Marcel Donné - Sweet

This is surely one of the very best remixes ever released, either at RKO or on any CD or anything else. The 80s synths style is predestined for this emotional SID tune. The background arpeggios softly pad the smooth lead sounds, and the sublte yet driving drums add drama to it all. Certainly a masterpiece and not to be missed.

First of all, let me state that my review of this tune is not entirely impartial. Marcel gave me the privilege of not only listening to the first two beta versions of his cover, but he was nice enough to incorporate some of my suggestions into it, too. Predictably, I am absolutely pleased with the result.

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…

I first heard a preview of this during the Z-show and to say I was keen to get my grubby little hands on it is an understatement.
A lot of Marcels work does stay hugely faithfull to the original SID tune, enhancing the listening experience with new fresh instruments and this is a classic example of how good it can get.

The guitar work is simply stunning and fits in with the main theme really well - and even though I'm not a Jarre fanatic I still really enjoyed the drums which suite perfectly and the choice of lead (very sid-ish!!!) I often think drums can make or break a tune - sometimes they're well done, but the wrong style for the tune. At other times they can be overpowering but Marcel has got these spot on.

Fantastic effort and a must download.

You can't beat Lala's review it covers just about everything. I feel this remix does the original tune more justice than Mordi's version which by all means is great but this needs to sit higher where it is on the charts in comparison so here's my review This blends amazingly well… I wish it had the clarity of Mordi's version but oh well, love it anyway.