to print a single disc. :-)

Larry, it seems that most of the community hate spawned from Sonic Retro, which I have to say was one of the most disturbing things I have seen as a musician.

It also sucks because they are SONIC RETRO. It makes me wonder if we really did something wrong or if they're the same type of people who say there's never been a single, decent, playable sonic game since Sonic and Knuckles. :tomatoface: Hating on new stuff just because it's new and different

[Kuolema]

That's why real bands don't dump 40 track albums on their fans (Aside from not having time...).
OCR should release an album of grindcore :P

The Flower Kings' album Paradox Hotel is my favorite, it is 2 discs and 136 minutes long. It's also epic prog rock so it works.
I'm going to have to check that out!

[Rexy]

It also sucks because they are SONIC RETRO. It makes me wonder if we really did something wrong or if they're the same type of people who say there's never been a single, decent, playable sonic game since Sonic and Knuckles. :tomatoface: Hating on new stuff just because it's new and different

To be fair I thought it peaked at Sonic & Knuckles, but I actually enjoyed the GBA (Advance) and DS (Rush) titles so I can't argue here. But I swear to God that their response to Project Chaos was so much more optimistic than that, so surely you can see how their reactions purely baffled me. O_o

[Brandon Strader]

To be fair I thought it peaked at Sonic & Knuckles, but I actually enjoyed the GBA (Advance) and DS (Rush) titles so I can't argue here. But I swear to God that their response to Project Chaos was so much more optimistic than that, so surely you can see how their reactions purely baffled me. O_o
Oya.. too much techno untz untz sonic album... mmhm

i blame everyone else :-)

[WillRock]

Tbh, I think part of the reason for the backlash from sonic retro is because of the name of the site. We are called OverClocked ReMix after all, so most people who aren't clued up with what ocr are about would probably assume that OCR do faithful to the original "covers" rather than rearrangements. Now as far as ocr albums go, usually there are a few very faithful tracks that are like updated versions of the originals, but with this album, its more cohesively creative with the sources than alot of ocr albums in the past. PC had quite a few faithful covers, like snapplemans mixes and housethegrates. One of the comments at sonic retro even stated that he thought OCR did remixes, not rearrangements, which might be ignorant but I feel like thats the misconception most people have about ocr. The tracks on this album are alot more creative with the source material as a general perspective and I think it left quite a few people alienated. Seems more like a misunderstanding or a disagreement with the general direction from them, which is fine, OCR doesn't appeal to everyone.

[evktalo]

As for resubbing "Hogtied", I may be annoyed that a SECOND passed arrangement of mine got retracted but I'm determined to push for a revision to go onto the site. However, with Brandon taking the news a lot worse than me, I don't know if the OCR version may or may not feature a completely different collab partner. But no matter what, I'm determined to succeed x)

All right, that's great! Too bad if Brandon is demotivated, but on the other hand getting two versions with different people on it sounds pretty cool!

--Eino

[Brandon Strader]

All right, that's great! Too bad if Brandon is demotivated, but on the other hand getting two versions with different people on it sounds pretty cool!

--Eino
I was demotivated for a few hours and got over it, and fixed it the day we found out it had been un-yes'd :cry:

It saddened me deeply at what speed Rexy would replace me, without even caring :-P I barely had an hour to process the new information before she was asking sixto to redo the song.

[Rexy]

Brandon, I had no idea you would react the way you did. Sure, I had my moments with past rejections, but without mentioning what happened here, your reactions absolutely terrified me.
But I'm glad enough that we got the resub sorted in the end :)

[JustinShaltout]

sadly i did not enjoy this album :( I didn't feel it sounded like speed at all the tracks are rather sleepy. I seem to be enjoying the nights into dreams tracks more so far. I was hoping this can be better than this.

[Rexy]

I don't really care if the fact that the word 'speed' is in the title doesn't cross-reference with the songs being upbeat, and it was never my intention to make it that way. I chose the name because I thought it was witty, and that's about it. :)

Quoted for truth. People wrote the tracks not necessarily to reflect on the title or the pacing, but on how they personally felt on the tracks to be arranged.

Personally I would've just taken it at face value until you stated that you felt the NiGHTS album was better. Don't get me wrong, Stevo did a fantastic job in getting everything together, but the last thing anyone would've wanted in a thread like this was "this project sucks, another project was better" - all it would seem to do was just completely derail the direction of the thread as well as add more unnecessary shame upon the mixers.

There was a huge discussion about the genre directions further on in the thread, and true to some people it may not be the direction they wanted, but let's face the facts - with a total of eight tracks posted as individual mixes and a ninth one coming on its way, the strength of these mixposts heavily outweigh the unnecessary critics, therefore on a technical point I can say The Sound of Speed has achieved a lot.
I want to be fair to say that this is, by FAR, the proudest album I've been involved with :)

[Dj Mokram]

the last thing anyone would've wanted in a thread like this was "this project sucks, another project was better"
Rexy, the guy didn't say LD was better than tSoS, he just said that he personally didn't liked one album but enjoyed another more.
sadly i did not enjoy this album [...] I seem to be enjoying the nights into dreams tracks more so far.See? ;)

eight tracks posted [...] these mixposts heavily outweigh the unnecessary critics [...] this is, by FAR, the proudest album I've been involved withSo because an album got multiple mixposts and you're proud of being on it, people shouldn't be entitled to formulate their own opinion about it? :dstrbd:
(Not trying to antagonize here btw, just trying to understand your point of view)

[Rexy]

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with forming opinions. It's just that I'm reaching breaking point with all the amount of unjustified disliking just because of the album name alone, and to see people compare with other albums as well only just makes matters worse.
We are fine to take criticism when criticism is due, definitely - just not on what can be strictly seen as artistic direction, which is giving me the impression that everyone involved on this thing didn't do their job.

And yes, "I didn't enjoy the album, I enjoyed another album more" is definitely written as "album A is better than project B" in a person's point of view. Comments like that to me feel really unsettling, and can similarly be unsettling for when others compare projects beforehand. Remember a few posts before the history thread was closed when someone brought up "Threshold of a Dream" for that same reason - didn't like the artistic direction but thought this one would be more cohesive? How did you and the rest of the project staff feel to see that comparison being brought up?

[JustinShaltout]

calling it speed just cuz it's witty is not a smart idea. The name needs to reflect the content otherwise you lose ur entire audience. you can't assume that people have to understand YOU. You have to do what u can for people to understand you rather than assume. This assumption caused the wrong people to download the album, hence causing people to be extremely disappointed.

[KyleJCrb]

To be fair, if we're basing this on content versus name, the title "Lucid Dreaming" doesn't fit for a good part of the music on the NiGHTS album either. It does fit the game though, much like how "The Sound of Speed" also fits the source material for this project.

To be frank, however, who cares what the title is? The musical content is what matters here, and the music of this album, as I have said before, is nothing short of stellar. You're welcome to disagree of course, but to argue that the this album sucks because you don't think the title fits is really stretching for a reason to dislike it.

[WillRock]

Guys guys GUYS, this is a SONIC THE HEDGEHOG REMIX ALBUM, how in the name of hell does the album title not fit? :P

Not to mention the Green Hill Zone Remix has the title Sound of Speed... plenty of albums take that approach.

[Palpable]

There's a lot of defense of the album title going on here, and maybe because this is OCR, it's hard to see what effect a title can have. Personally, I purposely overlook the title when evaluating songs, and I think the site is geared towards overlooking the title and the game and just trying to appreciate the music, man. When the title of this project was announced, I thought it was really clever and thought no more about it. But it is worth considering things like the expectations of a project with that title, and I wish we had done more brainstorming. It's not just a matter of disappointing people who were expecting faster songs, but also that we may have missed hooking the audience we wanted because they thought it was a bunch of fast songs. Basically I kind of agree with JustinShaltout. Particularly with albums, which more than songs are aimed at people outside the community, the title needs to fit the music in order for it to get the audience it deserves and maybe this time there was a better one that could have been used.

Case in point, there's a band I really like called Disco Inferno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Inferno_(band)), who make music as far away from disco as you can imagine. For a long time, though they had been recommended to me, I didn't check them out because disco wasn't what I was looking for. A title matters.

[Liontamer]

There's a lot of defense of the album title going on here, and maybe because this is OCR, it's hard to see what effect a title can have. Personally, I purposely overlook the title when evaluating songs, and I think the site is geared towards overlooking the title and the game and just trying to appreciate the music, man. When the title of this project was announced, I thought it was really clever and thought no more about it. But it is worth considering things like the expectations of a project with that title, and I wish we had done more brainstorming. It's not just a matter of disappointing people who were expecting faster songs, but also that we may have missed hooking the audience we wanted because they thought it was a bunch of fast songs. Basically I kind of agree with JustinShaltout. Particularly with albums, which more than songs are aimed at people outside the community, the title needs to fit the music in order for it to get the audience it deserves and maybe this time there was a better one that could have been used.

Case in point, there's a band I really like called Disco Inferno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Inferno_(band)), who make music as far away from disco as you can imagine. For a long time, though they had been recommended to me, I didn't check them out because disco wasn't what I was looking for. A title matters.

Completely disagree. :lol: You're basically saying the title has to appeal to the superficial and stupid. The album is "The Sound of a Hedgehog That Runs Very Fast in His First Game." :-) If people were expecting superfast BPM and can't get over that, especially when the original music wasn't superfast BPM, I couldn't care less. The single dumbest criticism I saw of OA & Scaredsim's Green Hill Zone mix on YouTube was that it was too slow, when it was slightly faster than the tempo of the original. It's an album about a speedy hedgehog not a speedy soundtrack, it's a play on words, and we have more than enough people without a stick up their ass enjoying the album to care about a minority of people hung up on the album title. It's the same people complaining that Voices of the Lifestream implied an all-vocal album; it's just a short-sighted, stupid criticism.

[Rozovian]

It is, however, setting up ppl's expectations. The name is important, and what it implies should be considered when naming mixes and albums and whatnot. Which reminds me of this one (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01887/).

I've yet to really listen to this album, but first impressions weren't too exciting. Then again, it took me a while to warm up to the DKC2 album, which I now consider to be one of ocr's best.

[djpretzel]

The Beatles' "White Album" made me think that it was just for Caucasians, but then I saw People of Color were enjoying it as well.

Crap name.

[WillRock]

I suppose the issue here is that names are subjective in meaning. People here looking for references to the games trademark of speed find that (which is what was intended) and people who are looking for a reference to the general speed/tempo of the album tracks would as well (not intended). That said, I always thought the album title was pretty witty, didn't think there was anything deceiving about it. Does that mean people should be more careful what they call their albums/tracks to avoid confusion? Perhaps... However, say one person finds an album title misleading. There is bound to be a slight disappointment at first, but eventually people should accept the title, man up and enjoy the album for what it is. Anyone who gets hung up over a title probably wouldn't have liked the album in the first place.

[Brandon Strader]

The Beatles' "White Album" made me think that it was just for Caucasians, but then I saw People of Color were enjoying it as well.

Crap name.
This made me 'lol' as a huge Beatles fan :-P I also enjoy Metallica's Black Album.

When I signed on for Sound of Speed, I was really into Coldplay

I think people will interpret names to mean what they want them to mean, often times contradicting the artistic vision of the artist(s). If people have a problem with the title because of something they personally interpreted from it, then that's their problem. :whatevaa:

And taking the thoughts of haters to heart is one of the first things we learn -not- to do. :-D
(unless your name is Rexy!)

[Palpable]

Completely disagree. :lol: You're basically saying the title has to appeal to the superficial and stupid. The album is "The Sound of a Hedgehog That Runs Very Fast in His First Game." :-) If people were expecting superfast BPM and can't get over that, especially when the original music wasn't superfast BPM, I couldn't care less. The single dumbest criticism I saw of OA & Scaredsim's Green Hill Zone mix on YouTube was that it was too slow, when it was slightly faster than the tempo of the original. It's an album about a speedy hedgehog not a speedy soundtrack, it's a play on words, and we have more than enough people without a stick up their ass enjoying the album to care about a minority of people hung up on the album title. It's the same people complaining that Voices of the Lifestream implied an all-vocal album; it's just a short-sighted, stupid criticism.

The Voices thing is an even better criticism! I mean, forget the people who listen to the album and hate it because it's not what they were expecting. The worst thing that happens is maybe the album gets some negative publicity, but whatever, it got more ears on it. But the people you lose that you could have hooked by giving your album a more accurate description... I dunno why you'd shoot down the idea that we give album titles more thought.

[Rexy]

Cut me some slack Brandon, I've barely been re-active for a few months so it's taking time to re-adjust :razz:

If there's anything I did that upsetted anyone in that thread, then I'm sorry for it. But honestly, no one on the project should take the blame for what could be seen as a single person's mistake so I still am saying my irritation over this issue is well justified.

[Level 99]

Less bitching, more reviewing.

[Liontamer]

The Voices thing is an even better criticism! I mean, forget the people who listen to the album and hate it because it's not what they were expecting. The worst thing that happens is maybe the album gets some negative publicity, but whatever, it got more ears on it. But the people you lose that you could have hooked by giving your album a more accurate description... I dunno why you'd shoot down the idea that we give album titles more thought.

Because naming everything with the most "practical," literal-minded descriptive convention you can think of is STUPID. :lol: I can't even fathom how someone could practically address this "issue." What new names could y'all come up with that would be so much more perfect and descriptive so as to ideally preview every album we've made as to not to scare away these legions of fickle album-title-influenced potential listeners?

Oh, well "Serious Monkey Business," that's so wrong, is the album serious and dour or is it with monkeys? Somehow both? "Hedgehog Heaven?" Not angelic enough.

Coldplay needs to play "The Speed of Sound" three times faster, otherwise the potential imagery of their song title isn't right. Stupidity.

The Beatles' "White Album" made me think that it was just for Caucasians, but then I saw People of Color were enjoying it as well.

Crap name.

If the debate wasn't truly over after that, I dunno how else to end it.

[Palpable]

Because naming everything with the most "practical," literal-minded descriptive convention you can think of is STUPID. :lol: I can't even fathom how someone could practically address this "issue." What new names could y'all come up with that would be so much more perfect and descriptive so as to ideally preview every album we've made as to not to scare away these legions of fickle album-title-influenced potential listeners?

Oh, well "Serious Monkey Business," that's so wrong, is the album serious and dour or is it with monkeys? Somehow both? "Hedgehog Heaven?" Not angelic enough.

Coldplay needs to play "The Speed of Sound" three times faster, otherwise the potential imagery of their song title isn't right. Stupidity.



If the debate wasn't truly over after that, I dunno how else to end it.

Maybe I didn't choose my words carefully enough in my original post, I didn't mean that the title has to 100% describe the album or even give you a sense of what the album is about. (Though honestly I think that does help it find its audience. I bet that Chrono Symphonic was a lot better at finding its audience than something like Delta Q Delta.) I'm more saying we have the conversation to see if an arrangement album title is misleading when there's a musical term in the name. If Drew wanted to call this "Sonic the Hedgehog: Jazz Runs" just to be punny, we'd for sure ask him why he had the word "jazz" in the name, given that much of the album isn't jazz. Did you all have that conversation for Voices of the Lifestream? If I had been on staff then, I might have brought it up, especially as someone who doesn't know FF7 and doesn't get the significance. Misleadingness should be weighed against catchiness and artistic significance and all that good stuff.

I should really put this effort into judging huh.

[ekolis]

Great album! My favorite tracks are "Hogtied" (Robotnik's theme) and "Bubble Junkie" (Labyrinth Zone) - I love epic battle music, and the use of the "bubble" sound as a musical note in Bubble Junkie is ingenious! I do wonder though what happened to Scrap Brain Zone...

[halc]

Great album! My favorite tracks are "Hogtied" (Robotnik's theme) and "Bubble Junkie" (Labyrinth Zone) - I love epic battle music, and the use of the "bubble" sound as a musical note in Bubble Junkie is ingenious! I do wonder though what happened to Scrap Brain Zone...

Glad you're enjoying it! As for scrap brain, that would be track 11, "Clockwork Criminal"- its a bit of a liberal approach, but peep that melody again and you should hear it. ;)

[KyleJCrb]

Can't blame Will for changing it up. Even as a Sonic fan, I don't find the original song to be all that good...