Listener's Reviews

all c64 only Amiga only

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Last Ninja Remix - Sewers (soft mix) - arranged by Cytex

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

I plod along in a sewer; the end just doesn't come along soon enough, how do I get out from the stench!!!!

Well it's not really that bad, but it's not too far away really.

Nopes, its one of those monotonous tune that isn't really inviting and just drags along, like being lost in that sewer!

It's ok, but bet you won't play it twice!
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Last Ninja - Wilderness Woodhouse Mix - arranged by Chris M

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

Poorly produced, poorly executed, but not entirely bad. There are a few elements to this to bring it into the average score.

It's one of those once only plays, and that's about it really. Kinda samey all the way through which never finds a direction or really gives you any real enjoyment.
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Grand Prix Circuit - arranged by Amp

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

I like this 80's approach to Grand Prix Circuit alot!!!!

This very electronic sound is what i call à la Vince Clark, and even more so typically Erasure. Which as many of you know already is by no means alien to me😉

The thing here is to remember the 80's sound and how they dealt with it, Amp has done just that and produced a very dancy yet smooth inviting remix complete with e-guitar and piano which works exceptionally well.

Good work Amp, more of the same please😉
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Firefly Title Theme - arranged by Alfredo Terpentin

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

Very amiga mod sounding!!!

Not saying I don't like that! But actually I do in this case. Works well and gives that nostalgic feeling, if a little flat and uncreative.

Overall, a tune thats nice, but can you get your ears around how Amiga it sounds?
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The Tube (FM Mix) - arranged by ifadeo

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

Ifadeo is what I'd say is a step away from being with the big boys on the scene. He's got the right ideas, but sometimes his implementation of instruments have something to be desired preventing his work from being in the top 10 works.

Again a sublime background to this tune, yet unfortunately the lead is just too rough, harsh and basic in it's approach. If ifadeo could just master his production work, he'd be right up there.

Keep it up ifadeo, your doing great, and in time… you'll be hailed 😊
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Storm (Its more fun to remix) - arranged by ifadeo

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

Terrific beat to this, an exceptionally groovey piece of work in the background. but, oh and why a but! The lead stinks.

I'd really like this to be re-worked big time, and concentrate on the beat and it's dance nature.

A fantastic idea, which has been let down in so many ways… oh this could have been!!!!!
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Loopz (Radiowellen Mix) - arranged by ifadeo

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

ifadeo experiments with melow ambience (not for the first time), however unfortunately his concepts havn't quite materialised into fruition as they should, due to simplistic instruments and basic implementations. Listening to this tune you can't help feel that with better smoother sounds ifadeo could have really been with the jiggy😉

But as it is, it's ok, but nothing to light the world into oblivion.
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Demonic Pt.1 (Romulus Mix) - arranged by ifadeo

Review by Tas, 20/02/2003

A nice effort into mellow ambience here from ifadeo, which is fine. However it kinda misses the effects to really involve you in the piece of music. the underlaying score is inventive enough, but is simply too basic to evolve the piece and the instruments used are just a little thin to bring out the piece. A tune like this you really have to feel the piece inside, ifadeo has produced a good piece but without the feel which this should really have.

Good work, but leaves you feeling a little empty.
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Grand Prix Circuit - arranged by Amp

Review by putzi, 19/02/2003

On the real C64 this was one of the few games that had a music with sample-sound added not only in the intro screen, but also in some game menus. It was really something unusual to hear this sound out of a C64, especially if that SID-machine was connected to a Hifi-amp. Yes, I loved the E-Guitar and real drumsound. So what has Amp done to this jewel of SID-music? He added some intro that the original missed (a fast car driving by), and then it is a very good 1:1 cover of the original, with the E-Guitars now being electronic-sounding, and the lead a melancholic piano, more sad than ever (needless to say: this would also make a great symphonic remix…), and some choir at the right time.
Amp loved this SID on the C64, and so he was able to make this one a top remix
for Kris Hatlelid-fans, also painfully reminding me how old I am now…
Pretty good cover! 😊
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Delta - arranged by Terminal Storm

Review by beldin, 19/02/2003

Fast-paced club music arrangement of well-known elements from Delta with focus on the title theme. I think the chosen sounds and effects fit well and the added accompany was a good idea. It could add more bits here and there to sound more rich, however.
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We'll never be apart (Commando Highscore) - arranged by N-JOY

Review by beyond, 19/02/2003

A very original idea, very well orchstrated, and a wonderful female voice.

Put it at the end of any recent Disney movie and nobody will think of C64 remixes.

Fantastic!
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Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen) - arranged by Mahoney

Review by beyond, 19/02/2003

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a classic, if any remix here will ever be one.

Original idea and very well implemented! We are already used to the high quality work that Mahoney delivers, but Karin Öjehagen takes this remix to a higher ground, that is just purely amazing.

This remix gives me the goosebumps again and again! And I have listened to it A LOT!

Three thumbs up!
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Cauldron II (the Pumpkin Rides again) - arranged by A0d+BST+Tron

Review by muppet, 18/02/2003

Aye, I cant help but agree with the last couple of reviews… this is a must-download if only to hear someone actually do something radically different for a change.

The tune is so intense and the build up so rapid that after the first 20 seconds or so it seems to just grab you and fly by so that you hardly even realise you have spent 3 minutes listening to it and it all seems over almost too quickly… having said that, the arranger has had the discipline to end where he does as any more would have probably too much and ruined the considerable impact.

I wasnt sure at first but…
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Ocean Loader 2 (Dance X-Periment) - arranged by Sonic Wanderer

Review by putzi, 18/02/2003

Comparing this OL2-remix to the first C64-remix that I heard from Sonic Wanderer (which was C64-Revisited, his first remix of Beyond the Zero, done with DreamStation back in 2000), I think it is safe to say that Sonic has kept his good taste in going for a powerfull disco-sound, now with better music equipment. And if I was forced to do a comparison to Instant Remedy, I'd say that it's out of question because SW already was a sure arranger for well-balanced disco-tracks 3 years ago.

The song got an intro now, so you're not jumping into the action from the start, which makes it a bit of a hymn, considering the wall of sound the song builds up using all the new modern synths and some vintage SID-sound. It even reminds me of the N-Trance sound in Set you free (synths and thunder). You can play this track to some not C64-sound-aware but disco-sound-loving person and this person will like it! No C64-pling-plang-plong-bleep-sounds in here.

Oh, and maybe another fact important for a dance-remix: this one is not boring at all. 😊
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Sanx(ion) from the moment we kissed - arranged by J Lof

Review by craigg, 18/02/2003

It's about time someone other than Chris Abbott (and perhaps Phil Bak) supplied us with a decent Sanxion remix, and preferably something a little different from the original. This dance-em-up attempts to take the track into 'clubland', and to some extent, it succeeds. Despite the loops sounding all-too-familiar, the beginning of the track is catchy and builds well. However, J Lof comes a cropper by screwing up a couple of later sections of the track. While I'm all for remixes that aren't direct covers, it still helps if you get the melody right. Also, the vocal samples rapidly become downright irritating.

So, once again, we're left with a painfully average version of Hubbard's greatest. Oh well, back to Back in Time
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Last Ninja Remix - Sewers (soft mix) - arranged by Cytex

Review by craigg, 18/02/2003

The original Ryuichi Sakamoto track that Ouewhand's piece is based on is so beautiful that's it's tough not to do it justice. Staying away from the oriental leanings of the original and the tough sounds of Ouwehand's C64 version, this remix begins well, with gentle but engrossing backing. However, the weak lead instruments--particularly the piano--and occasional bum note go some way to ruining what had the potential to be a much better remix.
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Last Ninja 3 (Ninjha mix) - arranged by Red Devil

Review by beldin, 18/02/2003

An awesome atmosphere (somewhere between majestic and melancholic) is created by this arrangement. The highlights of this remix being piano and pan-flute as lead instruments, a well-balanced choice of mostly accoustic instruments and a rhythm which keeps you caught for the entire song.
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Arabian Zoids (Themed Solo) - arranged by Larsec

Review by beldin, 18/02/2003

Musicians most likely disagree, but for my taste the 9:29 long track contains far too many added pieces which have nothing in common with the great source theme. In particular, the female voice singing some completely unrelated Oriental stuff from 1:30 to 2:45 is something which makes me double-check whether what is playing is actually the correct track. Apart from that, the beginning sounds thin, and with the long Oriental singing, it takes too long for the remix to build up. Assuming it started around 3:53, it gets better, but not with regard to the mixing and the things that follow. It gets thinner again around 6:30 with a solo (nothing recognizable), followed by another own composition which almost fails to find its way back to the Zoids theme which in the last minute is disturbed by improvised and IMHO questionable and wild lead guitar playing. Conclusively, in the category of a SID remix -- as a remix of Zoids -- (and trying to follow and understand the arranger's long comment) I don't see many bits which make this remix more than average in its category. The sheer play-time can't compensate the ballast. In a stripped down version I could concentrate on a remix of Zoids and would rate it higher.
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Arabian Zoids (Themed Solo) - arranged by Larsec

Review by craigg, 18/02/2003

For all its pseudo-industrial stomping, Zoids is actually a quite beautiful piece of music, as proven by O2's wonderful and lasting treatment of it, which also ended up on Back in Time 3. In some ways this remix follows a similar path, exploring the ambient side to the piece. The guitar lead, which could easily have jarred, is pushed back to good effect in the mix, and the bass pulses to add strength to the arrangement.

In some cases it perhaps moves a little too far from the original arrangement, and there's a little too much noodling here and there, but it would be churlish to penalise such an accomplished remix for a few minor niggles.
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Cauldron II - I am a Pumpkin Man - arranged by trauma

Review by craigg, 18/02/2003

Every once in a while, something comes along in the C64 remix scene that makes everyone sit up and take notice. This is one such track. We've had orchestral remixes, dance treatments, C64 tracks with lyrics, and more, but now we descend into total madness. In something akin from the warped brains of the Dead Guys versus Makke on speed, combined with a good dose of Jarre and NIN, Trauma creates one of the most original, funny and downright catchy C64 remixes of all time. The perhaps Zoolook-inspired intro is a red herring to what follows: a gradual build up of the original theme, laced with vocal treatment and funky drums, followed by a pseudo-industrial ending from C64 hell. Worthy of the bizarre nature of the original game, and should be required listening for fans of C64 remixes.
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Hell On Earth Spells Game Over - arranged by Makke

Review by beldin, 18/02/2003

The winner of Remix64's Great CD Giveaway Competition gives an outstanding example of innovative and successful usage of singing and entertaining lyrics in SID remixes. It it based on a short accoustic guitar version of Times of Lore (Martin Galway) in the intro and builds its two main parts upon perfectly blended Pop versions of Deel 3 and Cybernoid 2 (Jeroen Tel) for a total of 4:47. The lyrics just fit so well.
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Infernal Runner 2002 - arranged by Joe [Stainless Steel] Barwick

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

A very well composed remix of ambient/electronica style that has a nice fat sound to it, but not the 10000 beats per minute drum sound as you might expect. And I do, got a nice sound to it - electronica or old school techno if you like. Remixer uses mostly own instruments, but there is a well applied sprinkle of original C64 synths if I am not mistaken, it is a bit hard to hear. Perhaps a bit in the easy listening deparment is a better description. A very nice music piece that I am finding myself listening to a lot these days.
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Cauldron II - I am a Pumpkin Man - arranged by trauma

Review by mahoney, 18/02/2003

Well, this mix is very nice. Inspiring, well done and in the usual Trauma's funky drums mix I've heard before. Nice one, really!

I'll be pumpking you. Isn't that supposed to be _humpin'_? 😃
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Wizball (Juno 106 remix) - arranged by ocean

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

I think it is one of the better wizball remixes out there. I agree about the drum part, but I think there is too much of an infatuation with fat drum tracks out there in general 😊
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Way of the Exploding Fist (Tune2) - arranged by Kent Walldén

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

I like unorthodox when you remix popular songs. Not much fun in Yet Another Remix of some game that sounds samey. This song is very nice to listen to. Even though some drum rhythm gets into the mix, it doesn't go overboard (giving you one of those dull Add drum track and stir-remixes). Very nice piano, synth thingy and is that a triangle I hear at the end? Recommended.
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Moon Patrol - arranged by dor-x

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

I've heard too many remixes where the author slaps a few synths on top of the original tune. The greatest tribute is to take the old song to a new stage like Dor-x does with this one. Why just make a 25 second remix? Thats what we got the original for (Which isn't a synth but a IREM arcade if I remember correctly?).

Anyway, Dor-x has substituted all instruments with new ones, still sounding a bit electronic which I suppose is the point. As the first reviewer pointed out, the song takes a few listening-to's but it ends up winning on me. I like it, great technical and artistic merit. Nostalgic impression inevitably suffers when you move far away from the original, perhaps that is what makes Belding so caustic in his review.
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Mahoney - BoulderDash (Commodore 69 mix) - arranged by Mahoney

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

Mahoney seems to have an affinity for using voice or lyrics. And I think it's the first remix I've heard with Emil's father in it😉 The remix is ranking high on technical merit - getting those voices to work in a song - my hat off. Artistic impression, well most of it is just a nice slow drum not much there. I guess all the hard work went into the voices and lyrics. As usual with mahoneys remixes I am undecided for a while whether I like them or not. I decided that this remix is good as another remix that isn't just a few synths slapped ontop of an old song. Originality factor high.) And it's not just quaint but also because it's with humor. And it got panting women in extasy as well.
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Finder's Keepers ('97 Title XG Mix) - arranged by Chris Abbott

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

Abbott always make remixes of a very high technical quality. Therefore I found this very simple tune to be a delightful listen. He has substituted many if not all of the original instruments with great skill. The song is cheery and happy and simple, one you can go and whistle to yourself and drive your co-workers nuts with. Great nostalgic value, and kudos for picking one of the less popular tunes out there. Also Finders Keepers was one of the first MasterTronic games I owned, so extra spice for nostalgia.
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Cauldron II - I am a Pumpkin Man - arranged by trauma

Review by a0d, 18/02/2003

Sorry for all you enthousiastic Cauldron II mixers out there. The final Cauldron II has been done.
This version offers everything. A typical acapella Trauma start with a 21st century beat kicking in at the right moment. Then building up to a Nine Inch Nails kind of final haunting you way after the tune has finished. If that isn't in spirit with the (mostly hard and frustrating) game I have no idea what is!
I can imagine that a lot of people from the BIT generation are not into this kind of mixing but condemning them for that would be unfair. Because in my opinion it is all still about creativity and fun…

Bit muddy on the mixing, though, for the techno-boffins but nonetheless great!
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Arkanoid (version x mix) - arranged by FTC

Review by immacolata, 18/02/2003

Arkanoid is a popular tune to remix. This remix suffers in my taste from being too close to the original. A lot of the original SID sound is applied, but it has been done earlier. So it is hard to discerne what the remixer is adding to the general song except a bit of extra instruments to add to the overall soundscape. In the end it is a quite dull remix to my taste, particularly because I've heard so many other 'Noid remixes - so a new one has to put a certain spin on it that I haven't heard before. People all new to arkanoid remixes might rate different than I. From earlier with other songs I think that FTC can do well.
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