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The Silver #02+ PARADE :: Review by Chris
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Album Title: | The Silver #02+ PARADE |
| Record Label: | Grasshopper Manufacture | |
| Catalog No.: | GHMR-007 | |
| Release Date: | April 14, 2007 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at eBay |
Overview
While The Silver Case was hardly a major game, its funk-based score by Masafumi Takada deservedly became popular. Unfortunately, Grasshopper Manufacture decided to exploit this popularity by creating two poorly produced arranged albums. The second of these, The Silver #02+ PARADE, features just six tracks and the majority of them are predictable. But could there nevertheless be something unique offered to the Silver experience here?
Body
Like its predecessor, The Silver #02+ PARADE doesn't make a good first impression. Much of DJ Hasabe's remix consists of inane call and response patterns between a Hawking-esque vocoder and a generic rapper against funky bass riffs. It's neither cool nor pleasant on the ears. The eventual electro-funk renditions of the melody are good, but they're superficialised by the semi-erotic voice samples appearing every bar. It's hardly terrible, but has some eye-rolling moments and isn't really worth its playtime.
At least Grasshopper's leading composers, Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda, get a chance to remix here. Takada's rendition of "The Silver Case" is tragically short and fairly orthodox — more of a remastering of the original than anything else. Jun Fukuda's interpretation of "Mikumo" is more interesting. It blends the enigmatic tuned percussion rhythms and string backing of the original with electronic cut-offs and manipulation. While initially obnoxious, it eventually develops into a fairly mesmerising remix by the 1:49 mark. It also nicely preserves the minimalistic quality of the original overall.
The remaining tracks are band versions of some favourites from the game. "Matchmaker" reinforces the funk basis of the original, but has much more grit and colour than before. Meanwhile "The Silver Case" is subject to an overdrawn DJ session that culminates in a rendition of the main theme only slightly better than Takada's earlier version. Maybe the most substantial contribution is the closing medley written in the spirit of the original score and performed at a live event. However, I can't help but find some of the source themes tiresome after hearing them butchered so many other times in the remix albums. It's nonetheless a good summary of the themes and soundscapes from the game.
Summary
The Silver #02+ PARADE is ultimately a superfluous album. While the six remixes are slightly more consistent than those of The Silver #02 DESTRUCTOR, only "Super Mikumo Bros." and "Hopper's Vol. 1" are relatively worthwhile. The rest just recounts material that listeners will already be overly familiar with or, worse, disappoints them with irritating voice samples or sparse elaborations. This production can be safely skipped.
