Masato nakamura sonic the hedgehog 1&2 soundtrack

Some listeners might consider the influences a little too obvious, but in any case you can't call the soundtrack one-dimensional. 'Oil Ocean Zone' is takes a clear ethnic tilt with its Middle Eastern sound, 'Casino Night Zone' had me thinking New Orleans jazz even before its chorus - very obviously inspired by 'When the Saints Come Marching In' - came in, and 'Hill Top Zone' just screams 'Sanford and Son'. In general the Sonic 2 stage themes portray their respective environments more clearly than the first game's and show a wider set of influences. 'Chemical Plant Zone' ups the funk and the attitude even further while 'Metropolis Zone' struts a Huey Lewis and the News-like assortment of guitar and horns in synth form, without that group's pop scene pandering to hold it back. It took all of thirty seconds for this track to hook me and it hasn't let loose since. 'Emerald Green Hill' is essentially Sonic 1's 'Green Hill Zone' with that extra attitude, featuring a feisty bassline, rhythmic backing synth tones and that same great lead synth with a livelier melody. With a bumped up tempo and some serious jazz funk, it has more that sense of speed and attitude that you would expect of a Sonic soundtrack. Though Sonic 2 for me doesn't have the same nostalgia as the first episode, it became clear almost on first listen that it's the better soundtrack.

The closing stage and boss themes come closer to portraying the in-game action but aren't as much fun, with the exception of 'Scrap Brain Zone', which like a quirky '80s New Wave song the sort of which it's modeled after, manages to snake its way back into your head after hearing it for the first time in many years. Though in the main verses the style sounds a bit dated and peculiar for an action game soundtrack, the happy, extremely catchy choruses remain enjoyable to this day. Other early stage themes like 'Marble Zone', 'Spring Zone' and 'Labyrinth Zone' are basically Nakamura's Dreams Come True style of J-pop'ified '80s funk and R&B, tilted slightly in directions to suit the stages they accompany. Of course the main Sonic theme itself is the soundtrack's signature tune, but as it never exceeds 20 seconds minus repetition in its three or so renditions there's little time to enjoy it. But for me it's the chilled Earth, Wind & Fire'esque 'Star Light Zone' that has remained the most familiar after all these years. The happy melody and bright, crisp synth of the opening stage theme 'Green Hill Zone' is hard to forget, as is the merry-go-round music of the revolving bonus level 'Special Stage'. What bit of nostalgia does remain for the Sonic 1 soundtrack certainly works in its favor.

So while nostalgia plays a small role in my own opinion of the soundtrack it's not a significant one. That being the case only a handful of Sonic 1 themes were still familiar upon first hearing this album set, while none of the Sonic 2 melodies rang a bell (more due to the first game receiving more play time than anything to do with the music).

Rounding out the collection is a third disc featuring vocal arrangements of Sonic 2's 'All Clear' theme, performed by Nakamura's J-pop unit Dreams Come True.ДЄs a bit of reviewer context, though I owned and played both Sonic 1 and 2 quite a bit during the Genesis's heyday, since that time I've had almost no exposure to either soundtrack aside from the occasional YouTube clip. To make up for lost time they've also included a second disc of 'demo versions', the same compositions for each track as created on Nakamura's personal sound setup before they were converted into Genesis synth. As of October 2011 they can no longer claim that title, as Sega and original composer Masato Nakamura have taken the opportunity of the series' twentieth anniversary to finally release the soundtracks to both titles together on disc. Reviews Crisp synth, catchy melodies and some surprisingly heavy funk in two long-awaited Sega Genesis soundtracks.ДЇor twenty year Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 have been two of the most popular Sega Genesis original soundtracks to never receive an album release. Detailed release notes and credits at VGMdb.Disc 3: Vocal arrangements of Sonic 2 'All Clear' performed by Dreams Come True.Disc 2 tracks 16-37: Sonic 2 demo versions.Disc 2 tracks 1-15: Sonic 1 demo versions (created by composer Masato Nakamura before being converted to Genesis synth).Disc 1 tracks 18-42: Sonic 2 Genesis / Mega Drive original soundtrack.Disc 1 tracks 1-17: Sonic 1 Genesis / Mega Drive original soundtrack.

Masato nakamura sonic the hedgehog 1&2 soundtrack