VGSongbird's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[King of All Koopas]

One Dimensional :(

If it had been me, I would've started with a stronger Bowser melody to really pull in the listener. A medley is hard to execute properly, and recognition is key--so I would've immediately started with one that everyone will remember. I also think the piece didn't lead many places. There really wasn't a climax because the beat and instrument levels stayed the same throughout. And you had an epic opportunity to take it right to SM64 Bowser's World with chords alone and no beat, but you dropped the ball and it made me sad.

Simply put, I had a hard time getting this to keep my attention. But you did a good job incorporating them all together. So some points for that.

MiguelVolkov responds:

Yes my Lady, if it had been you... But guess what? This is me! This is my work, this my composition, and I do my music as I like it. I make music because I love Nintendo. I'm not mixing to please anybody.
And if you didn't recognize Bowser's Castle theme from Mario Kart Double Dash, you've got serious issues. How can you proclaim yourself as a VG music fan?
Maybe you're a great singer, I liked your Zelda's Lullaby, by the way. But, Newgrounds is not a competition site. This is a site for sharing ideas. In the end, this is not our music. We are covering Nintendo's music. So you don't have any right to come and tell me how to do my mixes.
I think we all here are trying to do our best, and as myself, I try to do my best and upload the best I can. I'm not perfect, I like the way I mix, and I'm trying to getting better. You must read up where it says "you must give credit to the artist".
Finally, I advise you to control your over-inflated diva ego.
Anyway, thanks for being my first negative review.
I wish you luck in your way.

[Fighting Yoshis]

Just..not into it.

I appreciate the leap you took here to take the melody out of it's original key and give it a minor feel, but I'm just not sure it worked out to well. It was executed Ok, but along with some of the instruments feeling forced and repetative, the melody line kind of lost it's magic when you put it into those minor chords.

I'm sorry; this song just doesn't do it for me :(

[xKore - Last Words (NG Cu]

This is Great Quality

Seriously.
Just the levels alone and the dimension your song has is fantastic.
Not to mention that the melody and beat are quite catchy.

Very nice ^_^

[Lavender Town Orchestrated]

Just Dropping A Comment

I wanted to return the favor after you took the time to review my remix, so here it is:
I remember when I started working with MIDI, I used GarageBand, and I felt very restricted with the use of instruments. My Lavender Town remix was one of the ones I made with GarageBand. I think you've done well in utilizing a full array of instruments.
The beat to me felt a little stale. And when it did pick up and crescendo, there wasn't really purpose behind it as it didn't lead to a climax. But one thing I did find I liked about the beat was it sounds a lot like either a war beat--which is fitting with a graveyard town theme--or the rhythm behind a ritual. And pizzicato strings are always good for songs that are meant to have a creepy feel to them.

It's a very good orchestral recreation of the song; I don't want to judge too harshly, because my automatic bias against orchestral recreations gets in the way. But I think you have potential to make some really great audio creations. Maybe next time, try to put a little more of yourself in ^_^

Gregzilla responds:

Thanks for the feedback! My goal for this was to sound very close to the original, only orchestrated. Unfortunately, I didn't have an entire orchestra at my side, nor the ability to play any instrument besides the piano, so Garageband was my only real choice, and I agree it feels a bit limited. On top of that, I really have no experience playing instruments or reading music or learning the terms,etc. But I'll keep trying, and I appreciate your opinion! :D

[Puzzle Plank Galaxy Remix]

I appreciate you doing this song

This song was one of my favorites from SMG2. That being said, I have problems with the remix.
I think it was a risk to emulate the violin as a lead voice for the melody, like it does in the actual song. However, It was a risk that didn't pay out for me, because the violin in the original piece was so intricate and alive; your violin felt lackluster and dull comparatively.
As for the below comment about it being repetitive... well that's kind of how the actual song is; not much to work and play with. That being said, I think you could've done a little more to make this remix feel fun and spunky. For one thing, you slowed the piece a little. And adding some harmonies would have really helped it along.

But don't fret. You did a great job pulling the parts from this song, and it was a fair recreation. For that I'll give you a few stars :3

fabbemannen responds:

Well, that review is like how I feel about this remix myself. It got that cachy tune, but it miss a lot of *surrounding* instruments apart from the melody to make the song sound much better.
I might re-remix this song in the future since it is my favorite song from the SMG-series.

If you go to "coollein" on youtube, I'm about to upload a piano version of this song in a near future

[Kirby: Butter Building]

Weee! Fantastic

I'm really starting to get into your remixes!
This one is great :D It's got such a light feel to it, which is NECESSARY in this song. Love it. I'm downloading this and putting it on my Cardio mix on my iPod.

Cam3leon responds:

Haha thanks! I loooove Kirby, so I had to do this theme justice. Lol glad it gets the blood pumping :)

[Pokemon: Team Rocket Hideout]

0.o

um. wow.

So I just uploaded my own version of this piece, and when I went to check out the other versions on the site....yours BLEW MINE OUT OF THE WATER!!!! This is totally epic. And it loops perfectly! Amazing. The only thing I really didn't care much for were the snaps; they felt a little out of place in such a heavy techno song. But other than that, this is golden.
5/5
10
Downloaded
Favorite'd

:D

Cam3leon responds:

Wow!! I really appreciate the kind words :) But I heard your version though, and I must say you definitely got a top-shelf remix on your hands. Thanks for the feedback though! I added the snapping part for that reason though; the portion of that song seemed so out of place in its calm and serenity, so I thought I'd add a little swing to it. Reminded me of the Team Rocket from the anime ^_^

[Mario ( A Quick Snippet )]

the transition is a bit harsh

The transition between the techno melodies and the piano melodies was very harsh. I would suggest meshing the two together a bit before letting the techno voice loose. But good ear learning those pieces on piano.

[GaMetal - Smash Bros Brawl]

Nerdy Headbangers Unite

This is fantastic; even more impressive that you used real instruments.
The only thing that felt a bit off was the beginning, but that was only slightly.
Seriously I have nothing bad to say about this :D

[In Winters, There is a Sn]

A Very Accurate Recreation

I don't really know much about this game, so I went and listened to the original first; after doing so, I then listened to your remix. Here are my thoughts:
I think this is a great recreation. You took the basics of the song and laid down the melody very accurately. Changing up the instruments was also an interesting touch, and this song does have a very "Winter Wonderland" feel to it, which is--of course--the main theme of the song. So very well done.

But I still want to hear more! I'd love to hear some of your own inspiration in a piece. I would not call this a remix myself, because it still lacks a good feel for the artist-- that's you. Having said that, however, it is a very well constructed piece, and I can tell your skills as a MIDI artist are growing.

Well done ^_^

Wolfen150 responds:

You know, after reading your review, I've been thinking about what really makes a remix, and I don't think any of my work here fits that. They're all just recreations with added twists.