OCR01465 - Sonic & Knuckles 'Lover Reef'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Rexy]

Haven't listened to the song yet, but isn't this meant to go under Sonic & Knuckles? I can't remember the Lava Reef music being used in Sonic 3. :?

Nonetheless, a five way collab will definitely be interesting. I heard of its progress throughout the creation at the NYC "slumber party", and to see it reach the site should be a great time indeed. Props to all, and welcome to the clan Shonen Samurai :)

[spineshark]

Hmm...yeah, this should be S&K. Lava Reef Zone was my favorite track from that game.

I like this mix, as it seems to have a lot of complexity in the background, even as the vocals carry the melody...though I wish the guitar and piano solos were longer...

[Flare4War]

I dare say it's my favorite vocal arrangement. Both voices sound excellent. Female voice sounds beautiful and the male voice sounds like the lead singer from Simple Plan.

I do agree with Hamp especially concerning the piano solo. I was hungry for more.

I think high quality vocal mixes like this one are what could take this genre to the next level.

Very well done.

[zircon]

OK OK.. sorry guys, I thought this was Sonic 3. I guess it's because I always saw Sonic 3 bundled with Sonic & Knuckles so I always associated them. My bad. (djp is fixing this as we speak) :<

[DrEw.]

This was amazing. Its always fun to see a bunch of really talented people come together to make something.

[SonicANS]

I was not aware that this was being made, but when I saw the list of remixers of this piece, I knew it had to come out of the NYC meetup. Fantastic job guys. Nice pick on the original piece too (not surprising from the guy whose alias is "SonicANS" and wore a Sonic shirt at the meetup ;) ). Hopefully remixers can use this piece as an example and come up with remixes that utilize the talents of multiple remixers.

[Dhsu]

Very nice...'grats to everyone involved. The only way this could've been better would've been if Shonen Shamurai had joined in on the action.

[reelmojo]

I've always loved Sonic and Knuckles, and I pretty much couldn't ask for Lava Reef to be covered better than this. Good job to everyone involved!

[Turraken]

I find this very like The Incredible Singing Robot in one way. The lyrics are pure cheese, yet somehow they work....

Great mix all round, also.

[Upthorn]

Hahaha! Awesome!

This mix made me smile. A lot. And the story behind it just makes it that much cooler.


My only complaint is that Shonen's vocals aren't nearly up to the level of Pixie's in the first chorus. After that he's a bit more warmed up, though.

[MisterBiggler]

I think I ran by this in the WIP forums a little while back. It was good then, and it's still good now. Glad it got posted. Love the guitar work and the drums the most; the drop off near the end is nice too. Nice work, you all.

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

Noticable.

I aproove.

The pop hit of spring 2006. Will the April 1st meet-up provide the next?

[SynthesizedStampede]

Wow, this song is awesome. I wasn't expecting it to be this good, but gosh it works. Lava Reef with vocals? Who would've thought? Splendid ^_^.

[Jillian Aversa]

Very nice...'grats to everyone involved. The only way this could've been better would've been if Shonen Shamurai had joined in on the action.
...That's Shonen singing the male vocals... And he was a major force in the lyric-writing, too.

[Ness757]

This is an excellent song! I love the duet you guys have going. :)

[Shonen Samurai]

Thanks Andrew, Steve, Jill, Jeremy, for letting me in on this hot piece of pop. And thanks DJP for being memorably ridiculous.

WATCH THIS

Very nice...'grats to everyone involved. The only way this could've been better would've been if Shonen Shamurai had joined in on the action.
...That's Shonen singing the male vocals... And he was a major force in the lyric-writing, too.

Shonnen Shamurai is my evil clone (no, seriously).

[Dhsu]

Was there an extra 'n' too? Haha, I forgot.

Man, Shamurai was the best.

[Shonen Samurai]

Ironically, the REAL Shonnen Shamurai helped me record.

[The Tromboner]

I loved this mix. The singing blended bery well, and I did like that monotone rap halfway through. What amazed me the most was the timeframe in which this piece was constructed. One day is such a short period of time. To make a piece as excellent as this is a time as short as that is a testament to the skill of the participants.

[mDuo13]

A really sweet mix of a nice original. Taucer's guitar work is blazing awesome. The lyrics feel like they're a little forced to the melody, but they're cool nonetheless. The harmonies don't sound quite right sometimes, also.

Interesting note, pixie's part at 2:35-2:45 sounds really similar to the start of Hikaru Utada's Passion ~opening ver~ for the Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack.

I'm hooked.

[Upthorn]

The lyrics are pure cheese, yet somehow they work....

Haha. Yeah. I love how they're direct references to the levels, though.

Sandopolis, Lava Reef, hidden palace, Ice cap(!!)
It's great.

[Azure Prower]

This track is great... except for one thing.

I recognise pixietricks' flawless singing from Journey's End and I've always loved Zircon's works.

The singing robot guy was cool.

But the guy singing with pixietricks was corny.

[BlueMage]

As usual, Mr Taucer's guitar work pwned all, but pixie's singing was also great (and no Japanese this time!!!). The duet was cheese, as was the spoken vocals, but they blended well into the track. Definitely a keeper.

Cripes, I've now given 7s to the last two tracks released here :) Good work folks.

7 (>85%)

[Leon K.]

I had a dream last night before this mix was posted, that the girl I liked was playing the violin for me and singing this song.
It was a beautiful dream, and it's a tremendous coincidence that this mix would be posted the same day.

Then again, according to V, there are no coincidences.

[Miletus]

Pretzel said it best, good cheese. Very good cheese.

[watkinzez]

Shonen provides the vocals? Funny, I was under the impression that that was Jeremy. Nice work anyhow, great guitar playing.

Also, notable for the first mix to have a time assigned to when it was posted. An interesting addition..

[DUCKB0Y]

I honestly didn't like the singing. :( I don't know what to say about the singing beyond that, I just didn't like it at all. Obviously there are plenty who do so take that with a grain of salt.

I'm glad the one who posted this mix though, in the WIP forum, provided a version without the vocals. That one I am currently listening to. The guitar part kicks ass.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Thanks for all the great feedback, everybody.

Much <3 for the <3er reef crew!

[zircon]

Yeah. It was really a blast doing this.

To be fair we didn't quite *finish* it in one night.. once we all went back to our respective locations, over the next week, we put together the final version and made sure everything was in place before getting it ready to go. We would have liked to do it all right there on the spot, but at 4-5AM or so pixie wasn't quite ready to sing and my mic is really NOT good at all (D-Lux's part was recorded using it and I did my best to make it sound good, but it was very noisy by default).

Anyway if for whatever reason you didn't like the awesome vocals I do have an instrumental version. I don't know why you'd want it, but;

http://www.zirconstudios.com/Lover%20Reef%20(Instrumental).mp3

[OmegaDonut]

I love how there are so many mixers the text scrolls off onto the Sonic & Knuckles picture.

Oh, and the song's good too. ;)

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

I'm totally amazed at how well this turned out. At first I was like, "A vocal mix of Lava Reef? Too weird." As it turns out though, the main melody of the song makes for a beautiful lyrical flow. This is one of the better vocal mixes I've ever heard. Sweet ass job!

Also: more mega-collabs!

EDIT: Instrumental version ain't half bad either. There's still enough focus on the rest of the music that it doesn't sound empty without the vocals.

[bladiator]

Where's my 2nd chorus at the end, dammit!

[The Mac Attack]

I just wanted to log in to say how very impressed I am with this mix; in particular the singing by shonensamurai and the guitar work! Actually, everyone did some :nicework:!

I would've loved for it to be a bit longer though, and maybe the lyrics didn't overly lend themselves too well to the melody, but it's fantastic nonetheless.

More shonensamurai and more mega-collabs!

[Azure Prower]

Anyway if for whatever reason you didn't like the awesome vocals I do have an instrumental version. I don't know why you'd want it, but;

http://www.zirconstudios.com/Lover%20Reef%20(Instrumental).mp3

Much <3 for you. Most instrumentals people make on OC are great. But the vocal ones, they have to be perfect or else it ruins it. :?

[Liontamer]

Anyway if for whatever reason you didn't like the awesome vocals I do have an instrumental version. I don't know why you'd want it, but;

http://www.zirconstudios.com/Lover%20Reef%20(Instrumental).mp3

Much <3 for you. Most instrumentals people make on OC are great. But the vocal ones, they have to be perfect or else it ruins it. :?
I think he's saying y'all crapped up an otherwise good instrumental. :lol:

[Sinewav]

WOW!

First of all, I'm exremely impressed that you all wrote and recorded this in one night. I wouldn't expect more than a joke tune in that amount of time. Excellent. I was also very excited to see several of the names of the contributors. You guys are some of my favorite remixers.

Secondly, it's a DUET. It's a freaking DUET. Rawk on!

a) Shonensamurai, while you have a more pop-ish sounding voice that obviously isn't as polished and well trained as pixie's "voice student" voice, it has a very pleasant sound to it. While there are some major flaws in your vocal techique, I can safely say that you certainly have a fantastic gift that I would like to hear more more of on this site in the future. Maybe even more with pixietricks. Surpisingly, I think both of your voices blend together very well, dispite how different they are.

b) Pixietricks... there's really not a whole lot I can say. I'm a sucker for chick vocals, and your voice is absolutely gorgeous. If I had to spend the rest of my life on a deserted island with only a CD player and a mix CD, you would have at least a few of the songs on there. It's always good to hear another remix from you.

c) Everyone else... Despite being a group with such a diverse set of styles, you meshed well. I can easy identify each of your musical "personalities" in this mix, and it is very interesting to see how they combine together to make the final project. Nice work isn't enough. Excellent work. :D

[Triad Orion]

I must admit, I was really impressed after listening to this song. I was a little skeptical a duet could be pulled off on the Lava Reef Zone theme, but you guys proved me wrong. This was creative, well delivered, and all around impressive, with only small issues that have already been addressed by the previous reviewers.

This one? Earned a permanent spot on my OCR playlist. In short, great work. The five of you should pull together more often, I think. :)

[isoo]

Awesome mix...!!!

Kick-ass job guys and gal :P
I'd also like to commend GT for his nice guitar work! 8)

... *waits for instrumental version to finish downloading*

I'm a sucker for instrumentals :oops:

I demand an ICECAP Remix :twisted:

[Aristobulus]

This is amazing. It's very rare that I hear a remix with vocals, and *like* it. Even rarer that I'm moved enough to bother commenting on the forums, unskilled music aficionado that I am.

I like the mix of the two vocalists, both are very skilled and sound nice, and the lyrics somehow manage to mix in a love song *and* the feeling of Lava Reef Zone; that is the mentions of fire and ice reflect both lovers emotions, and the zones progression from fire to ice.

Really nice.

As for the song itself; it's very high quality. It seriously sounds like alot more than a remix; like something you'd find on a professional CD or something.

The lyrics are pure cheese, yet somehow they work....

Haha. Yeah. I love how they're direct references to the levels, though.

Sandopolis, Lava Reef, hidden palace, Ice cap(!!)
It's great.

I could only catch the rather obvious Lava Reef references...What are the other zone references?

[Lord Exor]

When I first heard the opening portion of the music, I felt absolutely ecstatic. Hearing the wordless female humming hinted that this would be a quality mix, until I noticed the presence of the one dreaded thing that sent me screaming, bashing my head into my keyboard, and running around in circles wailing until I crashed into a wall... LYRICS!!! VOCALS!!! AH! 8O (Not to say that they were bad...)

Then I heard the instrumental version, and angels voices came down from the heavens as I found myself draped a column of light.

[Hetcenus]

I've heard this back when it was posted at the WIP forums, and it sure has its place on my "Golden List". Very cool, well done, marvelous singing and lyrics, just awesome!

I could only catch the rather obvious Lava Reef references...What are the other zone references?

Sandopolis: "This sea of sand"
Ice Cap: "Bed of snow"
Hidden Palace: "In our hideaway" (I guess...)

[Triad Orion]

The lyrics are pure cheese, yet somehow they work....

Haha. Yeah. I love how they're direct references to the levels, though.

Sandopolis, Lava Reef, hidden palace, Ice cap(!!)
It's great.

I could only catch the rather obvious Lava Reef references...What are the other zone references?

Well, those four zones were referenced it seems, though I think Angel Island and Carnival Night were referenced very vaguely in the lyrics. It's probably just word choice and not actual references for these two, but those were the other ones I could figure. *Shrugs*

Again, I still love this remix; good cheese and all. :)

[Shonen Samurai]

Yes, the level references are intentional. Although you can probably read more than my intended references into the lyrics.

Thank you for the kind words, everyone.

[Upthorn]

The lyrics are pure cheese, yet somehow they work....

Haha. Yeah. I love how they're direct references to the levels, though.

Sandopolis, Lava Reef, hidden palace, Ice cap(!!)
It's great.

I could only catch the rather obvious Lava Reef references...What are the other zone references?

Here are the references I could make out

There's a cold wind through/This sea of sand/And the sun's gone down/On our parting hands
(Sandopolis Act 2. Dark, cold colors, inside the pyramid)

So darling please/Don't let me go/Tread lightly on this/Bed of snow.
(Ice Cap?! Why is there a reference to Ice Cap? Was the rhyme built around "don't let me go" or "this bed of snow"?)

There's a fire lit/So let's unthaw now
(Lava Reef)
Too cold and too far/We'll make it out somehow/We've turned to ice/And it's not our way to be
(Act 2)
So let the earth quake/And melt with me.
(Boss)


Through the coldest nights/And dawning day/I will wait for you/In our hideaway
(Hidden Palace is in frozen lava reef. Dawning day could be a reference to beating Carnival Night, though)
And our lips will meet/In the frozen air/When the shadows fall/I'll still be there.
(If you think of this as a reference, the only possibility is that it's the boss fight vs Knuckles. Hillariously, it works rather well this way)

When our emotions first ignited/It's like our hearts were never tired/My desires were set free/Was like a raging wildfire.
(Angel Island? Or Lava Reef act 1?)
But now that spark has grown dark/We're now just dying embers/Afraid I'll end up all alone/Within these cold Decembers.
(Lava Reef act 2)

[zircon]

I'm not entirely sure that shonen, D-Lux, and pixietricks thinking about that stuff at 3-4AM when the lyrics were written.. but hey, what do I know; I was plunking around on my little 3 octave MIDI keyboard the whole night :)

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Yes, the level references are intentional. Although you can probably read more than my intended references into the lyrics.

Thank you for the kind words, everyone.

Damn, Shonen, I didn't even catch those references. I've just gained a whole new appreciation for yours and Jill's skills as lyricists.

[Shonen Samurai]

Well, that list is a little far-fetched. But I was definitely alluding to Sandopolis, Lava Reef, Ice Cap (Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the TRUE Sonic 3 :D), and Hidden Palace.

The chorus breakdown is spot-on, actually. PROPZ

[q-pa]

Yes! Glad to see this mega-collab finally released! :D


The drums are a little awkward, but I love hearing all the vocal and instrument parts come together into one whole. Not the most polished work on OCR, but amazing for largely 1 night's work!!

You guys should come up with a super-group name for yourself. Maybe... um, the Meeters, GeoffreyTaucer & the Slime Blanket...
PenisX4+Gina... ooooor sommmmethiiiiinggggg....

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Yes! Glad to see this mega-collab finally released! :D


The drums are a little awkward, but I love hearing all the vocal and instrument parts come together into one whole. Not the most polished work on OCR, but amazing for largely 1 night's work!!

You guys should come up with a super-group name for yourself. Maybe... PenisX4+Gina...
win

[dish]

Hehehe... so many hilarious comments above there :roll:

I do like the remix. Singing is good enough for a great remix. And the duet surprisingly works. And I can't imagine how tricky it was to organize 5 people :D (I was horrified just to see the number of remixers.)

Seriously, I never imagine Lava Reef tune can be turned into such a song. Lyric is probably a highlight. I didn't get all the references, I only got "sea of sand" and "bed of snow". The spoken part in the middle is also a nice interlude.
Too bad the remix is too short though :x

Anyway, I like this remix. Great job!

[Upthorn]

Well, that list is a little far-fetched. But I was definitely alluding to Sandopolis, Lava Reef, Ice Cap (Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the TRUE Sonic 3 :D), and Hidden Palace.

The chorus breakdown is spot-on, actually. PROPZ

I LIKE the first verse better as Sandopolis act 2 references, though. 'Cause that's the zone right before Lava Reef.

[D-Lux]

I must say, this mix is a perfect reflection of how wonderful it can be to hang out with a good group of people from OCR. So what if they're from the internet? They rock. To Jill, Mike, Andrew, and Jeremy: I couldn't have asked for a better group. The opportunity was more than I could have dreamed, and the way we clicked still makes my head spin.

And a little treat from IRC: [02:52] <shonen> We're the Deluxe Tricky Tossing Zircon Samurais

[Jillian Aversa]

I must say, this mix is a perfect reflection of how wonderful it can be to hang out with a good group of people from OCR. So what if they're from the internet? They rock. To Jill, Mike, Andrew, and Jeremy: I couldn't have asked for a better group. The opportunity was more than I could have dreamed, and the way we clicked still makes my head spin.

And a little treat from IRC: [02:52] <shonen> We're the Deluxe Tricky Tossing Zircon Samurais
(tears of joy)

[PaladinBeuton]

The best remix I've heared since The Dragon Song (from Secret of Mana). Great job, I can't say anything else without being submerged by emotion.

[Flare4War]

Want to say again how much I like this.

Thank you Zircon for the instrumental.

[Wicked]

Hmm...

This is a really tough call for me. Personally, I'm not digging Shonen's vocals. No offense to you man, you did a fine job and I didn't hear any problems with it in terms of talent but it's personal preference. Your voice merely rubs me the wrong way. It annoys the hell out of me, actually. In fact, I'm not really into Pixie on this one, either. Maybe it was the mic or something but I much preferred her work in Journey's End.

Thank you for posting the instrumental, Zircon, I have to say that I prefer it over the vocal version this time. It's rare that this happens on OCR because I haven't had a problem with other vocal mixes other than Darangen's Falling Back but I guess it has to happen sometimes. Much appreciated and a great mix, peeps.

[Shael Riley]

I cannot, in my mind's eye, accept that Pixie Tricks's spider-silk powerful voice comes out of little, tiny, Jilly.

Taucer, Shonnen and D-lux comprise a panalopy of modestly capable, shall we say "character," vocalists who belt out a mush-mouth of mliky-safe puppy-love tripe which lends the piece an Americanized and sanitized Saturday-morning-anime-opening quality. The stock-rock overdrive guitar also contributes.

I know that sounds harsh, but it's endearing in the same way as a clumsy baby. Besides, it all comes together well and everyone contributes something of real value.

It's a fine addition to the OCR library on its own merit as an arrangement, but is memorable for its--to use an overly grandious term--"historic" signifigance moreso than its musicality.

As an aside that will be of no interest to anyone, I, myself, actually recorded--I suppose you could say I engineered--Shonnen's vocals in what some people claim passes for my home studio, two days after the event. They were later sent to Zircon who mixed them in.

I'm proud to have had a small hand in its creation. :)

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I must say, this mix is a perfect reflection of how wonderful it can be to hang out with a good group of people from OCR. So what if they're from the internet? They rock. To Jill, Mike, Andrew, and Jeremy: I couldn't have asked for a better group. The opportunity was more than I could have dreamed, and the way we clicked still makes my head spin.
Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Zipp]

Taucer and trix is a match made in remix nirvana. Not to leave out the others, but I've been waiting for a Taucer trix mix forever. I hope they do another one soon.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Taucer and trix is a match made in remix nirvana. Not to leave out the others, but I've been waiting for a Taucer trix mix forever. I hope they do another one soon.

:D

I can more or less guarantee that there will be future Taucer/Trix mixes. In fact, I would like very much to do more collaborations with any or all of the lover reef crew.

[ProjectSpam]

Anyway, yeah, this is a good song. Pretty impressive in all regards, especially given the relative brevity in which this song was conceptualized and roughly put together at first. Lava Reef is an awesome source town, and the vocals complement it nicely.

[YoshMaster]

This is beautiful!:)

It makes me wish I had come all to way to the meeting:P

It's so nice to see how OCR members can come to understand themselves with their passion for music and create such a marvelous piece of art!!!!

I'm really proud of you guys somehow lol..!! I'll treasure this song and I thank you for your hard work!!!

Hoping to see a future colab from the crew!!!!

[Nineko]

Winamp -> Play -> Repeat

Yes. Glad to listen to this remix at last, I loved this since it was posted in the WIP forum.
Zircon is a well-known remix master; Taucer has shown to be a very good guitarist; vocals work fine (couldn't be otherwise with Pixie's experience).
Put these talented people together and this is what you get.

Weak point: it's too short. But this is the purpose of the repeat/loop feature.

[zircon]

Taucer and trix is a match made in remix nirvana. Not to leave out the others, but I've been waiting for a Taucer trix mix forever. I hope they do another one soon.

:D

I can more or less guarantee that there will be future Taucer/Trix mixes. In fact, I would like very much to do more collaborations with any or all of the lover reef crew.

In fact, Taucer and I are working on something as we speak!

[meccaneer]

Man, I wish someone lived near me... (pout).

[PLBenjaminZ]

I kinda see where he's coming from... but I think it's because the vocal tracks weren't synced very well, that and pixie's voice is so powerful that when they sing together she drowns the guys voice out, haha. The singing styles didn't match either, and that with the talking guy at the end made it sound really cheesy(...but cheesy isn't always a bad thing :P).

Having said that, I liked it. :D

[Aamean]

Now the real question is where did the OCR crew find this female who does the wonderful vocals and how much did they pay her. Maybe they conned her into it by deception and telling her that it was for American Idol.

We'll never know.

[Flare4War]

Ordinarily I dislike the vocal arrangments posted on OC
Remix but this time it wasn't the case.

I won't be ridiculous and say that Pixie's voice didn't out class Shonen's, however; they both did well and I think the remix had considereable replay. I for one wanted to hear it again the moment it ended.

Who can dispute?

[Dhsu]

As an aside that will be of no interest to anyone, I, myself, actually recorded--I suppose you could say I engineered--Shonnen's vocals in what some people claim passes for my home studio, two days after the event. They were later sent to Zircon who mixed them in.

I'm proud to have had a small hand in its creation. :)
<3 Shonnen Shamurai.

[Kriko]

Impressing indeed. This is something you could hear on the radio. I really like those vocals, and the lyric is good too. It's a winner concept. Good work!

[Shadowe]

Ontopic: Went right into the "favorites" folder of my mp3 player. I'd like to see this resung after Shonen spends a few months getting singing lessons from pixietricks >P

[DarkeSword]

Awesome awesome song. Decent vocals, nice guitar, but I like zircon's stuff the most. Yay pads+piano. Clean all around.

My bad, it's not a blank webpage, it's just not a webpage at all.

Pixie, word of advice: Theres a reason almost every computer literate person in the world hates IE, starting with the fact that it isnt legally a web browser because it shits on about every standard there is and working down from there.

Oh and websites made a flash are a sure way to piss off a LOT of people. it's large, unwieldy, needlessly obfuscated, and hates anything slower than my 5mbit connection.

How about you leave your browser/webdevelopment evangelism out of this review thread? The site loaded in my browser (Firefox 1.5) in about two seconds. You're not here to review people's websites. Post a review of the music and move on. This isn't an official warning, but do it again and you'll get one.

[Azure Prower]

Don't know what some people are smoking. But I would listen to a remix simply just voiced by Pixietricks.

[lady zelda]

Don't know what some people are smoking. But I would listen to a remix simply just voiced by Pixietricks.

Yes, pixietricks has exceptional vocals and I doubt many of the rest of us at OCR can top it. But if you still beg to differ, I can still see that you certainly have not listened to pixietricks's other mixes. You'll change your mind in an instant.

[Astantia]

This is the worst I have heard Miss Goldin.

I really am dissapointed, but it is still better than a lot of things I have heard.

As far as the guy goes, he isn't a trained singer, and it shows, he's not horrible, but he isn't trained to use his voice effectively. The rap isn't bad, but it's too slow to be 'normal rap' and it isn't flowing enough to be 'melodic rap.'

Guitar and Piano seem to be spot on. Overall, I would give this a 7 on the OCR scale.

On the Pixietricks scale, it is severely lower.


Edit: Pixies voice sounds flat, compared to the rest, like she's crowding the mic, maybe that's what happened?

[Jillian Aversa]

This is the worst I have heard Miss Goldin.

I really am dissapointed, but it is still better than a lot of things I have heard.

As far as the guy goes, he isn't a trained singer, and it shows, he's not horrible, but he isn't trained to use his voice effectively. The rap isn't bad, but it's too slow to be 'normal rap' and it isn't flowing enough to be 'melodic rap.'

Guitar and Piano seem to be spot on. Overall, I would give this a 7 on the OCR scale.

On the Pixietricks scale, it is severely lower.


Edit: Pixies voice sounds flat, compared to the rest, like she's crowding the mic, maybe that's what happened?
To be fair, this mix was done very quickly. Zircon actually submitted it before I had to the chance to rerecord my vocals. I wasn't happy with them because I'm not used to singing in a fast, poppy style, and I had to record them in a rush. It's definitely not my best work, but when you're collabing with four other people eager to get the mix out to the masses, that's what happens. The point was that we had an awesome time together. ^_^

[Astantia]

This is the worst I have heard Miss Goldin.

I really am dissapointed, but it is still better than a lot of things I have heard.

As far as the guy goes, he isn't a trained singer, and it shows, he's not horrible, but he isn't trained to use his voice effectively. The rap isn't bad, but it's too slow to be 'normal rap' and it isn't flowing enough to be 'melodic rap.'

Guitar and Piano seem to be spot on. Overall, I would give this a 7 on the OCR scale.

On the Pixietricks scale, it is severely lower.


Edit: Pixies voice sounds flat, compared to the rest, like she's crowding the mic, maybe that's what happened?
To be fair, this mix was done very quickly. Zircon actually submitted it before I had to the chance to rerecord my vocals. I wasn't happy with them because I'm not used to singing in a fast, poppy style, and I had to record them in a rush. It's definitely not my best work, but when you're collabing with four other people eager to get the mix out to the masses, that's what happens. The point was that we had an awesome time together. ^_^

I figured something along those lines.

I think a revamped version with better recorded vocals would be an excellent complement to that website of yours.

:wink:

[Souliarc]

This piece is impressive for the overnighter it is. Take that as you will.

Pixie is an incredible singer, just not on par all the way through this one. Maybe it was a little late, dunno, but if you check her other works, she obviously has highly refined her skill.

No offense Shonen, but nice try :wink: Only DJP gets away with squeaky vocals.

The rap was quite dull. You're sharper in "Da Black Market" D-Lux. You kinda just read off the lyrics like you got called on in class.

I think the only thing that got this mix posted was companionship, but fuck it, it's his site, and I don't have to download the song again. Glad you all had fun producing it.

[zircon]

The rap was quite dull. You're sharper in "Da Black Market" D-Lux. You kinda just read off the lyrics like you got called on in class.

Steve had it the worst of anyone. He recorded that at 4 or 5AM. We had just spent the entire day walking around New York City having a blast too, so we were definitely exhausted at tha tpoint. Finally, my mic is TERRIBLE, and he had to record on that. I'm sure, given the opportunity to record 'em again, he coulda been a lot sharper, but like Jill said, that wasn't really the point with this whole thing.

Of course, I'm not saying that some of the criticisms here aren't true, just putting things in perspective ;)

[MaGi_TekK]

I'd have to agree with some of the more negative commentary. I was totally hyped up to get a new remix featuring Pixie's vocal talents (whose 'Prayer' Zelda remix I've pretty much listened to for over a year without getting tired of) But I was aghast when I heard the vocals come on. To us real instrumentalists who can tell pitch with precision, it's just plainly out of tune, without a doubt. I was just surprised you'd let something like that slip by without fixing it first. Getting a remix out one or two days earlier isn't worth it when it's going to be listened to for many years to come. The rest of the song besides the singing is also mediocre at best, I really don't know what the fuss is about. Don't release a work or do a performance unless you're at your best. You people at Peabody Conservatory should know that more than anyone right?

[Jillian Aversa]

To us real instrumentalists who can tell pitch with precision, it's just plainly out of tune, without a doubt.
Ugh. I SAID I knew it wasn't perfect, given the circumstances. Let's hear some of your performances, how about that? I'm sure you're a superb musician. :roll:

EDIT: I withdraw the particular word I used to express my exasperation, but not the meaning behind it.

[MaGi_TekK]

To us real instrumentalists who can tell pitch with precision, it's just plainly out of tune, without a doubt.
Ugh. Fuck you. I SAID I knew it wasn't perfect, given the circumstances. Let's hear some of your performances, how about that? I'm sure you're a superb musician. :roll:


Wow let me give you one more piece of advice. Swearing at your critics isn't a sign of maturity. And I was concertmaster of my high school orchestra and second chair of my college symphony orchestra btw.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

To us real instrumentalists who can tell pitch with precision, it's just plainly out of tune, without a doubt.
Ugh. Fuck you. I SAID I knew it wasn't perfect, given the circumstances. Let's hear some of your performances, how about that? I'm sure you're a superb musician. :roll:


Wow let me give you one more piece of advice. Swearing at your critics isn't a sign of maturity.
Neither is insisting on getting in the last word after your point has already been made.

[zircon]

It's understandable why pixietricks is angry at you. The way you've written your criticism implies that you and other critics are "real instrumentalists" and she is not. The reality of the matter is that she is, in fact, a professional vocalist attending the nation's most selective conservatory for music. In other words, while you are welcome to criticize aspects of the remix, you are not welcome to cross the line and suggest that a very talented and obviously very qualified vocalist is somehow not a "real instrumentalist". It's worth noting that the recording WAS initially slightly off pitch, but that was corrected and run past NUMEROUS different people, none of whom found a problem with it. I was one of those people.

Also, we didn't rush it just to "get the mix out a few days earlier". This is simply false. I put together the mix from all the component parts that were given to me, or that I created, and tweaked them until I felt that the mix was ready for submission. Being a judge and an experienced ReMixer I am well-versed with the standards, and being a professional musician myself I have a good sense of what sounds good and what doesn't. At the stage we were at, I felt that while additional work COULD have been done, the mix in its current state was more than adequate for submission. Tons of ReMixes on this site could be improved in some format. Lazy mixing/instrumentation, "off" notes, bad endings, sloppy performances, I could point out hundreds of ReMixes that could have been improved with a few more days of work.

However, I, along with hundreds of thousands of other listeners, am quite capable of listening to these imperfect pieces of music and greatly enjoying them. The minor flaws in this mix should not merit baseless criticism. You don't like it? Ok. We get that. Go ahead and even explain WHY you didn't like it. Other people in this thread had some beefs with different parts of the song, and there's not a problem there. Flat-out insulting the credentials of the people involved (when they are probably greater than your own) IS a problem, especially when you come up with misinformation as well.

I won't tolerate any more senseless flaming here. Restrict your criticism to constructive only, and if you have any additional issues, take it up in PM or through some other channel of communication. The Reviews forum is not the place to do it. I believe you have warned before for this kind of behavior, so this shouldn't be new to you.

[StarBLaSt]

Restrict your criticism to constructive only, and if you have any additional issues, take it up in PM or through some other channel of communication. The Reviews forum is not the place to do it. I believe you have warned before for this kind of behavior, so this shouldn't be new to you.

It is quite the double standard to require negative reviews to be "constructive" while praise can be inane and trivial. Just because you don't agree with an opinion, you have no right to require that it be asserted differently from yours to be "acceptable discourse".

You are quite obviously letting your bias toward this song affect your "moderator" judgment. Not cool. In addition, your assertion one should not disparage someone's credentials is hilariously ineffective given the not-so-subtle credential insult you included in parentheses. Hilarious! And accusing folks of flaming when the only thing that could rightly qualify as a "flame" was a certain "fuck you" from a certain thin-skinned individual? Questionable.

That being said, I found the remix to be mediocre at best, with pixietricks barely saving the mix with her obviously tired and out-of-tune voice. It's a testament to her talent that even under adverse conditions she can still swing many people into enjoying a song that would otherwise be devoid of talent.

The guitar work was predictable, the mixing was puerile, the recording was so-so.
Since this must be constructive per the order of zircon, i offer these suggestions:

Guys, sometimes too many hands spoil the pot. A collab sometimes isnt as good as one mixer by himself. Know when to say "hmmm maybe we dont need to include that hilariously cheesy chanting voice just so so-and-so feels included".

Guys, know how to take criticism. When you submit a mix that is "just for fun" be sure that folks will still grade it as harshly as they would a real remix. Answering criticism with "Fuck you" or "well, mixing and production isnt the point of the mix!" won't help.

Pixie, being prolific with your work is great, but still, quality is better than quantity. Also, what's up with the harshness and bitterness toward the negative singing criticism? I suppose it can only spring from lack of confidence, but I assure you, you have nothing to be unconfident about.

All in all, you guys can do better, and should.

[The Instrument of GAWD]

Sorry that I can't be Internet Cool and say I hated this, but I liked this one. Even if it does almost sound like that one song, Tom's Diner or whatever it was.

The vocals that Shonen and Pixie provided fitted well with the lyrics. D's vocals made me think even more that this was a song from the early 90's, which was alright in my book.

All in all, good job guys. Even if it was a whole-hearted, halfassed attempt! Call me nuts, but I can almost imagine the fun you guys had before you put this together.

[zircon]

It is quite the double standard to require negative reviews to be "constructive" while praise can be inane and trivial. Just because you don't agree with an opinion, you have no right to require that it be asserted differently from yours to be "acceptable discourse".

This is common policy in the ReViews forum. If you don't like it, I don't know what else to tell you except this is how it has been run (primarily by Darkesword, I might add) for quite awhile now. You can call it a double standard, but "pointless" or trivial/inane praise is quite simply harmless whereas baseless criticism or flaming is not. I have no problem with anyone not liking any aspect of this mix. For instance, I didn't chastise the person who said the drums didn't fit. I disagree with him, but he's free to say that. On the other hand, implying that the people involved are not "real instrumentalists" and that we have no sense of pitch is not a criticism of the MIX, it's a criticism of US, and an obviously untrue one.

edit: Anyway, look, I'm just trying to keep things civil here. If we could move past this I would appreciate it. Again if you have a problem with something here I encourage you to PM a moderator (or if it's about ME, pm another moderator).

[Jillian Aversa]

I think our biggest mistake was submitting this remix to OCR.

That night at zircon's place is basically sacred in my eyes. There is an inexplicable bond that arose from working on this song together, and I guess in our enthusiasm, we wished to share that with the community! Heaven forbid!

Unfortunately, we forgot that the community is comprised largely of self-proclaimed musical/internet geniuses who feel the need to impress others with their ability to bash not just the music, but the people themselves.

I'm disappointed. Don't know if I'll even bother submitting any more music to this site.

[MaGi_TekK]

On the other hand, implying that the people involved are not "real instrumentalists" and that we have no sense of pitch is not a criticism of the MIX, it's a criticism of US, and an obviously untrue one.

Zircon I think you totally misunderstood the context in which I was using the term 'real' instrumentalist. I meant that to mean people who 'really' play instruments who are familiar with concepts like musical pitch and have a discerning ear with absolutely no intent of implying that you guys aren't real musicians or something of that sort. It wasn't a jab at any of you and should have been read without any notion of being sardonic. Sorry you chose to view it that way. And you know, I was trying to temper my negativity by starting out with giving Pixie a compliment. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just giving an honest opinion which should not have to be constructive in any way. Trying to control others' speech especially when it is regarding you personally amounts to dictatorship.

[Aki Kitsune]

I love this piece! Why else would I burn it onto a cd? Sure, I also have the instrumental version but that's because I like trying to sing it myself too. The main guy's vocals is what I had problems with but over time they have become an aquired taste. Oh and I'm trying to get my female friend to sing this piece with me sometime.

[lady zelda]

It's perfectly understandable if you don't like a mix. I reiterate: perfectly understandable. But I don't understand why some ppl can't just say they don't like it, justify why, and leave it at that. I really think it is unecessary to be all anal about it, I mean, ppl mix for fun on this site, there's no profit or monetary gain in any way for the mixers. Only the personal glory of knowing that they completed a work of art. And really, I think anybody who put in time and effort of making a mix that was actually accepted onto this site should deserve at least some degree of praise. The mix may not be your favorite, you may hate it, but I think some ppl are just excessively harsh...I mean, what's the point of being that way?

I know this isn't the first time somebody has brought the exact same thing up, but I think that we may be losing some great mixers on this site if we keep bashing like this. And to be perfectly honest, perhaps this wasn't the best vocal mix by pixietricks, but ask yourself before you bash: could I do any better myself? Do I know anything about singing? About the technique e.g. posture, control of the anatomy of the sound, expression in tone, anything else I don't even have time to list...?

Just a thought. I'm sorry if this is completely off topic for a review thread, but I felt a need to say this in a thread like this. If not, sincere apologies and feel free to move it if so need be.

Enough said.

[Linearity]

Folks, calm down. Old video game music is not something to get in painful arguments about. My normal friends make fun of me for this sort of thing.

The swiftness with which this song was put together shows a little. I can't put my finger on what it is, and that's because it's such a good piece. Good mixing and composition in the first sense of the word: the pieces fit together nicely and create a full soundscape. It sounds like there are some minute gaps in that fullness, but it's more subjective than anything I could name.

Now, more importantly, it's a nice, warm, little vocal version of Lava Reef Zone. That's from a video game, did I mention that? Does it really matter how good you think the vocals are when they are obviously sufficient to make a vocal version of Lava Reef Zone? We've grown accustomed to the idea of game remixes, but take a step back, cool your jets, and realize what how cool that is.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

That night at zircon's place is basically sacred in my eyes. There is an inexplicable bond that arose from working on this song together.Abso-fuckin'-lutely.

I'm disappointed. Don't know if I'll even bother submitting any more music to this site.
You are well within your rights to make that decision, but I hope you will reconsider. Feedback for this has been more positive than negative, and for what it's worth, I think your performance in this mix (and all your other mixes) was absolutely beautiful.

EDIT: Thanks, linearity. That needed to be said.

[DarkeSword]

It is quite the double standard to require negative reviews to be "constructive" while praise can be inane and trivial. Just because you don't agree with an opinion, you have no right to require that it be asserted differently from yours to be "acceptable discourse".

Absolutey correct. There has been an historic double standard in review threads because artists understandably don't like like negative feedback without elaboration. The thing is, the listener doesn't have to be constructive. A review thread is for posting what you thought about a song. If I don't like a song, I can post "This is terrible. It sucks." That's actually acceptable, even if an artist doesn't like that. The artist can even say to me ,"Can you elaborate on that?" and if I choose to, I will. If I choose not to, I won't, and an artist can just disregard my thoughts.

I've done that a few times myself with negative reviews.

The real issue that we should always keep in mind is that we should never insult a person for their work. Negative feedback should always be directed towards the piece and performance, not the person. As artists, we need to be able to separate ourselves from our work when reading negative feedback.

I realize that this a lot harder to do when you're a singer. A criticism of a performance feels like a criticism of one's person. But as artists, we can't let these things get to us and make us mad, or drive us away from the site and what we do here.

Pixie, I realize it's a review thread for a mix that you took part in, but responding to criticism with profanity has no place here in the forum. Keep your cool, and think about what you're saying before you hit that submit button.

Magi_Tekk: OCR is a dictatorship. It always has been, and it always will be. We won't control people's speech, but we will step in and moderate when necessary.

This is all I'm going to say on the matter, which, in the context of this thread, should be dropped. Any other arguments should be taken to PM. Thanks.

[Global-Trance]

Lots of bickering I see.

I'm an elitist DJ, but come on, I thought that was fun for what it was. I thought it was cute. :oops:

[debeerguy007]

Ok Boys and Girls it's time for the Drunken Spy to put in his $0.02 into the matter.

I think that everybody involved in this remix did a fantastic job on it and should be commended for their efforts, especially given the fact that most of the groundwork, from what I hear, was done in one night. ONE F*#$&#* NIGHT!!!!

Are there flaws here and there? YES
but am I gonna cry and shoot myself over them. NO


Despite these facts I appreciate the craft and skills necessary to pull off what I believe is one of the finest, if not THE FINEST collaborative efforts I've seen come out of the OverClocked Remix.


Now with that said, I now say this:














Disagree with me and I will personally tackle your mailbox...

[PlastikBag]

Edit: Pretty much a re-review. I have to say that I've listened to this a bit more and it grew on me a good deal. It has very good production for how quickly it was thrown together, and it's just good cheesy fun.

[WesPip]

One thing that bothered me in the WIP stages and still does now, and I suppose this would be directed towards Shonen, is "unthaw". I know it's a small thing and I'm being anal, but I cringe a little every time I hear it.
Aside from that, as has been said, the vocals aren't perfect, but the thing is, that also lends a certain human quality to the song and shows that you guys actually had fun making the mix. Chances are, if vocals are perfect, they were done in many takes, and were, as such, not any fun to do whatsoever. For an upbeat, kinda "poppy" song like this, it's good to know the people making it enjoyed themselves.

Oh, and as has been said, if you were being serious pixie, chill out a little. I understand why you'd get upset, but that's no reason to punish the large part of the community, the ones that offer constructive criticisms actually based on something, and those that ENJOY your music.

[Upthorn]

Edit: Added stuff on the top so the Recent Comments (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01465/#lyrics)" bit (scroll up from the link) wouldn't make it looks like someone was hating on it.
I enjoyed this mix greatly.
The following is a quote.
I'd have to agree with some of the more negative commentary. I was totally hyped up to get a new remix featuring Pixie's vocal talents (whose 'Prayer' Zelda remix I've pretty much listened to for over a year without getting tired of) But I was aghast when I heard the vocals come on. To us real instrumentalists who can tell pitch with precision, it's just plainly out of tune, without a doubt. I was just surprised you'd let something like that slip by without fixing it first. Getting a remix out one or two days earlier isn't worth it when it's going to be listened to for many years to come. The rest of the song besides the singing is also mediocre at best, I really don't know what the fuss is about. Don't release a work or do a performance unless you're at your best. You people at Peabody Conservatory should know that more than anyone right?
Your first mistake here, was making the pompous assertion that voice is not a real instrument.
Voice is one of the most powerful, and most difficult instruments to learn, and requires much greater pitch discrepancy than any other instrument to use properly. This is because instruments that you play make notes in preset intervals. Voice has a greater freedom of range, but the tradeoff is that it requires impeccable precision to sing with notable skill.

Your second mistake was completely missing the point. The mistakes were not left in because it was rushed to get out. The mistakes were left in for authenticity. This mix was not even planned before the meetup happened, and was 90% done the next morning. That's something special, and putting make up over it would kill its beauty and power.

One thing that bothered me in the WIP stages and still does now, and I suppose this would be directed towards Shonen, is "unthaw". I know it's a small thing and I'm being anal, but I cringe a little every time I hear it.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=unthaw

The rap isn't bad, but it's too slow to be 'normal rap' and it isn't flowing enough to be 'melodic rap.'
I don't think of it as rap. I think of it more as a lyric recitation. The important things there are feeling and clarity.

[Dectilon]

Well, obviously you're a qualified singer, but in this remix it really doesn't sound that way. Now, I don't know if it has to do with this not being your genre or if it just needed another retake, but it doesn't sound very well. During the duet your voices clash. At least that's how it sounds to me. It somehow feels like there could have been more preparation to get they style down.

I was bothered by a similar thing with the SoM remix. I really liked it until the japanese text started, because the pronunciation was all wrong. Imagine someone who has never spoken a word english wholy serious tried to sing a balad or something along those lines. Lots of words would be impossible to understand because they were pronounced wrongly. Wouldn't it bother you? I think it would have been better there to either just go for a english text (that part I really liked) or to learn a somewhat proper pronunciation. It's not at all complicated really.

Basically what I'm trying to say is: Don't quit, but either make some songs that ARE in your genre, or put a little more effort in getting the new genre down. :)

Music will always attract elitists who have smug opinions on the right/wrong way to preform a certain genre (possibly me included :P). I mean heck, even modern chamber music (I hope that's the right translation), which usually is atonal and sounds like complete randomness has its elitist critics :P

[I.Medley]

I personally rather enjoyed it. I didn't notice any glaring flaws in the vocal performances. D-Lux's recitation didn't sound quite as lively as in "Da Black Market," but did add to the delicious cheesiness of the song. Pixietricks and shonensamurai's performances were not spot on terrific, but I thought they worked well regardless. I wouldn't call this the greatest song on OCR, but I bet that none of the contributors would say that themselves.

[Dhsu]

I was bothered by a similar thing with the SoM remix. I really liked it until the japanese text started, because the pronunciation was all wrong. Imagine someone who has never spoken a word english wholy serious tried to sing a balad or something along those lines. Lots of words would be impossible to understand because they were pronounced wrongly. Wouldn't it bother you? I think it would have been better there to either just go for a english text (that part I really liked) or to learn a somewhat proper pronunciation. It's not at all complicated really.
Exactly which SoM mix are you talking about?? O_o

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that Taucer's guitar section was a pleasant surprise. I was listening to this mix casually at first until that part just came out of nowhere and punched me in the face. In a good way, of course. :D

:nicework: Geoffrey, definitely a highlight. :)

[Caster13]

I have to say that I've lost a bit of interest in OCR and haven't visited the site in a quite some time.

But I am glad as hell I came back and caught this mix. I've been listening to this for the past half hour on loop and I just think it is amazing.

I'm not musician or anything like that or even a half-decent critic, the most I've ever done with music is play around with Electrokplankton. But I can absolutely feel the camaradarie in this mix among the five of you.

To pull off something like this over a single night is great feat. Great job to all you.

[Whitey]

this song is perfect, every voice, lyric, note and tone.

its clean, has addictive & touching lyrics
it has the " repeating but never getting bored " tag on it.

its truly brillaint and awesome, i know alot of others dont agree but all i can say, you go thru 5 operations to keep ur hearing intact and speech therapy 3 times so u know how to talk and tell me that this isnt perfect.
- so far in my life, ive never heard anyone sing better than the way pixie has in this song.

keep it up pixie please :)

[Upthorn]

Okay. I've figured out how to say what I was trying to explain earlier.

This song is not meant to be a demonstration of talent. The amount, or lack, of talent displayed here does not reflect on the remixers.
This song is an expression of joy, and love for the community.

When someone tells you "You make me happy I'm really glad you're in my life I love you." Would you really take them to task for the run-on sentence, or any slight mispronunciations they make?

Because that's the equivalent of most of the unfounded negative comments I'm seeing here.
This song is (unlike most of the other songs here) not meant to be of professional quality. It's just supposed to be good fun.

It's like going to the discussion thread for "Music of my groin" and saying: "Vocals are clearly off-key. Sloppy guitar work. Poor recording quality. 0/10."
It only demonstrates that you completely missed the point.

Any problems with the performance are irrelevant to the success of this mix. Whether or not it made you happy to listen to is all that's important.
It made me smile and chuckle a bit. If it didn't do that for you, fine. But it wasn't intended to be fine art, and you shouldn't have expected it to be if you read the lyrics. So don't act like the mixers tried and failed to make a masterwork. Because they weren't trying to, and they didn't fail at their goal.

Edit:
this song is perfect, every voice, lyric, note and tone.

its clean, has addictive & touching lyrics
it has the " repeating but never getting bored " tag on it.

its truly brillaint and awesome, i know alot of others dont agree but all i can say, you go thru 5 operations to keep ur hearing intact and speech therapy 3 times so u know how to talk and tell me that this isnt perfect.
- so far in my life, ive never heard anyone sing better than the way pixie has in this song.

keep it up pixie please Smile ur blessed and most of them seem to use it against you, shame
See. This guy gets it.

[viper_h]

Hi guys/gals,

I registered specifically to show my support for this amazing track.

I love it so much, and I love pixie's voice. I have a thing for people's voices and pixie's is really beautiful.

The lyrics i find really fun to listen to. The lyrics MAKE the song. You people who say "get rid of the lyrics" have no taste. :P

The rapper guy reminds me of the guy from Bloodhoud Gang, and that's quite amusing to me.

The only problem I have with this song is that it's too short. More lyrics! More pixietricks!!!

Love it!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Okay. I've figured out how to say what I was trying to explain earlier.

This song is not meant to be a demonstration of talent. The amount, or lack, of talent displayed here does not reflect on the remixers.
This song is an expression of joy, and love for the community.

When someone tells you "You make me happy I'm really glad you're in my life I love you." Would you really take them to task for the run-on sentence, or any slight mispronunciations they make?

Because that's the equivalent of most of the unfounded negative comments I'm seeing here.
This song is (unlike most of the other songs here) not meant to be of professional quality. It's just supposed to be good fun.

It's like going to the discussion thread for "Music of my groin" and saying: "Vocals are clearly off-key. Sloppy guitar work. Poor recording quality. 0/10."
It only demonstrates that you completely missed the point.

Any problems with the performance are irrelevant to the success of this mix. Whether or not it made you happy to listen to is all that's important.
It made me smile and chuckle a bit. If it didn't do that for you, fine. But it wasn't intended to be fine art, and you shouldn't have expected it to be if you read the lyrics. So don't act like the mixers tried and failed to make a masterwork. Because they weren't trying to, and they didn't fail at their goal.
Thanks. You summed it up far better than I could have.

[HamsterCorp]

This is the first time I've deleted a song I downloaded from OCR in quite a while...

It just doesn't work for me. First impressions was that it was like something I would hear on pop radio stations - stuff I generally don't like. Quality seemed rather off, too. I'm pretty picky about vocals, as well. They have to mesh with the song well for me to not get the feeling of needing to stab my ears.

[Rocknrule]

Love this track! Lava Reef is my favorite Sonic track ever, I want to see more Sonic tracks put to lyrics. Also, more lyrical Lava Reef remixes would be greatly appreciated!

[jmr]

Definitly one of the best mixes I've downloaded in a while. (Pretty good timing, too; I just finished beating S3+K again earlier this week.)
I'm usually not a fan of vocal mixes, but the clever lyrics really made it for me. Not to mention that sweet Taucer solo.
After reading through the previous posts, I have one thing to say: at least it's better than 90% of the pop-crap I hear on the radio.

Anyway, nice work to all involved.

[J_Lidar2k51]

Maybe we casual listeners with no real musical background don't matter to the real musicians here, but I bought a keyboard to voice my mind and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

I've been listening to this track on loop for the past hour and still can't get enough of it. I personally cannot find anything wrong with the pitch (in all honestly) but I have been called tone deaf in my life. The track flows well, I love the duet and the playful lyrics.

If you guys had a great time doing this it doesn't matter what the "professional music critics" have to say about it. Nobody can take the experience away from you. And I, like many people (from what I can tell from the thread), greatly appreciate the submission to the site.

[Fusilliban]

When someone tells you "You make me happy I'm really glad you're in my life I love you." Would you really take them to task for the run-on sentence, or any slight mispronunciations they make?

This song is (unlike most of the other songs here) not meant to be of professional quality. It's just supposed to be good fun.

Is there some OCR metadata that I'm not reading? I don't object to looking at the song this way, but I'm not sure how I was supposed to know that's what it was. Please keep in mind that this is the internet and a minimum of 80% of us are low-empathy social misfits who are bad at reading context in person, nevermind in flat text. I mean no disrespect here, I just... didn't see anything that would lead me to think that. This may be due to my failure to pick up on cues, rather than them not being there, but if it's the former I suspect I am not alone.


So my initial review of this song was mixed, but after listening to it several times and thinking about it a bit more thoroughly, I realize I'm holding it to too high a standard - I'm not looking at this as a remix, I'm looking at it as a standalone piece, which is foolish of me. So, kudos to the crew here, this remix is pretty excellent.

I'm a bit iffy on a couple parts. Some of the synth bits used seem a little rougher than the rest of the piece to me when I listen to the instrumental cut (thanks for providing it, Zircon) but these are minor imperfections and they're pretty well obfuscated by the lyrics. I think I mostly take issue with the background guitar riffs - they sound weirdly rough to my ear when they're mixed in with other stuff. The foreground guitar is still aces.

I'm not the biggest fan of shonensamurai's vocals here. To be sure, they're better than I can do (I sing like a dying moose), but they're a bit off in some way that I can't quite put words to. Still, the emotion is there, and that's cool.

There's a world of difference between pixie's lyrics, and the opening non-word vocal work (the term for which escapes me). After reading this thread, I suspect this has to do with being trained for opera-type singing and sustained notes rather than the more poppy style used here. The lyrical stuff is ok, the opening vocals (which remain in the instrumental cut) are friggin' excellent.

D-Lux's mini rap is a little cheesy, yeah, but it's spot on, and the cheesiness makes me smile a little.

All around good piece, my listeners were all over it this morning. I think the greatest weakness of the piece is that it's so far beyond the original, it's hard to judge it on the "remix" scale.

[Don-Don]

I pity the people who are taking this mix to seriously, they're missing a really fun piece of music...I guess you could say whether or not it's perfect depends on your definition of perfect.

Also, where can I find the instrumental version? Been looking around for it, but no luck...A link would be appreciated. XP

[Shonen Samurai]

Is there some OCR metadata that I'm not reading? I don't object to looking at the song this way, but I'm not sure how I was supposed to know that's what it was. Please keep in mind that this is the internet and a minimum of 80% of us are low-empathy social misfits who are bad at reading context in person, nevermind in flat text. I mean no disrespect here, I just... didn't see anything that would lead me to think that. This may be due to my failure to pick up on cues, rather than them not being there, but if it's the former I suspect I am not alone.

There was DJP's writeup.

Thanks for the kind words. We all appreciate them.

[q-pa]

Okay. I've figured out how to say what I was trying to explain earlier.

This song is not meant to be a demonstration of talent. The amount, or lack, of talent displayed here does not reflect on the remixers.
This song is an expression of joy, and love for the community.
...
This song is (unlike most of the other songs here) not meant to be of professional quality. It's just supposed to be good fun.
...
Any problems with the performance are irrelevant to the success of this mix. Whether or not it made you happy to listen to is all that's important.
It made me smile and chuckle a bit. If it didn't do that for you, fine. But it wasn't intended to be fine art, and you shouldn't have expected it to be if you read the lyrics. So don't act like the mixers tried and failed to make a masterwork. Because they weren't trying to, and they didn't fail at their goal.
Amen, brother.
Could not have said it better.

But watch me try:
There are many kinds of mixes on this site. They cross not only genres but also moods. Some are tender ballads ("Death on the Snowfield," "Pacabelle's Gannon"...), some are 4-on-the-floor dance (DJ Crono & Sir Nuts's stuff), some are hard metal (SnappleMan's stuff), others are just good fun; nothing more to it ("I Got the Spacebeam," "Water Warning," "McVaffeQuasi Ultimix," and yes, this one too). Though I must say, this one pwns.



Looks like we scared Pixie out of this thread entirely. Nice Work, guys...



Edit: Requoted for great justice. --Literally.
To be fair, this mix was done very quickly. Zircon actually submitted it before I had to the chance to rerecord my vocals. I wasn't happy with them because I'm not used to singing in a fast, poppy style, and I had to record them in a rush. It's definitely not my best work, but when you're collabing with four other people eager to get the mix out to the masses, that's what happens. The point was that we had an awesome time together. ^_^

[GordonF]

Hey,

After listening to the mix over and over for the last several days, I decided to pop in here and read the reviews. I was a little bit disappointed in some of the negativity flying around, but I guess thats behind us now and I just wanted to add in my little bit.

I'm no musician, and as a rule, I prefer instrumental remixes over those with lyrics. This one, I have to say, is a definite exception. The vocals really make the remix great-- they complement the melody perfectly, in my opinion.

I look forward to more songs from pixie and the rest of you. Thank you for submitting!

[I.Medley]

I pity the people who are taking this mix to seriously, they're missing a really fun piece of music...I guess you could say whether or not it's perfect depends on your definition of perfect.

Also, where can I find the instrumental version? Been looking around for it, but no luck...A link would be appreciated. XP

Generally, remixers usually put additional content in the ReViews thread for the song, with the intention that people who care would actually read the thread to find what they are looking for.

In any case, as I wrote in the last page, zircon posted the instrumental on the second page.

http://www.zirconstudios.com/Lover%20Reef%20(Instrumental).mp3

[Don-Don]

Heh, guess I missed it. I'll keep that in mind though, and thank you very much for your help.

[WesPip]

Okay. I've figured out how to say what I was trying to explain earlier.

This song is not meant to be a demonstration of talent. The amount, or lack, of talent displayed here does not reflect on the remixers.
This song is an expression of joy, and love for the community.
...
This song is (unlike most of the other songs here) not meant to be of professional quality. It's just supposed to be good fun.
...
Any problems with the performance are irrelevant to the success of this mix. Whether or not it made you happy to listen to is all that's important.
It made me smile and chuckle a bit. If it didn't do that for you, fine. But it wasn't intended to be fine art, and you shouldn't have expected it to be if you read the lyrics. So don't act like the mixers tried and failed to make a masterwork. Because they weren't trying to, and they didn't fail at their goal.
Amen, brother.
Could not have said it better.[/quote]
Ditto.
And if you've been paying attention, I tried. He just did a much better job of it than me.

[Tidar]

i love the melody!

i really got intoo this song for 2 hours XD

not cozz of the lyrics but cozz of the way you put the lyrics and the melody togther would say this is a real sega song (thats a compliment :P)

keep it up
collab power rules!

[Baidol]

The remix sounds good and feels good.

I will admit, the first time I heard it I was underwhelmed, but that was because I had certain expectations. My problem with it wasn't that the vocals were bad, just that they were different from what I expected. Once I realized that I enjoyed the song quite thorougly.

[DarkeSword]

The remix sounds good and feels good.

I will admit, the first time I heard it I was underwhelmed, but that was because I had certain expectations. My problem with it wasn't that the vocals were bad, just that they were different from what I expected. Once I realized that I enjoyed the song quite thorougly.

Quoting this for mix page's benefit. The rest of my post has nothing to do with this quote.

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Some people seem to be forgetting the point of this thread. Just post your review of the mix in question and be done with it. Stop posting about unrelated issues. I've moved a few posts to Abuse already. If you feel the need to discuss unrelated stuff, take it to PM.

[DistantJ]

So seeing the title of this mix I rolled my eyes. A romantic Lava Reef remix? The concept seemed pretty tacky to me, and I felt I would be unimpressed. I quickly skimmed over Pretzel's description and went to download. In fact I even saved it in my 'Temporary Files' folder, anticipating it's immediate deletion.

...But I didn't delete it.

Straight away there's a great opening with warm pads which just turn the legs to jelly. Some average percussion, a guitar, and there it is - that chick with the gorgeous voice again.

I don't know who this girl is, but she must have had some classical training. As usual all notes are hit absolutely perfectly.

Anyways, moving on. The general feel of this track is a feel I often enjoy, it brings a somewhat exotic feel, and whilst the lyrics are written in a romantic sense the tune and underlying Lava Reef chord progression give more passionate, poetic overtones to it.

I absolutely adored the use of the woodwind instrument and the guitars, but the piano really just irked me and felt like an unnecessary supplement.

The male voice, while not awful, does seem to be a bit of a problem. Not to say that the voice is bad, in fact it's pretty good for the most part, but when you juxtapose a classical quality powerful female voice next to a more average, punk music suited male vocal, the contrast is a little too apparent.

The poem/rap style reciting towards the end didn't work for me for some reason. Again, I just think it's the voice.

At first, hearing the vocal singing in the tune of the Lava Reef theme I said "psh" and rolled my eyes, but after a few bars I realised that this actually worked. The bridge and chorus from the original theme seem to have been melded together to form the chorus for this song, which does work, but can sound awkward at first to those familiar with the original piece expecting the bridge to lead into the chorus rather than be a part of it.

The lyrics of this song are quite pleasing, and they don't make the cheeseometer explode like a lot of game remixes with lyrics tend to.

[Liontamer]

Anything bashing the people instead of the song, as well as needless bitching about pixietrick's website loading blank (it has a white background and if you don't have Flash installed, the content will not display), OR begging/comforting/reassuring pixietricks in lieu of that emotional ("emo" for short) outburst of pessimism has been and will be deleted. Grow up, kids.

In other places in this review thread, there have been some perfectly fine comments from people who have nothing good to say about the track. Like it or dislike it, listen to DarkeSword, just say your piece on the song and keep the comments focused on the song. If you don't like the mix, don't be a douche about it. Only the judges get to do that. :lol:

[OzymandiasVolt]

I don't like Shonen's voice in this song. Don't get me wrong, it's obvious he can sing, just not in a style that I personally enjoy. Trixie's voice, however, was absolutely gorgeous, especially in the non-lyrical portions.

The music itself was quite enjoyable. You guys can apparently do excellent work on short notice, even if it's a rush job that was composed purely for fun.

Oh, and don't mind the elitists. Those guys are everywhere. The trick is to stop caring about their opinions, since their opinions are frequently unsound, and unsound opinions are worthless.

I'm looking forward to whatever you five compose in the future.

[Kureejii Lea]

I like this one. It's cute. It may be a bit rough around the edges, but I think the circumstances under which it was made also give it a kind of lively spontaneity that really makes it a fun track. While pixie's voice may not be best suited to this kind of singing, it still makes me smile. You guys did good.

[Crazylegz]

This was an awsome remix. I loved the vocals and the way the other instruments were put together in the background. I espcially like the piano. Easily takes the position of one of my favorite sonic oc remixes if not the best imo. Very very nice, keep it up. :D

[OA]

This remix has serious soul, and it's obvious something really special happened to allow you to capture the moment.

No internet trolls can take that away.

10/10

[A-RoN]

I'm liking this remix. The piano and padwork is amazing. Pixie's vocals definately get the high marks here as her voice gives the track high dynamics. Although I'm not big on shinningsamurai's vocals, he certainly sounds like the Moffats' lead vocalist, who can sing decently.

It's amazing what kind of things can churn up at a sleep-over. Great job!

9/10

[Dectilon]

Exactly which SoM mix are you talking about?? O_o

Agh! How stupid of me. I somehow forgot which game it was :P I mean the Chrono Trigger remix.

[Dr. Wily]

Given my recent commentaries on judging standard in an UnMod thread this is actually the kind of mix I would want to see on this site, but wouldn't expect to be passed. To tell you the truth, I was surprised at having this as a direct post. A spot of nepotism?

There are parts of this I absolutely love.. Taucer's guitar, pixie's vocals, the lyrics themselves and zircon's arrangement.

I'm already a fan of the theme itself (love Jivemaster's Lava Reach), so good choice.

Truthfully I didn't like Shonen's voice either at first. But having listened to the track a few times it works ok. Worse though is the spoken part by D-Lux, I think it detracts somewhat from the whole feel of the 'cheesy love song' and tries to be too 'Real McCoy' as it were, heh.

Despite some gripes, this is a fun mix and I really enjoy it. I'm glad you guys had a good time at your meetup!


And re: bitching etc. Starblast basically summed up my view on that.

[Shonen Samurai]

We're finally getting to what I was hoping to hear--minor gripes (which we ourselves also have) but all in all an enjoyable track with heart.

:)

[reelmojo]

The only negative thing I have to say is about the length. I want to hear more! Another verse would be great. Failing that, I hope the five of you get to work together again sometime, and hopefully soon.

[Shadowe]

Truthfully I didn't like Shonen's voice either at first. But having listened to the track a few times it works ok. Worse though is the spoken part by D-Lux, I think it detracts somewhat from the whole feel of the 'cheesy love song' and tries to be too 'Real McCoy' as it were, heh.

Splice the end of the instrumental version onto the main song?

Personally my only issue with the part at the end is that it really could have benefited from a better microphone. I'll admit my tiny headphones dont help much but it comes out sounding a little telephonish.

[Upthorn]

"Personally my only issue with the part at the end is that it really could have benefited from a better microphone."

I actually like it better for its imperfect quality. I think it helps capture the feeling of that night.

[Dr. Wily]

You know what this song makes me think of?

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/8383/sonicamy4wg.jpg

[FlameStream]

A very enjoyable mix. I've been listening to the track quite a few times these days. It's just too bad it's short.

Nonetheless, I loved most, if not all aspects of it. I'm not a fan of vocal remixes, but this one definitively is an exception. That's got to be something.

[Flare4War]

A very enjoyable mix. I've been listening to the track quite a few times these days. It's just too bad it's short.

Nonetheless, I loved most, if not all aspects of it. I'm not a fan of vocal remixes, but this one definitively is an exception. That's got to be something.

I agree with this.

The track for some reason was really enjoyable and I'm not a fan of the vocal arrangments at all. I also agree with the many that have said it is too short.

Also I don't agreed with the D-Lux part. The part with D-Lux is too 'Real McCoy'ish'. (as it has been before mentioned) lol I think the aspect was creative but would have sounded infinitely better if it had been Pixie's voice in a whisper....or something to that effect.

Once again however, great job guys.

[Liontamer]

Given my recent commentaries on judging standard in an UnMod thread this is actually the kind of mix I would want to see on this site, but wouldn't expect to be passed. To tell you the truth, I was surprised at having this as a direct post. A spot of nepotism?
Nah, I would just say you don't know the standards. :lol:

[Steele]

Hmm...

I liked this mix. I'm not too fond of the male vocals, but i can live with it. It's not that they're BAD (he can sing a lot better than I could ever hope), but without referencing pictures, The lyricists seem to be a rather mistmatched couple to be seranading eachother (one a beautiful, whimsical young woman, and the otehr a semi akward, emotionally unsure nerdy guy... not too often does one see a couple like this). Though that's also part of the reason I LIKE it, oddly enough. The guy could be anyone. It's touching like that.

Also, given all the lyrics talking about snow and cold and stuff, I'm thinking the oft-snowcap zone theme would have been a bit more appropriate...

Though maybe that would be harder to turn into a pop-rock background beat. *shrugs* Maybe mixing the two themes might have been a nice touch, i dunno.

I've been listening to this track on repeat for a few days now... last time i listened to a track this much was "Finally Home", though that was on repeat for over a week, and i don't think i'll go quite THAT far with this song =)

Good jerb, 8/10 =)

[Shonen Samurai]

http://is3.okcupid.com/users/976/132/9771328580900863216/p1121320122.jpg

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/1311/mikeshootandalsotoomanychicago.jpg

[Jillian Aversa]

Yeah, I gotta say... Shonen is definitely hunkier than your average video game nerd, and not shy at all in person. ¬_¬

[Dr. Wily]

Given my recent commentaries on judging standard in an UnMod thread this is actually the kind of mix I would want to see on this site, but wouldn't expect to be passed. To tell you the truth, I was surprised at having this as a direct post. A spot of nepotism?
Nah, I would just say you don't know the standards. :lol:

This isn't the place to continue our discussion Larry and you know it, quit trying to bait me. ;)

P.S. Since I read the context in which this mix was created, I originally misheard the lyrics 'The sun's gone down on our parting hands' as 'The sun's gone down on our party games' haha.

[DrumUltimA]

The thing that I like about this mix is that it reminds me of the daydreams I'd have when I was younger, sitting on a swingset in the park, thinking about having a band or something. This is what this mix is. When I hear this, I hear a bunch of friends getting together, combining what talents they have, and making something. It's not about being the cleanest remixer or being the refined musician out of the peabody conservatory or something, this mix is about having fun and making music out of it--and ultimately, I think that's more important sometimes. This mix really does, (no pun intended), give me a warm feeling :D

But now that I have mentioned the Peabody Conservatory...

You people at Peabody Conservatory should know that more than anyone right?

And who the hell are you?

[VRemedyz]

First, I would like to congratulate all who worked on this mix. While it may not be perfect in every way, this piece to me had more soul and feeling to it then the majority of mixes I've heard. I say that because I could really feel the emotion from every member who worked on it, and the positive feelings of friendship and fun really made me smile.

But anyways, great job Jill and everyone else who worked on this mix, keep up the good work!

- Doug (Drum's friend)

[José the Bronx Rican]

It's a complete song, that's for sure; something for everyone, an arrangement that neatly packages those things, and the kind of good-natured cheese that wouldn't be out of place at all if it came from the ending of an official Sonic Team title. Proof? Anyone remember "Dreams Dreams" from NiGHTS? Exactly the same mood.

My real problem with it is...
now I really regret not being able to hang out with everyone long enough to be a part of this. :cry:

[Broken]

I don't have much to say that hasn't been said. This is a well done mix by some of the community's best talent.

I am greatly pleased with this mix partly because the source material is very near and dear to me. I also think you all took the original song in a new and interesting direction, yet kept enough to remind me of the actual Lava Reef theme. For example, I like how you kept the little synth piano part in the background(at the beginning) and then the song takes off from there. Its things like that that bring back memories of this song's origins (for me at least).

[Evilhead]

I don't have much else to add either, other than I really like this! I know some vocal pieces can be hard to pull off, and some just sound... bad, but damn, this one really came through! I think a lot of people on here have been way too critical of the vocals, but I guess everyone has their opinions. I think ALL of the vocals sound great, not just Jill, who of course is wonderful as usual. Shonensamurai does a fantastic job, and he has a great, unique voice. Warm and quirky, kind of like the dudes from They Might Be Giants. It really works well with this kind of song, which is pretty light hearted and relaxing.

It is a bit short, but that's not much of a complaint, as I just want it to go on for a long time. Congrats on a great mix, and the fact that you guys had fun with this one really shows!

[Razor-man]

I listened to the track and didn't enjoy it very much. Though there's been a bit of controversy over vocals here, those really were the negative points for me, as I found it hard to listen to the rest of this mix. I've heard a version without the vocals and had no problems with the arrangement itself, nor the notion of it being a vocal remix, as I think it certainly lends itself to that. People have said that being rough around the edges is fine, and it is given the circumstances governing the making of this mix, but my qualm is that the vocal preformances do not mesh well together...at all. If during the duet section one peformer had been used exclusively, either one, I think I would have found this more tolerable. The two just don't work well together and the end product is rather disjunctive.
The lyrics also bother me, but then I think I'm supposed to regard this as a 'bit of cheese' and forgive the lifeless, cliched lyrics - so I'm not going to make that a major issue.
I know each of the respective collaborators on this mix are very talented people and I know they can do sterling work. However, even for a hastily thrown together project, I think this is far below their standards. Made in fun or not, this mix was submitted to the community and therefore is put under scrutiny by said community. This is my genuine response to this mix: I didn't enjoy it.

[Scrobble]

QQ noobs, learn to review


Now that *that's* out of the way, i'd just like to say that i very much enjoyed this track from the first time that i heard a demo of it. To be honest, i can't see how anyone could ever say pixietricks doesn't have talent unless they have some personal problem with her.

It's just a fun little mix, of the kind that used to litter this site when it first opened, and i love it. win/10, size 10 yes, ftw, and all of that other fun stuff.

[Ageha]

I registered just to post this, so I'm gonna toss in my two cents.

Lava Reef is my favourite song from any Sonic game, period. I have every remix of it I can find, good or bad.

Personally my favourite so far has been Jivemaster's remix of it, but this one is a really close second. I'm not a professional musician and I haven't sung since All State Madrigals many years ago, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

First, I think this remix really portrays the feeling - I can only assume as I wasn't there - of the night that these remixers had together. I don't think it's kind or that this is the place to deaden this expression by picking fights with them.

Secondly, I really enjoyed it; but it could be because Pixie's style of vocals is something I've been trained in since I was younger, though not as extensively as she.

My final verdict is that I love this song and its expression. I'll be looking for more awesome collab-work from you guys in the future!

[Particleman]

I love this one, which is a bit odd, since normally I don't care for love songs, and I've never been particularly fond of the Sonic games either. Nevertheless, I think his mix is wonderfully done. The one very minor nitpick I have with this, though (and I'm not much of a musician, so I might be wrong on this, or maybe I'm imagining it), is that the male vocalist sounds just a bit flat when he starts singing.

Regardless, this is one of my new favorite songs. I want to congratulate everyone involved with this for a job wonderfully done.

[Martin Penwald]

Don't know what the first eleven pages are about, but I bet it's the vocals. It's always the vocals.

Me personally, I like it. This is the most emotional track that was posted since Tepids "A rose for Zelda". It just stays in my head and goes round and round...I also liked the guitar work very much.

[MegaKitsune]

Whoohoo! Instrumental version! This version pWNS!

I'm sorry, I just REALLY don't like the vocals. I don't really know what it is about them that I hate, I think it would be the lyrics if anything...but I just don't like them. It's also mainly the male vocals, as the female vocals are awesome. (Is it just me, or does she sound like the chick in that song at the end of the original MGS?)

But the music is KICKASS. Very well-done sequencing, and AWESOME guitar.

Vocal mix: 6/10
Instrumental mix: 9/10

Keep up the good work, guys!

[Retlaf]

When I started reading the reviews, I was quite surprised by the contraversy. I expected to see nothing but 11/10s. Of course, to each their own. I personally really enjoy it, regardless of the fact that I'm not a fan of vocal arrangements (as others have also stated). I've probably listened to this song fifty times.

What makes this piece so great is that it was made by friends who each combined their unique talents. Someone else said that this song is not about being 'the best remix,' but rather about the feeling that was put into the song. I totally agree with this.

So much, in fact, that I had some friends over to my place this weekend to work on a collaboration, simply just for the fun of mixing each of our unique skills into something. Of course, it doesn't compare to the brilliance found in Lover Reef, but we still had fun :)


(edit: spelling/grammar)

[Internecivus Raptus]

This mix is just awesome.

I love the vocals (especially Pixies!) and everything just seems to blend in so well

My only complaint: I wish it was longer!

10/10.

[Monobrow]

Hmmm...Sorry guys, I've given this a few listens, and each time I like it less and less...That's really weird for me, since usually a few listens do the exact opposite. I just really don't like the vocals...They rubbed me all the wrong ways. I know the reasons for why they are the way they are, of course, and I could try to listen to this song in the context of "fun" and memories and all that. But I wasn't there, I wasn't a part of whatever connection you shared, and with my bias as a person who listens to an OCRemix for what it is, for what is presented, and not for the context it should be taken in (unless it was judged by different standards) especially in comparison to every other remix on the site, I'm just going to be honest.

It's strange, so far I get the notion that this song is supposed to represent a feeling that you guys had during this collaboration..."Sacred", but to me at least, this song doesn't represent that feeling very well. The connection you guys made doesn't seem to translate into this mix for me, I don't "get it" after listening. It has some great Taucer guitar work, and Jill has some good stuff, and also the arrangement is okay...but...

Should this have been a direct post by OCR standards? Nah, at least I don't think so, with as many problems it has, to my ears. But eh, then again, would it have been posted any other way? I'm not a judge, but I've seen songs that had less flaws turned down flat, in comparison...Then again, I'm willing to bet that this would have gotten a resubmit...Because it has many good things going for it, and many "easily" fixed problems.

But by "easily", that could have required you meeting again to change anything, and then, what would the fun be? Or Jill could have just used her mic, re-recorded the vocals at home, and shonen, also D-lux could have redone that...rap thing... And it would have turned into an internet-collab...Instead of the one or two takes this got at 5am (under my impression)...All in all, this is dedicated to that e-meeting...etc. And I guess the "spirit" of the thing matters here, especially to the artists, otherwise, under any other circumstances, this mix wouldn't be so much of a big deal...And ironically enough, it probably wouldn't have suffered so much production-wise either. Anyway, that's my take on it.

DJP passes whatever he wants to pass, and he understood what kind of song this was, I am guessing...I have no problem with that...But to the artists, don't expect everyone else in the community to understand, or even if they understand, to appreciate this song the way you do. It's all just opinion anyways.

[zircon]

Should this have been a direct post by OCR standards? Nah, at least I don't think so, with as many problems it has, to my ears. But eh, then again, would it have been posted any other way? I'm not a judge, but I've seen songs that had less flaws turned down flat, in comparison...Then again, I'm willing to bet that this would have gotten a resubmit...Because it has many good things going for it, and many "easily" fixed problems.

Easily fixed problems don't mean a mix will be rejected. I personally have accepted plenty of mixes with easily fixable problems. Objectively speaking when I designed the arrangement here I did it in such a way to incorporate a good level of interpretation, variation, and original material. If this was put through the panel the arrangement factor would be fine every time. The vocals would be the only thing, if ANYTHING, that people would have a problem with, but again I have a pretty good grasp of vocal standards and this passes the bar in that category.

But by "easily", that could have required you meeting again to change anything, and then, what would the fun be? Or Jill could have just used her mic, re-recorded the vocals at home, and shonen, also D-lux could have redone that...rap thing... And it would have turned into an internet-collab...Instead of the one or two takes this got at 5am (under my impression)...All in all, this is dedicated to that e-meeting...etc. And I guess the "spirit" of the thing matters here, especially to the artists, otherwise, under any other circumstances, this mix wouldn't be so much of a big deal...And ironically enough, it probably wouldn't have suffered so much production-wise either. Anyway, that's my take on it.

Let me be clear for a minute. As I posted a few times, we didn't finish this entirely in one night. Most of it was sketched out and conceived in one night. The lyrics were all written out, the basics of the arrangements were set down, the guitar rhythms were set, and so forth and so on. But Jill's vocals were recorded on her setup at home, Taucer's guitars, Shonen's part.. those were sent to me online a few days later where I integrated them with the rest of the mix on my own computer and polished it from there. DLux's part was the one recorded on my mic, and as you can hear the recording quality is significantly lower. If everything else was done on that, you'd be able to hear it!

DJP passes whatever he wants to pass, and he understood what kind of song this was, I am guessing...I have no problem with that...But to the artists, don't expect everyone else in the community to understand, or even if they understand, to appreciate this song the way you do. It's all just opinion anyways.

Absolutely! Your feedback is much appreciated. Just clarifying a few things is all.

[Steele]

*looks at Shonen's pictorial reply*

Okay, so I was wrong (it happens!). My bad, hope ya weren't offended =)

I still say he has a sorta-nerdy voice =P

[your the man now dog]

Very good song, especially in the time span given. I'm becoming a big fan of Geoffrey Taucer's guitar work. I feel like any song with lyrics should also come with a non-lyrical version. The singing is very good here, but I'm not one for guy-girl sappy duets. Still, 9/10.

[Ionyze]

This is a great arrangement. Pixie's vocals are reminiscent of Evanescense. She has real talent. The male vocalist hit his notes and can carry a tune, but his inflection and the timbre of his voice is just a little square. I enjoyed the piece.

[Orion_Black]

This song is great, but the Male Vocalist could have worked on some things (but this could just be me being picky, being a vocalist myself).

For one thing, the vowels aren't very clean at all. The vocal infliction, as previously mentioned, also could be worked on.
It still sounds good though, so kudos to you all!

[Shonen Samurai]

Expect improved performance in my next piece, no doubt :)

[mDuo13]

Just wanted to say that I'm more hooked than ever, almost two weeks later. The little things really don't bug me nearly as much as they did at first.

Things this song has going for it:
- awesome pads at the beginning
- great guitar, especially the downright awesome solo.
- THREE excellent sets of vocals, and lyrics that are quite pretty (though I still feel like they don't quite fit the mix itself so well). D-Lux's spoken lyrics are actually one of my favorite parts.
- solid piano work

I expect every OCR meetup from now on to produce a remix. Especially if they're going to be this friggin' awesome.

[kitty]

Love the song, though I wish it was longer. :cry: Again I would never have heard it if it wasn't for VGDJ.

[MegaKitsune]

After a while, the vocal piece has grown on me.

8/10.

[badhabit]

I like all parts of the song, especially after a few listens.

Kudos to shonen for his performance.

[ScaryMonkeyShow]

Just need to mention that not only did I love the version of the song with vocals, but the version without inspired me so much, that I contacted zircon and now have an opening to my podcast using the music. Great stuff, and something that I can listen to again and again without getting tired of it. And I must say, pixie's vocals in this were superb. Job well done folks!

[TalonionPoet]

I like every aspect of this. The only thing in the first few listens through that didn't place right was when Shonen first started singing. Not the kind of inflection I like, but he hit the notes well, so it still sounded good. I liked D-Lux's part a lot (my first immediate thought was of Zyko's part in Invertebrate Retreat, which I also greatly enjoy, but many seem to have disliked) as well. The piece moved smoothly, the spoken part didn't seem out of place or jarring to me, and everything was just great.

I really liked the guitar work all throughout. Favorite part of it wasn't the solo actually, but the almost italian-esque part during the spoken vocals.

Nicely done, everyone involved. Thanks for making music at all, much less music that I like. :D

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I really liked the guitar work all throughout. Favorite part of it wasn't the solo actually, but the almost italian-esque part during the spoken vocals.
Thanks :D

The mandolin during the rap section isn't me; in fact, it isn't even a real mandolin. Zircon gets credit for that.

[Shonen Samurai]

I really liked the guitar work all throughout. Favorite part of it wasn't the solo actually, but the almost italian-esque part during the spoken vocals.

I think that was actually a mandolin sample.

edit: taucerpwnt

[BlueMage]

Taucer on guitar is love. If I didn't feel it would be some sort of sacrilege, I'd say that Mr Taucer has earnt the right to be referred to as Mr T.

[Barnsalot]

Been on repeat for a while. I really like it.

[Lotd2242]

Hmm, well, although I'm new around here I'll see if I can post something about this that's worth reading.

Here's my four cents (because two is never enough):

There have been lots of complaints about voices and missing parts and people saying it was great given the short time etc. ad nauseum.

I love Pixie's voice (she's cute too ;-)). I have all the the Chrono Symphonic mixes, and the To Far Away Times one is by far my favorite just for that reason. And that kind of vocal quality can easily break other things (like overshadowing another singer) or ruin a piece for some if it's not up to snuff as some claimed.

This mix sounds, to me, basically like a live jam, as though you had a bunch of random mismatched bands or musicians bored and hanging about the stage waiting for something or another, and they said, "hey, let's play something." It has that kind of quality. Everyone is trying to put their finger on just what is "off" about the mix, and I think that's why. Set your speakers to something like Concert Hall or Auditorium or something else with a bit of echo and you'll see how the whole thing just comes into focus with a more "live" feel.

It reminds me of this Lynard Skynard/Metallica bit where they played "Tuesday's Gone" together on a whim. There are people jumping in at odd moments, and unpolished things everywhere, but it sounds great because it's not supposed to sound polished. It sounds like a bunch of people having fun and that's exactly how this mix sounds.

So, I'd say fantastic job guys (and gal). I look forward to hearing more. [/i]

[IndyCovaHart]

Hey, everyone. Newb to posting, but not to music, or the website...

I think something is pretty clear, here...

Aside from the token elitist who smirks while obnoxiously presenting negative criticism, I think the issue here is really that of possible NEPOTISM.

It is understandable if people are angry because they think this submission is not being scrutinized like any other submission due to the "sacredness" of its birth (not to mention the "big guns" who were involved/present).

Speaking as a musician/composer who wants to eventually submit a piece, as well as someone who has been left scratching his head at what the judges accept and reject...I'm not at all surprised at these responses.

With that said, I have had the song on "super-repeat" for a while, now. I will withhold any criticism or praise of it and let that fact do the talking.

I must say, though...I'm pretty disappointed at the amount of rudeness that pervades these forums. It's like some kind of powertrip to tear someone down with your opinion. Sadly enough, even in the Judges' Decision forum have I shaken my head at the lack of tact when "passing judgment." Comments like "Bleh" or "terrible" hardly seem necessary.

Ideally, however, I would like to become a pleasant fixture here and maybe even be at any future meet-ups (I'm a NYC resident). My love for music, composition, and the great memories attached to video games is strong enough to endure any negative aspects I may find, here.

My two cents.

Oh...

P.S.- The amount of nit-picking over something as ridiculously petty as the word "unthaw" is pathetically comical. lol

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

I've already given this mix my criticism; this is just an after thought.

I don't know if anyone's said anything about this, but does it bother anybody else that the two heavily panned guitars are out of sync? It probably wouldn't bother me so much if they were two different guitars... nevermind.

I still really like the mix though.

[PlatinumWinter]

[mod edit: this is not the place for your rant]

Now then, Love Reef... this is concentrated awesomeness. I love everything about this track,the vocals are all really good, especially the "rap," towards the end!

[IndyCovaHart]

Hmmmm...I'm smelling sarcasm. lol

[PlatinumWinter]

It was a good rant! ah well, and I really do like the song! No really... it's been sat on my iPod playing all day! and if it hasn't been playing, I've been singing it at work! It's them darn keys! :D

[BlueMage]

I would like to add, the instrumental version is still awesome (and allows fuller appreciation of the guitar work :D ) but it strikes me as best suited to a karaoke version - this is a track that just seems .... lessened from not having the lyrics.

[lord of all kobuns]

This remix is beyond words. Lava Reef has been one of my favorites of S-and-K, and this remix really does it justice. Incredible, simply incredible.

The pianos, guitars, and everything just surrounds me. The vocals are good, and the spoken bit near the end makes the song better, for some reason.Listen to this loud.

[Kurokun1293]

Incredible. Rarely do I get to hear a song from a video game with vocal's becoming a solid part of it. But the lyrics were not only emotionally sound, but they fit the actual level perfectly. The vocals sounded incredible. The music was done right on cue. If there was a flawless remix for Sonic music in general, we have it right here. This is beyond the highest reccomendations, this is downright mandatory to listen to. ALL SONIC FANS SHOULD HAVE IT.

[JimSelve]

Whoa, this song appeared in one of my dreams last night.
(Is this a good thing?) :roll:

[Kurokun1293]

Incredible. Arguably the best remix that ive heard for S&K, and even topping the rest of the Sonic songs that ive heard. The vocals were just enough to be great, and the lyrics made sense (which is a plus, since most of the time lyrics dont make sense right away) and related to the theme of Lava Reef Zone. In my opinion, there are few better remixes that i like here. If you have any sort of soul, you will keep making these!

[Lockblade]

Great mix. Nothing else can really be said. It's just an overall well done mix, not polished too much, but it still shines.

EDIT:
Just downloaded the Instrumental verion, and only one tought popped into my head: Karaoke anyone?

[taelusramza]

Count me as a huge fan of this mix. The addition of meaningful lyrics was brilliant, and came off really well. One of my favorite S&K mixes, and one of my favorite mixes in general.

[Vertigo88]

A very unique way to remix Lava Reef. Some may not like this song, but take heart, they're total morons. This kicks ass.

[damathacus]

A Horse With No Name, by America.

[IndyCovaHart]

Oh, oh...

Was that a not-so-subtle plagiaristic finger point...

[zircon]

Never heard of it.

[GrayLightning]

A Horse With No Name, by America.

Care to clarify?

[Jillian Aversa]

They sound nothing alike (http://users.cis.net/sammy/horse.htm).

[Liontamer]

They sound nothing alike (http://users.cis.net/sammy/horse.htm).
Nah, I think these MIDI guitar strums were ripped and beefed up. Vocal delivery is verbatim. Lockdown 2 material right here baby. Enjoy this while it lasts, people. Oh come on.

'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la...

[mDuo13]

Wait. "Sonic & Knuckles Lover Reef": There's no Amy, so does that make Knuckles a girl? And in love with Sonic?

Or am I reading too much into things?

[Zipp]

Yeah, this is nothing like a Horse with no Name, though I see the connection, especially in that midi version. Maybe you could say they are chord cousins, or something, but the spirit is very different.

Anyways, this mix gets a 4/5. I still think Pixie and Taucer need to do another mix sometime soon.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I still think Pixie and Taucer need to do another mix sometime soon.
Agreed.

[Shonen Samurai]

Larry has a shonendetta.

ME

YOU

THE PLAYGROUNED

AFTERSCHOOL

[Beat, the Sonic Superhero]

This song is one of the few that I'vecome across that has lyrics to it. I haven't played this particular game in about 3 years (I remember it being really easy to beat with knuckles though), but I remember the music well, and this is thouroughly recognizable. Well done!!

[InertiaCreep]

Probably my favorite Zone (I'm considering Hidden Palace as part of it, mind you) from all of the Sonic games put together.

With that said, I think this is one of my favorite OCRemix songs I've heard. The vocals aren't perfect, but that's the charm of it. Its not some multi-million dollar project. Its a group of people, having fun, and sharing their efforts with the masses. Already has a place rooted in my Favorites folder.


The lyrics, by the way, were killer :wink:

[Zekian]

The fact that most of this was thrown together in one night blows my mind. You guys outdid yourselves. It's just a blast to listen to. Fantastic work, and get together again sometime. For us. ^_^

[KingTiger]

This just rawks. It is very well made, great guitar work, great drums, great singing...cool lyrics that fit perfectly with really cool inside references. My only complaint is that in the beginning, the drums and guitar don't seem to sync quite right. but that's the only thing bothering me...

THIS RAWKS (it's going in my favorites list)

[chthonic]

Does this mix have the most reviews ever or what?

Also, I still love this mix to death.

[Dr. Wily]

Does this mix have the most reviews ever or what?

Also, I still love this mix to death.

Yes, I think it just passed this (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR00988/)

[Bummerdude]

Does this mix have the most reviews ever or what?

Also, I still love this mix to death.
Yup, pretty much seems like it. I kind of jumped when i saw the review number on this one, but now that I've read through it, I can partly understand why. Internet argues = not cool, but instead of bringing that up again, I'm just gonna comment this collab.

I liked it very mucho, began slowly with smooth strings and hihats, and pixie's voice later on joined in with an echoing noise. I got excited when I heard that Shonen Samurai was singning too, since a remix with two singers is quite rare on this site. It could have been improved in many ways, but this was partly his first remix, so I'm not gonna blame him. Now that I've heard this remix loop into infinity, I've grown attached to it and the lyrics.

The guitar solo is clearly essential, love songs simply cannot be without it. Two thumbs and 10 toes up fer this one, it emitted so much love and passion that my speakers nearly burned up. I too will be looking forward to another mega-collab, hopefully with the same crew.

Deluxe Tricky Tossing Zircon Samurais, I salute you.

[Blake]

It's like you guys turned Zircon's house into a videogame Harlem.
:lol:

MOD EDIT: pixietricks was trying to respond to this post but (using zircon's mod powers) accidentally edited it and we couldn't get your post back. But we did read it, and appreciated it, so oops :>

MOD EDIT 2 (a.k.a. Larry uses his back button to restore Blake's review...):

God where was I when this was posted. I can't believe I missed this mix. It's absolutely awesome. And Shonen your voice is strangely appealing to the ears. Really great job, especially in the middle of the night. Pixietricks is amazing as usual. Gosh dang. I love creative minds who can make referring lyrics like these in the middle of the night. The D-Lux break down is cool too. Good job with that.

Zircon's electronic work, with that keyboard, and the whole putting it together, and of course GeoTaucer's awesome guitar. It's like you guys turned Zircon's house into a videogame Harlem.

MOD EDIT 3 Just kidding that was just me :(

[Geoffrey Taucer]

It's like you guys turned Zircon's house into a videogame Harlem.
:lol:

MOD EDIT: pixietricks was trying to respond to this post but (using zircon's mod powers) accidentally edited it and we couldn't get your post back. But we did read it, and appreciated it, so oops :>

ROFL!

MOD EDIT 2: ROFL @ what, pray tell?

TAUCER EDIT: ROFL @ U!

[usmc2hard4u]

This is my new favorite song, period. You all who composed / sang this... amazing... please do more...

Recommend maybe something from megaman 2 / 3 and or Angel Island from Sonic 3 <3

Thanks again

[Zombie]

I still think Pixie and Taucer need to do another mix sometime soon.
Agreed.

Agreed again.

Pixietricks is my favorite artist on OCremix right now, I just can't stop listening to this song! My only complaint that it's a little on the short side, but I guess its just because I've been listening to songs that are like 8 minute songs lately!

[CE]

I'm sorry I just got to listen to this remix now, but I have to admit, it's one of my favorite remixes on this site, if not my favorite. Every thing is top notch, from the tune, to the lyrics (I'm seeing the heat here!!), and, most importantly, the vocals. I'm a Pixietricks fan, I think she has the best vocals on OCR, and this mix proves it. All of the vocals here are high quality, but Pixietrick's just clearly stands out, congrats.

The instruments are also very good, the flute is the one that strikes me as the best on the whole ensemble, but they are all very good.

The harmonizing of pixie and samurai's vocals on the chorus are also very good and I absolutly love the lyrics.

So here you go D-Lux, Taucer, pixie, shonensamurai and zircon, this is a song I'll remember for many years, as it struck me deeply as a very, very good ReMix. Congrats.

Here's to the best damn mix I've heard in quite a while, you guys rock.

[usmc2hard4u]

Is there just an instrumental of this exact version? I love the vocals and Love this remix, it is my new fav song. But I would like just an instrumental version too.

Thanks

[WesPip]

Is there just an instrumental of this exact version? I love the vocals and Love this remix, it is my new fav song. But I would like just an instrumental version too.

Thanks
Yep, they posted it at some point..in the WIP stage, I believe. Or something.
Anyways, here it is.
http://www.mooload.com/new/file.php?file=files/270506/1148711426/Sonic+%26+Knuckles+-+Lover+Reef+%5Binstrumental%5D.mp3

[zircon]

usmc2hard4u; Here's another link to the instrumental.

http://www.zirconstudios.com/Lover%20Reef%20(Instrumental).mp3

And it's always good to know we're being appreciated by people in our armed forces. :)

[usmc2hard4u]

Thanks :) :o

[atmuh]

This is one of my favorite mixes.

[DragonFireKai]

Wow, this is definitely one of my favorite mixes on this site. I love Pixietricks' voice, and Shonen isn't too bad either.

[abomb999]

Out of all of the hundreds of fantastic remixes on this site, this one is truely my favorite. I registered an account just to thank the artists of the song, because it has added to the many wonderful joys of my life.

From reading many of the posts here, this song has obviously brought a lot happiness to many people. I really hope you all make another impromptu or planned out composition together.

One thing I really can't stand was the criticisms on the musical quality of this song. The foundation(the best part) of this song is the underlying emotional energy that is expressed in the music and the voices of the artists. If this song was mixed and re-recorded to near perfection, this song would of lost a lot of this underlying emotionaly inspiring energy, and it would of have become just another great song, nothing quite as special as this current incarnation.

To the person who attacked pixies voice for being slightly off tone, you're beyond socially and emotionally retarded. Please never make music, on the off chance that I run into it and have to waste 10 seconds of my life listening to your boring emotionless piece of cement, before I throw it out the window.

To call yourself a real musician is fraudalent, but when you compare yourself to being more of a musician than pixie, It's dangerous to pregnant women and small children, because I am 21 and in great health, but I nearly died from laughing at your stupidity.

Music is more then structure and logic, if you don't understand that, I truely feel sorry for you.

I hope to hear from you all soon, and it would be a travesty to this world if you composed another beautiful piece of music, but you did not give the world a glimpse, because of some trivial reason.

-Abomb

[Xenon Odyssey]

This should be, like, OCR's theme song or something. Still so awesome.

Though I am posting that today, as of 10:52 PM (EST), I have listen to Lover Reef for a total of 666 times. And yes, ironically on 06/06/06.

I feel special.

[Shonen Samurai]

It really makes my day when people post things like that :D

I'm sure Jeremy, Andrew, Steve, and Jill feel the same way.

[Jillian Aversa]

666 times?! Are you crazy, boy? :lol:

[Xenon Odyssey]

666 times?! Are you crazy, boy? :lol:

Actually, that's just my iTunes count. I've probably listened to it more since I did that PowerPoint in school.

Also, I think the count on my iTunes is now somewhere in the 680's (I'm in school right now, so I can't check).

:D

[Bummerdude]

666 times?! Are you crazy, boy? :lol:

Actually, that's just my iTunes count. I've probably listened to it more since I did that PowerPoint in school.

Also, I think the count on my iTunes is now somewhere in the 680's (I'm in school right now, so I can't check).

:D
With all my respect to this remix and their wonderful work, you do know that there are other remixes?

[Geoffrey Taucer]

It really makes my day when people post things like that :D

I'm sure Jeremy, Andrew, Steve, and Jill feel the same way.

Hells yeah!

[TaVeRnErO_RuDd]

this mix sounds sooo good....congratulations to you all...love pixietricks's voice.

just didn't understand much of the lyrics...but hey...musikc doesn't have to make sense

[Xenon Odyssey]

With all my respect to this remix and their wonderful work, you do know that there are other remixes?

Why yes; yes I do. I've even made a few.

But that doesn't prevent me from having a favorite.

[MedHead]

I wouldn't have visited this thread if not for the amount of views. I enjoyed reading through many of the pages in this thread, so I do thank everyone who bumped this up enough to make it visible to me.

However, unlike the last ten pages or so, I'm going to side with those who find this song lacking, and give it a negative review.

There are very few songs here on this site containing vocals that I end up liking. I think the total count is around three. This was no exception.

Of all the vocals, I found the introduction "waahs" the most - I don't know how to say it without it having the possibility of being construed as rude; it's not my intention - bearable. Now, I didn't really like them either: there are only certain songs that I like "waahs" in them, and this wasn't one of them. The rest of the music was cringe-worthy for various reasons.

The first reason was the lyric choice. While I have liked songs with lyrics that many would find goofy and/or silly, these lyrics just didn't sit well with me. To give a perspective, they made me feel similar to how I would imagine a non-science fiction fan would feel like going to a science fiction convention. Out of place, a little goofy, and embarrased to repeat to others.

The second reason was the voice quality. Each of the voices could make a song alone and very likely do so well: together I thought they clashed. The comments posted previously mirror much of my own opinions (aside from the off-tune remarks; my ears must not be trained enough to hear it). I won't get into much with this, as evidence shows it can cause offense. I think it suffices to say I thought they weren't pleasing to my ear.

Next on my laundry list of dislikes (hey, it was requested earlier that we list them) was the song quality itself. My first listen though this was the instrumental, since it was posted at the top of the page I originally visited. I thought the song was overall good (and better than the lyrical version): but, as another said, it seemed more like a karaoke track, rather than an instrumental. Despite this, I didn't really like the instruments used. I often like electronic-sounding music, and thought the arrangement was rather catchy. The samples perhaps were to blame, because I was left feeling unsatisfied. It was so close to being a keeper, but it just was too unsettling for my tastes.

I didn't finish the instrumental version, instead choosing to go straight to the lyrical in hopes that the voices would flesh out the missing parts of the instrumental. Unfortunately, I didn't feel sated. The male/female due didn't sit well, the rap/poem made me groan, and the guitar solo felt jarring and out of place.

Overall, and I'm sorry that it had to be this way, I found this song dissappointing. So, to give it a numerical rating (which I do so enjoy doing), I give it a 35%.

http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/ratings/035.jpg

[Weretiger_Rei]

Shonen, Pixietricks... I will find you both and give you hugs... this song gives warm fuzzies, despite its cold exterior.

I hum this damned thing in my sleep among other places, and everyone in my class who isn't already in the know about OC keep asking me what song I'm humming... of course, I keep 'em guessing! MWAHAH

I can't get over how the lot of you did such a wonderful job with this song... Zircon, Pixie, Shonen, D-lux, and Taucer, I salute you all, and command that you work together again in the future at some point.

Oh, and Pixie, can I get your number ^.^;;

And yes, I know I stand no chance... its the humor that makes me do it.

[Jillian Aversa]

Hilarious anecdote:

One of our regular VGDJ listeners, Shivy, was apparently parked at a roadside stop listening to ocremixes in his car when a trucker leaned out the window of his truck and remarked, "Hey! Isn't that Lover Reef?" No joke.

[big giant circles]

Hilarious anecdote:

One of our regular VGDJ listeners, Shivy, was apparently parked at a roadside stop listening to ocremixes in his car when a trucker leaned out the window of his truck and remarked, "Hey! Isn't that Lover Reef?" No joke.

you mean truckers weren't your target audience?

lol ;)

[Sig Nuka]

Why am I getting a 404 when I try to download this?

From all three mirrors?

Oh well, at least I've got the instrumental version.

...no, that's not helping. I NEED THE VOCAL VERSION! *sobs*

I hope the links get fixed, unless this song was a victim of the lockdown process. Then I'll need a link to the OC ReMoved archives I've been hearing about (I'm getting this song no matter what). I just hope this is all worth it (considering the only vocal song I actually like isn't even on OCR: Ailsean's version of "Time in a Bottle").

[Dark Phazon]

Try this:
http://www.ocremix.org/songs/Sonic_&_Knuckles_Lover_Reef_OC_ReMix.mp3

Looks like there's currently a small problem with the amperstand in the links on the download page.

As for a review: just saying "I just love this song," is about the best review I could come up with, at least at this hour.

[Bravefencer Shinryuu]

Why am I getting a 404 when I try to download this?

From all three mirrors?

Oh well, at least I've got the instrumental version.

...no, that's not helping. I NEED THE VOCAL VERSION! *sobs*

I hope the links get fixed, unless this song was a victim of the lockdown process. Then I'll need a link to the OC ReMoved archives I've been hearing about (I'm getting this song no matter what). I just hope this is all worth it (considering the only vocal song I actually like isn't even on OCR: Ailsean's version of "Time in a Bottle").

This should work. (http://dhmirror.ocremix.org/songs/Sonic_&_Knuckles_Lover_Reef_OC_ReMix.mp3)
Or this. (http://www.ocremix.org/songs/Sonic_&_Knuckles_Lover_Reef_OC_ReMix.mp3)
.... or this. (http://remix.supertux.com/songs/Sonic_&_Knuckles_Lover_Reef_OC_ReMix.mp3)

In essence, just replace the '%26amp%3B' with an '&' in the download links manually. EDIT: Blast. Beaten to the punch.

Anyway, review. I'm a fan of the vocal mixes, and this one is no exception. I love how there's different vocalists, and how the vocal styles are varied, but not too much. Good blend, good balance.

[Raza Bloodfire]

At first, I CRINGED with this remix. It was beautiful...until the duet part. My thought was: "MY GOD, Pixie, your voice doesn't go well with his AT ALL!" But that was because I was expecting something flowy and perfectly matching and all that jazz right off the bat.

After I listened to it a few times, I began to see where they started to harmonize and things began to make sense. I also began to feel the ENORMOUS amount of emotion that just POURS from this mix. Techincally, all of these different styles NEVER work together, but somehow this mix MAKES it work and does so beautifully.

Now that I've read through all of these pages, I now see just exactly why this mix works. This was a remix that was done in companionship and fellowship of fellow remixers and game lovers. Compared to the usual work of these individuals, this piece was put together REALLY QUICKLY. Of course, there's going to be some minor flaws here and there! I'm very sure that if they had spent months making this "JUST SO", no one would have any beef with this mix at all.

But that's not the case, it wasn't about getting it JUST SO, it was about capturing the moment and emotion that sparked the idea for this creation. Which, I believe they did wonderfully. Now when I listen to this piece, I can see a rather rocky relationship beginning to work again.

Imagery and emotion is where this piece wins at.

Kudos, guys. You need to do anything remix together sometime! *thumps up*

[WarpstarRider]

I'm sorry, but I don't like the vocals in this mix. They don't work well together at all, and in my opinion, the vocal style doesn't really fit the intended mood of the song. I just can't get anything out of it.
It did get the source tune stuck in my head for a few days, though.

[Steele]

Hilarious anecdote:

One of our regular VGDJ listeners, Shivy, was apparently parked at a roadside stop listening to ocremixes in his car when a trucker leaned out the window of his truck and remarked, "Hey! Isn't that Lover Reef?" No joke.

That IS hillarious! XD

B3h0ld the p0w3r of OCRemix!

[Shonen Samurai]

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[Jillian Aversa]

^ Shonen rocks.

[Fusilliban]

Two things of note: First, the link to download this is broken, there's HTML code for an ampersand in place of an actual ampersand. The file is where you'd think it is, but the link isn't quite right.

Second, in the past six weeks, this has been my most-requested song from a variety of different listeners.

[Scrobble]

100%, uh, adequate.

[Dandon]

Ahaha, oh goodness, I am so thoroughly amused by the clusterfack of comments over the last sixteen pages. That such a talented and endearing show of musical comradery could bring out the best and worst of pretty much every major mixer/reviewer on the site is just too much. For what it's worth, I think the song is fantastic, makes great use of the source material and the people involved in its production, and provides a terrific kareoke track for my dorm hall. Props to everyone who could turn a single night's chemistry into an everlasting tribute to the power of both music and friendship.

Oh, and cheese. :D

[Cyanide cr MK]

Hilarious anecdote:

One of our regular VGDJ listeners, Shivy, was apparently parked at a roadside stop listening to ocremixes in his car when a trucker leaned out the window of his truck and remarked, "Hey! Isn't that Lover Reef?" No joke.

That is, in all honesty, the funniest thing I've ever read on the internet. No seriously.

[roguetrip99]

I love this track. It reminds me of "Save Tonight." There need to be more lyrical Sonic tracks. I know IceCap has been done a million times, but someone needs to make it into a lyrical love song. That's the only one that would be better than Lava Reef, which is my favorite Sonic track ever.

[kou_seiya_girl]

I just love it! Genial!

[Evilride]

Regarding the writeup--- Wholesome, yes. Family friendly, yes. But have you looked at the unmoderated forum latley? The stuff in there is most certainly not wholesome! Any way, this is great! Happy music makes the soul rejoice! The lyrics are great, the vocals are great, the pads, guitar, everything! And Pixietricks, you're a good singer! Not many girls nowadays can actually sing. This is totally solid.
^_^
Evilride

[Mogrothir]

This song is smooth - hits me just right at about 3:30 AM. It's got a great flow to it - from pixietricks to shonensamurai to D-Lux and then with Taucer's guitar solo...and then the groove in the background which most likely came from zircon...it is smooth. It mellows you out, and makes you think there might be something good left in the world...

Maybe I'm just crazy. But I am a big fan of this. I've listened to it several times, trying to find some reason not to like it, and I'm drawing a blank. It's a pleasant disappointment.

[cloudkitt]

You know, I know what you're saying. I really feel like I should dislike this song. As I rule I hate the lyrical remixes, and as people have said at first listen their voices don't gel.

Alas, I don't know what it is, but I like it. Perhaps because I have no choice but to adamantly respect the musicianship that went into this.

Hilarious anecdote:

One of our regular VGDJ listeners, Shivy, was apparently parked at a roadside stop listening to ocremixes in his car when a trucker leaned out the window of his truck and remarked, "Hey! Isn't that Lover Reef?" No joke.

And that is incredible!

[KogeJoe]

Stopped it as soon as I heard them. (Not to mention the singing sucked, esp. the nasal male part...)

Write your own musical platform, you thieveing bitches.

[zircon]

"Write your own musical platform"? What does that even mean? I suppose we should get rid of all mixes that use guitars, right? They're not "writing their own musical platform". After all how many songs are there that use guitars. And don't even get me started on orchestral remixes! That "platform" has been around for hundreds of years and people are so uncreative that they're still using it.

Man, shut the hell up. There are lots of legitimate reasons for not liking a remix, but somehow implying that we're uncreative or unoriginal is moronic and insulting. Grow up.

[Dhsu]

Whoa, chill out, zircon. It's just a troll, no need to go postal.

[zircon]

Hey, I'm allowed to let off some steam once in awhile ;)