ReMix:Rolling Thunder "El Salsa" 3:13

The same musician who made Ecco Dorsal Dub made this? Really?

I really do not like this mix. It feels unfinished, like it's a first draft of ideas before the ideas had been actually implemented. The instruments sound strange, effects are... I don't have the language. Other reviews from many years ago called it 'raw', I think that's the correct term. It just sounds grating and unpleasant to the ear, the whole way through. That's a shame because Rolling Thunder is not exactly a VGM darling and if it deserves a chance to shine it should get that chance. Wasn't one of the games I grew up playing, so I really don't know!

Resub this to the workshop, I bet modern-day djpretzel could do it a lot better.

It's SO dry! Some amounts of reverb on the instruments throughout could have really done a lot to improve the sound of this. It sounds a bit too raw as it is. The sequenced 'acoustic guitar' sample is not very good, and is pretty mechanically sequenced. That Seinfeld slap bass was unexpected but put a big smile on my face. I love the transition at 2:00 -- the note spamming on the conga is pretty well done, and although there's not a lot of velocity variation on the notes, the sample isn't too bad. I think adding reverb could have gone a long way with this, but also having a real guitar recording would have been great. I'm sure at the time there were people who were like "omg you play guitar???" Hahaha... Overall, a nice but pretty busy (and dry) mix.

DJPretzel, if you can read this: RESUB THIS!

It's not the best ReMix I've heard, and it does seem a bit outdated, but if DJP made this today I'm sure it would be amazing. The arrangement itself was fine, it was the production that brings this down. But compared to other ReMixes of the time its pretty good. I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for this kind of music (probably has to do with the fact I live 2 hours from Miami).

Sexy salsa sounds. I'm not entirely for the dry mastering, but it works alright - it's not too distracting, due to the constant wall of instruments that are coming in.

That slab bass is pretty bad sounding, especially when compared to the decent sounds used for the rest of the instruments. Overall the sample quality is pretty good, though - not perfect, but great for the time.

The rhythms are stylistically fitting, and damn catchy, too boot. Certainly can't turn that aspect of the mix down.

I love the variety of instruments that come into the mix. Muted trumpets, steel string guitar, nylon string guitar... it all comes together very well.

Salsa, it is sexy. It earns about seven and a half sombreros out of ten.

Okay, yeah, so it's a bit dated, but it's still got a great beat to it. It's an interesting mix, and it's at least listenable. I will say though that I liked the intro and towards the end when it slowed back down to a bit of a chill.

Meh. The quality of nearly all the instruments reminds me of a midi, aside from the percussion on occasion. And yeah, the intro is very annoying. At 2:23 when it chills out a little more, it gets better, maybe a little more realistic-sounding... and then before you know it it just ends. Some remixes have aged well on this site, and I'm afraid this isn't one of them. Sorry

Well, it's not what I was figuring it to be (latino) but it is. Contains lots of little twists turns, so it figures that PRETZEL would be the one to do it.

The opening... synth thing (I can't identify it) annoys me, but the percussion going on in the intro (and the rest of the mix, really) is decent. I do like the soloing on what I'm pretty sure is supposed to be a guitar toward the end, though.

Despite the really poor samples, you can tell djp knew what he was doing from an arrangement perspective right from the start... or at least had a good idea, anyway. This leaves room for improvement but I'm sure it was awesome by the standards from 10 years ago

I actually like this quite a bit! Yeah I think the sounds are dated...it probably has more to do with the lack of processing or fx on most things than the sounds themselves. It doesn't bother me nearly as much as it might someone else though.

Yeah, actually this is pretty darn cool. The way the sounds mix together is quite nice and funky. There's a lot of really cool jazzy salsa-themed interplay between the instruments to make things interesting. Honestly this is very well arranged and conceived for being an older mix. If the aim was to be a good Latin mix djp probably failed there, but this has its own unique appeal - it's good, even if it's not really what was aimed for. I guess I'd have to hear the source to confirm how much is actually arrangement.

But yeah...Cool stuff, especially for being one of the first mixes on the site.

So others have said probably most of it - samples are not quite up to snuff, and I hear very little on the low end here. However, I do think the arrangement is pretty interesting, and could be quite nice if it were updated with the requisite production samples.

I enjoy this, datedness and all. It's positively strange, and the bassline is extremely effective.

--Eino

You're like the ONLY one Actually, the source is pretty strange as well, and the game itself was rather odd... enemies looked like hooded Klu Klux Klan members who got tired of wearing white all the time and went CRAZY with the colors.

For some additional context, my primary motivation behind this mix was to get some arcade love going but more importantly to do something "Latin"... is this Latin? No, I think it's probably just "Mediocre,"... it's DEFINITELY not Salsa, and I don't even know what the hell "El Salsa" was all about. My apologies to Spanish speakers everywhere; my intentions were good!

I enjoy this, datedness and all. It's positively strange, and the bassline is extremely effective.

--Eino

Great flavor to the mix, although I feel like it doesn't really end up anywhere. Sounds dated, and it is, so that makes sense.

some of the more improvy sections feel lost in a directional sense, but that sounds that it's more from the original than DJP's doing, so I won't fault there.

Not the most memorable mix, but decent overall. Good to see how much he's improved since then, though.

Hahaha, I had forgotten about the music from this game. That stupid intro. I really like what you're trying to do here, DJP, with the little salsa flourishes on the guitar and drums. The chords of the original lend themselves very well to this sort of rendition. If it was less stiff and more live-sounding, it'd be fantastic.

Interesting, but a not quite my cup of tea.