Liontamer Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Brandon Strader www.bstrader.net 3123 Game: Super Mario 64 Source: Metallic Mario - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlF1t9jns6I Composer: Koji Kondo Remixname: Prog Mario Super Mario 64 Album Project Song Notes: I bet you were expecting metal... that's too obvious! I called this Prog Mario but it's inspired more by funk. I got the chance to do this song super late in the SM64 project timeline, unfortunately John Revoredo was moving away and couldn't find his session files for me to help out so I ended up taking the claim with his blessing. I am happy and thankful that it worked out and I was able to do the song for the album. I wanted a live feel, like if a band were sitting in a room jamming this. Lots of sweet wah pedal, even on the bass guitar. It amplifies the funk. The parts are pretty similar to the source but stretched to fit in 7/8 and eventually 6/4 time signatures. Had to add a couple synth solos so it wouldn't be boring and some 'harmonies' to the source lead in the chorus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Just gonna keep it brief. Arrangement-wise, I like it. Cool mood, cool time signature changes. The main issue is that the track feels too dry and thin. The soundscape just comes off too sparse most of the time despite the volume, one example being the organ parts. Not really a fan of the snare tone either, it didn't quite work. Everything sounds too clean. This was pretty close, and it could very well pass as is. However, there's something about the relative spareness of the soundscape that prevented the instrumentation from fully clicking and sounding cohesive. Hopefully, we can get further insight into the potential issue. It's OK, but could use another pass to polish this up. NO (resumbit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I gotta agree with Larry, and also point out that I think the instrumentation was a bit crowded at times, not to the detriment of the sound quality, it's just that with so many instruments simultaneously playing very similar riffs or rhythms, it was hard to pick out what was supposed to be the lead, and nothing really held my attention until the synth soloing started later anyway. I think smoothing out the levels and adjusting to fill out the soundscape a bit more would get this to baller status, as the arrangement is pretty rockin'. I could see this passing, so best of luck with the rest of the vote, but for now I'm gonna go with a NO(resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Hahaha, the intro on this is so sick! I wasn't a huge fan of that bell/piano hybrid lead, it sometimes has a hard time catching my attention over the louder guitars. It works much better as a background instrument. The organ works well, though. I'm not a huge fan of your synth solo either, I feel like a guitar solo would have been better-suited for that section, but I can acknowledge it as a personal preference. Overall, I see what the gentlemen above me are saying and after listening to this song the first few times, I was going into this vote ready to NO it for the same reasons. However, after a few listens, I really began to dig the treatment of the source, and your fills/transitions/intro/outro are so great that I'm inclined to give this one the nod. It's groovy, creative, intelligent, and well-produced. I'm used to progressive music sometimes being a little sparse on the instrumentation and I don't feel like this is so lacking in it that there's nothing to hold my attention. There's always something good going on at all points in the arrangement. Good luck on this one dude, I've really come around to this one and hopefully some others will agree, too YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm finding that my opinion is a combination of Larry's and Wes's. The arrangement is super fun, and I love the time signature changes. The off-the-cuff feel is very nice as well. That being said, I wasn't super fond of some of the synths used, and I agree that the soundscape seems a tad thin. I'd say this needs just a little more finesse and it will be ready to go, I hope you touch it up! NO (resubmit, please) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I think the arrangement is very good and cool, but some of the balance is off. I think the wah'ed rhythm guitars could stand to come up a little bit, but the double tracked ones felt good. Overall II do think it is a touch thin sounding, but if it wasn't the intricate parts would be lost, as there is a lot going on at a lot of levels. I think the snare is a bit too clean and punchy, but otherwise I think this is a good track that really reminds me of the late 70's prog era. I dig it, nice work. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Hmm kind of surprised that people thought this was problematic enough to go NO on it. Thought the production was fine for the most part, not especially thin except for a couple short sections. Snare tone was a little thuddy but serviceable. The arrangement is really creative too, a lot of variation built around a very simple song. Seems like a pass. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 My biggest problem with the mix is that there's a boxiness in the bass that makes the bottom feel weak. The track does feel sonically pretty small. In spite of that, the arrangement is pretty damn cool and the sound is crisp. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 As a rule, I generally shy away from judging tracks for a project I'm coordinating unless absolutely necessary. With how this one is shaping up, though, I'm going to go ahead and give imput. So, Brandon ran this one by me several times along the way and I told him to sub it as I felt that it was above the bar. Very creative take on the original. I can see people reacting with complaints about how it "sounds nothing like the original" or is changing it to be unrecognizable, but IMO that would just prove they're not really listening here and/or lack openmindedness on the arrangement. Creative drum patterns were varied and kept fresh throughout. Production wasn't perfect for sure: there's some clutter that could be cut out and balancing could be better, but nothing that pulls this below the bar IMO. Simply put, definitely not what I was expecting to come from the metal mario source, but a great creative take on the track. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Really creative arrangement. I'm a sucker for irregular and compound time signatures. A great way of expanding a pretty basic source tune. I don't think the supposed production issues are really a dealbreaker like the other judges do; sounds great to me. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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