There's been a review of Remix64 Into Eternity at Hungarian Based web-mag Pcdome (http://www.pcdome.hu). It's all in hungarian so i'm priting the review here in English....
Remix64 V2 - Into Eternity
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We've discussed computer music of "old times" on the pages of PC Dome
even in the past, that is CD albums that cover musical materials
composed on older computers (in this case, the C64). That won't change now, either, since such albums are published in respectable numbers in every year.
We try not to spare you from reviewing the best.
It is perhaps not surprising that Remix64 V2 - as you can guess from
its title - set the goal of remixing tunes from Commodore 64 games. I'm convinced that no other computer platform has ever seen so many brilliant compositions as the "good ol' one". So it's no wonder that the compositions of this computer model have inspired the most artists to make the music break free from the 3-voice SID chip in such a way that it is enjoyable by everybody.
The producer of the CD reviewed here shortly is Neil Carr who has, safe
to say, made Remix64 V2 into an international production: the album contains remixes by English, Danish, Swedish, Italian and German artists, each track being remixed by (almost) different people.
The styles range from symphonic to synthetized, I think, primarily
because of each person's abilities. I have to admit that having heard many other remixes, some of the symphonic pieces here (especially those by Gianluca Verrengja) are amongst the best. It is interesting to note that a well-known composer, Thomas Detert - who has composed, amongst many others, the music of Eskimo Games, Green Beret Loader and P.P. Hammer - has remixed not only other composer's tunes, but as in the case of Tales of Boon, one of his own, too, together with the above mentioned Italian gentleman. The result speaks for itself.
A unique feature of the CD - beyond the vocal pieces, which are
actually not that unique any more these days - are those remixes which resemble the original pieces only very little (e.g. Rubicon) or which have been pieced together from various tunes from the same game (e.g. Times of Lore). The CD sleeve contains the subtitle, the name of the original composer and the remixer, the names of the performing musicians (if any), links to websites and a few lines of comment for each track. Let's see what's on the CD inorder of appearance:
Blood Valley (Ben Daglish) - Trapped in Oblivion - Larsec
Spellbound (Rob Hubbard) - Into Eternity - Thomas Detert
Great Giana Sisters (Chris Hülsbeck) - Relive your Past - Rafael Dyll
Tales of Boon (Thomas Detert) - Nowhere to Run - Thomas Detert
Parallax (Martin Galway) - The Dark Waltz - Markus Holler
Times of Lore (Martin Galway) - The Gathering - Glyn R. Brown
Stormlord (Johannes Bjerregaard) - The Dawn of Fate - Markus Schneider
Ironlord (Jeroen Tel) - Ancestors - Jan Morgenstern
Way of the Exploding Fist 2 (Neil Berennan) - Mountains of Sorrow -
Markus Holler
Butcher Hill (Ben Daglish) - Campaign of Honour - Markus Schneider
Thantaos (Julian Breeze) - Sorrows of Victory - Markus Schneider
Armageddon Man (David Whittaker) - African Dawn - Jan Morgenstern
Barbarian (Richard Joseph) - For Power and Glory - Carl Larsson
Shades (Chris Hülsbeck) - Love's End - Thomas Detert
Rubicon (Reyn Ouwehand) - Exhale - Gianluca Verrengia
The first piece, Bloody Valley already creates a "pleasant" mood not
only with its title, but also with its atmosphere and with its desperate cry
for help ("Help me!", "Ss someone there?", etc.). Ominously knocking
drummachines, a powerful base and sound effects color the background
together with some narration which explains us why the valley is so
bloody. Spellbound doesn't lift our spirits, either, with its great composition with a female choir, an acoustic guitar and a piano. Rob Hubbard's fantastic piece from 1986 is somewhat rearranged. I feel it turned out to be darker than the original. That one is more dynamic, but I won't hold that against this remix.
The cover of Great Giana Sisters is also not the joyful, poppy piece of
the original game, but more of a somewhat boring, sleepy love tune that features beautiful female vocals. This is one of the best examples of how to utilize human voices. The still water is stirred up a bit with Tales of Boon, one of Thomas Detert's lesser known later compositions from 1993. It's unmistakable rock music that builds on a guitar lead, containing every instrument that is required for a good rock tune. An excellent remix! Also excellent is Parallax with its lyric violin.
Times of Lore is a good example of the "liberal" nature of the CD. Although even the previous remixes proved that they are not "line-by-line" covers, in the case of ToL we get a sort of medley which contains not only parts from tune #11 and tune #7, but also some outstanding individual improvisations. The symphonic atmosphere mixed with woodwinds is a lyric-heroic piece that somewhat resembles the music from the "Tales of King Matthias" [a renaissance-style title music to a Hungarian cartoon series]. I liked it very much, it's one of the best pieces on this CD.
The music of Stormlord almost leads us to the world of classical music,
but it's not a dominating piece on the CD. However, I enjoyed the cover of IronLord very much. Although most of this piece have been remixed on
various occasions with real instruments and choirs - not surprising, since a large percentage of it is based on a piece called Pase el Agua ma Julieta
Dama from an unknown 15th century Spanish composer -, this remix also
contains the original pieces composed by Jeroen Tel that haven been sucessfully added to the remix without any jolts. The music of Fist 2 is also one of my favorites. Neil Brennan's composition from 1986 has seen several remixes, but I think the piece on this CD that features a flute and a wonderful female voice is one the best amongst all, and not surprisingly a perl on this album.
Another heroic composition is Butcher Hill that would easily pass as
soundtrack to a movie. Although a bit toned down compared to the
original, it doesn't influence the remix in a negative way. I like this one better [than the original]. Another very nice, but yet again, melancholic piece is Thanatos played on a piano and with an orchestra. Your mood won't be lifted with the flute heard on Armageddon Man, either, but I was pleasantly surprised by this rhythmic piece that is spiced up with vocals and brass sections (all sampled, of course). Very nice!
Barbarian. Well, this is probably the best known game amongst those featured here and one of the best remixes on the CD. After I listened to it, I could only think of one word: "Yesss!" Even though it could've used a bit more dymanics here and there, I think that Carl Larsson has captured the feeling of the original perfectly. At times it reminds us of the soundtrack of "The Lord of the Rings". A mysterious timpani beats
in the background almost like a heartbeat, at the same time violin,
clarinet and brass provide the dynamic basis that is coupled exquisitely with the sharp rhythm of a "barbarian" rattle-drum. Absolutely fantastic!
Also fantastic is the wonderfully sad composition of Shades (fitting, since the subtitle is about fading love), which is actually not a symphonic piece, but more in the style of Jean Michel Jarre. The end of the final track, Rubicon, is also not a symphonic piece, although as you probably could've guessed by now, it's also been toned down to be more melancholic.
Regardless, this 3 and a half minute beauty is one of the best (if not the best) pieces on the CD. And not only because it was made with real instruments.
Although as you can see, the majority of the tunes are by well-known
composers, I feel that the CD turned out to be a bit too dark.
Actually, I have ambivalent feelings about it: on one hand there are some really great remixes on it, but then this constant melancholy... Well, in my humble opinion it makes the album a bit flat and one-sided (even the subtitles hint at this: Sorrows of Victory, Mountains of Sorrow, Dark Waltz, the Dawn of Fate, etc.). This is created not only by the moody (mostly symphonic) sounds and the selection of pieces, but it didn't do any good - at least not in this milieu - that naturally joyful pieces were turned into melancholic remixes. Of course, having a dark album is not a problem by itself, but it could've used more variety, more playfulness.
Regardless, this album is a big step forward making the musical world of the Commodore 64 more well-known: the remixes are top- notch, at times rather professional. More information, downloadable samples at: http://www.mbdrecords.com.
ÃÂuke/PC Dome
Translated from Hungarian by LaLa.