ReMix: F-Zero X Expansion Kit 'Beyond Lightspeed'

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F-Zero X Expansion Kit

From newcomer Tony Thai comes our first F-Zero X ReMix, actually from the Expansion Kit for the 64DD which was never released outside of Japan (probably cause, for the price, it would have tanked worse than the Virtual Boy did) - you thus might not have heard the original, but many of X's tracks have a familiar guitar-driven, energetic feel to them, so you can almost mentally reconstruct what the source material would sound like. Or heck, who knows, you might actually have a 64DD and play F-Zero X Expansion Kit every other day. Judges were split on this, largely due to the mixing I would say; drums are sorta thin and slapdash (almost like a Supergrass track) and things generally could have been mastered for more balance and punch overall. However, there's a style this lends the piece that's a bit different too, which some might be into. And certainly, the variety of guitar soloing and textures and subtle little touches here and there keep things moving forward and maintain interest. I especially dug the break at 1'38" - both the instrumentation and intervals in this little oasis are brief, but cool. To give you two contrasting views, Mr. Cabrera offered his opinion that "it's actually pretty boring, in my mind. Not very spectacular and nothing really sparks my interest until we get into the original section. Then again, at 2:25, it gets boring. And that over-spaced guitar is bugging me." Mr. Katti represents the opposite take: "Mm... wailing guitars heard through the venue of a distinctive garage riff sound; reminds me of much of Uniracers soundtrack. The remotely-reverbed mixing job seems controversial, but I enjoy it stylistically. Arrangement is carried through well without needing an overbearing power-rock melody; instead, it's rockin' Muzak. Well-played and well-done, I say." So there you go - different strokes for different folks. Overall the panel had more good things to say than bad, and certainly the style and source material are fresh. I think the best barometer of whether you'll dig this is whether you're into guitar-soloing jamfests or not; the mixing is an issue but at the core it's either your thing or it's not. Regardless, some creative arranging and screaming soloing from Tony Thai in a very non-comformist first submission.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I've always enjoyed this. Sure, it's rough, but it has pretty good energy and the original melody is just so nice to listen to, and Tony expanded on it well with some good guitarage. I'm glad that he didn't change the feel of the original track here, because I think something would've been lost if he did. It may be showing its age by this point, but it's still a classic in my mind.

- KyleJCrb on August 29, 2009
I'm going to defend this one. This is such an overlooked gem for a couple of reasons. About a hundred people played this game outside of Japan, so practically noone is familiar with the tune, combined with less than ambitious mixing makes a mix that is not quite as palatable as possible. But I hear some really awesome stuff amongst all the debris, and interesting is much more preferable than boring.
The F-Zero style is represented in spades here; a feeling of true fandom is everywhere in this mix. Wailing guitar, crazy drums... it's so F-Zero it's ridiculous.
It is quiet though. And continues to get even duller in sound as it progresses for some reason. The mixing is dirty; too dirty to be considered an artistic decision. But what the mix lacks in cleanliness it makes up for in character. This is one of the more likable 'black sheep' mixes on the site for me.
And we always need more obscure, uncovered games.

- Marmiduke on May 4, 2009
The sound quality of this killed it for me. :-(
The arrangement is pretty good and the drums are very exciting, but the sounds just don't mesh at all.

- OA on April 24, 2008
Why this was on the last page of the review board is beyond me. I've had this since long before I came to OCR, 2002-ish? A great garage style tune. Tony knows how to play guitar.

- watkinzez on July 15, 2006
man this track is awesome. i dont know what the judge that was baggin on this track was smokin
alright so that guitar solo around 1:55 was a bit high pitched and made it hard to hear the trumpets in teh background, but big deal.
this is a great "garage band" style track. i love it. its just too bad that my band cant play like this :p
anyways, my favorite thing about this song is the drums. it gives the song so much "power". i mean, try taking out teh precussion in this song and what do you get? nothing. it just makes the song so ALIVE.
anyways, i tip my hat to you tony thai. nice work.

- moIto pene on October 11, 2003
Ooh... I kinda like the original that was posted, but the remaster is loads better. The drums are a smidge too high in the remaster (using my default EQ settings), but was easily fixed with a quick change to the low end.
Overall, though, I like the piece a lot, and I'm always a fan of massive guitar insanity. Keep up the work.

- Baldrash on October 8, 2003
You'd be right in guessing that his brother is Jimmy Thai.
I don't think I'd ever come as close to being that good at FZX. I only just submitted my times to FZero Central about an hour ago and they should be posted on Friday. I wonder how bad I am, although then again the PAL game is slower :/
And if you want someone obsessed with F-Zero, try me, I've gone as far to import the OST and download the mp3's of the Guitar Edition which I could not find anywhere. Hell, I even made an F-Zero quiz.
The mix is nice, but the remastered one is far far better. You HAVE to submit the redone version. It seriously kicks ass!

- Meowman on August 27, 2003
Never heard this tune before,and this is pretty darn good!
F-Zero X brought in a new sweet style to tunes we've come to know and love. But what a better way than grunge! Cuz it just fits perfectly.
Btw you should work on a special tribute to F-Zero GX when ya get the chance Tony! :D Excellent work on this tune.

- Kadosho on August 24, 2003
Hehe, good ol Tony Thai, sticking to F-Zero X, one of the best fucking games ever, with the BEST soundtrack ever. This is a very nicely done remix indeed.
The dude seems to be obsessed with F-Zero X... I don't know if hes got a brother or something, or just another alias, but a Jimmy Thai (or something like that) has been holding the records for the best times in the game... and try as I do, I always lose by a second or less.... Anyway, yeah, this is just the remix I'd expect from someone who likes the game so much.. very very well done.
I, for one, like the mastering and stuff. It gives it a very unique sound, it's like, half live and half synthetic.
Overall, this song has the same feel that the music in the game has, that's what does it for me.

- SnappleMan on August 17, 2003
Oh my sweet baby Jesus. This new version you have here is ten times better than your original. It has so much more punch and dynamicism. I mean it really changed the piece to me. I'll actually be saving this. Thanks for your remastered version.

- Kamikaze Noodle on August 17, 2003
Since my speakers don't have any subwoofers and my recording equipment is just a Creative microphone, it's hard for me to mix songs well...
I've messed around with the volume bars, but I'm still not sure of the result...
Normal
Drums and bass
Just drums
Maybe I'll just stick with MIDIs...
[b]EDIT:[/b] Oh, who wants recordings of the F-Zero X: Expansion Kit version? I just found these songs 2 days ago and I wish I had found them sooner because my only reference to some of these songs were low-quality movie clips of someone playing the game. The engine noise and boosting made it very hard to hear the song.
Big Foot - Also Devil's Forest 4's BGM.
Regeneration - Silence 3's BGM.
Rainbow Road - Mario Kart 64's Rainbow Road F-Zero X Style! ^_^
Roller Coaster - The song I remixed. It's Mute City 4's and Sand Ocean 3's BGM.
Thanks to falcon at Dream Chaser for recording these. One song is missing though; the Japanese song with Kotos.
Oh, and please don't hammer my server or anything like that.

- tonythai2 on August 16, 2003
DEFINITELY some mastering issues, but at some points the guitar soloing gets very good. As DJP said though, some like it, some don't. DJP also referenced Supergrass, an awesome band that doesn't get enough airplay, but anyway, I am of the variety that doesn't like it. I am a drummer, so bad drums really really stick out to me. And these drums are...welll...bad. The guitar sounds too faded out, and the bass is non-existant. The whole song doesn't really progress much. The whole thing is just a big long guitar solo, with some non-too-good keyboards stuck in at parts. Sorry, but I don't feel any emotion coming out of this mix. Reminds me more of Dynasty Warriors music actually.

- Kamikaze Noodle on August 15, 2003
As with all F-Zero remixes this captures the feel of the series. Quick and fairly hectic but it's a bit too quiet.

- njsykora on August 14, 2003
what can i say? this song is just my flavor. good job to tony, i think the mix was done well, and the judges were good to post it. this might not be for everybody, but at least it isnt some cookie-cutter cut and paste song. he went in a new direction, and i appreciate him for it. i dont think that it would be good for any composer to make a habit of remixing songs with this much grit around the edges, but at the moment, it is a breath of fresh air.

- whiteknight on August 14, 2003
:arrow: being a long time fan of tony's music, i've constantly overviewed his work and he's also an incredible composer of his own music. This Fzero X mix was in my opinion very powerful and the live guitar just added such an effect, the bass and synthed instrements flowed very well into the song and overall i'd give this song a 9 out of 10 :D looking forward to seeing some more submitions
-MechaWashu

- mechawashu on August 14, 2003

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