ReMix: The Adventures of Bayou Billy 'Trippin' on Alligators'

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The Adventures of Bayou Billy

Personally, I didn't feel like the soundtrack to Bayou Billy, known in Japan as "Mad City", sounded very Cajun at all. It certainly didn't resemble Zydeco in any fashion that I could discern, which is largely what I think of when I hear someone refer to music as being "Cajun". Maybe I missed it . . . regardless, it has long been suggested by requesting fans that Konami's NES classic be given some ReMixing love, and Mazedude has stepped up to the plate with an interesting interpretation. I'll be very frank and say that this is not Mazedude's best work, not very accessible, and will probably take me a few more listens to appreciate. Technically, it's on the level, and Mazedude cannot help but arrange in a fashion that's always provocative and unique, but I don't think this will have the appeal to most of his River City Ransom ReMix, for example. Chris himself writes: "Alright, take care, enjoy. I doubt this will be a remarkably popular one, but hey - it's weird, it's fun, it's Bayou Billy, and no one else has done Bayou Billy, so here ya go folks!". At worst, portions border on cacophony (which *can* be fun, yaknow), and at best there are moments of brilliance that are truly funkdafied. At times, one can envision Billy and his enemies stopping mid-swamp and doing a Michael Jackson-style breakdown, with perhaps some animatronic alligators joining into the boogie. But I digress - as long as you walk into this one expecting some weirdness and bits and pieces that won't sound "normal" per se, you can appreciate the idea. One of the things that's kept me from covering this title myself is my mixed opinion of the source material - it's got some funk, but is a little light in the "direction" department. Mazedude's version features gurgling bass synth FX, used (and sometimes abused) brass, NES-style synth, funky electric bass, and flamboyant drums, along with some nice funk rhythm guitar. Towards the end, after the delicious "make it funky" sample, things slow down, there's some good soloing happening, and things build with some momentum - favorite part of the song, hands down. In fact, I would have kept the whole piece reminiscent of the end section in tempo and execution and found a way to draw that out with some augmentation on the original melody and perhaps an extended sax solo. We know Mazedude can do some mean trombone, and this is a common sidestreet jazz instrument in New Orleans, so that would have been perfect. Still, let me not linger on what could have been - what we've got is a very different ReMix that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but has some truly amazing details buried in it (some of the brass falls and soloing = yummy). Worth the trip, esp. for those who enjoyed Mazedude's previous Trippin' on Rainbows - similarly meandering and somewhat "experimental" feel to it.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
The mix is definitely funky as it is weird, but hey, I like it.
Some parts of this are definitely off-kilter (but then, that's deliberate on Mazedude's part) and the track as a whole is pretty solid. The little musical strut at the end was pretty good to.
Definitely worth a listen.

- Sir_Downunder on December 17, 2009
some of the transitions were a bit wonky, but this is some classy stuff. The quirkyness is obviously turning a few o fyou off, but at least you can recognize the quality.
Personally I think this track is the bomb, and even though some sections sound a bit spastic with the samples used (second theme melody specifically), it's solid and cohesive. Nice slowdown and then the super strut groove for the closer. I always dig the craziness mazedude can kick out, and though some tracks grab me more than others, this is some distinctly classy stuff.

- OA on March 19, 2009
Experimental is probably the best way to put it.
At 1:23, it becomes a little more in sync with convention.
Definitely not my cup of tea, but still worth listening to for the experience of listening to such a piece.

- 42 on January 17, 2009
Not necessarily the best start, but gets more awesome as it progresses. Quite catchy, getting awesomer after it slows down. Good walkin' music.

- Mike OShay on October 2, 2008
Not something that I could listen to twice, but for what it is it's very well done. Definately interesting.

- DragonAvenger on September 25, 2008
anyone notice this track sounds a LOT like a song from WarioWare on the Wii? i don't know what the original track from Bayou Billy sounds like though so i can't compare it with that.
EDIT: sorry i guess this is a review thread not a discussion thread now that i think of it
yeah this song is definitly good, but hard to call great, because the main thing i noticed was that it sounds almost exactly like a song i really liked from warioware on the wii.

- MangoMan on January 19, 2008
Trippin'! Excellent, and glad to find this thread close to Trippin' on Snails so I could comment on this one as well. Love the off-kilter groove here. It's totally different than anything I'd expect with the source tune. That's Mazedude's specialty and he's never done wrong with that style. Bueno!

- Liontamer on October 5, 2007
There's just something that hits me right about Mazedude's tracks. Trippin' On Rainbows is quite possibly my favorite OC track period, and this one hits me in the exact same place... Love the leads, love the bass, love all the weird shit happening everywhere else, I just love the song. Good stuff.

- Fridge on November 17, 2005
Mazedude´s mixes are always defined with weird things. Between his works, the most interesting point is the crazy percussion. He´s able to abuse of that with high and low notes, proper creation of sounds and some panning. The instrumentation is equally very unique and creative. As far, this mix is only an example of how he is so good. Excellent.

- Txai on September 30, 2005
[blunai wrote: ]This is very Mazedude sounding, but not very Mazedude feeling. It has the Mazedude beat and synths going, but it's missing the vibe and power that other Mazedude songs are popular for. It needs a more pumped up bass, I think.

Damn, you took the words right out of my mouth. Not exactly one of my favourite Mazedudes. The ending I'd say needed something more. The muted trumpet (probably wrong about that) in the latter half was cool though.

- watkinzez on September 20, 2005
This is very Mazedude sounding, but not very Mazedude feeling. It has the Mazedude beat and synths going, but it's missing the vibe and power that other Mazedude songs are popular for. It needs a more pumped up bass, I think.

- [blunai] on June 20, 2005
One of my favorite remixes on OCR.
Mazedude utilizes some very different sounds and still manages to hold quite the groove. I love the almost atonal guitar and the synth brass.
Wonderful use of processing and pitching.
A keeper, a funky keeper too.

- Another Soundscape on May 27, 2005
Very funky and funny ..i adore Mazedude's crazy remixing attempts 8O

- RimFrost the Tourianist on July 28, 2004
Definately very different. Could be used to define strange :P but strange in a good way. It has a lot of unexpected surprises. Good job making something out of the ordinary.
Blue

- BlueEnvy on July 7, 2004
Well, here it is, a few months from two years later, from when I first listened to this [i]Mad City[/i] remix. That much time has passed, and I just recently recovered this file. However, I can honestly say I [i]still[/i] don't like it all that much. The pitch is just to high on the main melodies, for one. For another, as previously stated, it doesn't sound like Mazedude made use of all the notes that were given in the original score. Though very high, I still do enjoy the shift to the Reggaeish funk around 2:47.75. That's a fun part of the song.
Overall, I still rank this around a 5.5 out of 10, because it's just kind of out there. . . Too much "Mix," not enough "Re", as I've said about one or two other songs in my stay here. And yes, I realize this file's old, but I felt compelled to give another overview of it, almost two years later.

- Joseph Collins on May 31, 2004