SIDRIP Alliance: Re:ReLive - A Re:Review

It's hard to believe, but this is only the second album of SIDRIP Alliance - and it came out of nowhere. The band has been essentially dormant since their last live concert in 2018 and then they suddenly spring back onto the scene with an entire album! Fittingly, they chose to release it on June 30 at Árok Party 2024, the C64 demo party where they first debuted with a live concert in 2010. Unfortunately, no live concert accompanied this album's release, but it was a welcome surprise, anyway, receiving a warm reception by those at Árok Party.

The album is heavy with not-so-subtle references of well-known 1970s and 1980s pop tunes, which is evident on the first track already. Although it's listed as a cover of Dane's Live Forever, that SID in turn is also a cover of multiple Madonna tracks. Then Krakout is an absolutely rocking cover of Daglish's classic, wrapped in that unmistakeable style that SIDRIP Alliance is now known for. It's not their first attempt at covering Krakout (they also did it back in 2012), but this one sounds a lot more refined and better mixed.

Crazy Cometleon is another interesting SID-pop crossover dominated by Hubbard's classic, with a touch of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon injected into it. This is also based on a previously published remix, their first version of this tune popped up on RKO in 2015. Thankfully, the much-maligned whining lead of that version has been replaced with a more fitting instrument here, greatly improving this track.

The 4th one on the album, Flimbo's Quest is not just a medley of various tunes from that game (originals by Reyn Ouwehand and Johannes Bjerregaard), but at around the one-minute mark we also get rickrolled in it. I'll let the reader figure that one out…

Based on all the prior mashups it should surprise us no more that Outrun actually starts out with Yello's The Race, then dives into the German version of the Knight Rider theme before it actually starts covering Outrun. A bit too heavy on the former tunes and less on the latter, but a great remix, regardless.

The 6th track is a bit of a surprise, as it's labeled S-NES Medley, presumably containing covers of several S-NES game tunes. Since I am absolutely not familiar with those, I can't say too much about this one. Though I'm sure fans of that platform will enjoy this remix, too.

We already got a preview of Laxity's A Trace of Space on RKO back in 2020, which shows you how long SIDRIP Alliance has been working on getting this album together. No doubt the COVID pandemic did not help in getting it out the door earlier… Compared to the preview version, the track on the album sounds a bit more mellow and laid-back, at least as far as the mixing goes. It's a really nice piece and a pleasure to listen to.

Shadow of the Beast is another non-SID remix on the album, covering David Whittaker's great Amiga soundtrack of the game. The penultimate track on the album is Hubbard's Sanxion. Yes, it has been remixed umpteen times already, even multiple times in the same rock style as on this album, but frankly, if something is so good, it deserves one more remix, doesn't it? And it's a smashing version here, which no doubt would be even more enjoyable in a live concert setting (hint-hint!).

The last track is also not a SID cover, rather a cover of a PC demo tune. Chaos Theory (also known as Rude Awakening) by Gargaj is a now-classic tune from a great 64k PC demo of the same name that was released at Assembly in 2006. It provides a perfect closure to this album with its subdued melody and ripping guitar riffs - in other words, it's another classic SIDRIP Alliance remix.

The entire album clocks in at just under 40 minutes, which I find a bit short for a full album, but that's because I enjoyed listening to all the tracks. I'm sure if the tunes sucked I would be complaining about the album being too long, but that's definitely not the case here. And I can't complain about its price, either: just like their previous album, this one is also available completely free (see links below). Although I am sure the band would appreciate your donations, too.

Let's hope that this album is not the band's swan song, because it's evident from this live-like studio album that this Hungarian group still has a lot to offer. Whether rocking it out at a live concert or blasting through our speakers at home, the remixes of SIDRIP Alliance sound crisp, fresh, and full of passion for great 8 and 16 bit tunes of the past. And that I will forever appreciate.