Posted 2011-08-19, evaluated by djpretzel


I've gotta give Tony the mega mad kudos for source selection; while MGS2 itself may not be obscure, everyone always gravitates towards the main theme, and Tony has instead cast a very deserved spotlight on this track from the VR missions on Substance:

"First off, I am prepared for this song to be potentially smitten by Larry’s devious stopwatch of doom (which has become a staple for every song I’ve ever submitted) but I wanted to submit this anyway and just give it a shot.

Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz rock fusion artists like Marco Sfogli, Alex Argento, later T-Square and the like so this style has just been on my mind all the time. This original track is obviously one that’s probably never had any love, because it comes from the bonus VR missions with MGS2: Substance, the reissue. Since some of those VR missions are just so insanely difficult, I grew to love this song quickly since it has a more definite beat whereas the other songs are a bit more subdued and appropriate for sneaking.

The original song doesn’t have much of a melody, but neither does pretty much any other MGS tune with the exception of main themes and some other songs. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, it’s what the gameplay needs, but I really wanted to fill this musical void with my unnecessary wankery. I made sure to keep pretty much all of the original parts the way they were in the original track (keyboard, organ, strings, trombone) and filled the rest with guitar lines, synth lines, guitar/synth duets and even a Rhodes solo! Oh yeah, a bass solo’s here too."

At least Tony is upfront about his wankery. So to speak. As he says, this is primarily an additive arrangement that takes a lot from the original and then fills in the gaps with completely relevant, badass noodling that by my way of thinking is actually rather necessary, lending this BGM-ish source more of a standalone, meaty presence. Bass solo unapologetically sits on your face, the earlier Rhodes licks are the right amount of greasy & glassy, and the whole enchilada is a note-perfect blend of performance & production that takes the source material where I think it was really destined to go. Great stuff.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2017-01-28 15:31:25

Genius? Genius! 'Nuff said ;)

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Crulex
on 2012-11-08 10:01:18

Rock with a jazzy bit entwined within it? Pretty interesting direction for a ReMix, and this was a great direction in my opinion. Adds quite a lot of style to the song with that kind of balance and the arrangement was catchy as hell. Not fond of the cut-off ending, but there isn't much that you can nitpick on a song that sounds as professional as this one does.

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Bahamut
on 2011-12-12 15:09:39

This has an interesting style to it - I haven't listened to a lot of jazz fusion so I'm not quite familiar with the genre, but this piece goes in some entertaining directions for anyone who enjoys progressive music. It accomplishes moving the listener through a journey, which is a must for a genre like this and I'd say that Tony does a good job in that department. It may not be something that catches on everyone's ear, but I recommend people give it a fair shake of several listens! It certainly is one of the more serious pieces that you'll find on OCR.

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Mirby
on 2011-12-02 07:13:01

Great song. A nice listen for those who enjoy the style, of which I do. Immensely. :D

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Martin Penwald
on 2011-10-05 13:01:46

Somehow, djp's write-up didn't hype me up for this remix at all, so listening to it was quite the pleasant surprise. There is just so much going on, from the guitar to the rhodes to the synth solo.

Also, I'm getting quite the 90's VGM vibe from this. Then again, MGS2 wasn't that much later, so...

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SuperiorX
on 2011-08-28 14:24:45

This is one of my favorite recent OCR mixes. Great job! I really love the uptempo feel throughout the song. Nice guitar work as well!

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Zeroboros
on 2011-08-23 10:31:12

this sounds like something jimmy weckl would do (the tempo would be faster but the style is the same), And i love jimmy weckl's stuff. pretty much had me sold on the rhodes and the slap bass (sucker for the combo) congrats on the song, which is VERY WELL Deserved!

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psychowolf
on 2011-08-22 16:33:13

a personal favourite from dwelling of duels,

love the jazz feel in there,

all in all a great remix :D

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Audity
on 2011-08-21 13:32:31

This is one of the best on OCR, let alone the Internet. Very professional.

(Some months back I stopped keeping up with every OCR. But I'm sure my point is still accurate!)

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Prince uf Darkness
on 2011-08-20 13:42:28

So I have a birthday on the 28th and I was going to harass Larry again to suggest that posting this song on that day would be a nice present. Guess my harassment worked TOO much :-D

Anyways, thanks for the comments guys. Yeah, lots of people comment on that ending and I understand...I worked on this the few days before the DoD deadline so I had to kind of give up on nitpicking the time-consuming things like structure. It was basically like "Oh well this whacky key change thing is kinda neat! But crap I'm so low on time and need to get recording bass and guitars!...........SCREW IT"

Ah well.

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docnano
on 2011-08-20 08:11:26

In the first few seconds I was preparing for an unremarkable rock mix, but then the jazz influences, swift dynamic/texture changes, and mixed meter parts came in... the result totally kicks ass. I love it! 61!

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C7
on 2011-08-19 21:15:22

Haha I was skeptical at first, but you really made this one awesome remix! The stronger elements of the source make me remember back to fighting my way through the vr missions, but your additions are the real star of the show (for good reason!). You did a great job expanding on the original, though mostly through additive stuff rather than quite as much development.

Great job, I'm glad to have such a fun remix!

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halc
on 2011-08-19 12:56:06

damn, this is great. love the mixed meter, 5/8 is 3. good job.

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Liontamer
on 2011-08-19 12:28:17

My stopwatch had you at about 170.25 seconds of source usage with 261 seconds of the track, so 65.23%. Since you asked. :-P If there was any doubt, it wouldn't have been a direct post.

Like Dave said, the arrangement was very additive, but it was certainly a fitting direction to take it in. Love the source tune, and loved the wank!

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djpretzel
on 2011-08-19 10:48:06

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Konami , 2002, PS2)
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams,Norihiko Hibino,Rika Muranaka,Steve Jablonsky,Tappy Iwase,Toshiyuki Kakuta
Songs:
"VR variety mission"

Tags (8)


Genre:
Fusion,Jazz,Progressive Rock,Rock
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Electric Piano,Synth
Additional:
Origin > Competition > Dwelling of Duels

File Information


Name:
Metal_Gear_Solid_2_Substance_I_Need_Scissors_61_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,366,621 bytes
MD5:
b8cf11c0283e4383e0733d34d6722752
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:22

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