OCR01600 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 "Oil Ocean (WT-40 Mix)"

[Kizyr]

Man, I really don't understand all the hating on AE's vocals here... the recording of course is great, but his delivery is always flawless. He's one of the best rappers around in the community. Besides;

"You know that oil and water don't mix!"

How can anyone not like that line?

I first heard it when y'all were playing it right before the Otakon panel, so I downloaded it that evening.

I gotta say, I really like the vocals on there; that one line in particular is the one that sticks the most (judging by the DS pictochats going on before the panel, I'm not the only one).

Personally, I'd like to see more folks trying their hands at vocals... KF

[SUparJErk]

Needs fewer vocals. As a general rule, artist vocals don't belong in video game remixes. There are always exceptions, but I don't think this is one of them.

One of Sega's biggest mistakes, IMO, was giving a voice to Sonic the Hedgehog in the cartoon and some of their later video games featuring him. I absolutely loved the Sonic series before then.

The same goes with this song. It was freakin' cool until I started hearing that horrible white-boii "yea ah ah ah uh... uh.. yo yo" etc... It really ruins it. Additionally, even the words themselves are out of place. The least the artist could have done was to rap about Sonic or something.

Don't get me wrong, the instrumental part of the song is great, but... ugh.

EDIT: I realized the above sounded way too negative and harsh after I posted it. To clarify: the instrumental parts are honestly fantastic and I thought it would be one of my favorite remixes ever when it first started. That part is superb. The rapping just completely turned that around.

[Feyhd]

I totally dig this. For some reason, I was kinda hoping for a guitar solo though. Still, this had be bobbing my head instantly. I wish more remixes would offer an attempt at vocals too. Recently there have been some spectacular vocal remixes.

[herograw]

...really not seeing the big problem with the vocals that everyone appears to have. Once again, what an excellent mix!

[Defend]

I'm not a fan of the original tune. In fact this is possibly my least enjoyed zone in any 2D Sonic, so for me the first minute of this sounds way too much like the something I don't like. The rapping saves it imo, just because I don't want to hear more of that tune.

Having said that, the vocals are okay but don't excite me majorly, and in all other ways it feels too much like the original for me - as if little was changed.

[Kureejii Lea]

The production's definitely nice, it all flows pretty well and the oil-and-water line was a great touch. It's easily competent work (especially nice to have a track like this that actually has the sound and tone for rap, which isn't something anyone can do), but I dunno, it didn't really reach out and grab my attention. Not bad, though.

Write your OWN music!!!

I'm sorry, what's the name of this site again?

You're not even criticizing the song itself, just bitching that it falls under a genre that doesn't appeal personally to you. Grow up.

[RenoDJ]

There is nothing bad about adding lyrics to a Video Game Song.

Rap is NOT something I like personally, but it fits pretty nice in this song. You did a good job on this one, especially like the beginning until 0:53. The lyrics are ok, I like the You know that oil and water don't mix sentence!!!

The best rapsong I heard in a long time, Good job!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Overall, I thought this track was decent, but I've heard far better from AE and co. Many of the slightly-off rhymes ("next," "check," "basic," and "it," for example) are quite irksome.

Musically, I like the arrangement, but overall this strikes me as something that would work much better in a live setting where the audience can get in on the energy from the emcee, whereas that energy sort of falls flat in the recording.

Now as for KogeJoe...

/me rolls his eyes... LYRICS???

I've said it time and time again. I hate it when people think they can just take a piece of music and completely ruin it by trying to use it as an opportunity to show off their "talent."

And what's worse. RAP??? I can't think of any other genre that has been over-played enough.

If you feel you need to rap/sing, fine. Just do it to your OWN music. Don't take perfectly good game music and ruin it with your awful lyrics.

Defame yourself. Why do you have to take Masato Nakamura, Koji Kondo, etc. with you? Fight your own battles. Write your OWN music!!!

Koge, do yourself (and the rest of us as well) a favor and just stop posting in the reviews forum. Your reviews are consistently idiotic, and always based not on the merits of the individual song, but on your opinion of the composer, or the genre, or the game. It's annoying and unconstructive.

[Jabadoterry]

I liked this remix, despite the fact I normally dislike lyrics in a remix, but this is one well done, if people don't like remixes done on this site, well, they can't really complain, as the artists have put their hard work and effort into giving the community something they see as art, some people will love it others will hate it, the way I see it, why complain? not as if we have to pay for it is it?

[Martin Penwald]

I really like the vocals, though the lyrics themselves could be better (the oil-and-water line is gold, though. Actually, I like the whole chorus).

Arrangementwise, this didn't really do anything for me. The music is there, but it doesn't grab my attention. I prefer Rayza/Gecko Yamori's remix of the theme.

[XiaoXiaoNeo]

/me rolls his eyes... LYRICS???

I've said it time and time again. I hate it when people think they can just take a piece of music and completely ruin it by trying to use it as an opportunity to show off their "talent."

Well, I don't think you could be any more wrong. Lyrics can only add to a song, and if someone is good at creative lyric writing....or whatever....I say let them show it! And by the way, rap is actually a very good way of expressing feelings and a strong message.(I should know, I quite enjoy rapping. To videogame music for that matter!) And while it might not be your cuppa tea, I think you should at least consider the fact that universe does not conform to your musical taste.

That being said, I enjoyed this song. The blend of rap and Sonic the Hedgehog has always made sense to me, and I'm glad it made sense to PlanetSkill as well. Mad props for making a song that can fuse these two wonderful elements.

[SynthesizedStampede]

I admit, I was skeptical when I first read that it had vocals especially after hearing the first few seconds, but in the end they worked out pretty well.

Like everybody else has mentioned, that single line "You know that oil and water don't mix" is just FIRE. Man punch. But other than this the lyricrism was decent, nothing too special, but at the same time you were trying to make a statement, so props for that. Yeah, I guess I was just expecting more burns, but it's all good, nice mix.

My REAL only gripe about this mix? The way it ends. Man that was so abrupt and seemed unfinished. >_< Left me wanting more and had me checking to see if Winamp all of a sudden finished a download or something.

But yeah, good mix, I recommend it to be downloadable, HOWEVER, just keep working on your flow and lyricrism. Wanna hear more from you man!

[Darklink42]

I downloaded this mix after a long drought of not being able to download any mixes.

First off, I've got to say that I really like the music itself. It's got a great flair and the perfect instrument set for the sound that the original BGM tried to convey. It kind of reminds me of the some of the Timesplitters songs, which I also like a lot.

That being said, I've got to say that the lyrics were not quite as impressive. It's got a lot of good lines ("Oil and Water don't mix", "Open the floodgates", "Oh my lord, what'cha gonna say next?"). But for all the good lines, there were also some that I thought were kind of cheesy ("But I guess you don't think", "lie more so", "everything you do comes back always").

Despite the lyrical content troubles, I really like listening to the song anyways and it's almost always on my playlist. I'd love to hear more from these guys.

One last thing, that sproing sound at 2:43 makes me chuckle every time I hear it.

[Mr. Fox]

Now as for KogeJoe...

Koge, do yourself (and the rest of us as well) a favor and just stop posting in the reviews forum. Your reviews are consistently idiotic, and always based not on the merits of the individual song, but on your opinion of the composer, or the genre, or the game. It's annoying and unconstructive.

Not to mention pretentious.

I have been listening to this song constantly in the last few days and I find it pretty damn tasty. I also think that the first half of the rapping distinctively better then the second one (maybe it's because the tone he uses while saying the first "you know that oil and water don't mix" - particularly in the word "mix" - is awesome, and he doesn't say it quite the same in the second time )

Anyways, nitpicking aside, this is awesome!

Excellent work on all parts.

[Jaybell]

Now that I think about it, some of those rhymes seem kind of forced. Basic/it makes me cringe, and "whatchoo gon do" is used twice in a row. "You know that oil and water don't mix" is still awesome, though.

[JTD121]

Hmm.....A little late, I suppose, but better than never.

I like the music, the mix, the arrangement. Very true to the source, I'd say.

But the vocals...don't get me wrong, they are good. Very slick. However, I am not a fan of rap and most hip-hop. Again, not to say they don't fit, or are bad in any way. I am just not into them as everyone else. Maybe it just takes a couple listens to get used to or something.

But overall, this is great. I wonder if AE will release an instrumental version, as the backing music sounds like it could stand on it's own without the vocals.

-Josh

[zircon]

I heard this live as an instrumental during MAGfest '05. While it was very cool, the vocal version is excellent and fills things out.

[Yhoko]

"You know that oil and water don't mix" - But this tune surely does!

Excellent work, really. Gotta love it.

Yhoko

[Digi_Dude_78]

Wow...

I gotta say, usually I'm not a big fan of the rap style of music... but this is completely different... coming from a video game song... this was totally unexpected...

It sounds really awesome! Great job!

[Bahamut]

Oh wow, I never commented on this? I remember when this mix first got posted - love it, my only complaint is that I wish it were longer, but what's here is pretty sexy!

[tweex]

A big five year break from AE, and this is his debut mix back into the fray. RIght out of the gate, we hear the classic synth, but this one is different. They have the same concentration of lots of filtering, oscillation, etc, but this one brings it to a new level. Having collaborated with a few other people, this pushed AE out of his comfort zone more than usual. The dynamic progression of this mix is VERY different from his previous works. The rapping is excellent, the guitar was a great addition, and the more natural sounding drums really bring this piece into a new domain. The lead synth is big and meaty, and I love it. The vocals were captured really well and they fit into the mix really well. The arrangement is simple, but this arrangement is in the details, like more AE tracks are. I love hearing him collab with other people as it introduces a lot of new elements. Definitely one of his bests mixes to date! Awesome work AE and the rest of PlanetSkill!

[Crulex]

This is badass. The lyrics are tight and flow smoothly with the music and hell, the chorus fits the level. Really, a rap-rock ReMix doesn't get better than this. But wait, there's more! Throw in a little bit of Egyptian sounding music behind the beats, and it's not only a great song, but a unique one as well. Awesome stuff. The only thing that gets me is every time I listen to this, I keep expecting two lines to come after the "Open the flood gates, get ready for the flow" bit considering the rest of the song had four lines of rhyme. Still, this is pretty interesting. Great stuff.

[The B Man]

Damn! When this track first started playing I was COMPLETELY diggin it... and then the lyric part came in. Sorry, but im just not diggin the lyric portion of this track.

Does a non lyric version of this mix exist? This track would be WONDERFUL without the vocals. Please, if a non lyric version of this exists, please link me. That, or is there a piece of software that can remove vocals?

I hate to sound SO harsh on whoever did the "rapping" on this, but I just LOVE the track itself so much, that I REALLY want it without the vocals. And whoever said that Vocals can only add to a track, that is absurd. You have to truly have the voice and ability to add to a track with vocals, you cant just throw howdy doody on to a song and expect it to sound good or add to the song, it dont wory that way. For me, its not that the artist didnt have rhythm, its that his voice just doesnt lend to rap. Whoever did the vocals just does not have the voice to be a rapper.

To his credit though, he does sound a lot like Mr. Hahn from Linkin Park, and his skills would probably be perfectly suited to tracks like theirs, just not like this one. I would actually be really interested to hear him rap behind some Metal with some flow like Linkin Parks first two albums have.

Edited October 25, 2011 by The B Man

[Wina A. Kamlongera]

To his credit though, he does sound a lot like Mr. Hahn from Linkin Park

He sounds a lot like Mr. Hahn...the DJ?

[timaeus222]

I, for one, loved the vocals and their production. For me they filled out the arrangement, and the timbre fit rather well. The execution was really good, and the backing instrumentation fits in very nicely.