 |
|
 |
| |
Klobber's Donkey Kong Country 2 Soundtrack Overview
Donkey Kong Country 2 was a great game with a great soundtrack. I take it as a personal insult when someone talks about the game or its beautiful soundtrack in a negative light, because honestly I can't see how anyone could do that. The game had it all - dangerous (and evil!) tropical islands, lush environments, amazing graphics, and pirates. The soundtrack was just as cool as the rest of the game was, and I consider it to be among the best soundtracks of all time, with a definite # 1 slot in my list of top sidescroller soundtracks. It just doesn't get any better than this, buckos.
1. K. Rool Returns
Oh man. This is the best title screen song in the history of the world. Don't even try to tell me I'm wrong, I won't listen. You don't see too many title screens that sound sinister and yet have an actual melody at the same time, and this music perfectly sets you up for what the rest of the game will be like. They could have easily done a happy pirate jig with accordians and the like for the title, but opted instead for a dark, adventerous sounding theme that sums up the game perfectly. It only lasts a few minutes, but it's still completely awesome. Get used to adjectives like 'awesome,' I know I'm going to be using them a lot in this review, and for good reason.
2. Welcome to Crocodile Isle
Whereas DKC's map screen had a light-hearted theme to it, Crocodile Island's map is dark, dark, dark. Pounding military drumbeats and trumpets let you know you're in dark territory, Kremling country, and danger lurks 'round every corner. It also happens to be my favorite map/level select music of all time. The song only lasts a few minutes, but never manages to get repetitive (unless you listen to it for several hours at a time, like I've done every now and then). Definitely another perfect job by David Wise here.
3. Klomp's Romp
The spray of sea-mist on your face, the creaking of groaning timbers, and the relentless toil of life at sea. This song manages to capture the feeling of being on a pirate ship perfectly. Beginning with just the sounds of the sea, it eventually moves into a delightful little pirate jig. I can listen to this for long periods of time without getting tired of it and often find myself humming along with it. More great stuff.
4. Lockjaw's Saga
I was unaware Lockjaw had a saga, but according to this song he does. Funny, that. This song stands in sharp contrast to DKC's watery level theme, in that it's very dark and dangerous while its predecessor had calming, beautiful music. This song let you know right off the bat that even the seemingly calm waters of Crocodile Isle were not without their dangers, as all manner of creatures lurked below their glistening surface.
5. Jib Jig
Here it is, the song that was voted the # 1 DKU melody of all time by some website whose name I forget. Whoever those people were, they knew what they were talking about: this song is darn near flawless. The sound of wind and rain is prominent in this melody, which only adds to its atmosphere. It's somehow light-hearted and very deep at the same time, something I don't think I could pull off were I given the task of doing it.
6. Swanky Swing
One of the better gameshow melodies in the DKU. This song is just a little bit repetitive, but that doesn't matter much when playing the game since you don't spend very long periods of time in Swanky's. It did its job very well, managing to sound gameshow-y enough while at the same time not straying far from the atmosphere set by the rest of the soundtrack.
7. Snakey Chanty
Let's get this out of the way right now. I love this song. It's one of my personal favorites in the entire soundtrack (though I like each and every track and could never be able to pick a single favorite). This is my definite favorite of the two pirate ship deck themes used in the game. Every time I listen to it I can't help but smile and dance a little bit. Yes, I dance to pirate music. I'm just that awesome. At the risk of sounding like a corny Nintendo Power one liner, anyone who doesn't like this needs to walk the plank. Also, I have no idea why this song is at #7 on the tracklist. When I make CDs, I try to keep the tracks in the order in which they were played in the game. Ah well.
8. Bayou Boogie
This is hands down the best portrayal of a swamp in music form I have ever heard. With crickets chirping and frogs croaking, and some very good use of instruments, this song is swampland personified in musical notes. It's very relaxing, though later in the theme it starts to sound more dangerous, a perfect move since many of the swamp levels had tricky jumping and loads of enemies.
9. Schoolhouse Harmony
This is possibly my least favorite track in the game, though by no means is it bad. It's pretty catchy if you listen to it, and I like the choir-sounding sections of it. Like all other songs in the DKC2 soundtrack, it served its purpose well and goes above and beyond what it was meant for.
10. Forest Interlude
Okay, I have no idea how the people who made this CD organized their tracks, but nevertheless the enchanted wood theme appears as track 10 on the OST. That being said, this is another one of my personal favorites. It's eerie and beautiful at the same time. I have no idea how David Wise did this. He took what could be a very generic sounding theme, that of a haunted forest, and turned it into something I never would have expected. You really have to listen to it to appreciate it. An amazing track and one that can bring me to tears if I listen to it while in the right frame of mind.
11. Funky the Main Monkey
Awwww yeah! This song is just as its title suggests- funkay. Just listening to it makes me want to start using words like 'groovy' and 'hip' and stick my head out the window and whoop loudly. Actually, it doesn't, and that would be pretty damn stupid if I actually did that, but this song is nevertheless funktastic and should be played at every nursing home across the country. I'm sure those old people would get a little bounce in their step were they forced to listen to this 24 hours a day. Oh yes.
12. Flight of the Zinger
There are certain pre-established genres of videogame music. We expect water themes to have lots of pianos and the like, we expect action stages to have a high tempo, and we expect boss battles to be rousing and dramatic. Here David Wise was faced with something that hadn't been done a lot of times before - the interior of a wasp hive. That's a large reason why this song is so amazing, because the composer had few (if any) previous examples to draw upon, and yet created the perfect song for a level such as this. I can't even imagine the Zinger hives having any other type of music, and something about the entire melody brings to mind dripping honey and the ceaseless crawling of thousands of buzzing wasps.
13. Cranky's Conga
While the order of the tracks is severely screwed up, at least they didn't call him 'Klanky' like on the DK64 soundtrack. I love this song. It's probably the only song I know that uses animal noises as notes and yet is still a beautiful piece of music. The song made listening to the ramblings of the eldritch Kong all the more bearable.
14. Hot Head Bop
Though picking a single favorite track from this game is an impossible task, this song comes pretty darn close. This song has made me cry more than once, has lifted my spirits when I'm down, and remains my favorite volcano song ever (not that there are too many of those). This song concentrated more on the beauty and heat of the volcano than its raw power, and as a result comes across as something pretty unexpected. It still gives me chills to listen to certain parts of this song. This seems to be one of the more overlooked songs on the soundtrack; I don't hear it mentioned often, but nevertheless this is one song that should definitely not be missed. I'll say it again: I love this song.
15. Run, Rambi, Run!
This one's another great 'un. Its a very high energy theme with lots of distorted guitars, and it plays when you're running from your life to escape King Zing at the end of Rambi Rumble. I would seriously pay money if anyone can get their high-school band to play this at a football game. Or any of the other songs, for that matter.
16. Token Tango
Let's hear it for alliteration! This is my personal favorite bonus round tune out of the DKC games. It's tango-tastic, groove-licious, and other assorted nonsensical and embarrassing words.
For those of you who haven't been paying attention, here is a random fun fact!
FUN FACT! The candiru is a species of fish that lives in Brazil. It is a parasitic catfish that will sometimes parasitize humans - by lodging itself in your private parts. Once this happens, removal of said part is just about the only way to actually get rid of the fish. Think about this the next time you decide to go skinny-dipping in Brazil.
17. Stickerbush Symphony
This is among the most well-known of songs for the DKC series and is considered by many to be the high point of the DKC2 soundtrack, perhaps even the high point of the series itself. It's another example of what we saw with the Zinger hives - here Wise was confronted with composing for a level archetype that hadn't really had any previous examples, so he had to work from scratch. And he did an amazing job. I don't think I can really say anything about this song that hasn't been said already; suffice to say it is a very good multi-layered piece that contains some kind of depth that the other songs don't have. Far out? Far out.
18. Bad Bird Rag
Hahaha. I love the trackname for this song. This song was only used for the Screech race, and it matched it quite well. I always liked Screech for some reason. I see him as Kaptain K. Rool's version of the chattering parrot that always sits on captains' shoulders. Screech took this role a step further by actually doing something other than sitting around talking about how he wanted crackers or repeating everything his leader said. Yeah, that really has nothing to do with the music, but it helps me further along this list if I ramble. Hoo hah!
19. Disco Train
I love this song. I know, I know, you're getting tired of hearing me say that every other song. It's better than reading about the candiru, though, isn't it? One of these days I'm going to fill a swimming pool full of those fish and then throw everyone I really hate in there. They'll be like, "Shit! Candirus!" and stuff. Oh, but anyway. This song perfectly captures what roller coasters are all about, from the random screams in the background to the groovy sound effects.
20. Boss Bossanova
This is the best boss theme in the history of videogames. If you disagree, you're a fag.
21. Steel Drum Rhumba
They could have given this a very boring name like 'File Select Screen' or some similar nonsense, but they didn't. That alone deserves some praise. They also could have made this song really bad, seeing as you only hear it on the file select screen and most people go past that screen pretty quickly. Again, this was not done. David Wise puts forth his best even on simple themes such as this. ...but what the HELL is it doing in track 21?
22. Krook's March
Ohhh man. This is another one of my favorite tracks from the game. It's very dark sounding, and very cool sounding as well. It's a far better castle song than any used in the Mario games, which often featured castle levels. Hey Nintendo! Wise up! Use music like THIS! As dark sounding as this theme is, it becomes substantially less evil if you masturbate to it. Just thought I'd point that out.
23. Klubba's Reveille
A longer version of the theme originally heard on the title screen. This song is just plain great. Sometimes I go to Klubba's Kiosk just to sit a few minutes and listen to this song play (and because I have nothing better to do whatsoever). Klubba's a badass. David Wise is a badass. Candirus are badasses. Awww yeah.
24. Haunted Chase
Definitely one of the spookier tracks on the OST. This song is played in Haunted Hall when you're screaming around trying to avoid Kackles and those damn gates. It can really get your heart pounding. Another pefect choice for level music by David Wise, who is a very..er, wise, man.
25. In A Snow-Bound Land
I don't know why they called this 'Snow-Bound' seeing as there's no actual snow, but at any rate I guess it sounds better than 'Ice-Bound'. The DKC series stand out because their ability to musically represent themes such as an icy world are virtually unmatched anywhere else. I can only think of one other ice-type song that comes anywhere near to matching the atmosphere established by the snow and ice themes of the DKC trilogy (that song being Phendrana Drifts from Metroid Prime). This song is coldly beautiful and another of my personal favorites. Even as I write this while listening to it I'm getting choked up a little.
26. Lost World Anthem
Very cool theme here. Can't think of much to say about it apart that I really dig it. You should dig it too. Or I'll throw you in a swimming pool with candirus. Then when you finally crawl out of the pool, I'll throw you back in again. Then I'd probably do something really stupid like slip and fall into the pool myself. That would suck. This song, however, doesn't suck. Can't argue with that logic!
27. Primal Rave
If you need proof that David Wise is a musical genius, look no further. This song is actually a remix of another song, though I never noticed it until Chad pointed it out. Now, being as this theme was used for a jungle level, he could have remixed a previous jungle theme. But this is actually the water theme from DKC, remixed. Listen to it carefully and you'll hear it. He took something just about as far away from the theme of this level as you could get, and turned it into this. The man is a genius.
28. Crocodile Cacophony
HELL yes. This song is so good it requires me to type the word 'hell' in very large letters. This is, of course, the final boss theme, and it's definitely one of my favorite final boss themes of all time. This song let you know that K. Rool meant some serious business this time around. He was out to blow your monkey ass to China, unless you live in China, in which case he was out to blow your monkey ass to...I don't know, the Everglades or someplace.
29. Donkey Kong Rescued
This is quite simply the credits theme. It also has the distinction of being my favorite credits tune of all time. It's victorious yet foreboding, letting you know that you may have won for now but dark days are still ahead.
Bonus Tracks
The rest of the CD just consists of little fanfares; the Rareware fanfare, death jingles, game over theme, etc., which I don't think merit any special mention here (even though it's very cool that they made different death themes for every level, and they're still catchy).
Missing Track: Mining Melancholy
I have no idea how they missed this song on the OST (but considering it was by no means arranged in chronological order, I can sort of imagine how it might have been forgotten). This is one of my very favorite songs in the game, so it's definitely bad that they left it off the OST. This is far and away the best theme for a level such as this in any game; the sound effects remind me of pick axes pounding against rocks and the choir brings to mind images of workers humming away as they toil in the dark mines.
The bottom line is that DKC2 stands as one of the best examples of how good videogame music can be. Many of the songs are nothing less than a work of pure genius, and this is one of the only soundtracks where I enjoy every single song - usually any kind of soundtrack has its share of hits and misses, but there are no real misses present in the DKC2 soundtrack. I have a hard time even deciding on what song to listen to sometimes; they're all just wonderful. Do yourself a favor and track down this CD at all costs. Despite the badly arranged tracklist, it has most of the songs, and this game definitely has one of the best soundtracks ever created.
 
4 out of 5 Minnows Agree
(the other made the mistake of going skinny dipping in Brazil)
I've yet to find a decent scan of the US version of this soundtrack (if anyone has a good one, let me know), but here's something a lot of you probably haven't seen. The Japanese version of the soundtrack had its very own render for the front (at least, I've never seen it used anywhere else, and neither had Chad), and it's really quite cool. Not to mention the back cover and the actual label on the CD, which features various Animal Buddies. Check them out:
Front Cover
Back Cover
CD Label
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
