Marmiduke

This is quite an oldie for me. One of my first batch of initial downloads many, many moons ago. Strangely, I can't say I remembered it all that well, despite having listened to it quite a lot over the years. I was always a fan of the PD score (like most Rare games), so it's definitely great to explore the darker places that the music can go. I generally think that pipe organs and choirs send off a cliche of darkness and this dabbles in that sort of fake goth teenager vibe for a while, but I also think it has a strenght that isn't immediately recognisable. The samples have aged decently and the arrangement is nice and solid. Portions are a little empty; for stylistic reasons perhaps, but holes of silence will alienate a few people, myself included. This still gets top marks from me though for its handling. It's a rewarding concept that highlights the morose aspect of the soundtrack and really runs with it. I hope not to forget this again.

Cool, ambient and obscure to boot. I like that in a mix. The vocals work great with the material, and that little guitar sting at the end of the tail of each of those sections kept things interesting and fresh for the whole piece. It establishes a new theme in its last third, which I think was a necessary move and I'm very glad it's there. As it stands now, there's no hollowness despite a semi-minimalist approach. It's darkly reflective; always a great combination for when you're alone writing videogame remix reviews at midnight. Sort of a niche market that one, but this definitely has the potential to corner it.

Wow, nice. Contemplative and at perfect peace with itself. It's always good to hear music out to harm noone and delight everyone, and while it will probably go against the grain of traditionally louder and fuller material, I think most OCR fans would be quite taken with it. No crazy arrangements, no complex instrumentation, no super-snazzy effects. Just a stripped back performance that gets to the heart of the source and plays it with an innocent indie style. Never heard the original score, but I'm about to right now. From the melody I can tell I'd be a fan.

Some people may find this strange, but I think Polyanna is one of the finest videogame tunes that doesn't happen to resemble a videogame tune at all. It's pretty amazing that such a simple yet strong melody was left undiscovered by so many facets until SNES-era gaming. It could easily belong as the centrepiece of a film soundtrack or a soppy love ballad on an artist's record. I think it's a big win for gamers that we happen to have music that can hit it big with the rest of them. Anyway, enough about the actual source tune, onto the mix. I disagree with absolutely everyone saying that the vocals should come in earlier or get extended a little more. For me, that wpuld ruin the whole point of the mix. The vocals are the final burst of all the good and warmness that the track (and the album) represents, and to play that burst too long would take from its effectiveness. For me it is the highest peak of a pretty stellar rendition of the theme, and that's because it was an exclamation point to the mix as a whole. Brief but brilliant. There is a boy-band sunny ballad vibe with the mix, which usually conjures connotations of overproduced mainstream junk. But quite the opposite, despite having that sort of sound, there's a nice restraint here. Things sound clean but not glossy, sweet but not sickly. Basically, if boybands sounded more like this, I wouldn't have as much against them. As far as doing one of my favourite game tracks justice, I consider this a huge success. As far as creating a great sounding standalone track and a resonant finale for a project album, it's an even bigger success. Very lovable stuff.

It took me a few listens to focus on the melodic elements of it. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I always enjoy excavating a piece of music and finding and uncovering new things on every passthrough. It's mainly to do with the more-complex-than-usual arrangement of a theme I've never heard before. I don't think there's any doubt of the fact this is a very strong mix. While I can't say it sounds like an authentic piano performance at all times, I can say that it more than filled in any gaps with some truly great sequencing. A different and very intimate piano piece that I hope can keep revealing new experiences for me further down the track. Well done.

It's all about the synths (isn't it always, though). Nice driving beat and some super energetic arranging has made a very danceable and poppy song out of what I thought was a pretty dull original. This is a pure celebration of fun and funk with an addictive quality to it. Amazing instrument selection and variation injected into the sequencing. High marks go to the fact that the groundwork for this was done in a day. Seriously good stuff.

Awesome way to deliver a catchy, but pretty straightforward melody. I'm really loving the focus on that build in sound, where the distortion keeps upping the intensity of the song. It sounds very striking and reveals a power in the original tune that I never would have imagined was there. That's a win, no matter how you look at it. This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, however. The production is anything but immaculate and there's an emphasis on distortion, so it should be no shock that people won't be humming this on their way to work. But as a meaty slab of guitar grinding, colour me impressed.

Those clips from the movie need to sealed in a barrel of acid and forgotten about. They sodomise this mix in a most unappealing way. Do not enjoy. Besides the clips though, I actually don't mind the music. The samples are anything but inspiring, and the transitions between the two styles is like 10 seconds of awful, but it still gains points for what else it does. I actually don't mind the second half as much as other people seem to. It doesn't seem that out of place to me, honestly. It certainly isn't a natural progression of the macabre string section thing going on, but I'm a fan of the retro sound with infused energy. Of course, it's deeply flawed, or maybe mortally wounded would be a more fitting term. It's a shame this mix was shaped around something I personally detest a lot, but really, without the clips, it would still be just eh... I'm just letting it be known I'm not completely down on this mix.

Beautiful piano piece backed up with some perfect subtle atmospheric details. Surprisingly optimistic in parts, while others had a bleaker edge more characteristic of the source material. It's quite an odd ride, submerging into eerieness and surfacing into some very pretty sounding moments over and over. As strange as it is, it never stops sounding fantastic. The female vocals sounded very Twilight Princess-ish, but I dug them regardless. I really enjoyed the relaxed nature of the mix's structure. It's a piano piece, through and through, and I appreciate that everything else was gravy. Getting atmosphere crazy or intruding on the piano's turf would have created an entirely different mix; not for the better methinks. Awesome collab piece and a favourite when it comes to both ambience and piano. Big ups.

This is some beautifully haunting stuff from Jovette that never seems to fail in catching me off guard. I fall in love with the dark and lonely sound every time, each time unexpectedly. It's a total surprise because I'm not a big supporter of this type of vocal performance, and I generally think that lyrics in a mix used to convey anything but fun, comedic material come of as wanky. However, this is absolutely one of the big exceptions. I may not have any idea what is being said half the time, but damn, it works. I've always liked layered vocal elements in music, and while this is perhaps more subtle than some other examples I could name, it's definitely effective nonetheless. I'm really adamant to get behind this mix and shine a little light on it. For being unique, stylish and the darkest kind of pleasure, it deserves anything but getting lost in the shuffle. A very remarkable mix, for me.

Incredibly robust treatment of a theme I never thought was as strong as the others on the Mega Man 2 soundtrack. This takes the original into vastly different contexts and manipulates it just to my liking, it's fast, powerful and not afraid to slow down and reveal a little underbelly. The short piano interval is so well-intentioned and sounds great, but the real showstopper is the last third. Terrific use of chiptune and sound effects. Really nice stuff. I'm surprised that this dates back as far as 2002, and also that it was his departing mix to mark his much-too-long hiatus. But talk about going out on a high note, this is the penultimate AE mix. It's hyperactive, thoughtful and so Mega Man it hurts. It could only be AE.

Sexiness done in the classiest of ways. A deliciously palatable serving of jazz that I'd bet anyone could enjoy. This sort of music, and particularly with this mix, tends to be time-stopping and consumes the moment you're in. I will say though that the piano, while always lovely at the hands of Dhsu, doesn't relay the feeling of a dim and smoke-filled downtown jazz lounge as the smooth sax playing reaches to convey. That's obviously noone's fault if that was never the intention of the mix in the first place, but for me, the piano was the obstacle in the way of me reaching that imagery. Besides that small blip, it's just as good as what you'd expect from a comradery of two instrumental specialists getting their sweet jazz on. And hopefully a sign of the quality of future jazz submissions.

Ah, it's always good to hear the refelctive side of the remixing scene, as it doesn't show itself as often as it probably should. This is some glossy chill music with a bit of punch under the hood. There's a touch more power in some sections than what the genre is probably used to. It sounds great and never collapses into the valley of droll notes and thin soundscapes. I can't say I know the source tune, but I think it's safe to assume the original doesn't sound as moody and sleek as this. A deep and outreaching effort, as well as sounding cooler than cool.

Definitely my favourite mix of the infamous Mario tune on the site, and is just as great as Motoi Sakaruba's darkened arrangement of the track, of which this mix shares a slight resemblance despite being much quicker and lighter in tone. But I digress... This is the sort of music that polarises listeners (it is Shnabubula, after all) but as always, I drink it all in. I love music that interchanges and tries to wrestle free from any sort of constraint. There's a fantastic sense of unpredictability in most of Shnab's work, and I think above all else, an extremely high level of quality. The amount of material he's extracted from a source tune I usually perceive to being ruined in the transition to realistic instruments is astounding. I can't fault this, and even if I could, I'd be too intimidated to. One of the most artistically competent, yet wholly accessible, on the site. More is always needed.

A true OCR opus the likes of which we haven't seen since. The level of polish and ingenuity that accompanies the deceptive simplicity of the concept is second to none. This is a mix that is going to stay timeless and as powerful as it was the day it was released, simply because it covers absolutely everything in terms of quality. In the past, Disco Dan has consistently proven that he has the chops to combine the sensibilities of both orchestral and modern genres, but this is where everything truly aligned and hit the sweet spot. The two styles of music, coupled with the right creative approach, the right expertise and the right source, all combined to spark a rare bit of magic. One of the big champions of videogame remixing lore. It's as ear-pleasing as it is significant. Perfect.

Awesome source selection. Perfect little tune to build upon and kick ass with. And kick ass it does. Love how it establishes itself to begin with and never really betrays the initial momentum, save for a few little much welcomed melody breaks. Everything else is sweet, sweet arranged expansion. The introducion of the guitar work is particularly fine, and the other supporting instruments hold their weight too. But centre stage is that bass; and though it does what bass usually does and just repeats for most of the piece, it's an attention holder. Groovy indeed. Because the game the source has come from is relatively obscure, this is yet another mix that's going to suffer a long existence of being overlooked. A real shame, seeings as it's a real mover with a great sense of style.

Ummmm. Okay. wha? The intro to this is either extremely unstable or one of the most beautiful intros of all time. Can't decide which. And to overanalyse it would be criminal. So I'll leave it alone. All you really need to hear in this mix is a whirlwind of drums. There's a melody creating a spine to the madness, but I didn't find it overly remarkable. The unpredictable flurry of percussion was awesome though, and nailed the concept really well. It's psychotic but completely sensical in some unknown way. I think the correct way to interpret this mix is to say "What the fuck did I just listen to?" after listening, followed by "Now let's listen again." Definately one of a kind.

Cloudy in most sections, empty in a few others. Production is definately not this mix's selling point. Overall, I liked what I heard in arrangement. I don't know if I dig the middle, quiet section too much, as I find my mind wanders a little by that stage. And the transition out of it is extremely jarring. But the sections at the beginning and end, though noisy, are quite nice and energetic. There's definately some good writing stuffed in there, and it doesn't take much to hear it. It's probably more for a niche audience; it does sound pretty archaic and there's an unsettling imbalance in sound levels. But looking past that can bring some special rewards. Definately worth checking out to see what you can get from it.

The source tune makes this otherwise boring mix tolerable and actually pretty enjoyable to listen to. I think it's a terrible waste that there isn't much elaboration to stimulate me besides the source melody, but eh, what can you do? The brief shift to piano (although a weak sample) was really welcome and adds probably the mix's only memorable moment for me. And that's not exactly a bold creative move either. As a remake of a super-strong game tune, this is a guilty pleasure. It's an unapologetic run-through of the theme four or five times in succession with varied samples and a drum beat. Am I in love with this mix? No, I am not. Do I listen to it anyway? Yes, I certainly do.

Not going to win any awards for the way it sounds on a subliminal level, that's for sure. There's an air of casualness to the instrumental approach, not so much that it wasn't cared about, but moreso that it was irrelevant to the respective arrangement. And in a way, its true. I don't think the extremely synthetic sound cripples this in any way, but it does have some unflattering connotations to various other ugly areas of music for me. The arrangement is standout, however. Two unique perspectives on two amazing melodies. I've never heard either of these tunes arranged quite like this. Slowed, but not to a sombre level. Expanded, but not to a verbose, unnecessary extent. Both tunes take on a completely different demeanor than the original, which I happen to like very much. Both Protricity and NoppZ are legendary at mining golden musical tangents out of the most stringent melodies, so it a dream to see them tagteam their skills on this. Samples withstanding, this is an adorable double-artist double-feature. Now everyone have a cookie.

That cello is on FIYAHHHH! I love it. Reminds me a hell of a lot of the Sympathy for Lady Vengeance soundtrack, which is high praise indeed. This is actually one of my favourite musical transformations of a source that I've heard in a while. Not only does it provide a mature, well-structured waltz with a killer melody line and fantastic sounding samples... what I'm really taken with is that djpretzel's name isn't written all over it. Gone are the tried and true (though aweseome) mannerisms and idiosynchrocies of pretzel's usual jive, to offer a temporary outer-pretzel experience. Gotta love those deep tones and the intricate solo work that gradually quickens in pace. A lot of great elements in here, expertly combined and smoothed. May be a step outside of the box, but it's every bit as top-form as pretzel's best. Fantastic stuff, as usual.

Gotta love tango infusion. This one was totally out of left field for me. I always new Gran Turismo's soundtracks by the licensed fodder that they crammed into the Western releases of the game. I had no idea that the Japanese were getting these ubercool compositions. I like that this mix sounds wholly different to pretty much every other mix. It's not self-consicious in it's production, but never sounds particularly grubby or awful. It's got its own thing happening, contained in its own universe. That's something I admire. I've never been a massive fan of Latin style music, but when it's teamed up with a strong theme, rock elements and a talented musician, you don't have to persuade me to convert over temporarily. Despite the production issues, which I respect in a way, and a bit distracting reverb, this is a brilliantly upbeat surprise that has opened my eyes to what the West has been missing out on. Ah well, at least we have ilp0.

I completely forgot this existed! Don't you love it when you accidentally discover something awesome that you weren't even looking for? Link's Awakening sucked up my childhood like a sponge, so I in turn am a huge fan of anything that allows a window back to those sweet, chiptune-fueled times. What I really like is this mix is almost like the fabric of my memories folded back on itself several times to create the ultimate nostalgia hit, with a dance beat to boot. Besides my own personal affiliation with the source, this is still a stellar work. The arrangement is tight and transitions are superb. It feels less like a medley and more just a trancey festival of Zelda. The themes are given adequate attention, and they are very strong themes so it's not like they really needed too much labouring anyway. The fluidity comes across as the most important aspect of the mix, and also the mix's biggest success. I'm a fan of this mix, can you tell? By the way, don't you just love threads with fights in them? That's some great entertainment right there.

Tranquil and danceable at the same time? I consider that a rare combination. I can't remember the original source, but I definately like what I hear here. Sure, it starts running on its own fumes somewhere in the last half, but the main thing is that it makes it to its destination. Personally, I thought the recipe of the breathy pads, the piano and the Blast Corps-ish bassline was such a treat, I could have listened to it a lot more. But in terms of the mix itself, it's probably best it ends when it does. This is a bit of a favourite of mine in terms of understated, harmless mixes.

Some ingredients don't marry as well as possible, but that doesn't marr the quality of the work done here. Both jazz and Sonic music are something I came into pretty late in the game, so they both sit in the same boat with me in terms of how much I can grab onto without a whole lot of prior knowledge. It's largely instinctual, and I instinctually like this. The mellowing of the theme, while refraining from chilling it out to much and keeping a sunny vibe to it, was a great move and seems crafted to the both the melody and your style of playing. It's clear to see where you guys like to be as artists. In the end, despite various pieces of this mix not blending perfectly, still regard it as more than just something to have coffee to. It's well-played jazz to get happy about. Who can complain?