Archive for the ‘Game Music’ Category

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Hudson Game Music – Arranged Versions

Thursday, May 10th, 2018

Hudson Game Music
Bomberman (Arranged Version)
Nuts & Milk (Arranged Version)
Binaryland (Arranged Version)
Championship Lode Runner (Arranged Version)
Star Soldier (Arranged Version)
Hudson Game Music was the third release by G.M.O. Records, a subsidiary of Afla Records that was set up by Yellow Magic Orchestra for releases of game music soundtracks. Nearly all of the label’s early releases were compilations for specific developers, most likely because games at the time didn’t have enough music on their own to fill a complete album.

Most of the early releases by G.M.O. featured only one or two “arranged” (or remixed) versions and instead focused on pure audio rips from the games themselves. The Hudson Game Music release is a bit different as its entire B-side is dedicated to arranged versions, with nearly every game from the A-side getting a proper arranged version on the B-side. I don’t know if this was because Hudson didn’t have enough games of note to fill an album, or because G.M.O. wanted to showcase arranged versions, it’s hard to say.

Some of these titles are pretty damn obscure. Of course, I know Bomberman and Lode Runner (albeit not in its “Championship” variation), and I have a vague recollection of Star Soldier, but I know Nuts and Milk by name only, and have never even heard of Binaryland. A quick YouTube search of both confirms that I’ve never played either.

These arrangements were all done by Yoshihiro Kunimoto, who did a ton of arranging and remixing for a lot of early game music releases by GMO Records. He also worked with a few legends of Japanese music, including Jun Togawa and Denki Groove. He certainly knows what he’s doing here, all of these arranged versions are pretty damn great. The standout for me is the manic take on the Bomberman theme, a sample-heavy remake that also features a rad guitar solo. The Nuts and Milk track is a bit more sedate, but builds off the game’s simple melody in some fun ways, while the Binaryland theme is oddly re-imagined as a string quartet piece (with some synth overdubs) that makes it sound a bit like a lullaby. Championship Lode Runner is the sparsest of the bunch: a dreamy re-working that’s bookended with music box-esque takes on the tune, while Star Soldier is probably the most standard of the group, but that’s not a bad thing; it’s a fully synthed out remix that would fit alongside most 16-bit shooters, and with so much synth-bass. Love the synth-bass. Need more synth-bass.

According to the Video Game Music Database, Hudson Game Music was released on vinyl and cassette on July 25, 1986, with the CD version coming out exactly one month later. That would make it the fifth GMO title to be released, between Konami Game Music Music Vol. 1 and Capcom Game Music. It’s exceedingly rare to find these days, I’ve never even seen a CD copy. This rip is from the vinyl edition. Unlike other early G.M.O. releases, the Hudson Game Music vinyl edition was a picture disc. And yes, that certainly does look cool, it doesn’t do wonders for audio quality. Thankfully, I think my vinyl restoration software did a pretty good job of cleaning it up. Hope you dig it.

Posted in Game Music, remixes | 5 Comments »

The Konami Famicom Super Medley

Sunday, March 11th, 2018

Osaka was amazing. I saw incredible castles, temples, shrines. I went to two amazing aquariums. I ate so much wonderful food that my stomach is still angry with me. And, of course, I went to as many record stores as possible and bought a billion records and CDs.

Almost everything I bought was obscure and out-of-print. It looks like I have plenty of material for this site for the next few months if not a year. However, very little of it was “traditional” Lost Turntable content. Only got one 12″ single of an artist any of you have probably heard of. The rest of what I found was either obscure electronic music, Japanese prog, Japanese jazz/funk or video game soundtracks. So I hope at least some of that sounds interesting to you, because that’s what you got coming up for the next few months most likely.

Y’know, stuff like this.

Konami
Famicom Arranged Medley
Famicom Original Remix Medley
Famicom Super Medley
All of these are “arranged” and/or “remixed” so I don’t understand the names behind these tracks. The opening “Arranged Medley” is probably the worst of the three though. It just takes a bunch of arranged versions of Konami tracks and mixes them together while an horribly bland backbeat plays throughout. I mean, it’s not terrible, the source material is certainly great, but when compared to the tracks that follow it certainly falls flat.

Because the other tracks are really great. The “Original Remix Medley” is a much more pure presentation of the source material, using the original game audio alongside some added sound effects and beats. It’s not as smooth as the “Arranged Medley,” some of the cuts are a bit jarring, but the overall experience is much better. The original tunes are so strong that they stand on their own, they don’t need the lame backbeat of the “Arranged Medley’ to support them.

That’s not to say they can’t benefit from the remix or arrangement treatment, because they certainly do with the “Super Medley.” This track takes the most liberties with the original songs, re-recording them entirely with new instrumentation and accompaniment. Of the three, it is the most fun, and works the best as a proper medley. The segues between the tracks are smooth and natural, lacking the out-of-place cuts of the “Original Remix Medley” and not relying on a tired backing track like the “Arranged Medley” does. It’s also super energetic, almost like a stadium house track. If The KLF were given orders to rework Famicom tracks, I think it might sound something like this track. Dope shit all around.

Posted in Complete Albums, Game Music, remixes | 1 Comment »

Andrew Lloyd Weber and Madonna, but not that one.

Monday, July 20th, 2015

I hope I make up for the delay in posting with this post, which features stupid remixes of game music, Korn and Madonna. I try to cover all my bases.

While I haven’t been updating much here this month, I have been slightly more prolific than usual over at my other site, Mostly-Retro, where you can find a write-up on the vinyl release of the radical Babymetal album; and a look at the soundtrack to Darius.

Speaking of game music…

Doctor Spin
Tetris
Play Game Boy
I’ve been doing this thing over at Mostly-Retro called Game Music Revue, where I review old game soundtracks. Like most things I write about, it’s not really for mass consumption, but if you’re into old game music, I suggest you check it out. As of right now, I’m trying to stick to mostly albums over there, so something like this really doesn’t fit, but this is so stupid I just had to write about it somewhere.

This is an acid house/eurodance remix of the Tetris theme music, which is in and of itself a cover of a traditional Russian piece entitled “Korobeiniki.” This version was released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1992 and somehow managed to crack the Top 20 there.

But wait, it gets stupider. Doctor Spin, as it turns out, is actually one Andrew Lloyd Weber. That’s right, the man behind The Phantom Of The Opera, Cats, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar decided, well after more than establishing himself as one of the most successful musical theater composers of all-time, decided to give a go on the pop charts by recording a techno remix of a video game theme song.

The early 90s were a damn pop music wasteland I swear to god.

The B-side, by the way, is typical and forgettable 90s house music with a chorus of “Play The Game Boy” looped over it. I must imagine that Nintendo paid money for this to happen.

Korn
Make Me Bad (Kornography Mix)
Make Me Bad (Sickness In Salvation Mix)
Make Me Bad (Sybil Mix)
I originally posted these Korn remixes EIGHT FREAKING YEARS AGO HOLY SHIT THIS BLOG IS OLD.

Sorry, the realization of time marching on makes me type in all caps sometimes. Anyways, yeah, I posted these a long time ago, but since then I bought this single again on much better condition vinyl and re-recorded it. So as a somewhat unapologetic on-and-off-again Korn fan (their dubstep album was shockingly good and far better than it had any right to be) I thought I’d share these again.

Madonna
La Isla Bonita (Instrumental)
Live To Tell (Edit)
Live To Tell (Instrumental)
Borderline (Dub Remix)
I really have to up my Madonna game. I’m currently sitting on a good two to three dozen Madonna remixes that I haven’t gotten around to sharing yet. Maybe more, I don’t even know. It’s funny that right after I decided to come out of the closet that I kept finding Madonna singles on clearance. It’s almost like the universe was rewarding me for being true to myself. A reward from the gay gods, if you will.

Posted in Game Music, Korn, Madonna, remixes | 2 Comments »

Game Music Disco

Friday, January 30th, 2015

I think my new thing will be to post tracks from artists who have as little in common as possible from now on. So tonight, here’s some 80s disco by a soul diva and a remix to a video game theme song.

Sara Dash
Low Down Dirty Rhythm
Low Down Dirty Rhythm (Radio Version)
Low Down Dirty Rhythm (Instrumental Version)
Been a while since I posted some Patrick Cowley produced disco, so I thought I’d dig this one up out of the vaults. And by “the vaults” I mean my massive iTunes playlist of songs I’ve been meaning to share here for the past few years. I really have to work on thinning that thing out. I’ve had some Shamen and DJ Rap remixes in there for over two years. Does anyone want Shamen and DJ Rap remixes?

Anyways, Sara Dash. She was in LaBelle, although her solo stuff never reached the heights of “Lady Marmalade.” She has a hell of a voice, and this is a damn great dance tune.

Konami
Contra (é­‚æ–—ç¾…) Super Sweep Remix
I’ve been buying a lot of game music in Japan. Too damn much to be exact. So in an effort to justify my insane habit I’ve started reviewing old game soundtracks over at my other blog Mostly-Retro. So far I’ve put up two; one on the very first game music release Video Game Music, and another on an obscure Konami Compilation. I like writing them and I plan to keep at it for some time. So if that’s something that interests you be sure to check them out.

This bizarre remix of the music from Contra isn’t really from a game music release proper. I found it on a mini-CD that came with a PS2 repackaged version of Contra, which also came with a DVD that I have yet to play. I guess the package, which is titled Oretachi Game Center Zoku: Contra, is pretty damn rare, so I’m pretty stoked about finding it for 10 bucks.

 

Posted in Game Music, remixes, Sara Dash | 1 Comment »

Suite Gradius Fantasia (It’s Sweet)

Thursday, July 31st, 2014

In keeping with my “needlessly symphonic” theme… gradius Suite Gradius Fantasia
Overture
Navigation
The Ancient Planet
Gradius Sonata
Return to The Planet
Perpetual Aria
Gradius Fantasia
Farewell
Okay, so I’m not saying that the “Overture” to Gradius, redone with a full motherfucking symphonic orchestra (because why the hell not?) is one of the greatest pieces of music ever pressed to vinyl. I’m not saying that, okay?

But I am saying that it definitely, without question, kind of sort of holds its own to the symphonic version of the Airwolf theme – in as much as that I could totally see it as the theme song to an mid-80s sci-fi space drama. It’s certainly better than that bullshit theme music to the V series from 1984.

Anyways, I’m getting off topic, Suite Gradius Fantasia was released in 1988, near the tail-end of the big craze of game soundtracks in Japan. Now, don’t get me wrong, game soundtracks continued to be a pretty big deal over here, but in the mid-80s they were fucking huge. Countless games got full-fledged, prestige soundtrack releases, many times redone with full symphonies. And as I’ve mentioned before, many game publishers, both big and small, worked with game music label GMO to put out compilations featuring original and remade versions of themes from their most popular games.

The most well-known symphonic game scores of this time are most likely the Dragon’s Quest ones, but a lot of other games got the symphonic treatment as well- including Gradius. Although to be honest, this release really isn’t a proper symphonic album. Only two of the tracks (the Overture and the 10+ minute “Gradius Fantasia”) feature a proper full orchestra, the rest just feature a string quartet – but they’re also quite good.

I’m no maestro, I don’t know much about classical music, but I think this is a damn good album, one that can certainly hold its own against major movie soundtracks of the era. Hope you enjoy it too.

Posted in Complete Albums, Game Music | 2 Comments »

Disco Space Invaders! Mario Bros.! Wow! Exclamation Points!

Tuesday, July 15th, 2014

Disco Space Invaders

disco

Funny Stuff (Seriously, that’s the credited artist)
Disco Space Invaders
Dancing Cats
Disco Space Invaders is not game music per say. In fact, it barely has anything to do with the game from which it was allegedly inspired. The title track only features sound effects from the game for a few brief seconds before diverging completely into an entirely unrelated (and entirely amazing) disco track. And from what I can tell, the hilariously-titled b-side “Dancing Cats” has absolutely nothing to do with anything (except for dancing cats).

However, it did come out in 1979, one year before the first Pac-Man children’s records were released in the states; two years before the similar-in-tone “Pac-Man Fever,” and several years before Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono would release the first proper video game music single – Super Xevious Hardcore Mix. As such, Disco Space Invaders holds the dubious distinction of being the very first game music-themed release.

It’s historical significance far outweighs its musical quality. But if you enjoy idiotic disco as much as I do (AND DO I), then you’ll probably find some joy in this.

The sleeve for Disco Space Invaders surprisingly has full production credits, complete and in English. I did a search of the people who worked on it, hoping that they would include some pioneer of Japanese electronic music or perhaps a YMO associate, but I don’t think anyone who worked on this went onto do anything of note.

Also, I really hope that thing on the cover is supposed to a mushroom-shaped alien or something.

 

Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack

mario

Koji Kondo
Super Mario Bros. Theme
Super Mario Bros. Theme (Orchestra Version)
Both of these tracks are from a 7″ single that’s simply titled Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack. This came out in 1986, and was one of many Mario-themed musical releases to be released that year. I’m fairly certain this was the first one though, and it was also probably the first record put out by Nintendo, although many would follow in the late 80s, as it was really a prime time for game music in Japan.

The first track is exactly what you think it is, a straight-up rendition of the Super Mario Bros. theme. Its different than the one that’s included on the Famicom Music album though. Firstly, it’s much shorter, only including the music from the first stage. Additionally, it features no game sound effects, it’s just music. Oddly enough, it doesn’t end with the stage complete fanfare, instead ending with the music that plays when Mario dies.

The b-side is interesting. While the direct translation of the track is “Orchestra Version,” there’s really not much orchestral about it. I think I hear some chimes in there somewhere, but it’s pretty much a souped up electronic version of the original theme. It’s really different than other arranged versions of the Mario theme that I’ve heard, and it’s actually pretty damn great. I hope they re-use it at some point.

Sadly this release doesn’t feature any linear notes, so I can’t tell you who worked on it. However, it did include a rad poster and some amazing stickers, so check them out!

20140715_212233

Full size poster. Very cool.

20140715_212254

Game shots obviously taken by someone pointing a camera at a TV.

20140715_212309

STICKERS!

 

Posted in Complete Albums, Game Music, soundtrack | 5 Comments »

Famicom Music

Friday, July 4th, 2014

I love it when I say “I wish I had this album” and then I immediately find the album the following day.

famicom music

Famicom Music (Complete Album Download Link)

As I mentioned in a post from a few months ago, Famicom Music was the third release by GMO Records, the game music-centric label started up by Japanese electronic-pop pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was the first of their developer-specific compilations, with releases focused on Konami, Data East, Taito and just about every other important Japanese game developer from the 80s following suit.

The early GMO releases are different than a lot of other game music albums that came after because they would often incorporate the gameplay sound effects into the tracks. Sometimes this is rather annoying (I’d rather hear the Yie Ar Kung Fu theme without punch effects) but sometimes it worked to great benefit. The Mario Bros theme track uses the block smashing sounds in some interesting ways, and the 12″ single “Xevious (Hardcore Mix)” (which I will feature here someday) really uses sound effects in an interesting way that expands on the original music.

Also of note here are the arrange versions (arrange means remix) of themes from two classic Nintendo games, Super Mario Bros. and Balloon Fight. In an era before CD-quality game audio, FM synthesis or anything remotely resembling dedicated audio boards, these arrange versions were usually the only way to hear what the composers of the games had probably had in mind when creating the music for the games. In the case of the Mario Bros. one, it’s almost like a portent of what the game’s music would eventually become in the 16-bit era and beyond.

As this is some of the earliest game music around, this CD is kind of  a mixed bag when it comes to music you’ll actually want to listen to. Obviously the Mario and Zelda themes remain timeless classics, but Wrecking Crew, Donkey Kong and a lot of the others included here are more sound effects than music. Still, they’re interesting from a historical perspective, and will probably trigger massive waves of nostalgia for anyone who grew up on these classic games. Enjoy.

Posted in Complete Albums, Game Music, soundtrack | 1 Comment »

Vintage 8-Bit Jams and a Kickstarter Plea

Monday, May 12th, 2014

One of my favorite games of all-time is Harmonix’s Amplitude, an amazing rhythm game that served as the foundation for the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series. It’s fucking dope, and I wish more people remembered it.

Thankfully, right now Harmonix is using Kickstarter to bring back the series! Which is great! However, with less than two weeks to go before their deadline, they’re still well short of their goal, which is not great!

I love this game and I want to see a new one (I gave…far too much to this Kickstarter) and I want to do whatever I can to help make that happen.  So while my blog isn’t exactly popular, I’m going to do what I can, which is bribe what few readers I do have in the hopes that every little bit helps.

If the Amplitude Kickstarter is a success, I will update Lost Turntable five days a week for one month. And each post will have completely new music, no reposts, no re-recordings. All new shit. So if you’re a reader of this site and have lamented my lack of updates since my move to Tokyo, yo, this is your way to get my ass writing again.

So what are you waiting for? Head over to the Amplitude Kickstarter page and send them a few bucks!

Then when you’re done with that check out this vintage collection of dope game music!

konami

Konami Game Music Vol. 1 (complete album download link)

When I was on Retronauts last year (which, if you haven’t heard, you can listen to here) I briefly mentioned the instrumental role that Yellow Magic Orchestra had in getting game music released in Japan. Not only did the group sample video game sounds in their early releases, they started their own label to release game music, the ingeniously-titled G.M.O. Records (Game Music Orchestra).

The first release on said label was simply titled Video Game Music, and I’m fairly certain it was the first full-length video game soundtrack ever released (early 1985), although I could be mistaken. They followed it up later that year with The Return of Video Game Music.

After that, they got a bit more specific with their releases, focusing more on individual game companies for each album. The first of these was Famicom Music, which featured nothing but music from Nintendo-produced Famicom titles. With a roster of tunes that includes themes from The Legend Of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., Excitebike and motherfucking Balloon Fight (in a remixed version no less!) it’s definitely on my want list. One day it will be mine.

But while I don’t have that stellar compilation, I do have the second developer-focused release by GMO, Konami Game Music Vol. 1, which came out in 1986. While it doesn’t have anything as well-regarded and classic as the Zelda or Mario themes on it, it does have some pretty great standout tunes. The theme music to Yie Ar Kung Fu is included in full, and that shit is dope (even with the game sound effects playing over it). But by far the real standouts here are the TWO versions of the Gradius theme music; the original version and a remixed (or “arranged”) version. The original Gradius theme is some of the greatest game music of all-time, so getting any version of it is a win in my book.

And if this leaves you in the mood for more game music, I recommend the amazing soundtrack to Darius, which you can actually get on iTunes (wow). Check out this batshit insane live version of the Darius theme “Chaos.”

Woah.

Posted in Complete Albums, Game Music, soundtrack | 1 Comment »

Mega Drive Jams

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

Where have I been for the past few weeks, you ask?

Well, pretty much alternating between my bed and the hospital, thanks to a recurring case of strep throat followed by an allergic reaction to anti-biotics.

But I’m feeling much better now, so here’s some video game music! I plan on putting up some more game tunes in the coming weeks too, so take notice!

Mega Drive Special
Super Thunder Blade
Altered Beast
Space Harrier II
This is one of the stranger game soundtrack titles I’ve bought since moving to Japan, and that’s saying something trust me.

20140327_192045

This is pretty much an EP with three audio tracks, each titled after the game whom which the music came from. The tracks aren’t individual songs, however, they’re just collections of music, complete with multiple fade-in and fade-outs to break up each song. Why weren’t they split into individual tracks? I have no idea. I just know the music is great. Especially the Space Harrier stuff. I never played part two, but I remember playing the shit out of part one for the original Sega Master System and that shit was my jam.

But the bizarre track configuration isn’t the weirdest thing about this release. No, the weirdest thing about it is that it’s a CDV.

20140327_191910

As you can probably figure out, CDV stands for CD-Video. However, it has nothing in common with the far more successful/practical Video-CD format that was widely used throughout Asia up until the 2000s. In fact, it has far more in common with Laserdisc technology than any other CD format.

That’s because while the audio on a CDV is standard CD digital audio, the video is analog (with digital audio), just like laserdiscs. So that means its not compatible with 99% of the home media players that are currently on the  market, as none of them are equipped to play analog video off of a disc. I can’t even rip it off the disc to my PC, that would be like trying to rip a VHS tape. The only way I could ever get the video content off this disc and onto my computer would be to hook up a laserdisc player to my PC via an external video card and record as it played. And hey, I already have two near-useless laserdisc players back in the states, and I have no plans to add a third one to my collection here in Japan. Sorry.

But hey like I said, the music is great, so enjoy!

Posted in Game Music | 1 Comment »

Vib-Ribbon! Make me happy and tendentious!!!!!!!!

Monday, January 28th, 2013

Scan

I wanted to stock up on game music when I went to Japan, but little did I know that the greatest game music I would find while there wouldn’t be on a soundtrack, but on the actual game itself. Thank you PS1 games with Redbook audio!

Laugh And Peace – Music From Vib Ribbon
Polaroid
Sunny Day
Laugh And Beats
Universal Dance
Overflowing Emotions
Roll Along
Vib Ribbon Blues
When it came to shopping in Japan, I was definitely focused on music more than anything else. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend at least a little bit of time in Tokyo going after some vintage Japanese games and systems. The classic games that I was after ended up costing way more than the albums I wanted though, so my gaming purchases were rather limited. I did, however, pick up a few nice items, among them being an original Famicon Twin system, the Japanese version of Contra, and a game for the PS1 by the name of Vib Ribbon.

Vib Ribbon is an early rhythm game that was originally released in Japan in 1999. It was released in PAL territories the following year, but it never made its way to the states for some reason. I have no idea why, because it’s the dopest shit ever.

In Vib Ribbon you’re tasked with guiding a rabbit by the name of Vibri across a simple one-dimensional plane (or ribbon) that is filled with obstacles that are roughly based on the rhythm of the game’s music. Each obstacle can only be cleared by pressing the correct button (or button combination) at the exact right time. It starts out easy, but it gets crazy hard as you progress.

One of the most noteworthy things about the game is that you can remove the game disc and put any audio CD in the Playstation and play each song on the CD as its own “stage,” basically giving you as many stages as you have CDs. It’s a cute idea, and while I’ve done plenty of that in my time with the game, I’ve actually spent more time sticking to the game’s built-in soundtrack, because it’s incredible.

I had decided about twenty seconds into the first time I heard the adorable “Polaroid” that it was my new favorite song of all time of the month, only to have it immediately usurped by the even more adorable, beautiful and lovely “Sunny Day,” a song as bright and uplifting as its title. It’s so good. So good! I had to walk away from my computer before writing this post. It’s so good, I had to calm down, or tonight’s post would have been just something like “OMG YOU GUYS! THIS MUSIC! IT’S SO….AAAAAAAGRHGHRRDHRATERHEHEHGERHAE THERE’S NO TIME HURRY UP EVERYTHING’S SO FANTASTIC!”

And that’s just unprofessional.

But yes, you need to listen to this music especially the first three tracks, they are perfection, so happy it hurts.

As far as I know, all of these songs are by a Japanese group called Laugh And Peace. They are best known for…this. They released one album in 2006, but it was never released in the states (of course). You can stream it on their MySpace page though. I have no idea what the members are up to now, so if anyone does please let me know!

Listen. Be happy. (That’s an important part). And I’ll see you all later in the week with more awesome music, although to be honest I doubt it will be as awesome as this. It’s awesome.

Awesome.

Posted in Complete Albums, Game Music, Laugh And Peace, soundtrack | 10 Comments »

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