ReMix: Speedball 'Speedy Guitar'

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Insane, but get it - now. Marsland Brotherhood are two brothers that do some quite good backing tracks on a professional basis - for more info there check out www.cs-musicfactory.com. This Speedball mix is, well - as long as you brace yourself for some split-second, fairly jarring transitions, this has some of the best, fastest guitar playing yet seen on OCR. The title ain't no liar; things get rather speedy, with acoustic drums, electric bass, piano, and a blistering electric guitar that essentially just kicks your ass. See 2'14" in particular, but really the bulk of the track itself rocks out, hard. The first split-second transition comes at 0'30", into the faster portion of the arrangement that's dominant. Before that, we get a slower, thinner sound, with some altered processing including an interesting wah, along with some great drummin'. A brief guitar riff does help lead into the far more aggressive section that follows, which then at 0'57" goes into a happy temporary riff with what sound like steel drums being added into the fray. There's then a bit with a downbeat snare that leads into a much heavier reprise of the faster portion, which is where the guitar noodlin' really get fierce, with velocity that pushes forward but stays tight and controlled throughout. The soloing at 2'14" is prolly my favorite bit, but the rapid-fire pattern-based riffing afterwards is cool as well. Things conclude as abruptly as some of the transitions, not with a whimper but a bang. Not being a guitarist myself, perhaps I'm not in the absolute best position to assess the true difficulty of some of this material, but it sounds 1. Hard, 2. Fast and 3. Good. You could probably add on a 4. Insane (and/or manic) - this ain't easy listening by any stretch of the imagination, and WILL wake the neighbors. Use it as a track for your alarm clock in the A.M. for some guaranteed morning mojo. True. Don't let unfamiliarity with this Amiga classic or its soundtrack stop you from checking out this hard-edged arrangement that features a balls-to-the-wall style and the musicianship to back it up. Recommended.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I like a title that really sums up what the track is about. Speedy guitar is what it's all about.
As for the transitions, on my first listen I was totally thrown. Derailed, if you will, and it took my a fair amount of seconds to regain my composure. That's something you can't afford from your audience, really. That being said, on my second listen I wasn't concentrating as hard and I honestly thought it sounded smooth. Obviously, they aren't smooth transitions (and I would hope they weren't intended to be), I was just unfocused and didn't notice any abruptness. And when the transitions weren't part of the equation, the mix sounded amazing.
It's not going to win any awards for production, or subtlety. But nor should all mixes need to aspire to such accolades. This mix is justified by its guitar-play alone. Which is just as well, because that's pretty much all there is to enjoy.

- Marmiduke on December 29, 2008
Playing was good throughout, but a lot of the transitions were a bit WTFish. Some were good, but it sounded like a cd that someone else was skipping to a new track once in awhile. It was too jarring for me. As such I started listening more for transitions rather than the actual song, and so I'd have to say they ruined the song for me. Sorry guys, the rest is pretty good, just the flow is too hard to get into. Maybe that was the intent? I'm not sure.

- OA on July 19, 2007
Nah, these transitions are awesome; there aren't even that many abrupt points that I heard; maybe 2. Haven't heard this mix in a while, but it definitely kicks ass. Great job by the Marsland Bros. with this guitar work!

- Liontamer on September 22, 2004
I liked this remix.. it's pretty damn good in my opinion. Fast paced guitars, nice speedy changes.. in fact, I like most of the energetic songs on this site.. Right now.. I'm just boosted about listening to this, but I suppose I'll come back later and give a more comprehensive review... but definitely very good for the fast paced listener in all of us..
:D

- djBOB on October 17, 2003
nice

- LibertyCabbage on October 4, 2003
The actual guitar playing is great stuff, really good thrash/over-the-top guitar work. I could see you guys putting out some of the tracks for the latest Castlevania. As mentioned above, the almost-sudden transitions kinda mess with me. A bit more lead-up in regards to percussion would do a lot for that, but that's just me. Otherwise, masterful.

- Isk on October 2, 2003
I like the transitions. Some are better than others ofcourse.
I think the guitars could have been a bit heavier and some faster rhythm playing in some parts would have made this flow a little better.
But yeah, my main gripe is the testicle-less guitar tone.
Other than that, it rocks my cocks.

- SnappleMan on October 1, 2003
the transitions are a bit too much for me, unfortunately. =/

- neostormx on October 1, 2003
This is interesting music, but like has been said, the transitions are iffy. But good in a manic sort of way.
The guitar work is good, but I wouldn't peg it at the fastest on OCR or the hardest to play. Tap-ons and hammer-offs are really simple. And it's easy to think that because they're fast that they're hard to play. But that's not true. Nonetheless, this is still good guitar work.

- Ryan8bit on October 1, 2003
Hmm... for some reason this will not compare to my Terrorcore piece... enough advertising and bragging.
This is nice. I like this... I am liking this quite a bit. I like the jarring transitions... they emphasize the speed of the piece which makes it all the better.

- Xelebes on September 28, 2003
Holy shit, Batman, that's some mighty fine guitar work. I didn't have as much of a problem with the sudden transitions as others did, but this track could have used some mastering to boost the levels after everything else was finished.
-steve

- Legion303 on September 27, 2003
weird...
there are certain stretches where i'm left layin on the floor and screaming because the guitar is ripping my innards out and hanging me from them... impressive soloing.
the transitions are funky as hell and tho i don't understand their purpose or lack of presence altogether, i do think they add character.
i don't know. these guys are sick. and that guitar still hurts my insides.
~weed

- zyko on September 27, 2003
The... rest of the file is being uploaded as I type this. Download got cut off and for the first time, it escaped my attention. The ending is still rather abrupt, but not THAT abrupt. Please alter your ReViews as you see fit once you've downloaded the full (4089Kb) track.
mibad.

- djpretzel on September 27, 2003
Tappy wrote: [img]http://temp.zeldalegends.net/games/zelda1/guide/z1p80.gif[/img]
Dodongo dislikes incomplete tracks!

That isn't Dodongo. Dodongo is the thing you feed bombs to. I don't remember that thing's name, but it's not Dodongo. Haven't downloaded it yet, probably will later today.

- The Tragic Prince on September 27, 2003
[img]http://temp.zeldalegends.net/games/zelda1/guide/z1p80.gif[/img]
Dodongo dislikes incomplete tracks!

- Tappy on September 27, 2003