Rexy

Lol, deviantart. I regularly contributed a lot of traditional art back in the day; I grew out of it long ago, namely due to the kids roaming around, so I guess I can understand how they'd have disappearing santas. And thank you for the clarification Wes! And to my SS, I apologize for being a P.I.T.A. about it; things got really out of hand lately; but here's to hoping for the package's safe arrival.

I quite liked some of the Pancake Chef's stuff as I made my rounds here originally; back in 2002, they were seen as a good early example of taking the sources to completely different levels, even if they felt rather brief. This track serves as a good example even on a production level; taking the bass component of the source material and using it as the driving force for something more lively in nature, it's been reflected well with some strong articulation and synth modulation work done for their time. The melody may be referenced in fragments, and even then it doesn't come through properly until around 2:10, but I'm sure enough was done with the backing to allow for the patience to come through. What does irk me a little bit though was that some of the samples were written in these egyptian musical scales, while others were written entirely in minor keys, which makes it slightly difficult to comprehend on a writing level when the two elements clashed together in various points past the 1 minute mark. For me, clashing scales can be seen as a miss, but given that these irks are fewer than I'd usually expect from such mashups, I can be cool with it. So for a 2002 work, I dig this. I still wouldn't call it my personal favorite of the Pancake Chef's works though, but it's still a tasteful adaptation of Mitsuda's work and can be worth looking into if you're a fan of either him or the Xeno series

When I first heard this, I was all "wut, what's happened to Fishy's guitars?!" and then as I started to get more into it, I started to gel into it more simply for its peaceful nature taken to it. Evaluating it properly though, while it does indeed to be a straightforward adaptation at first glance, there's been enough done with the background writing to definitely give it substance, between the chord substitution at the beginning, some very classy drum writing, and an additional guitar solo thrown in at 2:10 that may still follow closely with the source material, but the tone done to it managed to fit appropriately with the feel at hand. Even the ending I thought was neat with the gentle builddown, before the strange reversed sounds came in to give it more of an eerie atmosphere as the track was closed off. So while it is indeed a safe arrangement, to see the style handled with a great amount of execution was still worth the payoff. The only thing I could've really suggested though in regards to the mixing was to probably bring up the guitar just a little bit more for added clarity, and maybe some slackening on the compression for the ride cymbals, but even then they still sounded fine with the rest of the instrumentation really pulling their weight throughout. Hence, a more experimental Fishy (sorry, Cain) mix in regards to style, but it definitely came together in a remarkable way. Nice work, and we hope to see what you got for 2012

More Highway Hunter. Suzu's track - submitted then under the title "Hunter is My Middle Name" - really provided a great amount of stiff competition, and similarly it received a lot of love from the voters, so I'm glad he managed to get it out here. My sentiment with it still remains - with the amount of tasteful manipulated organ wahs and involved rock instrument writing, I can see how one may point out similarities to Steely Dan's work; almost as if it could be a modern day "Bodhisattva" in regards to style (but half as long). In comparison to Bladiator's, the track is much closer towards the source, and even then with the good melody manipulation within the first half and neat synth solo work later on, one can see clearly that in regards to providing energy, Suzu definitely went all out. Albeit, I wouldn't necessarily consider it a neat mix; I'm listening through the Youtube preview and it feels as if the headroom for the tracks is somewhat cramped, and that's something I noted more with a hint of unintentional distortion in the organ every now and again. Not sure if that was intentional as if it's not a real mix killer, but it may be something to bear in mind (though with the recent stuff with Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backfire I'm pretty sure all is well). But yes, very good memories of a very fun PRC! Hopefully we'd get to see more of Suzu in 2012, whether it's from judging at OLRemix, solo material or more from the DIB

A 2002 mix, and I'll try and be gentle with this one. I can see where the effect work is coming from; it's an early example of sound manipulation to give the track life, which can be noted in the synths and velocity work for the drum fills, so it's a good dynamic touch. However, while people had beefs with the drums, I have a much bigger concern with the writing. Sure, I can understand the track being old, but I honestly swear that's no excuse to put the source melody in a completely different key to the accompaniment; it comes off as clashing dissonance and laziness to me. Even Beatdrop considered himself guilty of that technique himself in the past and had been able to rectify himself since - it's very harsh sounding. Thankfully at 2:56, when the B section of the source came in, it managed to fit in so much more with the source material. But even then it had to regress itself by reverting back to the A theme and fail to fit it in properly. So for me, the track feels really sloppy and difficult to even put a recommendation through. I guess if you're looking for Blaster Master remixes then it may be something, but even then you'd most likely want to proceed with caution, especially in regards to the writing.

You were originally going to have Larry on this?! Well, it may be something since both he and Jillian represented OCR at Tokyo earlier this year, but that to me would take Larry's humorous side to a whole new level. Of course, it's fine enough with Jillian involved given a familiarity with the Japanese audience beyond the TGS2011 booth babes (I'm sorry again Larry!!), and as a result we've managed to get a track that can be seen as a melodic fusion of the two sources while depending on the silly yet repetitive lyrics of "I Can See All" in a neatly programmed vocal stem that can be compared to Daft Punk's vocoder work. I swear that thing is crazy - with all the major pitch shifts, autotuning and the occasional half-speed thrown in, the idea of turning Jill into a vocaloid for this purpose has shown itself to be a clever and well-executed idea. So you can see I dig the idea well. People may not get it due to the restrictive lyrical nature, but that's what the source material implied. I'm just blown away by a lot of the production work especially behind the transformation behind Jill's voice, so I consider it a very neat addition to the Armored Core album - plus a neat way to provide first honors to the PSP! Nice work, Anosou

"Sonic quality of Peeples or Prievert"... eh, I'm not really too sure if they should be seen as the primes even for back then, but they still had their stuff. So it may have a very basic MIDI sound, though being guilty of using MIDI soundbanks in the past I shall let it pass considering its post date. Arrangement-wise, it sticks to the melody a lot, with some forms of buildup being done surrounding it, though I do give credit towards the drum writing; it's shown its involvement given the nature of the track and has shown elements of spice in it to keep things going refreshing. It's a decent track, but I personally think it could've been better if you were able to work with a live guitarist, given the huge abundance of them in the community. Given that guitarists go as far back as February 2000 with live guitar appearances from the Frivolous Funk and the Rabbit Joint, it probably wouldn't have been problematic to see if anyone with live instruments would have kindly offered their services. But as it is it sounds fine enough for its time. Shame you couldn't really stick around to improve the craft D:

Blanka, nice. I had fond memories of overusing Blanka myself in the times I played Street Fighter 2 in the arcades as a kid, if only because of his ability to shock people! So what we have here is a good safe take on the source, with some nice drive on more worldly instrumentation. I'm fine with most of it fitting the roots of Blanka as a character, but I'm not really sure about the choice of having a Shamisen as a lead unless it's towards homaging Capcom itself. Arrangement-wise not a lot goes on, but there's been a good choice of having the second A section before the first B section that came in taking the A section melody into a counterpoint. Even then there's been some lightly more varied accompaniment writing leading towards the end, and it helps give it that kind of lift. Considering the track is nearly 12 years old it managed to fit the scope reasonably well for itself; the soundbank, while also showing its age, actually feels mostly well manipulated for me with a great amount of credit going towards the strings for some good expressive slow attack movements here. I'm not too sure about the repetitive drums though; it can be excused due to age, but it kind of keeps the track feeling more chilled rather than energetic, but considering the artist at hand - McVaffe in a past female alter ego - it's probably not a bad thing. So as a sucker for Blanka, I'm cool with it, though I hope one of these days - outside of the site's SF2 albums - there'd be a remix that would take the source to the next level. And we hope to see more of McVaffe soon too

I heard from Bahamut that my Secret Santa hasn't stated anything in the thread in regards to sending anything. Whoever's my Secret Santa better hurry up if nothing's been sent; I'm already angry enough right now, and a Secret Santa that ISN'T a deadbeat would actually make my Christmas. On the other hand, I've seen that my 'festive cheer' was delivered to someone. I just don't want it to be in vain if the same isn't happening for me in return

Good ol' WillRock. I do however sense that old influence given that it shares similarities with even "Green Chills" over at the source, but even then the arrangement ideas are very strong. What he did was taken the overly-happy Route 26 melody and gave it something that sounds somewhat more ominous and more lethal, literally taking the phrase "the road to being a Pokemon master is not easy" to a completely new height. It may have been manipulated much, but I managed to sense a good amount of the melody for it to work throughout. The synth and guitar solos to me sound crazy, along with some very precise fingering that really show how much of the 'rock' he brings in his name. I even like how it even started shifting to a more happy and victorious setting closer to the original at 3:20 as well, reflecting on my above quote even more and telling us that we may go through a lot of crap, but the goal at the end feels so GOOD! Strange philosophy, but that's how I feel about it. Production wise it hit the spot; it may show age now in comparison to Will's other works, but the synths were well manipulated, the guitars had a clear vision, the plated Pikachu samples were awesome (albeit cheesy hehe), and the drums, while showing a synthetic nature to the writing, were well programmed and fit the purpose of the mix. Course, the guitars may have taken a considerable boost in recording quality since those days (something that I noted with "Friendly Fire" for the Super Dodge Ball project), but for its time it's really something to me. So, quite a lot of things to say about it. Rocking, crazy synths, awesome arrangement, and even considered beautiful. You have done Pokemon a world of service, fellow Englishman

The source material sounds weird to me, with that many crazy synth and percussive effects that could mistake it to be from a Genesis. o_O Even this remix interpretation sounds weird to me - while maintaining the same groove focus on the original, it manages to take the melody in a more ominous way with the strange high-dependant throbbing bass and experimental panned nature to the accompanying sound to it. I also thought the reversed section at 1:50 sounds rather ridiculous coming out of it, but that to me seems to add more towards the quirkiness. Aside from the drum progression and the melody being present for 16 bars, it to me sounds really liberal though. We got this quirky setup, and it may work for more experimental listening, but to see little source being used at all tells me that it's going to be hard to see it as a proper remix, but just as what sounds more like an Acid experiment. People may understand this quirkiness driving the mix, and for a 2000 mix it did its purpose, but attributing to changing standards it has shown a considerable amount of age over the years just for its purpose. So if you are to check this out, bear all this in mind.

So, another old track. I'll try to go easy on this one while watching out for a character count that doesn't go over 9000. So for an early 2001 track we got this foundation that's layered down decently in sound levels for its time. Like a lot of them, the sounds seem to show their age (not to mention barely sounding exciting give or take the B section melody synth) and the arrangement is really conservative, but it's driven by what can be seen at the time as a fitting and appropriate setup. Structurally, it's not all that bad. What irks me is that with the different synths being used as lead melody sounds for the A section and the more prominent B section, there's a ridiculous amount of over-used sustain on the melody sound for the A theme, and to hear that note extend itself during the B theme sections actually feels somewhat uncomfortable and rushed to me. In fact it might be borderline unlistenable, though part of it seemed to be saved by the attention paid to the instrument sound levels. So it's a good 2001 mix but with some easily-avoidable flaws that push this back considerably. Overall I'm not really too crazy over it, but it might satisfy some people craving for more Schala or at least some early remixes of this over-interpreted theme.

Well, given the gentle acoustic nature of the source material, I can understand how appropriate it would fit in a more chilled setting. And it does somewhat with the gentle chimes and pads used to carry the melody, but by the time that loud pulse synth comes in, I thought for me the mood is somewhat killed off, but it might've been seen as more of an artistic direction. What seems to be my biggest qualm though is that for me the melodic and bass components aren't even on sync with the rhythm-based synths and drums, which to me I found it really hard to even keep in rhythm while listening towards it. Couple that with the randomly layered bell at the end, and I would've thought the structure for this one feels somewhat amiss for me. So while the production actually isn't bad for 2002, what seems to be missing for me is the execution, especially in regards for timing. Hence, I don't feel really keen about this one, unfortunately

Turtle power!! Often times when coming towards a work of bLiNd I often am open to sense some top quality electronica. This to me succeeds in its goal even with its strong production values all the way through, although in a different way I might expect. It starts off pretty appropriately, referencing the theme subtlely with this nice downbeat intro with power chord bells that give it somewhat of an oriental vibe, before suddenly exploding full-front in a dnb/guitar-lead mashup. If I'm going to be fair that's probably not the best synth guitar I've heard, but for the track it still has an appropriate presence. This feel ended up doubling up, but the melody manipulation the first time around and even the trip-beat when the beat comes back in again start to capture more interest given towards the track. What I felt was icing on the cake to me was what seemed like a fake ending right after with the ominous pulsing bass, before going into a solid hip-hop oriented section with plenty of gate and synth manipulation work that showcase bLiNd's nature as a producer as well as an arranger. It's those kinds of moments that show exactly how much tight details one would put in towards the genre and maintain interest towards the listener at heart, and thus is one of a number of reasons why bLiNd is seen as a huge fan favorite around the community. For that Bad Dudes project, it works immensely! And given the recent trend towards drum n' bass, I'm feeling quite the anticipation towards his next few site releases. Roll on bLiNd's works for 2012 and beyond

When I first saw this in the to-be-judged queue, fashionably early may I also add, I had no idea what prompted the idea to get a Minecraft mix in early unless it might've been a joke. But hearing this back, it's anything *other* than a joke It's a different way of mixing for TO as he took the source in a more upbeat fashion, and the original piano - although stripped down to melody and the occasional 2-part harmony - managed to face some good shuffling around to fit in a more lively atmosphere. The background synths to me sound really well manipulated with some tasteful modulation/slide action applied, and even the mastering had managed to take a gentle approach to fit the genre. What we have as a result is something that may be brief, but is also a very tasteful arrangement of C418's work. Palpable might have brought up the synthetic nature of the piano, but likewise I'm practically with the thought that if any notes were made less even then it might've jarred the mix somewhat. What does make me think though is what could've happened if Bladiator was available to play a more elaborate piano part thanks to his bonding with him in the past, but to me that might've taken away the sheer simplicity and gentleness this mix has come through with. Either way, what you did was made musical justice for Minecraft fans everywhere. And I'm absolutely sure that C418 would be proud of this one too, so way to go

As far as I recall, your name doesn't get added until you're actually posted onto the site. When one of them surfaces as a mixpost, I'm sure you'll be listed as an arranger for the album then. Congratulations though

Total User Reviews: 354 (-17700 HP) OA Reviews: 30 (+1500 HP) CURRENT PROGRESS: 4800/21000 HP Less than 100 reviews left before we can beat OA down to a pulp! In addition... there are still 60 songs with less than 10 reviews. Is there anyone out there willing to endorse these poor underdogs? But yes, this is going by almost too quickly o__O

Deflektor! I guess after repeated exposure to Zero Division's arrangement for this same source earlier this year, you might expect me to look towards the other one in due time. In comparison to ZD's glam rock effort, what we have on the other hand is some kind of subtle rave, though the melody interpretation feels significantly more conservative - a riff of the theme, before going to the C-tuned and G-tuned breaks for the finish, complete with a weak fadeout for the genre. The chippy synth writing and way of manipulating the backing synths give in some life for its time of release, though these days they could be seen as that bit more minimalist. Panning and levelling is pretty good for its time as well, though personally I would've thought that lead synth string could've had more of a presence or had its attack cut to make it stick out moreso. Basically, there's not a lot to see here if you're open for interpretation, but if you're a fan of the source and just want something that sounds fun, then I see no problem with you going for this one. I even think it sounds pretty decent too considering it's a 2000 release, so major credit there for its lasting appeal in that department

The game start music. Limited source (4 measures). A 2000 release. The TRUE first mix submitted by a girl. To be fair, I don't know if that was the most dignified way to make that mark for us girls, but oh well - that's the way the cookie crumbles. I guess it starts out promising with the piano buildup and the choice of three-step hip hop drums, but even then when you get further into the track those could be seen as the only components. But then there had to come an interesting choice of synth guitar to come in; not a convincing sample for the modern day set, but the amount of feedback granted to it made it feel somewhat decent at the time as a stand-alone instrument. If I'm going to have to be honest, I think this probably would've worked better as a piano solo. It might've been more minimalist, true, but some of the more rapid higher-note sequences felt more classically oriented to me and could've been able to fit in a much more appropriate setting than an attempt at minimalist electronica. As a piece it doesn't do it for me, but for a 2000 release it could be seen as a subtle study on production techniques for early established mixers. Mad props for covering Frogger though; as far as I know, the structure of the source material makes it hard to make anything all that serious with

I remember this fondly from The Sound of Speed Having also remembered the halc / Insixfour collaboration thing fondly for what they did with Majora's Mask not too long ago (!!), I felt more than happy to see them team up again for the Sonic 1 album, even if they brought in a limey third man in the process. "Marble Zone" may be seen as quite overdone, but there's definitely been some solid writing done in the chord progression and synth expression to give the backing an added lease of variety and adaptation within the album itself. The melodic motif has shown presence throughout, and to hear the B section going half-speed a couple of times here kind of reminds me of a similar approach I took on when I once arranged the same source, so I guess it could be seen as somewhat nostalgic. The build-down-and-up-again with the chiptune elements were also neat and managed to build in well to that colorful ending with Blake's freeforms being given the spotlight. I say you handled the source remarkably well - nothing straightforward, and nothing obscured either. Blake's saxophone contribution here, I believe I almost thought was a synth brass sample in the trailer (well shut my mouth!!), but upon realising the saxophone part to be a live part in the end manages to add to that meandering atmosphere going on. Perhaps it might've been down to some sound processing on your end that made it sound that way (in which in that case more could've been done to the EQ to bring out its tone?), or maybe that's what Blake's sax is supposed to sound like at its highest ranges? Either way, the end contribution towards the already well-manipulated soundscape came out pretty, and can be seen as a more subtle yet potent component for the Sonic 1 album. tl,dr: Nice work you three! And let's see more Insixfour magic coming in within the near future, yes?

After hearing what you did with Wolfenstein a few days ago, I'm actually keen to hear what else you have. Shame this one didn't seem to get much love - I mean, it's Metal Gear for crying out loud! But yes, listening to the interpretation of the source, I do indeed can sense that Hans Zimmer vibe towards it with the string and low-register work in the writing and the more minimalist way of writing. I got to admit, you got me laughing at 1:20 though - I could almost imagine Snake being caught, guards with explanation mark bubbles above their heads, as if it was remade in the style of the Metal Gear Solid games. The calm parts after it managed to capture something more subtle and triumphant, if not a little brief. I say you got the sneaking part down to a T in regards to the writing - nice! I do however am with the same consensus with most of the other people in regards to the track length, but to be honest, I don't even know how else it can be extended without making a completely different B section out of it. But what we have in this small package is a lush arrangement, complete with a great amount of realism involved (I'm especially calling kudos on the string and percussion work), and I can say that it's short but very sweet. Beckett, you've got to have some contributions lined up for 2012; from what I've seen of you, I am seeing a promising symphonic arranger

The mood to me feels somewhat dynamic; managed to take the edgy 80s-like nature of the original 64 Rocker to something that could be seen as something more film-score-like, maybe kind of similar to David Bergeaud's more downbeat works due to the combination of synths with more organic sounds. The atmosphere and intertwining of both the themes throughout can indeed highlight a hint of desperation for the Mario parody character in the game, indeed reflecting on its artistic merit really well. Nice going. The samples themselves were even handled with amazing quality; goodness knows how anyone can even replicate those booming bass drums along with such clean production to match; the only two qualms I tend to have though tend to be with the piano writing being somewhat stiff to me (albeit the dynamics were worked on really well for it to fit in with the rest of the sounds), and I'm not so sure about the choice of fadeout ending. But if it was written with more of an intent to be a game loop, I can probably understand the direction more. It's a good interpretation for 8-Bit Weapon's score though, and for what I've witnessed of you so far within the community you're really pushing yourself as a key arranger within the OCR clan. Outside of waiting for NiGHTS "Panzer Nightopia" to be posted, I really hope to see what you've got in the works for 2012

King Kong! All I know about Konami's handling of it is that he appeared in Wai Wai World on the NES, but that was it What you did with the source does indeed feel so much like that a movie score in a way; starting with that gentle piano intro, moving onto an interpretation of the theme that does strike similar dynamic similarities to the main theme of Pirates of the Caribbean (seemingly an intent due to the mix description), along with some nice buildup work in the middle and variation on the riff once more. It to me may sound like a straightforward arrangement, but what was handled with the source even in the lesser pronounced sections was highlighted remarkably well, and thus I approve of your passion for all things MSX with what you did. Production wise, it managed to sound very sharp and well established; the strings to me feel lush and them along with the driving percussion are seen as key components for the track's realisation. That piano to me does indeed sound very heavily snapped though, which I'm not even sure is the intent of the work, but if something like that could be more realised given the nature of it being a 'key' instrument (double meaning?), then I can see you going places for even a fourth MSX arrangement for the site. That said, hopefully you'll make a return in 2012 with more ways to honor the system! I'll be keeping a hold on this one

Hehe, old-school djp. So even then you had an ear for deviating from the source material; starts interesting with those synthetic rhythmic synths, though by the time the beat and ultimately the melody came in, things started to add more flavor, life and ultimately interpretation into the track. It might be difficult for people to see past the loose timing on the first goes-through, but in terms of what's been handled with the source material it managed to fit the feel that was going on here. Looking at the description it can be seen that the mastering process seems rather primitive now in comparison to other mixes, but in comparison to works even a couple of years after its time it actually sounds pretty polished. It may show its age now, but like a lot of djp works they tend to stand the test of time a lot more than other similar arrangements. Here's to hoping you'll provide any music for 2012 on top of your service to the site; for now, we salute you

I remember liking this when I started looking around OCR's library for the first time. So I guess by reviewing it it's taking me back somewhat. The feel for this one kind of reminded me of DJ Tiesto's early noughties works ("Suburban Train" apparently comes to mind here), and the beats managed to appropriately fit that more laid back groove going on. There does seem to be some sour note clashing in parts namely to the loops of choice in the background, but generally this is one that I felt the production managed to stand itself up for well over time, even down to the levels of the chosen instrumentation. Albeit, in regards to arrangement - aside from the familiar arpeggio that everyone knows and love, it takes a lot of liberalities with the source material. Given the minimalist scope of the source material it may be expected, but for those looking for more familiarity with the prelude it's probably not going to be found much here. To this day I still dig it now; probably not as much as I did when I first started out, mind, but FFMusicDj's early works could still be cited as part of an influence of me as a rebellious teenager. Hopefully he'll come back soon with new arrangements up his sleeve; it's been too long!