Palpable

Mezzanine is probably one of my top-ten favorite albums of all time, so you've got a lot to live up to here, bub. I think your concept is damn cool, and I really like the stark approach you've given this song. I don't think I had any problems with the writing. There's a lot of good parts going on, the real issue is being able to fit them in. The mixing has got to be clearer in the busier sections. (The intro and the 2:18 section sound fine as they are.) Means hitting up that EQ and carving out parts that aren't necessary. I also think the higher piano notes that come it later sound mechanical, and the strings need a sharper attack. That's pretty much all I got, but these are big enough problems that I'm gonna say NO. You're rapidly becoming a great remixer, Jonathan, and I was very happy to see you resubmit "Barrel Roll". Please do me a huge favor and fix this one up too. NO (resubmit)

I actually remember checking this song out after hearing your Password sub. Intro has a cool sound, but yeah, too similar to the original. I think for the length of this sub, that's too big an issue. Brass is awful, no question. That really needs to be improved or replaced with a different instrument. I also felt like the main song didn't have that much body, too skewed towards the highs. I'd probably pump the bass and the organ in those low-mid ranges to fill in the void, maybe lead guitar too. And I understand that the ending might make sense contextually on an album, but it sounds bizarre here. If you're going to retool an album track for a standalone purpose, I'd say edit it. Bands do it all the time for singles. Suffice to say, I don't think this is quite right for OCR. You guys have some good ideas, and I did like the parts of your album that I heard. I look forward to hearing more. NO

I like your concept here a lot. Great atmosphere and textures even though the instruments are very standard. The opening piano reminds me quite a bit of Moby, who also manages to create interesting textures out of ordinary instruments. I liked the melodic interpretation in the intro, but I felt that dried up as the song went along. After 1:01, the melody played very close the original and relied on the same patterns too much. I'd like to see a little more variation there. The changes you have in the backing instruments are good. I thought the overall soundscape was a little thin and could have used a low-bass sound and maybe some high frequency sounds to round it out. The drums did feel disconnected from the rest of the piece. I think a little bit of reverb would let them sink in. I also wouldn't have minded seeing new percussion get added as the song went along for variety. This is pretty close to a pass in my opinion, but not quite there. If you take a look at what we've said and tighten it up, I think this could definitely pass. NO (resubmit)

Word. Technically, the stuff on this site isn't game music anyway, it's non-game music based on game music. So when people ask, just tell them who actually made the mix. Of course, it's pretty stupid that someone would have to be tricked into liking a song...

Doug, you magnificent bastard. It definitely takes balls to remix this source, and I pretty much think you pulled it off as best as one could. Larry's breakdown looks good, and I even hear parts of 0:07-0:23 of the source in your song, at 0:19-0:35 and 3:23-3:39. Actually, my only concern is whether it's too similar to the original. The main percussion you've used has a pretty similar sound, but I think your use of other percussive elements, fills, and huge dynamic changes give this enough distance from the original. I'll should note that it's a very hard song to judge because I don't have a standard on which to judge an all-percussion piece based on an all-percussion source. But my instinct is that this is fine. Maybe this will set the standard. YES

Here's some shots of Amy's remixed OCRemix shirt, that she wore for the panel:

I'm not even sure I want to be on this panel anymore...

Awesome synth-funk adaptation, Lee. Every layer to this sounds like a hook - my focus constantly shifts between all the different catchy bits. Reminded me a little of djp's "Fortuna Favors the Funk" but darker and moodier. That string motif runs through most of the song quietly, and a lot of times overtly. Plus, melody connections - I didn't have a hard time hearing the source in this. YES, indeed

Larry hasn't played Chrono Trigger either!! Can you believe this guy is our head submissions evaluator? Yeah, sorry, Baron, it's too similar to the original melodically and structurally. Also, too short for the amount of repetition in it. I like the genre change, very unique sounds here, but not quite right for OCR. NO

Someone yelled out after the performance that the song was too close to the original, and they're pretty much right. We didn't have the time to do anything really fancy with it. If this ever got subbed (can you believe we don't have a "Still Alive" remix on this site?), it'd have to get overhauled.

I'd have liked to see a little more variation melodically, but structurally and harmonically, there was a lot going on here. I thought you gave these songs the sense of grandeur Uematsu was probably shooting for in the first place. I love the triplet strings entering at 3:55, closing out the piece with energy. The ending is a little strange - sounds as if it needs one more chord. It's an interesting touch. I think Larry and Mattias have given you some stuff to chew on for improvement with your production. I don't have much to add there. This passes the bar. YES

God, those samples in the source are awful. 80's indeed. Pretty much agree with Larry on this one. Cool arrangement here, but it's not interpretative enough. The first thirty seconds of "No Mercy" sound pretty similar to your song, mood and notes. The guitar is a welcome addition, but I thought overall the song is too similar to the original. The drums are also weak and plodding compared to the rest of the instrumentation (which is quite good), but I think that similar mood and writing is what nixes this for me. Expand on the melody more and this one could pass. NO (resubmit)

Thanks for reminding me what a fantastic song "Rose and Ghost" is. I hadn't heard it since the game came out. I enjoyed this for what it was, a gentle cover. There were small flourishes here and there that added to it, but it isn't interpretative for OCR. Even the mood and instrumentation is not that different. Cool hearing from you again though, JAXX. I'd love to hear something more interpretative if you've got something. NO

I thought the overall concept wasn't fleshed out enough. There's a lot of reliance on the same backing patterns, with all the major changes in the guitar. It also feels a little short, given the small amount of variation. The tuba-like bass sound was offputting, and I also felt the guitar tuning and some of the bell notes were off, giving it a queasy sound. Otherwise, there's a lot of good going for this mix. Cool percussion and instrumentation, decent playing, and a nice dropout section. I like the ending too, it'd be cool to see that expanded and not end so abruptly. I thought the recording was too lo-fi and the mixing was a little cluttered. If you can spotlight the leads a little better by cutting away from the background instruments, it would be stronger. Some cool ideas, but a lot of problem areas too. Give it another shot. NO

Oh, that was you? Dude, you were awesome! I thought that was pretty much as close as one could get to imitating the song.

Best remix I've heard in months. I know you've got one of the most varied styles on the site, Dave, but I don't think I've ever heard you do anything like this. Excellent articulations and dynamic changes. So fluid and fun to listen to. We'll need to work on getting this into So You Think You Can Dance next season.

This must be one of the most polarizing mixes on the site. Personally, I think it's phenomenal. The emotion is so strong and heartfelt - I'm not even sure a better quality vocal would capture the same air of desperation. Great atmospheric effects, and the beat is just oppressive. I'm extremely glad that OCR took a chance on this one, it seems to have found its audience.

Might be another dumb question, but since the site is smart enough to figure out if a song doesn't have lyrics (it doesn't display the tab), can't djp just write a query for you?

Disappointing that this only lasted two minutes because the concept is so good, but it's quite coherent and varied for that time. The Grieg inspiration is apparent and the way this builds is pretty much masterful. I was grinning at 1:26 because I never thought the song would ramp up so much. I'd love to see more reverb used to fill out this mildly sparse song if you're willing to go back to it, but it's not a necessity for me. YES

Lot of good things to say here. Atmosphere and instrument blend is great, and I like the way the song starts and unfolds. Good take on these three themes, and you tied them together decently. It's a very easy piece to listen to. I think almost everything negative I have to say is related to production. The sound is too washed-out, something should be more prominent. I think letting the piano cut through the thickness by reducing any high-end damping on it would be a great start. I also felt that sometimes the string articulations were strange, especially noticeable around 1:30 and 1:50. Feels late in both cases. The first issue is the real killer for me. I just need something to take hold of. I think when this is the case, take a break from your song, and come back to it with fresh ears. Try to listen to similar music that you like the sound of. It can help a lot. You definitely have the skills to make this a pass, so I hope that you see it through. NO (resubmit)

Amazing stuff, performance and arrangement. A treat for this site.

Good adaptation for orchestra. There's a good dynamic curve in the way things pick up, if similar to the original. I was thrown a little off by the intro, which took me until 1:36 to realize it wasn't eventually leading to a main melody. It's decent as background music, but I think I would have liked to see a strong lead part in there. Solid production in this section. "This Illusion" was handled much better in terms of having a defined melody, but I didn't think the instruments meshed as well together or covered the spectrum as well as the first section. The piano especially felt too upfront and mechanical, and some of the strings were also mechanical. In "Unfading Thoughts", the piano melody was buried, again giving this a lack of direction. I think this is going to need more work before it can pass. Try to get everything up to the level of production of the first section, maybe add a lead part there it you can work one, and try to improve the articulations of your instruments. It's a fine arrangement and I think if you can fix those issues, this would pass. NO (resubmit)

Very cool set of instruments. I liked the organ and piano giving subtle touches, the synth lead, and of course, Simon's guitars. It all worked together. I did think it was a pretty cover-ish arrangement like Larry but felt it had enough to differentiate it from the original. Piano flourishes in the intro, lots of fun messing with the synth after the first iteration. 0:26-1:30 is dangerously close to being verbatim, with the bass also mimicking the original, but the new backing instruments and drums give these sections some flair. However, if it had all been like this, it would have been a NO, easily. 3:07-3:29 felt a tad empty but that's a pretty small problem. Ending cuts off pretty bad and I think that should be fixed. Production is solid, wouldn't expect any less from you guys. The crunchy background guitars might be a tad muted - I think that's why 3:07-3:29 sounds so empty. Giving them a little more high-end could have given this some more bite. Whatever. Nice job here, guys. YES (conditional on ending)

Thanks for the breakdown. This would have been a headache to sort out myself. I like the general concept of combining a whole bunch of similar 3/4 themes. I don't think this quite delivers on that promise though. My problems lie in some of the theme overlayings, like at 1:40 and 3:17, where the organ just doesn't work with the other instruments. I know that's intentional, but I think it hurts the song much more than it helps. I also thought the entire piece was too medley-like. The solo piano transitions broke the flow (and reminded me of Song of Storms hahaha), and the switch to the Zelda theme near the end was abrupt. To me, the song would be stronger without Zelda. Those problems aside, I thought the themes played well together and your arrangements on the themes were good, apart from maybe the opening Opera bit, which was quite similar to the original. The piano at 1:24 gets drowned out and I probably would have tried to make room for that, as it's supposed to be a lead there. Again, something you mentioned as being intentional but I wasn't feeling it. Lastly, I get the feeling the song is too restrained when it gets to its loudest moments. Very hard for me to put my finger on. Maybe it just needs more dynamic contrast; hopefully someone else can touch on this. Overall, I don't think it quite adds up to a YES. The arrangement problems are more significant to me than the production ones. Good luck in swinging the rest of the vote yer way - it could be that this just doesn't work for me. NO (resubmit)

The arrangement is too conservative. It is possible to use similar instrumentation and substantially personalize a remix, but it needs to change the structure, chords, melody, etc. I didn't hear too much of that here. 0:40-1:23 is very similar to the original, and the following section basically takes out the guitar from the original. Drums were a good concept, but I found them repetitive and plodding. The sounds there were also a little thin, especially the snare. For the most part, I think it's well put-together but just not interpretative enough. I'd love to hear you take on another remix. NO