ReMix: Super Mario World 'Super Mario's Sleigh Ride'

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I had a bad feeling when I first began this ReMix - knowing of the talent behind it, I was unsurprised that the mixing was on and more notably the musicianship (on some of them "real live instruments" I've heard about lately) was great, but initially it seemed like it was all "Sleigh Ride" (composer: Leroy Anderson) and very little Super Mario World (composer: Koji Kondo - but you knew that) - which would have presented a dillemma for me as OCR is a game remix site first and foremost. Fortunately, and again unsurprisingly, Mustin (Bass), Dale North (Keyboards), Nathan McLeod (Alto Sax), David Embree (Trumpet), William Reyes (Guitar), and Chris Strom (Drums) - collectively known as the OneUp Mushrooms - deliver a mix that not only covers "Sleigh Ride" and wee bits of other Christmas tunes embedded in solos, but also features a number of SMW pieces as well, all completely noticeable yet extremely well-integrated into the piece. I think that's what's impressive here - in addition to some great musicianship, the arrangement is technically sound in incorporating significant chunks of the Super Mario World canon with "Sleigh Ride". Down to Embree's impressive horse emulation - a telling benchmark of any performance or recording of Anderson's piece - things click. My initial impressions proved false, and fears unwarranted. Of course, with several tempo changes and trading solos, there's a certain abruptness to portions, so you can't get into any one groove for too long before you're onto the next. At 3'21", the fellas packed a load of stocking stuffers into this ReMix, that's for darn sure, and if you're not into medleys that's the only aspect that I could see some not digging as much. But let's be real - there's some fantastic soloing, an amazingly cohesive and balanced team of musicians all playing their derriers off, and the merging of all pieces involved is purty slick. More information on this specific piece and the 'shrooms themselves is available at http://oneupstudios.com/oum.php, if your interest is piqued. I'm reminded of the quote from the ubiquitous LOTR: Two Towers trailer, when Saruman says "A new power is rising" - indeed, the OneUp Mushrooms have a formidable cast of both musicians and arrangers in their ranks, and should be providing the game arrangement community with many similar gems in the future, whether via OCR or other channels. For now, I'm happy to be posting their initial, seasonal SMW ReMix, and hope you enjoy it as well. Highly recommended.

― djpretzel