Emunator Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 Credits: minusworld - arrangement, production, electric guitar, VST programming Graham Hardaway - bass "Stunt Course on Easy Street" was one of my earliest Dwelling of Duels (DoD) entries for Fresh Month in 2022. It's a blues cover of the Training Course theme; I used the SNES version as a reference. Paperboy 2 is a silly and simple game about stopping breakaway baby carriages and gun-wielding robbers with flying newspapers at its core, but it's a game I remember fondly because my grandmother had at her house when I was a kid. The simple I-IV structure of the Training Course theme fits into a blues form easily, so I did my best Stevie Ray Vaughn impression, turned the rhythm into a shuffle, and added a horn section (Hollywood Pop Brass VST) because why not? :) Not much else to say about this one. Hope you enjoy it! Paperboy 2 - Training Course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 big blow to start. immediately recognizable style being aped here. guitar comes in at 0:24 and is just what i'd expect for this feel. brass are fun but obviously fake, using them a bit less for those stabs might have helped cover that up a bit. 1:03's solo entrance sounds great, and i particularly liked 1:20's riff. there's a break at 1:45 that's more break than i'd have expected! i figured there'd be a bass solo or drums or something in there. after this is what i'd call a rolling section as it rides on the 7th of each chord for a bit. guitar is a bit twangy on the bottom here. then there's a sustained chord with some fun riffage and it's done. i was a little concerned about source usage given the original's minimal nature and the extended solo. i get source from 0:08 through 1:03, 1:53 through 2:00, and 2:08 through the end. that's 97s out of 165, so we're good there. this is a fun romp through twelve-bar blues. i like how easy it felt for you to stay in the form while exploring the original's 7th-dominated theme. track is short but sweet. nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 When I say this, it'll sound like I'm holding my nose: I hate the dry, fakey brass samples in the intro so much! Each stab got me right in the ear. :-D It feels like the track's leaning into their cheesiness when they come back at :40. Nice switch-up at 1:04 into the guitar comping over the top of the source tune on bass, which also sounds super on-point; swanky swanky! I'll never love that brass; the way it's used in "Sing, Sing, Sing Your Heart Out" was stronger in that there was a fuller texture for it to sit in which helped mitigate the realism issues, but at the end of the day, the strength of the arrangement and performances more than carries it. Paperboy! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted June 4 Author Share Posted June 4 This starts off a little shaky when the samples are more exposed - I honestly didn't really like the drum tone or the programming in isolation during the intro. The brass is serviceable in my book and definitely added a lot of personality to the arrangement, and but only really sticks out negatively when it's exposed, such as the intro or at 1:45, where the decay on the chord stabs feels very obviously synthetic. Once we get into the meat of the track though, it's clear what you were going for - some good old-fashioned guitar riffage over a classic blues progression. Everything else is ancillary to that, and you stuck the landing in spectacular form on the parts that you were trying to highlight. In an ensemble format, all the pieces work great together and let you showcase your excellent guitar chops. Easy vote for easy street! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 That source tune. That Seinfeld bass patch! Haha! That's a VERY silly source tune. I like the bass much better in the remix. There's a great shuffle to this writing. I like the fake brass! It's cheesy but it works. Really nice groovy jazzy bluesy guitar performances and soloing here. Drums sound good, elements are well balanced. Overall mix is well produced, mixed and mastered. Super fun listen. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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