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all c64 only Amiga only

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Ballblazer (feat. Beastie Boys) - arranged by Romeo Knight

Review by buzzard, 09/02/2006

Rap is not my thing, so I judge the track on my opinion of it's musical merits.
Marvellous!
Love the track, love all the samples and the composition of the tune.
One of the better technical remixes for quite a while.
I'd definitely like to see one of the classics remixed by these guys, something like the last ninja or rtype, because of the technical brilliance of this track.
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Ballblazer (feat. Beastie Boys) - arranged by Romeo Knight

Review by craigg, 09/02/2006

With the majority of C64 remixes being SIDs reworked with new instruments, it's great to hear something that wouldn't sound out of place in the charts - a genuine, high-quality mash-up. The Ballblazer riff is, of course, one of the very few available SIDs that have sufficient hook for pop tracks, and also to carry the kind of vocals in this track.

I'm no Beastie Boys fan, but I still rate this track highly anyway, partly because it's clearly a decent production, partly because it just sounds good, and partly because this is the direction C64 remixes really need to be going in for the scene to have a future - actual songs, not just SID "X" the orchestral version, SID "X" the "rock" version, SID "X" the "take the MIDI and assign some fairly random instruments to it" version.

Good stuff, Romeo Knight. More, please.
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RSI Megademo - Hard to Rock - DaxxTRS Remix - arranged by daXX offline

Review by juan, 08/02/2006

The beginning is fantastic (the first ten seconds) and gives you a false hope of what this song could be. Unfortunately, that's all about it -and it's a pity- The background guitar that leads the melody sounds a bit childish -as when you learn to compose- and the powerful beginning is lost after repetitions without variations.
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Ballblazer (feat. Beastie Boys) - arranged by Romeo Knight

Review by the_jinx, 08/02/2006

Amazing remix.. Also love the non beasty vocals..
It's one of the most original remixes I heard in a while..
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TFX - Intro - Remix - arranged by damongp

Review by Jackal, 29/01/2006

A little dreamier than I would have liked, that lead synth voice is supposed to cut thru like a razor, A few bum notes / chords. The original was very sample dependant, so it's a difficult one to remix. It's still one I'd like to redo myself.. Missed the double time drums at the end, . Good guitar work though. Might wanna work on the overall mix of the piece a little more. Clarify each instrument on its own..
Barry
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Super Cars 2 - arranged by teippi

Review by Jackal, 29/01/2006

Wow, what can I say, this is how it sounded in my head when I wrote the original.. Awesome job.. Only thing that coulda made it better was to do the tempo increase at the end and give the chorus up one last time as a finale.. Wait till you hear my remix on immortal 3.. Barry
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Rise up DaxxTRS Remix - arranged by daXX offline

Review by Itekei, 26/01/2006

Rearranging such a splendid track can turn out to be a sacrileg very easily. Fortunately this remake is pretty good, doesn't live up to the original though.
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Athena (Sweetness Of Being A Siren) - arranged by load_error

Review by bloomer, 08/01/2006

Galway's sparkly mantra for Athena is ideal for mixing in many a direction; sparse enough to complicate, simple enough for repetition, catchy enough for whatever you want, really. LoadError builds the mantra into a nice long piece of ambient electro. Repetition, strong temporal emphasis (IE length and atmosphere) and cycling, shimmery ambience are the name of the game. And it totally works for me. The bendy choral elements and the simple but very well chosen 3-note bassline create a happy but wistful tone as an electronic ocean swirls up and down in the background. This is what long tracks are for. If you look at the average track length for ambient electro from big gun labels out in the world like Warp, it's about 7 minutes.

If I was gonna ask for anything, it'd probably be a little more development and change on the microscopic level. But that doesn't detract at all from what this is, and that is - frikkin' nice!
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JimPower - Theme + Level 1 - ToxicRmx - arranged by Zzr

Review by skyrunner, 08/01/2006

This is my first review here. Dunno why but by hearing this piece of music I got animated to do it.
It seems to me that Zzr put a LOT of work into this tune. There are quite a lot of variations and diffrent parts. This leads to what I like:

I like:
-There's quite a lot of variety, the tune stays interesting
-also an interesting remix style, quite unusual
-I like the chosen sounds and instruments, they fit to each other
-The two covered songs are well combined into this remix

I don't like:
-the interpretation of the melody from 0:31 to 0:51 is not my cup of tea, it's a little too weird for me, would have been better to have it done like the part starting at 1:23
- the part from 3:40 to 5:10 is the weakest part of the remix. It's too long. Although there are variations of the beat within, the rythm melody stays almost the same for over a minute.

Technical impression: The diffrent parts are combined very well. Breaks fit where they are. When it comes to mixing I'm no expert. But for me it sounds well and very dynamic.

Artistic impression: Zzr knows his buisness. Well chosen sounds and much variety. Normally I don't like break beats, but for this tune I do.
A slight minus for the part from 3:40 to 5:10.

Nostalgic impression: Hmm, thats difficult. The themes from the covered tunes are recognizeable. But this remix doesn't stay true much to the originals. Therefore the nostalgic value is quite low.
But good new ideas are not a bad thing for sure. So the nostalgic impression is not very important in this case.

Overall I think this is a good, well done remix although a bit unusual
but that makes it interesting. I like to listen to it, and thats the main point to me. It's worth listening. Give it a try.
Just download it and judge yourself.
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Armageddon Man ( Orchestra for a Cello ) - arranged by Endrõdy Gábor

Review by ms, 07/01/2006

It's quite obvious that Endrŏdy has the talent to score for an orchestra. I really like the beginning and the solo cello fulfills the tragedy of David Whittaker's melody, this instrumentation is wisely chosen. While I wouldn't use the harp as bass (2 players needed), I would have gone for the double bass, even solo. I needed to go further into the arrangement, but I believe the best choice had been a piano. At 01:41 the lead is assigned to the solo violin, while the cello plays a somewhat counterpoint part. Classic choice. The style changes a little bit at 02:19, introducing typical 'Tango' style. This is an interesting idea, anyway it doesn't made me musically happy since I expected something else. Anyway there's nothing wrong about. Sometimes I hear the 'machine gun effect', when using the same samples in repetitions but overall the samples are very good. I really appreciated the arrangement and dynamics Endrŏdy shows up here. It's quite classic, which is not everybody's fav, but I can really recommend to take some listenings. I'd like to hear more from him.
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Rise Up (Risen Louder Mix) - arranged by XtC

Review by slw, 06/01/2006

Rise up, is one of my favarite Amiga Mods, mostly because of its instruments and style, so xtc did a great job to plunge it into the 21th century with only few modifaications. GREAT WORK!
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Gloriously Slain (Buried in the Valley of Kings) - arranged by Larsec

Review by Skitz, 06/01/2006

I know this is an old remix but an advert that is currently on in the UK just reminds me of this SO much! I think this is definately one of Larsec's masterpieces… my only complaint is that it should be a lot longer… a full on 10 minute version please
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Cauldron II - I am a Pumpkin Man - arranged by trauma

Review by poga, 02/01/2006

What a creative and well done remix. It's really a unique interpretation of the original. The production is great, and the structure keeps it interesting. The a cappella clips work well, and the theme that comes in after the introduction drives the remix forward with a simple but enjoyable groove. I particularly like the almost distant-/muted-sounding break section from 1:22 to 1:37. The guitar effects at around 1:51 also work well to thrust the piece back into its main theme. The vocal bends at 0:22-35 and 2:24-2:37 are very reminiscent of Mike Patton. With a professional sound, a wonderfully creative direction for the source material, and an overall feel that doesn't take itself too seriously, this is (in my opinion) one of the strongest c64 remixes out there.

I couldn't find the lyrics posted anywhere (and some people seemed to be curious about them), so I had a quick couple of listens and jotted down what I could make out. They're not official of course (as I'm merely a fellow listener), and I can't guarantee their accuracy, but I think they're correct for the most part. I couldn't make out most of the a cappella vocals, nor could I discern the 'low grumbling' from 1:30-1:37. Regardless, I have included them below:


I'm a pumpkin man
I'm a pumpkin man
I'm a pumpkin man
I'm a pumpkin man

a, a
cappella vocals enter
I'm a pumpkin man
a, a
I'm a pumpkin man
a, a
I'm a pumpkin man
a, a
I'm a pumpkin man

(g-good day)

in background

Aaaaowww…
Aaaaowww…

two stanzas in tandem

I'll be jumpin' you
Just like pumpkins do

I'm a pumpkin man and I'll be chosen like a pumpkin because
I'm a pumpkin man and I will jump, jump, jump-jump-jump
I'm a pumpkin, I'm a pumpkin, I'm a pumpkin, I'm a pumpkin
Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping, Jumping

Aaaaowww…
Aaaaowww…

I'll be jumpin' you
Just like pumpkins do

section with low grumbling

I'll be jumpin' you
Just like pumpkins do

Aaaaowww…
Aaaaowww…

I'll be jumpin' you
Just like pumpkins do

Whoooaaa…

I'm a pumpkin man
I'm a pumpkin man
I'm a motherfuckin' pumpkin man

I'm a pumpkin man
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Artura(Dublin Delight Mix) feat. Andreas Wallström - arranged by Makke

Review by LMan, 31/12/2005

Kick-ass Irish Folk style remix! This is a truly innovative, funny and entertaining rendition of Artura. More of that please!
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Atmospheric - The Hideaway Studio Remix - arranged by D.A.Wilson

Review by lomaxx, 29/12/2005

A fairly done remix. Sounds and mixing are ok. One thing i have to criticize is the bass-synth-part after the filters changed (@ 00:34 ). The filter-effect makes the note appear a little later than it is actually starting, making it sound delayed. A solution would be to shift the notes of that part a little bit (64th or even less), so that they would be played too early without the filtereffect, but sound timed right with the filtereffect enabled. Maybe i sound a little confusing, but i hope you at least get what i mean.😉
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AUW - Theme From Lotus 3 (Remix) - arranged by Horace303

Review by lomaxx, 25/12/2005

I like remixes that are very close to the original version. In the beginning i was discouraged to listen to the remix because of the beat. My thought: "Oh no, not another remix using a stupid disco-beat. " However this is exactly how the original version starts and luckily this changes soon. So, except for one little later part, which brings up a 'BUMM BUMM BUMM', the rythm-section is rather authentic and well done.

The sounds are well chosen and i do not notice any flaws about the overall mixing.

However there is one big 'hair in the soup'. In the lead-melody some tones are played wrong as far as i can recognize (i do not consider myself to be someone with 'golden ears' though). When compared to the original version one note actually starts on the correct pitch, but is not bend up half a tone like it should. Also two other notes in the original version are played twice on the same pitch, while in the remix they differ. You might say "hey, this is a remix", but to me this sounds rather disharmonic since i am used to the orginal lead for years. Horace303, if you read this and agree with me, then try to change this!😉 It would greatly improve the remix in my opinion.

My overall impression: A well done remix, that keeps up the spirit of the original version.
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Echoing Amiga - Remake - arranged by matu

Review by perkins, 18/12/2005

One of the greatest mods ever… just a masterpiece.
This chilling-remix is very close to the original, cool idea with the nostalgic grungelizer effect.
I like it
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Great Giana Sisters Opening Theme - arranged by Mauve Park

Review by quinch, 13/12/2005

I'm afraid that the best thing that can be said about this remix is that's it's not inherently bad, and the experience of listening to it, if not the remix itself, is made so much worse by the feeling of disappointment it brings in just a few seconds after start.

It starts promising - immensely so, with a kind of "children at playground" background loop as the Giana Sisters theme opens with an eerie xylophone-ish instrument I could swear I've heard before in some horror movie or other, and it was a genuine surprise how well the theme fit to the creepy mood. "Okay, " I thought, "it's a bit too fast, but I can live with that. " And after a short while, it delivered… nothing. Nothing at all. About half a minute of eeriness, the melody shifts into the "generic remix" gear and stays there until the end. A little beat here, a little variation there, and we're done. There is one or two noteworthy points, likethe little twist around 1:23, but it's not nearly enough to pull it out of mediocrity; it's briefly promising, but it doesn't last.
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Dope - arranged by Al

Review by booker, 11/12/2005

Don't get offended Ai, but you need to improve progression level with this one. Try to put more life into this, which actually is also a remix of a few 4ch tunes by Extend (Amiga).
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Battle Squadron 2005 - arranged by Phenix80

Review by 1337, 10/12/2005

This is the best remix of Battle Squadron I have ever heard. Keep up the great work! It was one of my fave games, and this remix is pretty close to the original mix. Kudos.
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Green Beret (We Shall Never Surrender) - arranged by Hazel

Review by tdj, 07/12/2005

What an amazing piece! Just makes me want to lean back and remember WW2, especially the break with the samples of war, and the speech by Churchill. (hence the title of the tune). Love the way you mix between techno-like tune and almost a classical piece that could be played by an orchestra. This is on my playlist. Could have wished for a no-so-open ending. Maybe another part of a speech from WW2, slowly fading away?
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Armageddon man - arranged by Gibs offline

Review by 8bit_fan, 04/12/2005

Great arrangement - lovely voice and guitar.
I considder Gibs version to be more loyal towards the original SID version, than Mahoneys. Mahoneys interpretation is way more Jazzey.
Thanks Gibs.
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Last Ninja End Credits - arranged by Markus Schneider

Review by feekzoid, 28/11/2005

Well I really like this, and not just because Markus's rendition of my Ninja IV intro theme is present and makes the hairs on the back of my neck rise

I liked this so much I tried to persuade Markus to do (or collaborate) a Ninja themed soundtrack album to an imaginary movie.

Ignore the naysayers, in the great scheme of things the Ninja series has BARELY been done with orchestral instrumentation, and I for one would love to hear more.
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Last Ninja End Credits - arranged by Markus Schneider

Review by gavin, 25/11/2005

First of all, technically this one is high-end, no doubt!
The quality of the orchestral intruments is just astonishing!
It starts very promisingly with a piece from last ninja 1, then changes into one of my personal favourites, the last ninja 3 level 1 tune from reyn ouwehand. But sadly the original character of this tune isnt captured very good in my opinion. Sounds like gladiator or a knights-movie… after that it changes back to a last ninja 1 tune i think, not sure… and this one now sounds like the score to a cowboy film. At the end it changes again to a last ninja 2 tune which also does not fit the mood of the original piece. For my personal taste its just too turgid, too much of everything. For me, musically theres no straight line..
So, sorry, i just cant share the enthusiasm of most others… i personally think markus should have concentrated on just remixing one tune. This would have been great!!
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Ghouls'n Ghosts Title Screen - arranged by Miguel F Ettema

Review by monty_mole, 25/11/2005

Ghouls N Ghosts is one of my absolute favourit's sid's. I think Tim Follin did a ungrateful job with his absolute brilliant music for Ghouls N Ghosts. The game itself get not the conversion which was it worth so the game stand in the shadow of his great prequel Ghosts N Goblins.
I think that's the reason why the music itself is not so populare as the Ghosts N Goblins tune from Mark Cooksey. I think it's great that someone have arranged this underrated tune.

The remix self is absolute brilliant. It comes near to the original sid but sounds technical more spectacular. The sound itself sounds a little like an old B-Movie. The atmosphere is great with the howling and screaming at the beginning of the song. I love it.

Absolutly great work.
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The Recovery - arranged by Glyn R Brown

Review by Tomsk, 20/11/2005

Errm, I don't know how to put this, but I'm not too keen on this. It's pretty good in places, but I don't think there's a great deal to the original tune - and hence an strange choice of SID to attempt to remix.
I always like to give tunes a 'spin cycle' in the car (i. e. hear them quite a few times) before writing a review, and all of Glyns previous work has blown me away. However, despite the excellent qulaity of samples I still found this remix quite standard up until about 4:40 when there seems to be an injection that brings it to life.
The guitar at 1:37 for example is just so plain and boring. I could predict the notes before they were played. There's none of the 'instrument excitement' from previous mixes. It's nice to hear the mandarin sure, but it's not inspiring in the way Glyn normally introduces an instrument. I really do think the original has a lot to answer for, and I'm suprised Glyn saw anything in the SID
This was a hard review for me to write, and normally when I'm not fussed with a tune I don't bother, but I know Glyn pretty well and if he does read this I know he won't have a problem with this. Nice to see a new direction, but this particular tune is not for me.
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Game Over - arranged by Westerling

Review by Tomsk, 20/11/2005

Wow! I really loved this remix - albeit slightly flawed as it is. Hyped up drums, brilliant sounds and a bit of SID pumped in there to add to the feeling. My only gripe is that after the brilliant opening (complete with blazing guitar and superb drums) and the superb way Westerling handles that awkward 'quiet' section of the original between 1:52 - 2:44 it all returns to being a bit average. None of the pumped up feeling that we were treated to at the start of the track. It just kind of returns to a pretty good remix of Gameover, and then fizzles out.
I still love this tune to bits though and have to say a huge well done to Westerling - I do hope you can see what I mean about the end part of the mix going a bit flat.
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Ghost'n Goblins - arranged by Kent Walldén

Review by gator, 15/11/2005

I really love this track. It's the best interpretation of the G G music yet. It's so funky and has an excellent trance feel while maintaining the slightly spooky sounds the theme is famous for. However I would have appreciated less of the original sound effects and they distract from the wonderful sound and feel the rest of the track creates. Kudos, my friend.
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Bombjack - arranged by nightwolf

Review by evilcensor, 11/11/2005

The only good thing about the game was the music - there's not enough of the melody here and it feels a little empty - rather disappointing.
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Street Surfer (OrganQuickstep version) - arranged by Ronson

Review by evilcensor, 11/11/2005

I have to say I like this made me smile nicely done.. not just a synthy mess like some other tunes I've heard.
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