ReMix: Star Ocean 'Summertime'

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So, hopefully you've been enjoying The Dark Side of Phobos the past couple days - torrent's been rather healthy, that's for sure. Don't forget that VGDJ, OCR's official podcast, could still use some support (i.e. your vote) if you've not yet lent it. You'll certainly be seeing more Phobos (the dark side is strong...), but on a decidedly different tip, and quite timely given that it's the height of meteor shower season, newcomer Hale-Bopp brings us an addictive vocal ReMix from Star Ocean. This is right up my alley - catchy rock/pop with a melodic backbone of solid steel, admirable vocals, strong production, and a playing time that fits it like a glove. Have no doubts - this mix is ALL ABOUT the three-minute rock/pop gem thing, and doesn't try to segue into any sort of art-house experimentation or over-extended soloing. And the amazing thing, the reason I'm gonna be listening to this for years to come, is because HB's made it sound like the original is an arrangement of this mix, and not the other way around - the vocal harmony, the lyrics, the guitar instrumentation, drumming... everything makes it sound like the melody was written from scratch for this particular track, and not adapted from elsewhere. It sounds very, very natural; it clicks. David's voice is vaguely similar to Star Salzman's, and since this is also a mix with original lyrics (and good ones), comparisons can be drawn, but the style here is guitar-driven and more stripped down; it's got the same type of instant appeal and accessibility as The Ken Song, and is similarly anthematic, lyrically and musically. Shnabubula reluctantly capitulates to the overwhelming pop attraction:

"There are things in this song that I enjoyed A LOT more than I expected myself to. I sunk my teeth into that whole "why try" rhythmic sandwich. Also the part of the instrumental section with the new chord progression starting at 2:04 especially like at 2:09 when the guitar parts sync up with the drums. Really, that part forced me to start liking the song when my intellect told me I should be doing otherwise. BUT MY INTELLECT WAS WRONG SON!!! Flawless execution of somewhat corny material with a surprising amount of depth."

The tradeoffs between solo vocal and well-panned unison harmony work their magic, and there's some brief but jammin' instrumental breakout as icing on the cake. Fortunately, there's still enough of summer left to enjoy HB's mix - it's perfect convertible music, and will be on the very next mix I burn specifically for that purpose. Perfect for the drive up to Otakon next weekend, methinks. A fantastic and just (again) very natural, easy-to-appreciate first ReMix from Hale-Bopp - definitely hope to see more in the future. Excellent.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

This is a fun, poppy remix. That being said, I love listening to it every once in awhile, but it's too much sugar for me to listen to on a regular basis. It's a very well put together piece with good vocals, neat guitar work, and it's quite concise without being weak (a fatal flaw that many pop songs fall to).
Mostly I think it's a fun piece that I definitely won't forget, but I also won't be hunting it down to listen to very often.

- Lint on January 5, 2009

So why do people think this is cheezy?

- Thin Crust on November 17, 2008

After listening to this song so much for so long, I now have Star Ocean: First Departure and I was standing around in a nice peaceful village after some sad scenes and the tune for that town was the original version of this song. The lyrics of this song fit a certain character very well, and the song in whole is wonderfully done and faithful to the source material. I would be hesitant to listen to a fan song with vocals, but this one was a pleasant surprise from the very beginning.

- Aki Kitsune on October 23, 2008

I had never listened to this one before, but it came up on the shuffle of OCRemixes of my iPod and it's now in regular rotation. I was astounded at seeing the post date of the mix being about 3 years ago, but it really has only been in the last few months that I've been getting into the vocalized remixes. Had this come up in the shuffle sooner then it may have accelerated my acceptance of these kinds of mixes - but it's never too late 'til you're dead!
Rock on, Mr. Bopp!

- LuckyXIII on February 12, 2008

I'm a bit late for the party, I just came to tell you that man.. I love this song. It's the perfect cheesy yet energetic love song ever. Kudos for bringing general college rock to OCR but without the things that makes general college rock bad :) The mixing is not the best around but the general feel and the concept of the track makes up for that, big time.
Great stuff

- Another Soundscape on January 10, 2008

I am shamed [i]shamed![/i] that i missed this gem the first time around and it's taken me a few years to get caught up.
Simple and unpretentious, it's straight ahead rocking with a home-grown feel. I agree with some reviewers that the drums are a little thin sounding, but that's super small potatoes compared to the big picture.
Beautiful harmonies throughout; I love the 'why try', but i think the real star is the 'understand' backing vocals. Very emotive and enjoyable.
I'm inspired. Awesome work, dude.

- OA on October 22, 2007

One of the few lyrical songs on this site that I actually enjoy! I find myself singing this song at work, in the car, at home - well, pretty much everywhere (though not in that wow-crazy-fan-singing-all-the-time style).
I like the way this sounds: there may have been some criticisms on its quality, but I've always felt it sounded similar to how a garage band playing in the - yes, you guessed it - summertime. It has a homegrown simplicity while trying to sound professional sound to it that gives it personality in my eyes. Perhaps that wasn't the intention, but that's what I got out of it.
Granted, there are parts about which I wasn't wild, such as the breakdown or whatever it's called around the 2:10-2:15 mark: the motion/inertia/speed of the music fell apart, and felt a little jarring to my ears. Fortunately, it starts back up for the finale, and I soon forget it happened.
Overall, one of my favorite vocal tracks from the site!
[img]http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/ratings/098m.jpg[/img]

- MedHead on June 9, 2006

This song's been out for ten months now. It was my favorite on the site the first I took a listen and still is.

- Barnsalot on June 8, 2006

Calm Time is one of my favorite VG tracks, and this is an interesting take (to say the least) on it. The lyrics are ok, and it makes for a fun listen, especially if you're familiar with the original music.

- Amaranth on May 23, 2006

This song was one of the reasons I registered here. Amazing work, some of the best vocals on OCRemix, and much better lyrics than any other pop/rock song out these days.

- your the man now dog on April 4, 2006

Geoffrey Taucer wrote:

NeoZF wrote: Does anyone know the chords for the song, i would love to learn how to play this :D
its a great song, i remember listening to it for most of the summer

E, B, C#m, A,
E, B, A, B, E
And the chorus is (roughly)
C#m, A, B

Yeah, that's pretty much it for the bulk of the song.
The chorus has two extra chords, so it goes like:
C#m, D#, E, A, B

- Hale-Bopp on March 19, 2006

NeoZF wrote: Does anyone know the chords for the song, i would love to learn how to play this :D
its a great song, i remember listening to it for most of the summer

E, B, C#m, A,
E, B, A, B, E
And the chorus is (roughly)
C#m, A, B
(played 4 times)
That's just going by ear; I haven't actually sat down and double-checked these, so some of them (especially during the chorus) might be wrong.

- Geoffrey Taucer on March 13, 2006

Does anyone know the chords for the song, i would love to learn how to play this :D
its a great song, i remember listening to it for most of the summer

- NeoZF on March 13, 2006

É um dos melhores, senão o melhor remix desse site!!! E eu já ouvi todos...

- BlackLuster on February 6, 2006

hmm, they're right! the vocalists actually CAN sing!
its amazing, last five hundred pop songs I overgeard, I swear, I almost had an annurisim from how collectively bad the vocalists are XD

- Jabberbox on September 30, 2005

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