Dyluck

Very classic McVaffe, an evolution of his Vortex theme (#496). Love the processing in this, very faithful to the feel that I'm getting from the very limited view of the game I have. Spacey and epic B section that recapitulates with that sweet lead. The groove in this is phenomenal.

Very chill vibe, more an enhancement of the original that has aged gracefully. I think I hear the odd Super Mario World-esque sounds in there somewhere.

Don't let the low OCR# of this mix scare you. Yeah, okay, there's a lot of very dated MIDI-ish instrument voices in this one. But, it's very dated MIDI-ish instrument voices used well. mutagene knew what could be done with the seemingly basic tools at hand and he made us something that, yes, as djp said, will stick in your head for decades. True facts, here in 2023, with this ReMix being on my playlist for well over 15 years. That piano intro and square lead hook in particular do it for me. The ReMix as a whole is understated but very groovy. Listening to this track makes me wonder about all of the Psygnosis games (that aren't Lemmings) I missed out on playing when I was younger, because the music that underlies it speaks of some grand epics in amazing universes. Even though I don't know the original piece of VGM, I feel like this ReMix adequately holds a mirror up to it. Speaking of reflections, I would also say that this ReMix is a great representative of the ancient OCR sound. How far we've come, but how much we still have to learn from the old days.

This ReMix came back from the dead on 11/29/23, hence the lack of reviews. JD Harding's last OCR hurrah. While other ReMixers of the day may have consistently produced better EDM, the evolution of the music as we go through the ReMix shows a developing maturity that, sadly, we've not yet seen more of here from him. The way the music opens up at 1:57 with that synth lead injects some much needed freshness at exactly the right moment, and then its continuing evolution with the piano forms a great central segment before the return of the organ at 3:00 cools things off before the climax with all the instruments active. While it's not necessarily something that I could see in a nightclub, it's a solid little piece that takes the listener on a journey through the Transylvanian forests. Hang on, is that an audio glitch at 3:11?

This ReMix came back from the dead on 11/29/23, hence the lack of reviews. Having not really been someone with a lot of Latin music in his diet, I don't feel like I can quite get between the cracks of this salsa number in terms of instrumentation and setup, other than to say that June Chikuma did a lot of the initial work and Jake Kaufman realized it with a soundset beyond the 2A03. These days, a ReMix like this would be considered quite conservative. But for what it is, when it was, the production values on this ReMix are very high indeed. The trumpets have that brassy ring. The vibes chime sweetly without drowning in reverb. The tune's repetitive, maybe a little so, but the solos and instrumentation break up its monotony very well and it barely seems like all the different iterations go by before we're ramping up to the end. I particularly like that chiptune integration at the end – while finishing with a death jingle can be rather trite (assuming it is that as I've not played the game), it's done very tastefully indeed. Here is a master at work.

Arwings primed and ready! If you want your floating, ethereal, transporting ivory tinkling that The Wingless is known for...you're not going to find it here; at least not as the main focus. This one is different. djp said that this one doesn't really feel like The Wingless, and he's right. With the wonder of hindsight, though, this ReMix feels like an electronic experimentation with, preparation for, and promise of the Girl/World duo that would come out later in 2003. And yet, despite its strangeness, I still get that Wingless chill down my spine at its opening. Yes, it's two computer voices talking to one another and perhaps it feels a bit drawn out, but that's not a real minus. It sets up the universe of the ReMix nicely, and once the Arwings are launched...there is The Wingless piano, playing the triumphant theme but not with any bombast; with modest understatement instead. It's not peak, it's not even classic, but it's mighty fine. Give this one a barrel roll... er, whirl.

Who here likes 5/4 time? I like 5/4 time. Depending on how you go about it, it's got a very cool inherent drive to its metre; however, it can be very hard to pull it off effectively. But that's what ella guro (Adhesive_Boy) did here. This truly is a ReMix where the journey is better than the destination, not that it's a bad thing in this case. We're taken from a breath to a come-and-go drums and hi-hat line that is there to add intensity rather than beat: the bass is what keeps that 5/4 groove going. We go through mysterious synths playing a melody that seems really ephemeral. The soundscape really does feel cavernous: lights only able to go so far and only in certain directions as flashlights get shone around the space. I would go so far as to call this one a classic, but not in terms of popular appeal like, say, #01184 "Triforce Majeure". This one is for those who like, or would like, to expand their musical horizons and hear something different but not too challenging. Seriously, don't be afraid, have a listen to this one because you'll be better for having done so.

The Red Brinstar theme lends itself in many directions. Melodically, it's got the haunting flute theme followed by the piano thought. Harmonically? Well, no, not really, it's a vamp of two chords. But there's the rhythmic aspect of it and that's the direction Chako's taken it in here to great effect. The whole ReMix is built around the attacks on the first and fourth beats of the eight-beat vamp, like the original. We don't even hear the melody enter, even then in the background, until about halfway through the ReMix. The rising synths remind me of ascending bubbles, and hence I guess why it's called "Maridia Mix" even though that area is next door. The whole ReMix progressively layers aspects and takes them away. I think it's very clever and a good way to approach the subject matter. It's been part of my playlist for many years.

"PLAY." Every now and then, a ReMix comes along that has what I call an "OCR Moment", a nugget of brilliance that instantly hooks itself into the memory and lasts forever. 4F73R M3's opening is one such OCR Moment for me. That Speak & Spell commanding to "PLAY" and then MC does, and oh boy he does. He starts on that anacrusis to give energy and momentum and then plays that shimmering piano solo that just builds and builds and builds, opening the gates for SGX to slide in with a reverse cymbal and totally subvert it into that amazing bass and hi-hat groove, attacking strings and then response-and-call with a flutey lead. Wow. Just wow. That is an OCR Moment. And then the rapping in homage to the original B4U? And slowing down the tempo compared to the original to let the music breathe and give time to appreciate the melody? Genius. Just genius. It's a pity that this is MC's last entry in the catalog, but what a ReMix to bow out on.

"SPEED UPPU!" You will either love or hate this one. There is no middle ground. I am unashamedly in the former camp. The aggressive tag is well earned: this one hits hard and takes no prisoners. Not only does it have this driving in-your-face bassline, riding over the top is one of the best uses of rhythmic vox ever (EVER!) that just drips with the kawaii in a wacky juxtaposition that shouldn't work but it just does. This ReMix is one of my favorites. "Teketteke... Teketteke-WHOOW!"

Yep, okay, it's a TFAT mix. It's not got the most polished production and the string samples are a little lackluster at times, and the hiss on the recording is evident especially at the end. But there's something heartfelt and very introspective about this one. I also like the fact that it doesn't focus on the Chrono Trigger theme like other TFAT ReMixes do (because the original slides into it): other than a reference to it in the bridge, this ReMix focuses instead on TFAT's own unique character and its anthemic melody.

Now this is a classic! I daresay that it was this mix that put Mazedude in my radar as the Lower Norfair theme is one of my favourites. So take that theme, or even the Metroid Prime Magmoor Caverns revisit of this theme, and turn the dial up to 11, and you have this ReMix. Bombastic, just like exploding lava, and a great preview of the work that Mazedude would go on to do, especially with Doom music. This has been in my playlist for well over 15 years, if not longer.

Best listened to with a beer or cider as you sit on the porch watching the sun go down. Or maybe by a window on a rainy day watching the patterns form on the glass. Or late at night as a tonic to one's brooding thoughts.

Gooooo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-al! Look, it's not peak Rayza, but it's classic Rayza. What I mean by this is that there's a formula that worked brilliantly in #00505 'Top Gear "Track 1 (Final Nitro Mix)"' that gets applied here as well. Take your melodic game theme and give it some good unts and progression, and ride over the top related over-the-top processed samples that make it all cheesy to go down easy. So yeah, it's his Top Gear ReMix but for soccer. That doesn't mean it's bad, though. It works. It works well. Check it out.

"This Feeling" is triumph. "This Feeling" is elation. "This Feeling" is hope. "This Feeling" is knowing that the road ahead is long while also holding the keys to the car, at last. At the risk of tempting fate, I want to affirm this. As I've gone through listening to every ReMix in order, I've been looking at each ReMix's review thread to help me further understand the music and its legacy, especially as I come in to these tracks from beyond the well-weathering passage of time. And there, like a beacon near the bottom of page one or somewhere towards the middle of page two (or maybe significantly later where there's been drama), has been a Snivy and an insightful comment from @OceansAndrew. While I haven't always agreed with his take on a ReMix, his ability to cut through the noise of adulations, teardowns and sidetracks, and focus on the music itself has been such a help as I have traveled from #00001 to here. OA has been like a role-model to me as, one day, I will return with a proper review in tow, once I have listened to every last ReMix (today we reached #04500, and I have such a long way to go), and I hope to be just as insightful and helpful to those who will follow where I've trod. And now I get here to #01550 and here is the beginning of something new: OA's not just a reviewer to me, now, but a ReMixer, with dozens of ReMixes ahead to listen to as testimony of making a legacy. That beacon isn't on the page, any more. It's in my headphones. I remember the dreams of my younger self wanting to have my name etched in the annals of the catalog. To listen to OCR is one thing. To appreciate OCR is another thing, that comes from listening. To fully understand OCR is yet another thing, that comes from appreciating it, and then taking one's quill – or mouse cursor in a DAW – to transform the ideas one has of the pieces of VGM that personally resonate, and then laying it at the feet of the judges to have it resonate with them. OA has done this. "This Feeling" is where I want to be, too.

I've been able to get the tracks to work in iTunes that don't work otherwise by chucking them into MP3val, which will repair them and make them useable. I found it fairly easy enough to use. As for the album itself: I'm just finishing off my listen for the first time as I plod through the entire OCR catalog... I have to say that Breathtaking Vision is written on the tin, for sure, and is my favorite from the album. The addition of the WIP tracks is certainly an interesting director's decision. I've enjoyed the entire trip through the three "discs" and fully recommend it. Still as cool in November 2023 as it was in November 2006.

Delicate. Wistful. The latter term is especially pertinent as by this time it seems that GrayLightning was stepping back from ReMixing, as with this and #01464 'Castlevania: Circle of the Moon "Time's Anxiety"' he became "feat. GrayLightning". This ReMix puts to music that sort of wistfulness I've been feeling as I've been going through the catalog from beginning to end and finding that I've come across the last submission of a favorite ReMixer.