[Joe Redifer]

Rolling Thunder 'El Salsa'

I could never get into the music of Rolling Thunder. I tried, but it was never my groove. I heard the themes quite a bit, but they never stuck in my head. But DJP has taken this and given it a latin-esque sound, which comes off pretty well I think. Could use some reverb since it does sound kind of dry, but other than that it's not too shabby. Do keep in mind that this is an early DJP effort, as a few instruments do sound a bit thin.

[skawttieboy]

Talk about a classic. I only remember this game from the arcades in hotels when I was younger. But djp does a great job expressing a salsa flavor for this game. Chinese...? I dunno about that, but whatever. I still enjoy this mix! Way to go DJP! :)

[JamPaladin]

Well, what to say about this mix. Some people might like it, personally (and note the "personally") I find it mediocre and forgettable. Not to say its bad, but I don't think it stands up to some of DJP's better mixes. And when listening to it, I can't shake the image of a comical looking guy in a sombrero strumming a stringed intstrument. Who has drunk too much tequila. But I digress, and apoligise for that if you are mexican. And reading this.

Anyway, the mix is straight into it, with a very "rolling" intro melody, which lasts all of 19 seconds, before going silent and starting a more muted tune. An cool souunding stringed instrument comes in along with some others, and (if you're me) you start seeing the sombrero guy, with his annoying moustache. But at least he plays well. About this time, you get hungry for salsa and corn chips, almost exactly at 1:10.

The tune is pretty standard until 1:27, when a drumroll kicks in for two seconds, then goes back to the melody, with a drumroll pattern laid on top of that. Thakfully, the focus changes to a different instrument at 1:46 for variety, then breaks into the main pattern at 2 minutes. Then, the mix winds down to the end.

So maybe its just me, but I don't find this anything more than repetitive, and basic. But then, maybe you like this type of music. In that case you might want to give it a try. Just don't expect a Mario 64 Sunken suite.

Subjective-Tequlia-drinking-sombrero-guy-with-moustache-O-meter: 5/10

[Liontamer]

Was just watching an NES time attack of this game. Damn those are some lanky characters. The guy who made the the time attack made an analogy to the Ku Klux Klan to describe the enemy aliens here, which was so good. They're hilarious when a level is beaten and they punch the air.

Anyway, the "Main Theme" source material is actually disjointed in that the intro only lasts a few second before changing into something else entirely. Weird, but at the same time good to hear it reflected here.

The mix is certainly dated, but I liked the arrangement approach here. The second part of the source is so minimal that it really offers a lot of creative freedom to expand upon it and write new material, which djp handled nicely here going for that salsa flavor. Even way back, he had the right idea on how to really personalize an arrangement. Cool old stuff.

I also bumped this from the very, VERY bottom of ReMix ReViews, where it sat at the bottom of page 29. Space Harrier 'Spaced' can now enjoy it's shiny new spot at the bottom.

[OA]

The intro didn't quite lead into the main part of the song as well as it could. If there was more of a crescendo and then a slight pause it would have made more sense I think. The samples used aren't very good, but the arrangement is pretty cool. The layers of percussion give it a great feel, it's just the lead instruments that let it down.
I'd love to hear an update of this with higher quality lead sounds, actually.

[HoboKa]

Interesting, but a not quite my cup of tea.

[Palpable]

Hahaha, I had forgotten about the music from this game. That stupid intro. I really like what you're trying to do here, DJP, with the little salsa flourishes on the guitar and drums. The chords of the original lend themselves very well to this sort of rendition. If it was less stiff and more live-sounding, it'd be fantastic.

[DragonAvenger]

Great flavor to the mix, although I feel like it doesn't really end up anywhere. Sounds dated, and it is, so that makes sense.

some of the more improvy sections feel lost in a directional sense, but that sounds that it's more from the original than DJP's doing, so I won't fault there.

Not the most memorable mix, but decent overall. Good to see how much he's improved since then, though.

[evktalo]

I enjoy this, datedness and all. It's positively strange, and the bassline is extremely effective.

--Eino

[djpretzel]

Originally Posted by evktalo

I enjoy this, datedness and all. It's positively strange, and the bassline is extremely effective.

--Eino

You're like the ONLY one :) Actually, the source is pretty strange as well, and the game itself was rather odd... enemies looked like hooded Klu Klux Klan members who got tired of wearing white all the time and went CRAZY with the colors.

For some additional context, my primary motivation behind this mix was to get some arcade love going but more importantly to do something "Latin"... is this Latin? No, I think it's probably just "Mediocre,"... it's DEFINITELY not Salsa, and I don't even know what the hell "El Salsa" was all about. My apologies to Spanish speakers everywhere; my intentions were good!