OUS-005 The OneUps Volume 2

[Mustin]

Please post your thoughts on the album here.

NOW AVAILABLE ON ITUNES.

NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZONMP3.

RPGFan Review: http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/oneups2/index.html

[joe_cam]

This album was fucking amazing. I'm obviously not a good reviewer, but I'll throw some thoughts out for each song.

DISC ONE
Starts off with some classic Mario Paint. Simple yet soothing intro that relaxes the mind and gets you prepared for the journey to come.
And then Track 2 kicks you in the fucking face. Some hard rockin Punch Out!! love. Awesome guitar work, good to hear some good hard rock stuff from the band. I keep wanting to hear the Game Over lryics though. "Let's keep it cleeeeeeeeeeeeeeean! PUNCH OUT!"
Track 3. Green Hill Zone. I want to comment on the track, but the only thing I can hear is "Sonic the rapist hedgehog." Thank you Shael Riley for fucking this song up forever.
The bridal dance comes next! Tetris finally on CD! It'll never be the same as hearing it live, but the game characters are a suitable replacement for the live "HEY!" vocals. I know there's 3 distinct voices, but the world will always near Navi. HEY! LISTEN! HEY! HEY! And I will always hear this as the song my wife danced to with 70 other people to get us some cash. And I will fondly remember Mahoney holding me tightly as we danced to this as well.
Secret of Mana comes up next. Some sweet tunes here with some funky bongos! And of course, more sexy sax from Tony!
Air Man. Always a live favorite. Sounds even better on the album. You know what I hated in Air Man's stage? Those sons a bitchin floaty heads with the spikes that appeared and you had to time it just right so you could make the jump without the spikes hitting you and knocking you into the abyss below. Fuckers.
Up next with a newer tune in The OneUps catalogue. Mii Channel! It's fun to watch the PAX DVD and hear Dale come in early and pretty much fuck up the surprise. Good job Dale. Solid rendition and it's perfect music to stroll aimlessly to!
BOOMER FUCKING KUWANGER! Jesus I've waited so long to have a studio version of this and it did not disappoint. I love this song so much.
Brinstar comes next and it's another solid entry from the old Funk Set. I've always liked Tim's guitar parts in this song. And the hard guitar mixed with Greg's violin is awesome. Hot stuff here. Remember when Tim had longer hair and was all sexy and shit?
Funky Goblin King from King Arthur's World is next and this is all new as far as I know. I'm not too familiar with the original, but this is something I'd love to see you guys play live. All for you, Aaron!
Time of the Falling Rain is next and I've always enjoyed this song when you guys played it. Somehow it never clicked in my head that it was from Zelda and I feel embarassed to admit it, but oh well. I can't know EVERYTHING. Tony and Jared are awesome here.
VEGA. I didn't think you guys would be able to capture the experience of playing the song live, and while it'll never have that live performance magic, it was still a damn fine performance. I noticed a few slip ups from Greg, but I'm sure this isn't the easiest song to play once you're really getting into it, no matter how good you are on the violin. Great job overall and much better than I could have imagined! Harmonizing violins for the win.
Disc 1 ends with Castlevania III's Prelude. Guitar only. Beautifully haunting performance. This is something for Halloween. Gorgeous stuff.

DISC TWO
The all new funk set starts off with some Metroid Magic. Great start to the new funk set.
Followed up by one of the most unique Terra arrangements I've ever heard. Unless you heard the demo on the myspace page, you'd never imagine hearing Terra like this. Easily one of my favorite Terra performances out there. (OMG TERRA IN BLACK) And Terra leads directly into
Alien Break Down! Some funk ToeJam & Ear musics. In my opinion, I thought the TJ&E song from the first funk set was a better song overall, but to be fair it's hard to follow something that good anyways. Still a damn fine song and a worthy replacement in the funk set. Love the key solo too.
Next up is Luigi's Mansion and I dont' give a fuck what you call it on the CD, this is E. Gadd's Laboratory. I'm not Dhsu, so I'm not going to call it the japanese name. Oyama?... More like YO mama, motherfucker. This is easily the second best Luigi's Mansion song out there. Sorry Mustin, but nobody can ever beat zyko's song in my heart. This may be better techncially, but his is drunker so he wins.
Fortuna from Starfox is next and I LOVE this song. That one part... I dont' know what to call it, but you know it when you hear it. That part is awesome. the duh DUH duh DUH duh DUH part. Sounds like an alarm or something. Anyways, I got so into this song that when it ended I was surprised to find out that over 6 minutes had passed. Longest OneUps song to date? Good thing it's an awesome fucking song!
The Silence of the Daylight from Castlevania II is next and while the first Castlevania song on the first disc was beautifully eerie, this one is more funky than creepy. Love that funky organ! This is some good dance music. And that breakdown mid song? YES.
Some more Zelda comes up and we've got a Dungeon Medley. This follows with TJ&E in me saying that as of now I still love that Zelda Dungeon from the first funk set just a little more. I guess it's because I'm so used to it. I'll say this though, this song is making me want to play some Link to the Past...
And now into the Undergound BGM from Mario 2. Not a slight to the band or the performance, but I've never been a fan of this song. I didnt' like that The Minibosses had it on their CD (as part of their Mario 2 medley) and again I'm still not a fan of the song. So many other good Mario songs out there. Just a personal perference... maybe it's because I had to listen to the goddamned song so much in the game, but I've never liked it. Good performance though. Best version of the song by far and a HELL of a lot better than what the Minibosses did in their medley.
THIS. THIS is the song. Some sexy ass Chrono Trigger, or as I like to call it, Porno Trigger. This song is either something you'd hear while getting your Locals on the 8s or it's something you'd have playing while you're doing some sensual fucking. This and Boomer are my two favorite tracks on the entire Volume 2 package. This is up there with Volume 1's Schala track that's how much I love it.
From porno to the circus. Mysic Cave Zone from Sonic 2 and I've always thought this song sounded like something you'd hear at a carnival or something. Nice funky performance with some top notch guitar work and bass lines that are beyond funky as hell.
THAI GUY REVENGE! Sagat is up next! All I can think of when I hear Sagat's theme is him walking on the beach with a woman and giving up fighting to be a ballroom dancer after a drug trip.
Some more Mega Man! Shadow Man from Mega Man 3 and while I would've preferred to hear some Magnet Man, Shadow Man is just as good. Great song with some more superb sax work from Tony.
The CD ends with some Ducktales. The African Mines and while sadly it's not the theme from The Moon, it's still a great song and a great way to end the CD. I've always loved Ducktales. The show, the games and now this song. Great way to end Volume 2 and it makes me want Volume 3 to come even faster. Man after hearing Ducktales, it makes me just ache for just ONE MORE SONG.......................... *ahem*


All in all, Volume 2 is everything I could have wanted and so much more. While I'll always be a fan of the first funk set, the new funk set is damn fine on it's own and the songs are so good I know it'll grown on me the more I listen to it. In total there are 2 discs jammed with over 100 minutes of sexy, sexy, sexy OneUps musics. From the slow jazz to the hard rock to the funky goblins, this disc has everything and I'm happy to say there are no Bowser's Castles on here. And by that I mean there's no songs that just don't fit like Bowser's Castle did on Volume 1. Everything flows and works and this is something I plan on listening to for a long time to come. Makes me sad to know some of the stuff planned for the album but couldn't make it on for reasons beyond the control of the band, but there's always Volume 3, right?
Fantastic job! Five stars right up Dhsu's ass.

[Ybrik Metaknight]

I think Joe means Koopa's Theme, not Bowser's Castle. Koopa's Theme is what's on TOU Vol. 1.

Really hoping I get my copy in the mail by tomorrow or Friday at the latest.

[jaems-kun]

international mail. I'm expecting to get a cool cd next month.

[SaveSuperJoe]

Really hoping I get my copy in the mail by tomorrow or Friday at the latest.

[joe_cam]

I think Joe means Koopa's Theme, not Bowser's Castle. Koopa's Theme is what's on TOU Vol. 1.

Man whatever, homo. You know what I meant.
I'll fucking cut you.

[Ybrik Metaknight]

Man whatever, homo. You know what I meant.
I'll fucking cut you.

me rove u rong time

Just got my copies in the mail today, but it was just before I had to go to work, so I've only listened to a few tracks in full thus far, just on my way in. Frickin' love Tim's Mario Paint track (easily a new fave), the studio recording of Into the Thick of It is truly awesome, as is the studio recording of Time of the Falling Rain. I'd almost forgotten that was a track y'all played until it showed up on the tracklist, and it's one of my favorite tracks from Link to the Past (which is saying something, since it's such a phenomenal soundtrack).

Will listen to the entire album after work tonight, and probably post a full review sometime tomorrow.

[SaveSuperJoe]

This was shipped USPS, right? My roommate has the damn mailbox key.

[Hemophiliac]

ignore this, ordering now

[Henry Jones]

Had a few listens after my end of the workweek coma. Very awesome stuff!
Add Funky Goblin and Fortuna to Boomer Kuwanger as songs that seem like odd choices, but are absolutely perfect when listened to.

[Boco]

Got my copy yesterday and it sounds wonderful! I seem to be stuck on Disc 1 at the moment, but Disc 2 will get its turn shortly. Great work guys!

[Nólaquen]

Holy crap, I was called out in the credits for Funky Goblin. *embarrassed* Hahahahaha. Anyway, I <3 you guys, and yes, I'm really diggin' FG. You guys nailed it. And geeze, Anthony, I seriously envy your keyboarding (because keyboard is the closest thing to what I'm learning how to play).

[po]

GHOSTBUSTERS!

[Ybrik Metaknight]

Here's my full review. Took me a little longer to get around to it, but that just gave me a chance to listen to it more. And I've been listening to the album almost nonstop except when I'm asleep (after the playlist has finished, that is), when I'm at work, and when I was watching football on Saturday. Anyway, here's my review.

Disc 1:

1. Mario Paint Title Screen — This is one of my new favorites. The feel of this song keeps with the feel of messing around on that fun title screen for hours. Just a fun little piece. Only complaint is that it's so short. Could easily listen to this for three or four minutes.
2. Punch Out!! — I've never been as big a fan of the rock stuff as I am of the jazz and funk charts, but this one's pretty good. At the very least, it doesn't stick out from everything else the way Koopa's Theme did, maybe because this album's more funk than jazz and the rock seems to fit better with more of the album. Regardless of anything else, this is a good tune.
3. Green Hill Zone — I'm just like Joe: I can't hear any rendition of this tune without thinking the words "Sonic, the Rapist Hedgehog." Thank you VERY much, Shael Riley. Despite that, I really really enjoy this one. This has always been one of my favorite VGM pieces, and this recording does not disappoint at all. I especially like the harmony guitar stuff at about 3:17. That's hot shit.
4. Tetris Music A/Korobeiniki — Good recording, though this is really one of those that is best live. Still, it doesn't disappoint. The Navi voice (along with some others that I can't identify) was a VERY nice touch.
5. Into the Thick of It — Love this one. I've always had a soft spot for Secret of Mana's music, and there's really nothing about this one that isn't perfect. I'm a huge fan of arrangements that use live instruments to really capture the feel of the original song, and this accomplishes that perfectly.
6. Air Man — I would've preferred to see Crash Man get here instead of this one, but I love this rendition of Air Man too. So much so that I'd probably be almost as disappointed had it not gotten in. Tim's guitar playing is at the highest level here. Can't listen to this enough.
7. Mii Channel — Not one of my favorites, but it's nice and relaxing. This chart sounds a lot like some of the Mario Paint stuff, particularly like the band's rendition of Monkeys. Was it written by the same composer? Anyway, not one that I have a lot of personal attachment to, but still very, very nice.
8. Boomer Kuwanger — This, like Air Man, is another of those old funk set standards that has been screaming for a studio recording for a very long time. And it delivers in a big way. No complaints.
9. Brinstar — Always loved The OneUps' version of this tune. I love the parts where the musical lines trade off among Greg, Anthony and the guitars. There are also some really cool guitar and bass chord things going on in this one.
10. Funky Goblin — Not familiar with this source material at all, but the song's really fun to listen to. Me likey, though as with Mii Channel, my lack of much reference to the source material probably keeps it from being a personal favorite.
11. Time of the Falling Rain — THIS one, I totally love. Always loved the original, and I recall loving this the one time I heard it, back at The OneUps Live!, but then I almost forgot it was in the repertoire. Really glad it made it onto the album. Link to the Past music is always welcome.
12. Vega — Another track that's probably better live, but I love it so much that I don't care about that. I think the PAX'07 performance might actually be a touch better, but that's being really nitpicky. Still a really great piece. I'd love to hear more flamenco stuff (Vamo' Alla Flamenco or Gerudo Valley, maybe?) from the band.
13. Castlevania III Prelude — This one's nice and relaxing, and a bit haunting. Definitely delivers. Also, I like putting that old recording of Clockwork from that ages-ago Dwelling of Duels after this track.

Disc 2:

1. Metroid Title BGM — I don't have a lot of attachment to the source material, but this track's enjoyable.
2. Terra — This is easily one of the top five songs in the album, maybe my favorite. I've always loved Terra's theme. I love almost every rendition of it that I have, and this is probably in the top three or four (I love the Dear Friends version, the piano version and Terra in Black). I especially love the Prelude arpeggios around 3:16; that has always been my favorite portion of the theme, and here it's just beautiful, with the violin and guitar on the melody and the piano arpeggios on top of that.
3. Alien Break Down — One of these days, I need to track down a copy of ToeJam and Earl, because this and ToeJam Jammin' are so good that I need to hear the rest of the soundtrack. Another one where I'm not too attached to the source material, but the arrangement really carries the chart.
4. Professor Oyama's Laboratory — I keep wanting to hear Luigi calling for Mario, but that aside...this one is nice and funky. I love it. Really conveys that feeling of mystery that the game played on.
5. Fortuna — There's some fun stuff in this song. Like that one...bouncy figure, for lack of a better description, that repeats several times throughout the song. Another win for the funk set.
6. The Silence of the Daylight — This is another really, really great one. I know this isn't the first OneUps rendition of this tune, but it's probably the best. Very funky, very cool. Love the guitar stuff throughout the song.
7. LttP Dungeon Medley — This is just plain awesome. Again, any music from LttP is pure win, and this is no exception. Unlike Joe, I actually like this a good deal better than the other Zelda Dungeon chart (though I'd still love to have a studio recording of that one too), probably because I've always liked this game a lot better than the first Zelda, and I have a lot of memories of both of these tunes. I can visualize crawling through a dungeon with this chart playing. The bass stuff is really awesome. Good call on putting the melody on that.
8. SMB2 Underground BGM — Love this one too, even though it's not one of my favorite Mario tunes, or even my favorite SMB2 tune (always loved the main overworld theme from that game). But the arrangement on this one, like so many others, captures the feel of the source material so damn well. I really want to go beat up some Shy Guys when I hear this one.
9. Chrono Trigger — Another of my favorites from the album. I think I concur with Joe's Porno Trigger assessment, and that's definitely not a bad thing. Great stuff all around, from the entire band, in this chart. I love the Tim/Greg question-and-answer stuff in the latter portion. All around another great tune.
10. Mystic Cave Zone — Another really funky sounding one. I like the guitar/piano, circus-sounding line that repeats a lot of times. Really fun chart.
11. Sagat — I actually don't have a whole lot of thoughts on this one. It's great to listen to, but I honestly have to say that nothing in particular really jumps out at me. Still a great tune, though. I think I also might be tired of writing at this point.
12. Shadow Man — This one's great. Lot of good sax stuff throughout the song. Has that classic, OneUps funk sound that I love so much.
13. African Mines — Still more great sax stuff, and having Greg's violin layered in unison on top of Anthony's sax is a great call. I'm not very familiar with most of the DuckTales soundtrack, so the fact that this made it on the album rather than the Moon theme doesn't really bother me at all. I really like this one.

BONUS TRACK — Won't spoil what it is for anyone who hasn't yet heard it, but I think everyone was expecting a bonus track after African Mines, so I think it's OK to say that there is one. This is another of my favorite tracks on the whole album. Very nice and relaxing, and fitting for the final track. i'm lovin' it™.

Overall thoughts: Disc 1 has a lot of variety, all of it good. A lot of studio recordings of great stuff the band's been playing for years now, and a few great new tracks that I really love. Disc 2 has a lot less variety, being that it's just a recording of the new funk set, but seeing as how I think the band's best tunes are the funk tracks, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Disc 2 is a bit better to listen to as an album, whereas I can pick and choose favorites out of Disc 1 a little more easily. I do wish there was more separation between more of the tracks on Disc 2 so I could take my favorites a little more easily, but that's a very minor complaint.

My only other complaint is that, as I mentioned above, it didn't have Crash Man, and probably a few others that I'd really like to hear a studio recording of. But hey, I think the mark of having done something right is that your audience wants more. And I want more. And I think that's the strongest recommendation I could give.

This is the best OUS work yet, by far. And the standard was already quite high. I simply can't stop listening to the album.

[sempaimiles]

My paycheck can't get here fast enough...

-Miles

[Mars Hock]

INCREDIBLE album, all of you. WOW. I enjoyed Volume 1, but this one just steps all over it, and not just because it's two discs I love so many of the source songs, I can't help but like this one better. Plus, I have to agree that I like the faster, funk direction a lot of these songs go in.

I'll leave the in-depth reviews for people who actually write and perform music. But as a man who has been enjoying video game arrangements for over 7 years now, I'm loving this album.

Boomer Kuwanger might have to be my favorite. Such an unlikely song to work in a Jazz setting, but HOLY CRAP do you guys ever nail it. the LttP Dungeon Medley is a very close, perhaps even second as a favorite. Always loved the Light Dungeon BGM, and hearing it in sax is awesome. Nice improv near the end, too. Even though this is jazz, it still seems like it would fit perfectly in the game. Same goes with Kuwanger!

There is not a single track on here that I dislike. I skip nothing. Never heard the original for African Mines, but I can see from the arrangement how popular that game's soundtrack must be. Very catchy.

So, I have to thank you all for autographing my copy of the album at PAX 08 Thank you. Truth be told, conventions kind of stress me out. I consider the $40 badge a ticket price to catch you guys live, it was a great concert. If you show up next year, I may end up going only to catch another live performance. lolz fanboy warning.

Also, I was the guy who was curious about the fate of your Dr.Mario arrangement. You really gonna put it on Volume 3 for me? ;P I just want a studio recording some day, really. an EP download would be just fine. Certainly won't complain about a Vol 3 appearance though.

You guys rock! Keep it going

[Liontamer]

Found a good review over here: http://www.acidforblood.net/2008/09/...review-th.html

[Jumpman]

Hello,

I'm sorry but I don't really understand. Has the volume 2 been delayed? The shop still displays “Will ship on 09.02.2008”. I'd like to buy the mp3 version, because I don't need a CD and I don't want to pay delivery charges for my country. What can I do for this?

Thanks.

[Mustin]

"Will ship on 09.02.2008" means it shipped from our warehouse to those that ordered the CD.

.MP3 version for iTunes, Amazon and other eTailers is coming later.

Delivery charges for your country are the same as our country. We charge the same amount for shipping all over the world (sometimes maybe a dollar more).

http://www.oneupstudios.com/ous_005.php

[Jumpman]

OK I see.
Many thanks.

.MP3 version for iTunes, Amazon and other eTailers is coming later.

Any idea of what "later" means? A week? A month?

[Mustin]

Months.

[Artemis]

ordered.

[Baron von Bloop]

Just have to say, as a whole, its a very well edited album. Lots of polish. But, on the Tetris track, did you, um, sample Navi? That's all I can hear now. I can't finish playing Majora's Mask without constantly thinking about falling blocks.

[joe_cam]

There's navi and two other voices. Can you spot them?

[Baron von Bloop]

Too obscure to even be close, but Doumeki Kai from Ouendan? I'm grabbing straws here.

[Lunar Moog]

Found it in the mail today!

Glad to have some music to listen to while I'm evacuated, ha~

[Dhsu]

You spelled Kenji Yamamoto's name wrong. :/

Seriously though, love how the album just flows together, like in the live shows...listen to this on a real CD player guys, because WinAmp messes up the transitions. I listened to this on an actual player and I didn't even notice when the songs changed. Good stuff.

Fantastic job! Five stars right up Dhsu's ass.

That doesn't even make sense!

Edit: I actually didn't expect the bonus track...I left it in the CD player while I was surfing and suddenly I heard more music. Glad I didn't read this thread first, very nice surprise.

Edit2: Just noticed the "1^" on the drums. Very cute.

[Gonk]

So apparently mine arrived and no one told me. Listening now and thoroughly enjoying. School has arrived and this is going to be my commute music for quite a while. Really loving Brinstar (which is playing right now). I think its really hard to find arrangements that still retain the spirit of the original, but this one definitely does and yet sets itself apart. Currently looking forward to Mystic Cave Zone!

Updated: Mystic Cave Zone I love you! Almost done listening to the funk set. Honestly I don't know enough of the technicalities to give any sort of critiquing, but I do know this is fucking sweet. Great job, great album!

[PatMan33]

Just got mine in today. Wow, you guys did a bang up job on this thing!

Hope you'll stay tuned for my review!


**EDIT**
What the heck is that sound in the Tetris track? It's really cool but I can't figure it out. Sounds like a record being scratched almost or a whole lot of voices doing the "hey!" thing, just really really really fast.

[Mustin]

There's navi and two other voices. Can you spot them?