Title: Instant Remedy
Artist: Reyn Ouwehand
Price: £10.99
Published by: C64Audio.com
Reviewed by Andrew Fisher, freelance Commodore writer
Instant Remedy has been gaining a huge reputation as a remixer of C64 tunes, and here is a CD full of them! The 15 tracks last over 70 minutes, and here is what you can expect:
1) Last Ninja - The Palace by Anthony Lees
This sounds like a modern dance tune, perhaps by someone like Darude. The added beats are fast, and the instruments have the necessary Oriental flavour.
2) Flimbo’s Quest by Reyn Ouwehand
This sounds very similar to the original tune, and is an effective cover, although perhaps the instruments used are too similar to the first tune.
3) Comic Bakery (extended version) by Martin Galway
This is rapidly becoming the favourite tune of the remix fraternity. This version sticks closely to the original and adds some modern beats, but is let down by the fade at the end.
4) International Karate by Rob Hubbard
This sounds like a commercial dance tune, but the tempo feels slightly too fast compared to the original as the notes hurry to keep up, and it uses a drum-fill pattern that crops up too often on the CD.
5) Game On Issue 09/1989 by Markus Schneider
Thanks to the High Voltage SID Collection, I was able to play the original and compare it to this cover. I find the original tune to be OK, with some nice fills. The cover is done well, but the original is not an exciting tune to begin with.
6) Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins (trance version) by Mark Cooksey
You will be forgiven for thinking you have wandered into a haunted house at the start of this track, with creepy bells and footsteps. Then the church organ takes over.. and disappears, much to my disappointment. The intro lasts too long, and then the main tune is a let-down as well. The melody seems forced, and there is too little of the original tune left to recognise it as a cover.
7) IK+ by Rob Hubbard
Perhaps another Hubbard tune could have been chosen instead of this, or the two IK themes mixed together? However, I do like this version, and it is different enough in it’s approach.
8) Last Ninja Wastelands (club version) by Ben Daglish
I know this is a DANCE remix album, but at times the drums do dominate the sound - and that is the case with this tune. The
ringingsounds and chords are excellent, and the spirit of the original tune shines through.
9) Trolls by Adam Gilmore
An unusual choice this one, and there are some good 64-style instruments. However, the drum pattern is a bit too complex, and the tune does not develop enough before the slightly poor ending.
10) Warriors (club version) by Thomas Drax
Mogensen
This track really suits the dance style, and is an excellent cover.
11) Commando v2 by Rob Hubbard
This gets off to a nice start, but is let down by the stop-and-start
alarmsection, which does not flow as well as the 64 original. It all comes to a sudden halt.
12) West Bank v2 by Fred Gray
Another unusual choice, with some great sounding voices that sound like the 64 original. Unfortunately, the chord changes are not as smooth as they could be. But it is in a different style to the other tracks on the album, and works well.
The next three tracks are a bonus, consisting of earlier versions of tracks that appear on the album:
13) Last Ninja Wastelands (extended version) by Ben Daglish
This sounds much closer to the 64 original, and has some excellent instruments for those
ringingsounds I discussed earlier. I actually prefer this version, although the more modern sounding club version is good.
14) Comic Bakery by Martin Galway
I like the middle section of this version, and it fades out well at the end.
15) Commando by Rob Hubbard
This version is not as effective as the new one, with the sounds breaking up too much (possibly in an attempt to recreate the original’s strange metallic sounds and frequent pauses).
This sounds like a commercial dance CD, and a lot of work has obviously gone into it. I feel it could have been better, particularly the cover of Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins, but if you want a CD that crosses old SID tunes with new dance vibes, get it now!
Rating: 8/10
Review by: Andrew Fisher
