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*NO* Space Quest 3 "Introduction (2024 Orchestra Re-Recording)"


Liontamer
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Will need a new title if approved -LT

Well, it’s been a hot second.  The last remix I submitted was in 2012.  Since then I have become a father, scored 8 games, released  hundreds of licensed game and film covers, gone through the loss of my first wife, and remarried last year.  That said, I have directed my life experiences into my music, especially lately, and into this cover.

Ok, so, I’ve been wanting to cover the Introduction piece of music from SQ III for years, 23 to be exact.  I’ve tried twice (without submitting said versions here) and failed, miserably.  Fast forward to 2024, and I think I finally got it right.  My cover of this one is unsurprisingly a full on orchestral re-recording of this piece, but surprisingly isn’t as epic as my usual submissions.  I wanted it to sound similar to sci-fi scores (like The Last Starfighter) from the 80s with a closer mic position, and utilize a synthesizer integrated into the hall with the orchestra.  There are a ton of nods throughout to composers such as Jerry Goldsmith and Craig Safan.  Alternatively, I think it could feel right at home as the opening credits piece to a Space Quest streaming series……why hasn’t that happened yet?  But I digress.

Speaking of the synthesizer used, I utilized a Roland D-50 which was released just two years before Space Quest III hit store shelves.  Seemed very fitting and it fits the Space Quest vibe like a glove, especially since the original game score sounds its absolute best through a Roland MT-32 sound module.  Kismet.

It was extremely fun to finally tackle this piece properly, I may just have to re-record the rest of the score.

Space Quest III holds a very special place in my gaming heart.  I remember playing (and falling in love with) it in ‘86 at a friend’s house and then eventually beating the game in my teens.  As brutal as the gameplay is by today’s standards, it’s a very cool game with an amazing score by Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg.  The introduction piece features a wonderful heroic theme on brass for the game's hero, Roger Wilco, and it lends itself very well to a live orchestra recording.  The second half goes into surprisingly darkly heroic territory, which again is perfect fodder for a more orchestral setting.


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Edited by Chimpazilla
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opens with some nice wide synths alongside orchestral instruments. it really gets started at 0:24, and it's got a lot of little flourishes and bits of ear candy. it is very similar to the original though - same tempo, and really the same vibe, and there's nothing about the melodic execution, chord work, or any of that to pull it away from 'cover' territory. at 1:04 we get some repeated content for maybe 10s that mirrors 0:35 - and then, surprisingly, it's done, at less than 85 seconds total.

this is super fun to listen to! i love the synth feel next to the orchestral elements and the track is executed competently. the trumpet swells a bit too much on sustains but that'd be my main complaint there. however it's just too short - at under 90s long, it's hard to really hear significant arrangement or development in that amount of time. this is essentially the original's content at the same speed as the original in a straight line with no real structural arrangement, just cover/adaptation elements. this is not enough breadth to convey arrangement as we describe it to my ears. if you added another minute of material, and that material wasn't all very similar to the original too, i'd be fine with a post, but as-is this is just not enough content. i love how it sounds and i just want more of it! =)

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

This is really begging for more development and expansion. As of right now this is mostly an orchestration of parts rather then a fully realized ReMix. The dynamics are fantastic and I'm so glad to hear the gamut of soft to loud here. The samples and production are handled well enough for them to not be an issue in what would pass this.

The issue comes down to the arrangement.  It's conservative and doesn't take us far away from that source much. At 1:28 it barely feels like the idea is executed before it's done.

For me to pass this I would need to see more of your own expansion on the theme and/or some creative interpretation of the melodic material. This sounds good, but there's not enough material to feel fully developed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Co-signing with the guys here.  This is a competent orchestration of the original, and the beat together with the orchestral palette makes it really lively.  The track is low-heavy, and mastered extremely loudly, but the sequencing sounds adequate, realistic enough to get it done.  But yeah, it's just too short and too conservative to the source tune for OCR.  I would love to hear it again as a full arrangement, with variations and interpretations on the source melody!

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  • Chimpazilla changed the title to *NO* Space Quest 3 "Introduction (2024 Orchestra Re-Recording)"
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