Music Remastered

Ack, you're right, I fixed that.

 

Tweaker, Oil Ocean Zone is PERFECT. It gives me the same vibe I got when I first heard the original years ago.

 

I'm not quite sure about them, but I took a stab at the Special Stage and Chemical Plant Zone.

 

The Special Stage is rather plain starting off, and doesn't get much better later on. I like the bass quite a bit, but the song could use more of a synthy feel over—poppy, happy synths that represent the colorful and surreal environment Sonic is traversing. I may give this a shot at some point, but for now, I think DarkeSword has it spot on, and that we should let him do his thing.

Chemical Plant has the feeling I was talking about, but it seems you have the same problem with the pitch bends not working correctly with VSTs. The hi-hats are excellent, and very fitting, though I can't help but feel the snare could be a bit more powerful. The chords are at a very low pitch, however, where the brass normally is, so I suggest raising that all up by an octave.

 

Chemical Plant is actually very good, I'm definetly liking Tweakers versions of Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone. I shall give the others a proper listen later on, only complaint up to now would be Hidden Palace Zone, Tweakers you've done a great job of updating it, but it sounds too Poppy/Dance like compared to the original, also the into is different, I remember it as a drum kicking in on time with the main backing part, not speedy like yours is.

 

I didn't want to post in here till I actually took a stab at something.

Aquatic Ruin:
http://www.hrook.net/music/s2hd/AquaticRuin.mp3

 

Not bad! What I'm concerned about, however, is the change in chord progression and the improvisation on the lead. Remember, the goal is to keep the melody and chord progression the same, whilst reinventing the song in terms of feel. You've done the latter, but your changes in regards to the former seem to bring this down a bit.

Also, your lead brass is a bit squeaky and not really fitting. Perhaps it could be swapped for something softer?

 

That may be because it's a saxophone.

Anyhow, I don't see the point in rehashing the exact same song with the exact same notes at the exact same tempo. We've all been listening to these songs for the past 15 or 16 years. I think that if the liberty can be taken to completely redraw the game and rebuild the engine from scratch, a few notes could stand to be changed.

All I did to the song is what any musician would do interpreting a chart. I added some flourishes to the melody, and thickened up a few chords. The only chord I actually changed was the Eb9 chord in the cadence of the 2nd phrase in the B part (it used to be an A major, so just your regular old tritone substitution). Plus, if all you plan on doing is rehashing everything down to the last detail, you may be looking at potentially more legal problems down the road than you would if you just allowed your contributors a bit more wiggle room.

Give some others a bit of time to speak their opinion too.

 

I really like the sound on this one and I don't feel that it strays too far from the original, but I'm not a fan of the sax sound you've used either.

 

I'd like to make some suggestions for the music.

First of all, I don't really like the new Casino Night Zone remix. The "doo-op" sound is out of place, and the song is too slow. The Final Boss song sounds very.... midi, to me. The Chemical Plant Zone I have mixed feelings for. The synthesizer doesn't sound too great, but the saxophone just works SO well for the level, I can't explain it, but I really like it. The sax doesn't work for every level though. I understand none of these songs are final, but keep up the good work. I like what I hear.

 

Can you specify whose arrangements you're referring to? You're not exactly making it clear.

Also, I hope you're not saying that you think the jazz scat Casino Night is legit, because it was a joke and clearly labeled as such.

 

I like Hunter Bridges' Aquatic Ruin Music -- even if it strays from the original by a chord or two

 

I'm talking about all the music seen in post one of this topic.

Also, Hunter Bridges did an excellent job with the Aquatic Ruins Zone remix, it has both an old school feel with a hint of indian feel to it. Not sure how to put it, though it skips a chord near the middle of the song, I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. It makes the song feel more like a remix than the same song with different instruments, which I like.

 

Cool arrangment, the drums and the sax give it a nice Latin flair. Am I the only one that thinks the bass is slightly heavy in the beginning? Maybe it's just the particular timbre used. While we're on the subject of the lead, I'd be interested to see how it sounds with a muted trumpet instead of a sax. It seems to me that a muted trumpet would sound slightly less thin, but perhaps that's just how I'm imagining it in my head. Overall, great work, and I personally do not think the change in harmony is very noticeable; it gets swept up as being part of the style.

 

I like that one... except for the parts that don't follow the original song. =\

As I said before, personal arrangements might be enjoyed less than the original by some people, which in this case includes myself. Not that I think it's bad, I don't.

EDIT:

Hmm, I'd also try to change the sax to something else. It might be the only instrument that doesn't fit as well as the others...

EDIT 2:
I'd also speed things up a little to match the original.

 

Mystic Cave Zone, not 2P, since there hasn't been one done yet.

OGG:
http://www.box.net/shared/dubk6zk00w

And again, a midi for anyone who wants to retool this:
http://www.box.net/shared/ssd8smfk88

 

Sounds nice, but I feel the first part isn't "eerie" enough.


...I think there was a track in one of the "haunted" levels in Sonic Heroes (or was it Billy Hatcher?) with an instrument that would fit in there quite nicely. Sorry for not being more precise. =|

 

Do we need music packs in addition to art packs?

/me waits for Tweaker to say it's a bad idea (I'm not saying it's a good idea, just stating)

BTW, I prefer remasters over remixes, I.e. keep the same melody, but use "HD" instruments. What about live instruments? Can anyone try that?

 

Personally, I disagree highly with the notion of having swappable packs of any kind. It's too much time spent on a feature that relies on having too many assets. Stick to one group of songs and the project is more likely to succeed. KISS. Keep it simple stupid.