ReMix:Mega Man "Cruise Control" 3:45

By Nutritious, WillRock

rock electric-guitar orchestral piano strings synth aggressive collab

Arranging the music of 2 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Dr. Wily Stage 1", "Napalm Man Stage"

Primary Game: Mega Man (Capcom , 1987, NES), music by Manami Matsumae

Posted 2013-03-15, evaluated by djpretzel

Fantastic reception to Milky Way Wishes - thanks to everyone for helping spread the word! In the midst of all that album release commotion & ruckus I'm happy to announce that judge, ReMixer, & father extraordinaire Nutritious and his wife welcomed another member into their family with the birth of a baby girl!! Congratulations are certainly in order, so it's time for some non-Kirby mixpost action with this Mega Man 1 & 5 rock arrangement that WillRock also chipped in on. Justin writes:

"This mix was created as part of the 2011 Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet competition. As my third go around for the napalm man theme in this competition, I was trying to get a fresh take on the theme that stood out from my other two. With Willrock backing me up as a teammate here, I decided to go for a similar style to my Retro City Rampage submission - which was sort of a rock orchestra style in the vein of the Ironman movie soundtracks.

With only one week to complete the track, and that week being the week of Christmas, time was really tight for both of us. I quickly tracked the two main themes I wanted and sent over the parts to Mr. Harby to lay down the main guitar riffs. Once he sent those back, I fleshed out the rest of the track as quickly as I could - well into the early morning hours the night before it was due (much to the rightful chagrin of my wife as we had a long drive the next day :) ).

Source breakdown:

:23 - 1:31 MM1
1:32 - 1:53 MM5 main riff
2:07 - 2:33 MM5 b section
2:37 - 3:00 MM1
3:01 - 3:22 MM5 main riff"

Rockin' stuff, but I like that Justin also takes the time to show off some nice cinematic, industrial soundscape work in the downbeat section at 2'06" - if you listen to either section in isolation, you'll wonder how on earth he fit both into the same arrangement, but the transitions are handled very deftly & the whole thing flows. This type of presentation almost downplays the original melodies for more of an energy-infused experience, but they're still easy to pick out, and the soloing that Will contributes makes for a nice build-up & climax towards the end. High-octane stuff that continues in the same vein as Justin's RCR collab w/ OA - props for another epic rock jam, and congratulations to BOTH Medfords on the new addition to their formidable clan!

― djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 7 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
hdefined
on 2019-01-24 23:57:06

I really want to like this. It has so much potential, particularly the instruments and mixing.

The first problem is less about the arrangement. The Wily theme from MM1 is just really boring. It's a very standard progression that doesn't go anywhere or introduce a compelling melody, and unfortunately the arrangement doesn't mess with it at all.

Now, connecting it to Napalm Man's theme is a good idea, as that one's all melody, and a good one when arranged well. And the instruments here are perfectly suited for that. Yet . . . we never really get the melody. The first time through, there's just no melody, and the second time, it's a loose interpretation of the melody. The melody is never clearly established at any point.

I think one problem is setting up Napalm Man's theme to be the climax of the piece, rather than the core refrain. Since it's the only melody here, it ought to be more prominent. Wily's theme is a decent B section. Instead, the roles here are reversed.

avatar
Crulex
on 2013-04-08 14:49:34

Dr. Wily always seems to have the best themes for orchestral rock ReMixes, Once it hits in the intro, it's pretty powerful and gets the blood pumping pretty good. Nice to see a little Napalm Man in there as well. Great work, guys.

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genius11433
on 2013-03-20 01:32:54

To be expected from anything will WillRock involved! Awesome rock orchestra mix! This easily merits a spot on a workout playlist.

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timaeus222
on 2013-03-17 14:36:36

For some reason, the intro riffs remind me of one of the choruses of the OCR "Transylvanian Temptation". xD

I see you

I hear you

Your whip will lead the way

Get up now, make my day

In decay!

Sweet orchestral work there, and the guitar fits in nicely.

Breakdown piano is a tad quiet, but it's pretty wide-sounding.

High-energy stuff! :D

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Brandon Strader
on 2013-03-15 21:08:30

As great as this song is, it would have been EVEN BETTER if you had gotten those rhythm tracks doubled. That's pretty standard for songs with rock rhythms to have two tracks recorded, one panned left, one right. It makes the rhythm in this song sound far too narrow. The orchestration is fantastic and the guitar performances aren't bad, but I can't help but feel like they were only half finished. ;-)

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Flaglore
on 2013-03-15 18:23:09

Really nice mix imo

Probably one of my favourites out of all the recent Mega Man stuff.

Keep up the good work

avatar
djpretzel
on 2013-03-15 17:18:06

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Mega Man (Capcom , 1987, NES)
Music by Manami Matsumae
Songs:
"Dr. Wily Stage 1"
Additional Game:
Mega Man 5 (Capcom , 1992, NES)
Music by Mari Yamaguchi
Songs:
"Napalm Man Stage"

Tags (8)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Orchestral,Piano,Strings,Synth
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration

File Information


Name:
Mega_Man_Cruise_Control_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,458,335 bytes
MD5:
a1b42e99576c1dfdf6cad6078339efab
Bitrate:
226Kbps
Duration:
3:45

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