OCR00960 - E.V.O. "Evolutionary Means"

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[snarfoogle]

This is a nice, epic mix. I can't finish this review because I'm about to PLAY E.V.O. Now, why don't you go PLAY E.V.O. right now?

[dr_mario]

oooooh my goodness, i must have rented EVO from blockbuster about 10 times when i was a kid. it was one great game... and a great mix, im almost brought to tears as i reminesce about how many hours i spent in front of my snes with this game

[Akuen]

Yea.. it sure is a nice game anda very nice ReMix i must say.

I like the classic style.. but the most cool thing with this ReMix is that it is meant to be repeated, to go for ever, to be endless. first I thought the ending was kinda bad, but then I saw (heared) that it was supposed to have no ending.. if you don't understand what I mean, try listen to it but press the repeat button.

[Abadoss]

I must say that I really appreciate this mix. It's one of the very few that I've heard in a while that really takes the time to develop the melody. There's good parts and parts that I could live without, but in no part can I say that I would take out. The piece flows, it holds together, and it generally stirs emotion really well.

When I listen to classical music, of any kind, I expect this level of skill. Anything less is not worth the time sifting through all the problems. Solid, solid, solid composition, and I really have to hand it to Mr. Russell Cox...

If I could give a piece of this calibur any advice, the only thing I can think of is that in some of the quieter, softer parts, add a little more detail in the melody, so that it's less likely that a person will drift off or become uninterested (which is difficult to do in this piece). Other than that, excellent work!

Exceptional!

[Zarla]

Wow! An EVO remix! I loved this game when I was younger. I played it obsessively. I dunno, it was one of those games where ya didn't really hafta think. I beat it as one of those winged dinosaur things, which made da ending sequence absolutely hilarious. Mwa ha ha ha.

Anyway, this is gorgeous. It sounds so beautiful and very professional...like a real orchestra is performing it. It's fantastic on so many levels, I can't even really describe them all. All I can say is thanks.

[k-wix]

Hiya Russell! you shalt recieve thy review from the wix. <songplayed> Some awesome work man, Most of my comments are tidbits of "wishes" .. and the mix could've been handled either way. Its great though, if anyone out there digs the classical, make sure you give this a listen, its one of those rare gems that makes you smile, digs a lil spot into your heart and forces you to like it. its also worth noting how smoothly the mix transcends into a new mood, deffinitely cool. Good work!

0:01 - The intro is kinda shakey for me, just the first 4 seconds I mean, it works, and it sounds nice, but, I would've Preferred a nice, soothing lead-up this that. it feels like you sort've tossed it in there.

0:38 - Really pretty, it really goes to show the beauty of the samples used here, I wish i remembered the original better, but its hazy, so i'm not sure how close it is to the original, either way, im lovin' the sounds used.

1:20 - Love this part, very classical, very pretty. very well-done.

2:03 - Its worth noting those small details that he puts into his mixes, it really helps the piece shine in the long-run, especially these small sections right here, it sounds really good.

2:45 - Excellent work here. I would've liked some more "unique" chords.. (if that makes sense) but it still sounds great.

3:28 - Probably one of my favorite parts here, but i do wish you would've slowed it down in here, it feels just slightly rushed, and it bogs down the emotional flavor for me a bit.

4:25 - While i appreciate how adaptive the mix is, it really shifts from one spectrum to another, and it does-so beautifully, I feel like it needs a bit of a push in this last section, there was very little building sensation, while theres nothing wrong with that, I just wish it would've had a bit more "ummph" .. if that makes sesne.

5:00 - Interesting :\ but one of the best parts is you can loop it, and it feels like you didn't miss anything. the ending suits it pretty well, I was just hoping for something a bit more "epic" but that certainly doesnt mean this piece isn't great, because its biggest feat is how pretty it is, and It really shines in that department, so great work Russ. I like it.

[FM]

Probably Russel's best work since Journey of Solitude. I'm now looking forward to his stuff more than any other remixer.

[InfinitysEnd]

I'm commenting on this mix because it is without a doubt incredibly engrossing and epic. E.V.O. is not only one of my favorite all-time SNES games, but I believe it is one of the most innovative games to date. So many people have looked over EVO for their own purposes, but those who actually sat down and played through it, like Mr. Pretzel has stated, loved it. So please waste no more time and download this remix, even if you haven't played the game. The samples are majestic, realistic, relaxing, and by God, if you don't like this you either A.) don't like classical music or B.) are just too unintelligent/immature to appreciate it. I wish Pretzel would have given it a "highly reccommended" rating, but you can't ask for everything...Oh and Russel, if you are reading this, you have a new dedicated fan of your art.

[Kamikaze Noodle]

Although I'm not a huge classical fan, I have to say this is absolutely amazing! The quality of samples, and the way it's been put together are completley flawless. It really does sound like it was performed by a real orchestra! I always expect good things from Russel, and it's good to see he still has it. Oh, and bassoons kick ass! =D

[sgx]

I find this remix to be very good.

[Mario Buu]

This song is an excellent peice for a great game, which seriously COULD have used better music. Even music such as from the very first Dragon Warrior/Quest were better then the original songs. I'm not saying that as in the compositions wearnt good, it was the quality of sound it output into your small capacity brain. But now, as we all can hear, EVO really did give some great music, if it had this good of a quality.

I myself am a big fan of classical music, and orchistral music...I probobly dont even know how to spell orchistral though...so oh well. But besides that, this song mixes the two styles together very well, and doesnt have an ending, which is, a VERY nice touch I have yet to hear too much from anymore. Kudo's to this song.

[Ronyn]

Nice work Russel =D I would kill to know what soundfonts/synth you're using. Email me maestrodeclure@aol.com I must know, he he. This really is one hell of a mix; I'm really going to have a hard time keeping up with this kind of quality. I haven't heard the original music, so it's hard to accurately judge what you've done here. However, a few thoughts I had while listening:

1. The beginning is very interesting. The tonal center is left very vague. Half of your tonicized opening lies in the singular bass line, which you don't expect that kind of motion. The bass lines could be interpreted as either tonic or dominant of Bb, so it's kinda weak. Also, the motion you created is completely lost when the orchestra comes in. It sounds like there's more than one introduction and they have nothing to do with each other. The ending bass line sounds like it wants to be in Ab so it can modulate back to Eb for the intro, but again the tonal center is weak. My feeling is that this could be stronger, it's hard to make sense of it. Then again, if I listen to it all like it's Debussy, suddenly I don't feel so objective and it is very flowing and logical. So, I'll leave the interpretation to you.

2. 0:46-1:00 - Beautiful color! Great idea with the trills.

3. 1:00-1:15 - Sounds like the attacks on the melodic line are late. I can't tell if it's the strings or the brass, but they're definitely out of sync.

4. 1:38 - I'm not sure how I feel about the shift to parallel minor here. It's nice but it kinda feels like you've smooshed a jigsaw puzzle piece together here. It's great how it is, but I wouldn't complain if you did more with it either. If the orchestra hadn't cut out this would have sounded very confusing.

5. 2:09 - Go Contrabassoon!!

6. 2:16-end - Beautiful stuff. Anything that strikes me is pretty much more of the same. The rhythm transitions are very abrupt. I don't feel a real blend going on between them. But like everyone else, I am probably guilty of critiquing what I wanted to hear, and not what was written. When all is said and done, this was masterfully done. Good job.

Much enjoyed,

James

[dkhighwind]

EVO was a pretty fun game. I did dig the Dragon Warrior 2 reject soundtrack, and this game really did capture the best elements of it. While I did love the arrangement in general, it did one thing that annoyed me and I was wondering if I could ask about it (as I see this done in classical style pieces a great deal).

At about 5:01, it seems like the basses just kind of wander off. Why is it that these pieces just kinda trail off into some bland, often boring end? I don't mean to be rude or criticize, this is an amazing piece, but I just don't get it.

[fisherman]

10/10 all-star. Beautiful orchestration. This would hold its own performed as a piece in a live orchestra concert, which is just the sort of thing that makes me squeal with delight. Bravo.

Why is it that these pieces just kinda trail off into some bland, often boring end?

I've always thought it's because video game tracks tend to loop and not have a finite ending. This one's not /so/ bad... and I don't see what djpretzel meant about the hiss at all, it sounded spot on to me.

About that ending though, the bass trail-off ending could have been replaced with a more final-sounding bass ending. For y'all theory geeks, my interpretation would be a 1---5---6---3-2-1--- (4 characters/quarter note, #'s=scale degrees) thing and a couple repitions of the tonic, potentially in octaves, to give it a lot more closure.

[Keeshi]

I always knew that Russ would do great. AND I knew that my plan to make people love and play EVO again would work.

Thank you Russel Cox

[Dicaeopolis]

This is why I have a shrine to Mr. Cox in my closet... Let's just change the name of the site to Overclocked Russell.

I have to admit I've never played EVO, but that hardly matters with a piece like this. What an outstanding job. It's a shame there aren't more classicists here, but Russell's work certainly makes up for the shortage.

Now do Star Fox 64.

[YuYuFan]

I used to be a HUGE EVO fan back in the day, so I'm glad to see that such a great remix came out of it. Keep up the good work Russell!

[Blak_Omen]

Once again, Russell Cox shines in his orchestral forte. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this remix, but I will point out the good things about it.

- Good use of whole orchestra

Perhaps the percussion section could have been slightly louder, but otherwise, woodwinds, brass, strings all get their chance to shine.

- High quality samples.

If you close your eyes, this sounds like it could have been a live work. Almost. The harp I especially love - it makes me want to go back and play E.V.O. again! And that's saying something, to go back to play a game just for a tune well implemented by a skillful remixer.

Good interpretation of melody.

I remember most the little tunes that was in E.V.O. and I think you've carried through most of the memorable ones - one of the best things about this remix is that it could really fit right in with the original game.

Great work with strings.

They are very realistic and you implemented them to great effect, especially around the 0.50 mark. The only drawback is that at 4.30 they come in really abruptly and doesn't sound very realistic, but a minor setback in an otherwise excellent string section.

On the whole, this is a fantastic piece, recommended if you've played E.V.O. or like orchestral pieces.

One word: Grandiose.

[danny B]

Listening to this piece, I remembered that I haven't commented on it.

This piece is absolutely incredible. It shows a mastery of music theory concepts and instrumentation fundamentals. Russ knows what to put where, and it shows. A very rare case in which extremely high quality samples are put to good use to enhance the song, rather than carry it.

The brass fanfares and string progressions are beautiful. The reinterpretations of harmonic and melodic ideas to flow inbetween different EVO pieces work perfectly. This song brings back all the good memories of my EVO days.

Very professional production here, Russ. The world needs more music like this.

-SM

[Vercalos]

While I like most of the genres of remixes, I'm particularly fond of the classical style ones, and of all of them, Russel Cox usually stands out with his remixes. They are invariably beautiful, and Evolutionary Means is no exception. I love your remixes, Russel. Keep up the spectacular work.

[Protricity]

Indeed. Easily my favorite piece by rustle cocks.

[south pacific islander]

The song gave me a reason to play the game. After Listening to it , I got to say that he improved on the orignal songs and gave out a unique idea on the entire feeling in the game.

[Audity]

This song is the best orchestral mix on the site. No questions asked. (EDIT: I forgot about Jared Hudson's Pilot the Yggdrasil.) [Nigel's Castlevania IV mix is worth a mention, regardless.]

Nothing holds a candle to this. (Okay fine there might be something I'm overlooking but I doubt it.) As many others have said, everything flows like none other.

[OceansAndrew]

2 years on this one, time for a review! The people need to hear about this great mix!

Great samples and well used to boot, the level of sophistication is pretty high in most of the sections, and the colors an d textures are varied. THe only real issue I have is that the ending seems a bit overly sparse and anticlimactic, but after 5 minutes of great music, a few seconds of subpar ending is easily dismissible.

Very natural sounding, nice work.