OCR01376 - Sonic & Knuckles "Lava Reach"

[Rexy]

After looking at the judges' decisions I understand the close vote.

Well, just to clarify, after Joel read the in-progress judges decision vote that I sent him (at the time 4Y/5N), he really did a phenomenal job revising this mix thanks to some perspective from other judges as well as listening to the mix again with a fresh set of ears. If the posted form of this mix had hit the panel with the production & arrangement revisions it now has, it would have easily went 4Y, though I'd honestly say that it would have been direct posted actually.

Yeah, I understand that he put up a revised version during the posting process. Even if you do say it would easily go 4Y, that's one black man's opinion Still think it would have been close though.

And for those glad to see some older faces back on the OC front page, we've got another one coming back relatively soon that will make you very happy definitely.

If it's McVaffe I swear I will bear hug the hell out of everyone I see.

[Nario]

Excellent job Jivemaster! It's been a LOOOONG time since I've heard anything *new* from you, so I'm glad to see your name again. Hopefully you'll mix more Sonic music, as I never ever can get enough of those mixes of yours.

I really like what you did around 4:20 and so on. That was pretty sweetnessful. I also like your synth's.

I know this next part will sound like a praise PM, but to be honest, it was really you that helped contribute the encouragement for me to start mixing music, whether you intended that or not, considering that you wouldn't have known me. I guess it was the percussion from 'rAAw Battery' that really started getting me to think about it and then pxFury submit 'Trippin' on Ecstacy' and that was it. I wanted to become a remixer and you helped!

Thanks, if you can understand me that is. ^.^;; Wait, this is still a review or whatever isn't? Whatever. Regardless, good luck with your next remixes, as I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

[KairoAnnunaki]

Excellent job Jivemaster! It's been a LOOOONG time since I've heard anything *new* from you

I would like to second this. This is very nice, and very enthusiastic to me. Great job, keep up the awesome work.

[DeathChronx]

I found this song really enjoyable! Im going to listen to it a few hundred more times ^_-

[Maco70]

Jivemaster is my hero... This is a great remix, and so are all of your other remixes. Jivemaster, you rock man.

[Heyjohnny]

Great remix, I love the kind of messy bass noises, kind of an ultrabassed out square/Electric Guitar sound and then at 1:31 the clean track comes in. I absolutely love the drums in this song, and I love the non-repetitiveness of it.

Nice, another Sonic Remix, god I love em all...

I'd have to agree

[BlueMage]

Awesome track, and from a fellow Brisbanite too! Lava Reef and Hidden Palace are two great tracks to work with.

I would say this is old-sk00l Jivemaster stuff, but simply put, it's better than that. Much, much better.

If you run any live gigs man, I may just be tempted to check them out.

[GammaUnit01]

Reminds me of something you'd hear in Sonic Adventure

[Nobbynob Littlun]

I agree, this sounds like something you might hear on Sonic Adventure's (stellar) soundtrack, even though I don't much care for it myself. I will say that the "Now, it is time." is plain awesome. Thinking back to the Battery song, putting in those little phrases is one of your strongest points Jivemaster.

"Now, it is time."

[DistantJ]

So, the return of Jivemaster. The guy's done some REALLY enjoyable stuff which has appeared on here in the past.

My views on this might be seen as a little controversial, perhaps even as herecy, but especially in comparison to Jivemaster's older submissions, I think this mp3 is going to have to go into my freezer to stop the large amount of cheese contained within from going bad and stinking out the place.

Jivemaster uses quite well designed sounds, most of which sounding quite traditional, like something played with a minimoog, which is always a good thing, if you ask me. The filtering effects (mostly envelopes, so that the filter changes with each note as opposed to globally around the song or sequence) are rather predictable, though, and almost seem crude and unnecessary - everything seems to make, forgive me for the onomatopoeia, a "wow" or "bau" sound. The synths do have personality, though, and are easily distinguishable from one another.

We are smashed across the head with some really nice, powerful percussion, but this has a bit of a stink of cheese in it, too, it almost seems a little too overdone, especially with the same chord pattern and background music follwing it through most of the song. Some REALLY nice drum sequence programming though, just perhaps the percussive sounds chosen/created are a little too O.T.T.

Then, to my surprise, an electric guitar comes into the mix, thus maxxing out the cheese-factor. Next stop: videogame angst central. Something feels missing here, too. It gives me the feeling that this was intended to feel really heavy, but instead feels quite draggy and seems to try too hard and fails to achieve it's intention.

A pretty nice transition into the Act-2 theme. This section of the song is far better, in my opinion. We get treated to a very nice, relaxed melody with minimalistic, but still complex drum sequences, which, rather than trying to spank you around the head until you think it's cool, actually lies nicely underneath the music creating an atmoshpere and rythm for the section, and nicely filtered and equalized synth voices along with a few harp-like sounds and a lovely bassline, giving us more of a chilled, Jean Michel Jarre-esque tone. This section, to me, is the song's redeeming quality.

So all in all, an average song, the first half I found myself particularly unimpressed with, but transitioning into a very pleasant second half. I find myself thinking if he second half was extended and more was tried with it, and the first half cut off, I'd be speaking very highly of it in this review.

(...Nothing personal, Jivemaster!)

[NeOmega]

I have had this one on my playlist since it came out.

Like a fine wine, it just gets better and better with age. It seems to have broken so many music rules, and still came up smelling like roses.

...and that smooth ending is just fantastic, a perfect climax.

[Dr. Wily]

Great mix, love it. This is one of those tracks that really does get better with age just as Neomega said.. normally I don't go for this electronica genre but this is absolutely the best of its kind I've heard on OCR! It's repetitive without getting old and has a nice steady buildup to some really cool synth at 3:30-40ish, the true climax of the piece. Everything before 3:50 is gold.. it does peter out a somewhat after that but still rolls along nicely. Indeed, he is the Jive Master.. some great home-grown talent, hopefully next time not so long between drinks!

[Drack]

Drack canned response: Don't mess with the chord progressions when the original sounds great! (Cadence point at 1:55-2:00).

This mix is great. I liked the development and arrangement. I didn't like the voice samples and some of the panning effects, but the arrangement more than makes up for it. Very full sound, and the effort shows. I didn't like how the bass synth kinda petered out before the transition to the 4:00 section. Most of your panning FX worked well, but some didn't (first half, like the voice samples). I like the way you used reverb. EXCELLENT transition into Hidden Palace at 5:00. I don't like the "bow" synth you used for the lead here, but the background instrument is perfect, it could come out some. Nice work

Playlisted!

[Ageha]

Burnt and in my car. Best remix I have heard of this song to date.

When the grinding buildup comes in around 3:00 I just die. I usually rewind and play this part over again in my car every minute because I'm a sucker for it.

Hot in both respects, that's all I've gotta say.

[Bummer]

Man, these Sonic remixes is just getting better and better. I'm one of the persons that never heard of Jivemaster, but after a remix like this I'll probably never forget him.

The Lava Reef Zone was a cool place in the game, annoying at some times when you suddenly lost your 4500 rings you'd collected, but I guess that's life. This arrangement reflected the style of that place very good, all the samples that's being used sounds very good together, and there are hardly no low quality samples nor annoying instruments.

This remix has sky rocketed up to my top five list, although this is the first time I'm listening to Jivemaster's pieces. It's just great.

Sorry to hear that Israfel has stepped down, he could make some impressive orchestral remixes. I must start reading pretzel's comments on the new remixes, it's kind of embarrassing to get to know matters like this a couple of months after they've happened.

[Arwen]

Holy cow...I love this mix. Lava Reef was one of my favorite zones because of the music. This remix captures the mystery, the chaos, and the danger of the zone. I know there are some others who didn't like it, but as someone who was nuts about Sonic, I am really happy to have it. It's true to the original feel of the game and it brings back some very happy moments from my early teen years.

[42]

It's kind of strange to here a tune that's been treated relatively light hearted in other remixes to now be so techno and Mortal Kombat-esque, especially with the "Now, it is time." sample.

This is still a cool remix though. It's definitely hardcore, techno, climatic, and dire. It has this air of finality throughout the mix; it's like the background anthem for the final fight of two lifelong rivals where they know that one isn't going to survive. if that makes sense >.>

[Level 99]

o_o I love those drums. While not the most refined mix I've ever heard, this is really fun and moving. It does feel a little long with the song's length, but this is a great take on the source with a good amount of production quality and rhythms that really make me want to go running in a late 80's montage-style. Guitars were a nice choice, but that section where you introduced them sounded just a tad awkward with the way you had the drums going. Overall, still quite good.

Edit: there's a section in the middle that really reminds me of a Real McCoy song. Can't place my finger on it, though. Just a funny imagining, because their songs are a guilty pleasure of mine.

[OceansAndrew]

Pretty good stuff, with a lot of variation to keep the track interesting through the long duration. I liked the synths and percussion, and the theme itself is a classic.

[Crulex]

"Now, it is time." Freakin' love that sample right there. I think it really fits the zone well and I fancy the way you paced this ReMix out, from the building beginning to the breakdown. The guitars worked so well in this one and it seems to give the mix a boost without being frantic. I can't hear anything that would make me dislike the mix, as even the breakdown keeps the beat going. Love it.

[Black_Doom]

Great ReMix! Probably, one of my favorites. Love the synths, love the percussion, but especially I love the guitar. And, of course, the breakdown 3:48 is just wonderful!