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Cinematic 64 now available for voting
Slaygon's masterpiece has been added to the Remix64.com song database, so you can now vote and write reviews for it
LaLa reviews "Cinematic 64" by Slaygon
An in-depth review of Slaygon's new masterpiece, Cinematic 64
.
New GRG album: Hands On Shadow of the Beast II & III
The German Remix Group has taken hands on Tim & Lee Wright’s master pieces Shadow of the Beast II & III
. The album contains eleven tracks. Nine remixes in the style of new age and orchetral and two SID remixes.
Remix64 - Into Eternity
by Various Artists
The original "Remix64" title referred more to the community embracing the remixers than the content of the CD. And so it was that Remix64 - Into Eternity turned into a symphonic epic not a million miles away from the popular Merregnon series of CDs: there certainly is a teutonic air to much of the album. Highlights of the CD include Markus Holler's spine-tingling reworking of "Fist 2" with flute and ethereal vocals, and Thomas Detert's "Spellbound" which gives life to Rob Hubbard's own dark vision for the piece. Belying the computery artwork of the cover, this CD is a powerful piece of fantasy soundtrack more than it is a remix CD. Enjoy it at that level, and be blown away.
SweetArranged by Marcel Donné
Second, I have to admit that for personal reasons I hold "Sweet" very close to my heart (one could say it hit my sweetspot, heh-heh). From the first time I've heard it I thought that it is one of the (if not THE) most emotional original tunes ever created on the C64. Many times when I was depressed or just sad, I listened to this tune with my eyes closed and by the time the tune was over I had tears on my face...
So, any cover of this tune has to pass my very high expectations. And I'm pleased to say that Marcel has done it.
The previous two remixes of "Sweet" that I heard were both lacking the emotion and the sadness of the original. Marcel delivers both thanks to the soul of the famed Yamaha CS-80, the same synth that provided that signature Vangelis sound up until the 90's (and Vangelis happens to be one of my favorite composers, too).
What do I like here:
- The opening arpeggios and the entire opening itself.
- The wonderfully emotional lead provided by the CS-80 (and Marcel's playing).
- The introduction of the drums at 0:37.
- The "shadow lead" starting at 1:17. What a nice touch!
- Those a la Zoolook Jarre-esque noise-effects at 1:48 instead of the original's sweeping double-noise. What a great enhancement over the original!
- The bridge being played on a guitar. (Or guitar-like sound.)
- The introduction of the very Vangelis-like bell-like pad at 2:26 - it really enhances the melody!
- The very cool ending.
- The fact that not only Marcel sticks to the original closely, but he also managed to enhance it!
What do I think could've been done better:
- The trills in the lead do not quite come through with the CS-80 brass, they seem to disappear into the rest of the tune. This is basically due to the limitation of the sound itself, but I wonder if it could've been enhanced somehow.
- The guitar could've used a lote more vibrato at 3:02, 3:10, 3:18 and 3:25 (i.e. on the low notes). In fact, short slides would've been better here than just a vibrato, because that's pretty much what the original SID does, too.
But these are the relatively minor gripes of an obsessive perfectionist. Plus look at it: 9 pluses versus 2 not-so-pluses. That ain't bad at all!
The bottom line is, I have a new tune to cry to...
Review by LaLa
Arranged by Mutherpluckin' B
Review by Flidd
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