OCR01526 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'Knuckleduster'

[djpretzel]

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

[Patrick Burns]

awesome work.
The vocals are good; I'm not a vocalist by any means of the imagination so I won't go any deeper than that. The piano is well done also. It sounds very natural and well played - whether it was purely sequenced or not. The only thing I would say is that the long church-like reverb sounds a little out of place for most of the track. I would have saved it for the end during the marble garden section (*edit* oh wait... it's all marble garden). it kinda the pot and kettle here, though; I think I use too much reverb too.

I didn't think this project would ever get off the ground, and I think I said so in it's thread about a year ago. I was wrong - great job everyone.

[KyleJCrb]

Probably the weirdest song on the project, and quite possibly on this site. I love it.

[spongerman1]

my god what an amazing song. the voice :o

[ILLiterate]

Very nice little "bit more offbeat than the others" track. I must say though, every time I hear this, the only thing I can think of is Nineko's beautiful singing on his OLR track. This track feels a bit like a cousin of Flying Man by Mustin, with a bit more sanity.

Piano = <3

[PlastikBag]

This is some off beat stuff. The singing reminds me of Offspring and the instrumentation is very strange. Pretty neat stuff though, I'm thrilled that the project is finally out and I look forward to listening to the rest tomorrow.

[OmegaDonut]

Oh, wow. Where can I find the lyrics to this? I pretty much expect to find myself singing along to this in the dorm lounge, with bewildered and amused people wondering who the funny singing man is, and why he's disturbed their slumber at 3:00 in the morning.

I've been wondering when a song like this would eventually hit OCR. Glad to see Baranowsky delivered!

[Sam Ascher-Weiss]

Go Go Danny B
I just woke up to take a Pee
and saw your ReMix finalY
up on overclocked Ree

No but seriously... I was totally playing with what I said about your signing before. I think your voice sounds awesome and unique and of course I love the arrangement. YOU ROCK DUDE!!!

[Lone]

I fell in love with your voice ever since I was properly deflowered by 'Invertebrate Retreat' and WOW do I get a fresh rush from this one. I love that grungy, almost-whiny-at-times tone here...and the piano is indeed lots of win. Amazing work.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Whoah.

That's all that needs to be said.

But I'll say more anyway.

This is a serious top-notch mix, and the vocals are especially great.

[Fishy]

I love your falsetto parts, excellent stuff. That little groove in the background was toejam and earlesque. Groovy stuff.

[Mr. Dream]

Cool Mix

It sounds like it should be in Katamari Damacy...
I just imagined little Prince rolling up cars when the song kicked in.

Yeah love it, I'd like to see the lyrics. I can sing yet another song that my friends will look at me with disgust for.

[Dhsu]

Ingenius concept, flawless execution. Good to hear from you again, Danny B.

[Flaillen]

This song is both my favourite on this project but also my favourite song in this whole site now. I just love the music with the fantastic vocals, definitely a top song.

Out of all of it I have to say the piano work keeps me listening the most, but it's all great.

Thanks for another amazing song!

[Red Shadow]

Ahahah thats pretty cool. Thumbs up on this and certainly the rest of the project.

Found it kind of neat, by the way, that his voice was following one of the original melodies instead of becoming a new one.

[LuIzA]

DAMN awesome song. my favorite in project, and it's also an awesome project.

great arrangement, ideas.. and most of all great vocals.

just plain groovy.

PS: now where are them lyrics?

[Audity]

I thought 1.5 parts of the vocals were a bit questionable, and wish they would vary up in tone a little bit during some if its repeating, but man that ending piano sounds incredibly good.

Someone mentioned reverb issues, and I did heard them for a little bit. Then I stopped. At least, most of the time it isn't an issue, and when I'm just listening to the song for fun, I don't notice anything.

[Jonathon Striker]

There were quite a few questionable parts, but for the most part, it came out alright.
The intro alone was kinda disturbing as I actually thought OCremix lowered their standards for allowing sounds that made the Sega Genesis sound like an almighty sequencer. But that was just the brief intro.
The voice, the breif moment of... um.. singing (for those who'd call it that) isn't that interesting to me and I woulda prefered a much softer voice or just playing on flute or sax instead. The vocals come off too strong, overpowering the piano solo which follows in between. Did I mentionion I'm not quite sure how the lyrics tie into the game if at all was that the point?
Lastly, once you make it past the 2:45 whining that few experienced musicians could appreciate, its got a nice morph to a soft ending of a piano solo.

In short review, its just weird, kinda cool, but a little overdone. If it sounded like a song, or just had had no lyrics, I could tell you for sure whether its hot or not, but because it is more like brief moments of yelling humours nonsense, I'll leave the judgement to you as the listener (and those who think they actually know what they are talking about).

[Azure Prower]

This could of been a good mix. But I couldn't get over the lyrics, they were horrible. And I don't often come up this strong in my opinion in many remixes either.

There were a lot better ones in the Chaos Project, why was this chosen over them all?

[TheRedBob]

Something that I think a few people are failing to realize is that there's a big difference between not liking a style of music and condemning it as "bad".

What this song sets out to do, it does extremely well. I, for one, am able to appreciate that. I am glad such a mix could be made, and I would like to thank the creators of not only Knuckleduster, but the entire project.

Flawless execution. For those of you who hate this mix, feel free to do so, but don't try to say that the mix is "bad". It's done very well.

[Fusilliban]

This is not what I was expecting, but it's still pretty excellent.

I continue having never been disappointed by Daniel Baranowsky.

[MagFlare]

This was one of those songs I had to listen to a couple of times before I decided I liked it. It's not that there's anything wrong with it; it just ventures into territory I wasn't expecting from a Sonic mix.

Love the vocals, which are vaguely Dave-Matthewsesque.

[MisterBiggler]

What a fun song. I really love the organ in this piece, reminds me of a track from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on N64 that I enjoyed. Vocals are great too and I dig how you ended the song. Good stuff; this is def. one of my favorites from the project, which is fantastic btw.

[ZeroBass.Exe]

This was great until you started singing. Then I erased the file. Sounds harsh, but that's criticism.

[Patrick Burns]

This was great until you started singing. Then I erased the file. Sounds harsh, but that's criticism.

criticism? yes.

constructive criticism? no

[Subz1987]

You guys are judging the lyrics too harshly. They're not supposed to make sense. That's what makes this song so unique and amazing. This is an awesome song, and I love the lyrics and singing

[zack2k]

The vocal sound to harsly... but you got the melody though!... and you're the one who have a great ending music, be proud of that!

[random person]

Yeah, it doesn't matter what the lyrics say. One assumes that music is for expressing things, not for saying things. I find this song very amusing and quite original, I just love the singing, and the ending is very nice. Probably my favorite track from the album, and also from the whole OCR.

I have always thought that several of the tunes from the classic Sonic games lent themselves for vocal versions, and Marble Garden is one of them. So I am happy.

[ZeroBass.Exe]

This was great until you started singing. Then I erased the file. Sounds harsh, but that's criticism.

criticism? yes.

constructive criticism? no

How is this not constructive? Simply redo the song without lyrics, and it will sound better. A lot of other reviewers seem to feel the same.

[Liontamer]

This was great until you started singing. Then I erased the file. Sounds harsh, but that's criticism.

criticism? yes.

constructive criticism? no

How is this not constructive? Simply redo the song without lyrics, and it will sound better. A lot of other reviewers seem to feel the same.
"You sang. I threw it in the trash." There's really no sense in trying to defend that manner of criticism as constructive. :lol:

[Linearity]

Hell, I thought the whole song is pretty cool, lyrics and all. Singing has to hit me right for me to approve of it; an "indie rock" song that relies on a scene kid wailing about some shit probably won't stick around me long. But these vocals are worked into the song very well. The distinctive style that DJP mentioned sounds great.

[TaVeRnErO_RuDd]

baranowsky never let me down.....

this one rocks, where are the lyrics DJP?

[ZeroBass.Exe]

This was great until you started singing. Then I erased the file. Sounds harsh, but that's criticism.

criticism? yes.

constructive criticism? no

How is this not constructive? Simply redo the song without lyrics, and it will sound better. A lot of other reviewers seem to feel the same.
"You sang. I threw it in the trash." There's really no sense in trying to defend that manner of criticism as constructive. :lol:

You missed my point. I threw it away because I felt the lyrics ruined the song. I've heard several remixes that involved lyrics that sounded quite nice. This wasn't one of them. The music itself is fine.

[I.Medley]

This was great until you started singing. Then I erased the file. Sounds harsh, but that's criticism.

criticism? yes.

constructive criticism? no

How is this not constructive? Simply redo the song without lyrics, and it will sound better. A lot of other reviewers seem to feel the same.
"You sang. I threw it in the trash." There's really no sense in trying to defend that manner of criticism as constructive. :lol:

You missed my point. I threw it away because I felt the lyrics ruined the song. I've heard several remixes that involved lyrics that sounded quite nice. This wasn't one of them. The music itself is fine.

That doesn't really negate the fact that your criticism wasn't very constructive at all. You didn't mention why you thought the vocals were bad (the tone of Dan's voice, the recording quality, the lyrics themselves, etc.) Not to mention that you wrote that you immediately erased the file once Dan started singing, implying that you didn't listen to the song the whole way through, which lends your review less credibility.

This doesn't mean your point isn't relevant. If your opinion is that the vocals diminished the appeal of the song, then that's perfectly fine. But don't try to defend your original statement as constructive criticism.

When I originally heard this song, I was certainly surprised. I haven't played Sonic 3 too much, but I know this song from Rayza and RTF/Prophet of Mephisto's versions. This is certainly a different vocal style from Invertebrate Retreat, but it's similar in that it's awesome. Love the piano solo ending. Certainly not a song open to broad appeal, but I enjoyed it.

[Rexy]

Am I one of few that thought the lyrics made the song?

On top of that, this is among one of my favorites on the project - hard to say considering there were many great songs on there, but this helps in putting in all the stops in making it stand out from the crowd. The voice itself is almost completely different to what I've come to expect from Dan B - more of a rock voice than the mellow tone I've come to expect from stuff like Invertebrate Retreat - and it's easily gone to show that with stuff like this, Dan B is heading in the direction of being a jack of all trades, whether it be musically or vocally.

Thank you again for a great addition to the site and the project. Now, please provide the lyrics so we can sing along :)

[Holy Warrior Azar]

Am I one of few that thought the lyrics made the song?

Not at all. I thought they made the song as well. I also agree with the notion about it standing out on the project. Hearing lyrics in "Marble Garden" certainly wasnt something I was expecting. The vocal style came across to me as very off the wall, but still very cool. I might not of been as excited to hear another plain synth-oriented arrangement of this particular song, so the lyrics, to me, really made this one worth while. I really enjoyed this one a lot and I feel that's mainly because of the vocals. :?

I'd also to like to see the lyrics (along with however many other people requested it as well) so I can stop trying to guess them. :lol:

[danny B]

Sorry this took so long.....


Knuckleduster lyrics -

I've gotta know
Who takes a life for free?
Some kind of man,
I know would tell her openly

I know your eyes expand
I won't lead you by the hand

I'll ask again,
Please, is there anybody free?
A foreign land
Why won't they speak to me?

I know your eyes expand
We can't lead you by the hand

Know you're a knuckleduster
And you're caught in a relapse now
With eyes half open and a trail of head crumbs,
Tell me again where you are from.


*scat*


Hope that helps people who have been mouthing nondescript sounds.

btw, i welcome criticism gladly, although some of it in this thread was blatantly ego-boosting trash talk. However, there's a reason they didn't like it, and I use that as additional perspective to analyze my own work and improve it. If people don't like my singing, hell - most of the time I'd agree with them. I finished this track about 6 months ago, and gained some perspective from not hearing it for so long. I know where they are coming from, but the goal of this song is the same goal I have with a lot of songs - to try something new. Some things worked out well, some things not so well. Just like Invertebrate Retreat - a song about a worm - try to write lyrics at least partially pertaining to the subject of a 16-bit sidescroller. It's tough! But again, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun.

I showed an early version of this track to Jared Hudson, and he said it sounded like Milli Vanilli. That's EXACTLY the kind of response I was looking for. I laid the cheese on extra thick for this one. This is by no means the type of music I would listen to, but damn - it was fun to make! I'm glad there are some people out there who appreciate my efforts :D.

Thanks for the comments, guys - and expect some more tracks soon. Maybe this time it won't be from a site project ;)

-dB

[Rexy]

Hearing lyrics in "Marble Garden" certainly wasnt something I was expecting.
"My Name is Nineko", anyone? :lol:
But all jokes aside, thanks for the lyrics Dan. I haven't heard too much stuff from Milli Vanilli to be sure, but still, I'm glad you're having fun with all this game-based lyric writing stuff.

[random person]

This is the first time I'm going to use the function to display lyrics in my MP3 player. Thanks! :D

[Nineko]

Hearing lyrics in "Marble Garden" certainly wasnt something I was expecting.
"My Name is Nineko", anyone? :lol:Thank you, Rexy. Too often people forget that I, not Danny B, was the first one who did a vocal Marble Garden ;)
The point is, his remix is awesomely good. Mine sucks. :lol:

[Holy Warrior Azar]

Hearing lyrics in "Marble Garden" certainly wasnt something I was expecting.
"My Name is Nineko", anyone? :lol:Thank you, Rexy. Too often people forget that I, not Danny B, was the first one who did a vocal Marble Garden ;)
The point is, his remix is awesomely good. Mine sucks. :lol:

I actually do remember. It just wasn't quite as surprising as it was on Knuckleduster. :wink:

And your's doesnt suck. :P

[Geoffrey Taucer]

This is another one of those mixes that gets more and more awesome with every listen.

Damn those vocals are great.

[Zekian]

The best on the project, bar none. And it's a good project.

Love it.

[sonic_fan69]

Hey guys, long time listener and first time poster here. I have to say this is the best remix of Marble Garden (Act 1) I have ever heard. Thirteen years ago when the Sonic3 first came out, the music to this level really stuck with me. This remix brought it all back. Great Job Dan!!!!!

[Ytmh]

Let's put it this way; The reason I like marble garden's original song so much is because of the quasi-modal nature of the melodies and harmonies, true to the actual level itself the composers tried to get a vibe going that wasn't (entirely) grounded in ABC classic harmonic theory.

What does this song do? Yeah, I don't like the vocals, but that's not the song's fault. I would have not minded them, but there was a huge problem that hit me, namely, the song is NOT marble garden 90% of the time.

Changing notes in the melody entirely killed the modal aspect of it, and in the end it comes out like an entirely different song.

So, that is to say, a song with no real value to me as per me finding it rather boring.

Not going to touch the production values, it's all very nice and clean, and what not. My main beef is just the alteration of major key aspects of the original song into something that has little to no relation to the original.

This isn't so much of a remix as it is a whole new song vaguely inspired in the marble garden original song.

As a NEW song, I suppose it's alright. Not my type of music honestly, but I can see its merits. As a remix however I was made rather angry (as much as I could before feeling silly for being angry at a free project done out of people's goodwill!) that this was the sole representative of this song in the project.

[Liontamer]

Let's put it this way; The reason I like marble garden's original song so much is because of the quasi-modal nature of the melodies and harmonies, true to the actual level itself the composers tried to get a vibe going that wasn't (entirely) grounded in ABC classic harmonic theory.

What does this song do? Yeah, I don't like the vocals, but that's not the song's fault. I would have not minded them, but there was a huge problem that hit me, namely, the song is NOT marble garden 90% of the time.

Changing notes in the melody entirely killed the modal aspect of it, and in the end it comes out like an entirely different song.

So, that is to say, a song with no real value to me as per me finding it rather boring.

Not going to touch the production values, it's all very nice and clean, and what not. My main beef is just the alteration of major key aspects of the original song into something that has little to no relation to the original.

This isn't so much of a remix as it is a whole new song vaguely inspired in the marble garden original song.

As a NEW song, I suppose it's alright. Not my type of music honestly, but I can see its merits. As a remix however I was made rather angry (as much as I could before feeling silly for being angry at a free project done out of people's goodwill!) that this was the sole representative of this song in the project.
The whole "song is NOT marble garden 90% of the time" is so grossly inaccurate, even in a hyperbolic sense. The piano portion from 1:29-1:47 goes off into some liberally arranged comping, sure. The final vocals from 2:43-3:01 also don't involve the Marble Garden melody. The rest of the song is very obviously Marble Garden, whatever "modal aspect" bullshit you want to throw at it. Terrible review, one that misrepresents the mix.

[Ytmh]

I suppose I should just say "OMG AWESOME MIX!!!!!!!!1" and get it over with, like the rest of this review thread eh?

[Liontamer]

I suppose I should just say "OMG AWESOME MIX!!!!!!!!1" and get it over with, like the rest of this review thread eh?
No. You don't have to like the track at all. But to claim the association to Marble Garden Zone is minimal by any theory is both irresponsible and inaccurate. At best it's bullshit, so I called it bullshit.

[Ytmh]

I suppose I should just say "OMG AWESOME MIX!!!!!!!!1" and get it over with, like the rest of this review thread eh?
No. You don't have to like the track at all. But to claim the association to Marble Garden Zone is minimal by any theory is both irresponsible and inaccurate. At best it's bullshit, so I called it bullshit.

That's nice, but regardless of what you consider bullshit or not, I stated my reasons. What can I say? I don't find any of the character (in terms of the melody for example, which in this mix IS different as it uses different intervals) from the original song in this, so to me they could as well not be related, and that's what I meant. What was taken away, in my opinion was what gave the song its character.

That's what I tried to explain, of course if you think otherwise that's fantastic and fine by me. However, I'm not going to say something which I simply don't find in agreement with what I hear in the song.

[danny B]

I transcribed the melodic and harmonic content directly from the original, with very little alteration, with the exception of the parts that are blatantly original.

This is actually one of my most faithful remixes with regard to use of the original's composition.

I guess perception is reality.


Take your soapbox outside, please.

[Evilride]

Yeah! We've been needing a new Sonic ReMix for a while
now, and this one came at with the perfect feel. Lyrics, a good organ, piano, beat, and strings. It's just awesome!

Synths: 10
Drums: 10
ReMix quality: 10

[cloudkitt]

This the first remix I've heard that I actualyl liked the vocals. They fit perfectly, and that NEVER happens, in my experience.

[Pink]

This remix here is definitely something out of the ordinary... not your typical remix, and covering an equally bizzare theme too!

I've always found the Marble Garden Zone music to be rather strange... and I respectively hated the stage in the game itself...

The intro to this remix is kinda dry... I didn't like it very much personally... but once the main feel of the remix came in at 0:34 with the lyrics things certainly picked up. Speaking of the lyrics... they get a serious WTF. I can't even understand what's being said half the time... but I will admit, I personally can't stand lyrics, but the singing in this piece was actually good. I can listen to this remix repeatedly without it getting on my nerves, which is a huge step for any lyrical piece put in front of me.

Sticking closely to the original melody did this remix plenty of good, it makes the song easy-listening and easy to get lost in the beat. Definitely enjoyable to listen to, and disturbingly catchy. :P

Production, as has been commented on, is solid. There's nothing negative to be said about it, heck the arrangements, even if somewhat minor, are still perfect for the piece.

Although I do enjoy the remix "Pure Black, or Marbles and Cream?" more than "Knuckleduster"... I'll admit that the latter is more fitting within Project Chaos. The remix keeps up with the solid quality present in Project Chaos and is certainly one of the better songs within it.

Anyone that liked the original Marble Garden Zone music will probably get a kick out of this. Even if I do enjoy a well-done MIDI version of the original more than this remix, that's a matter of personal taste, and quite frankly, I recommend everyone at least give this a listen or two. It can take a couple of loopings to get the feel for it, so don't toss this song away too lightly!

[sonic_fan69]

I always thought Zone 3 was one of the easier stages on S3K myself, although the boss at the end is tricky. There are several extra lives and tons of rings. Back to the remix, I found that the BGM to Zone 3-1 was a very versitile theme and it has been made into a techno remix(SonikElektronik), an elevaor remix (Pure Black, or Marbles and Cream) then this one. As far as the association to the original track to Zone 3-1, I only had to hear the first second to know exactly what BGM it came from. As a matter of fact, I could've told right off the bat if it was either Act 1 or Act 2. Speaking of which, I don't know if it's been done or may be done in the future, but I wonder if someone will do a remix for Zone 3-2, because the ones I have heard so far are all Act 1. It probally wouldn't be that much diffeent since the songs are rather close in melody.

[cloudkitt]

I like how well it sticks to the actual song with a whole new twist. As a lot of Project Choas tracks tend to stray rather far. And, as I said earlier, this is the first remix with vocal that I actually liked. They're well sung and actually fit the song. However, I've got no idea what he's saying. Could anyone post the lyrics?

[sonic_fan69]

Sorry this took so long.....


Knuckleduster lyrics -

I've gotta know
Who takes a life for free?
Some kind of man,
I know would tell her openly

I know your eyes expand
I won't lead you by the hand

I'll ask again,
Please, is there anybody free?
A foreign land
Why won't they speak to me?

I know your eyes expand
We can't lead you by the hand

Know you're a knuckleduster
And you're caught in a relapse now
With eyes half open and a trail of head crumbs,
Tell me again where you are from.


*scat*


Hope that helps people who have been mouthing nondescript sounds.

btw, i welcome criticism gladly, although some of it in this thread was blatantly ego-boosting trash talk. However, there's a reason they didn't like it, and I use that as additional perspective to analyze my own work and improve it. If people don't like my singing, hell - most of the time I'd agree with them. I finished this track about 6 months ago, and gained some perspective from not hearing it for so long. I know where they are coming from, but the goal of this song is the same goal I have with a lot of songs - to try something new. Some things worked out well, some things not so well. Just like Invertebrate Retreat - a song about a worm - try to write lyrics at least partially pertaining to the subject of a 16-bit sidescroller. It's tough! But again, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun.

I showed an early version of this track to Jared Hudson, and he said it sounded like Milli Vanilli. That's EXACTLY the kind of response I was looking for. I laid the cheese on extra thick for this one. This is by no means the type of music I would listen to, but damn - it was fun to make! I'm glad there are some people out there who appreciate my efforts :D.

Thanks for the comments, guys - and expect some more tracks soon. Maybe this time it won't be from a site project ;)

-dB

Here's the lyrics.

[Antipode]

Ugh, I don't like all this drama.

I'll state a simple fact. Usually remixes with vocals wind up layering on the cheese, and I mean extra-thick. This mix didn't. And not only that, I really liked it. This is probably one of my top 20 from the whole site, much less just the project.

Very tight and well done.

[Martin Penwald]

The singing is rather...unique, but that's what makes this remix so great in my opinion. It's one of the catchiest I've heard in the last couple of months, and that is because of the vocals (thanks for the lyrics, btw).

Also, the piano is amazing.

[KogeJoe]

Another guy who thought his singing and lyrics were cool...

[Zethzen]

This the first remix I've heard that I actualyl liked the vocals. They fit perfectly, and that NEVER happens, in my experience.

Yeah I totally agree, I rarely find remixes with vocals that I enjoy or fit well. With this one, it just seemed right. I know there are a lot of conflicting opinions, but I really liked it. That last verse tied it together (know you're a...), I find myself coming back to listen to it over and over again.

[The Instrument of GAWD]

All I can say is: it's so cool it makes me dance.


There I made it short.

[TheWestWind]

I musta got this song months ago and I still absolutely love it. It is definitely one of my faves on this site and I often find myself humming it, haha~

[herograw]

When one decides to use vocals in a remix it tends to either make or break the song. It's risky, but DannyB is no stranger to risk. This wouldn't have sounded half as interesting without the vocals, not by a long shot.

[puff]

After I read the "I heard the singing and then deleted it" comment, I felt the need to register and post here (most likely for the first and last time) just to say that I fucking love, love, LOVE Knuckleduster. It's the most different, daring song in the entire project and the vocals are amazing! Dan can fucking sing, man.

Anyone who doesn't like it needs to diversify their tastes, haha! :<

[Argenzul]

Argh, I cannot hear it, but I want to.

Wrong codec or what?

[42]

Darn you, Mr. Baranowsky.

Whenever I hear any variation of the Mable Garden Zone theme, I always hear your voice in the background, which ultimately is a sign of a great mix. :<

You did an awesome job, and keep up the good work. :nicework:

[Lucentas]

I really like this one--it's unusual, sure, but it works perfectly.

[OA]

Fun and catchy stuff, I almost with the backing track was even funkier to match the vocals. The organ was great, the synths were nice, and it was pretty groovin.

[Holy Land]

This is ridiculously over-the-top and bloody fantastic at the same time.

I can't help but smile every time I hear Dan's vocals.