If it's all that much of a problem, then just download the one I made years back. At least 99% of the tracks sound decent. (I fully acknowledge that my PPZ GF is crap, but mostly because I hate that song.)
Hey uh, I shitted out this review of the album for Rateyourmusic, and it wound up on the front page! I'm pretty proud of myself and W.A.C. told me to post it here, so here it is if anyone cares. I know it's not totally accurate at some points, but I wrote it in a hurry and it's written for people who haven't played the Sonic games as obsessively as we all have. So yeah.
I've never felt so ambivalent. Unbiased and well-written, but "one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time" and it's only good for 3.5 stars? This isn't really your scene, is it?
I don't think they'll ever release a physical copy of this soundtrack overseas, but if they ever do I hope they just include the original, non-looping tracks. In my oppinion, the way they've altered them in here is almost embarrasing.
Oh, uh, my rating system is pretty arbitrary and unobjective. It's based mostly on how often I'm going to wind up listening to it as well as how much general pleasure I gain from it. Though I like the album, I think I respect it more than I actually enjoy it so I ended up giving it a 3.5 in spite of its achievements and quality in the video game world. But nah, it's not really my scene, haha. I didn't even notice the looping problems until this thread brought it up...
Unfortunately, it sounds like this is lacking quite a bit. I've never been much of a fan of CD, including the music, but it did have it's points. Except for the versions of Stardust Speedway in Generations, the new version off this OST, and Crush 40's version of Sonic Boom, I wasn't even aware that anything in this OST was different than what was in the game. Guess I'll have to give it a listen. Oh god, this. I have a messy ripped version that someone made, but it's got sound effects here and there, and the quality is sporadic. The OVA had all sorts of good music! D:
Lacking? It's Sonic CD with a bunch of new features and unlockables for $5. What did you expect? EDIT: Thought this was the rerelease topic, haha sorry