ReMix: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 'ElectricGearSolid'
It's easy to see (or rather, hear) from the opening to MGS2 why Harry Gregson-Williams was brought on board - Hideo Kojima is probably the most "cinematic" director/creator of games working today, and the memorable, epic melody Gregson-Williams came up with for the opener makes the feel of a Hollywood A-List action flick even more visceral. All right, I have to confess that I've only played through the first thirty minutes of the game (much to judge Digital Coma's dismay), but I did play through the first game. It's a time thing - and my lack of it. Regardless, I've seen the intro and played the first bit of MGS2, and am thus familiar with the main title score. Newcomer Spyder hasn't mucked around with the melody itself with this arrangement, but has instead changed the texture from straight orchestral to a hybridized, crystalline combination of symphony and synth. This ReMix REALLY split the judges panel, moreso than many close calls in recent history, largely because a good number of judges felt that - while the sound quality and instrumentation were present in full force and were high quality - the mix didn't play around with things enough in terms of arrangement, and still relied too heavily on the strength of the original melody, which is used near verbatim. In the end, I personally think these concerns were well-founded, BUT the instrumentation is itself a form of arrangement, as synths percolate in melodic arpeggios not present in the original, and the textural alteration does affect the overall feel of the work. I will state that I feel that OCR encourages more arrangement and interpretation, on average, than this particular mix leverages against its source material. Submissions like these are hard to judge for a reason. I'll quote Beatdrop here: "Okay, right from the beginning, everything sounds pretty good. The FM-ish synths in the intro really fill up sonic space, and although the strings that come in during this area sound kind of blah on the low notes, it still works pretty good. The violin is really not nice on the higher notes, but oh well. Can't expect perfect samples all the time. The synths, while not entirely original, blend in pretty good. The drums kind of lack variation during the middle section of the song, but everything picks up again later. A little repetitive, but not enough for me to want to condemn it. Sounds pretty well equalized, and the arrangement (besides the previously mentioned repetitiveness) is decent." and in contrast, Digital Coma writes: "Basically, this is pretty flesh on a brittle skeleton. Satisfactory variation can be difficult to carry-out, especially with an original track of this caliber, but it's the first step that must be taken when remixing." - I might sound like I'm running for political office, but in a way, they're both correct; we're bound to encounter mixes that split the panel due to weighing in lopsided on the sound-quality vs. arrangement scale. Some of the looped, crystalline, repeating textures Spyder uses throughout, esp. in the intro, are entrancing and put to good use. Would a counter-melody, more harmonic variation/intepretation, or an original solo have made the piece a better ReMix? I would say so, however, we judge what we get. This is a ReMix that takes a great original melody and puts a different sonic spin on it, with admittedly some arrangement going on in terms of instrumentation and pattern-based synths. It's certainly enjoyable, and for many that's the key deciding factor. How much of its enjoyability centers around Gregson-Williams as opposed to Spyder is of course up for debate, but if you put the two pieces side-by-side, they ARE different in a number of ways, enough so that I'd say the panel's end result in approving this is that a good original melody is given some new life. You'll have to forgive the extended pontification - when the panel does labor over a decision, it seems to me it's worth expressing that to listeners as well as other ReMixers, both for contextual benefit and to further clarify what this site is all about. I also put a bit too much vodka vs. Kahlua in my Black Russian tonight, and it's not sitting well with the Kraft EasyMac I cooked up in the microwave. In all seriousness, if you dug the original (or - heavens forbid - haven't heard it), my strong guess is that you'll enjoy Spyder's treatment, regardless (or in spite of) the background I've provided on its history. More good driving music, as well ;) Check it out.
Note: Bryan Singleton wrote in to note that Tappy Iwase originally composed the main melody for the MGS2 title theme, which Gregson-Williams created his arrangement from.
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