The Best Of Matt Gray
[bzcd016]

The Best Of Matt Gray. 20 tracks in total. Running time - 74 mins 21 secs

1. Dominator (Loader V.1)

This CD kicks off with the loading music from the tape version of Dominator. This is a relatively laid-back piece from Matt which features some interesting filtered lead sections. I love the way this track ends in an extremely Galway-esque fashion! A nice opener.

2. Dominator (Loader V.2)

DUFF-DUFF-DE-DUFF-DUFF! Now Matt kicks ASS with this thumping track which I believe was the loader tune for a PREVIEW of Dominator. This is a great catchy track with all the Gray trademarks (gritty bass, thumping drums, wibbles etc.) Excellent.

3. Dominator (Title Tune)

And now Matt goes EPIC with this mighty track! The wibbles near the start always get the hairs on the back of my neck prickling (you can actually HEAR the SID chip gearing up to deliver them!) and then Matt goes on to hammer away with drums as the track builds to a climax. Strangely, the main lead section doesn't appear until halfway into the track but it's worth waiting for. Listen out for the mad ending to this one too!

4. Dominator (End Theme)

I thought I'd sneak in this little jingle from the CRAP Dominator end sequence! Even though it's a very short tune this CD version is LONGER than the one featured in the game (thanks to a custom music player courtesy of Waz).

5. Pro BMX Simulator (Desert)

There's some great drums at the start of this little budget number. Matt then mixes in the bass-line and some gorgeous wibbles before finally bringing in a nice and DIRTY sounding lead voice! Short but sweet this one.

6. Pro BMX Simulator (Quarry)

I simply ADORE the wibbles right at the start of this brilliant tune. The lead in the main part of the tune is nice and clear and is augmented by MORE of those fantastic Gray wibbles and a cool bit of bass. A classic little tune!

7. Bangkok Knights (Intro)

One of my fave Matt Gray tracks this one ... It contains just about everything you would want in a cool Matt Gray track and is quite lengthy to boot. In my opinion this track is far superior to the feeble Hubbard title track that was featured in this game (Sorry, Rob!) The lead for this tune will stick in your head for days (I defy you not to try to emulate those pitch slides with your voice!) and there's also some wonderful WIBBLES in this one too (especially that yummy set near the end). Me like!

8. Stormlord 2:Deliverance

Quite an obscure Matt Gray track this one so you will be forgiven if you aren't familiar with it. Matts grungy style lends itself quite well to this pseudo-eerie tune which picks up pace around halfway through. You also get the game over jingle bolted on the end too (which is nice).

9. Hunter's Moon (Loader)

Ahh, this one brings back memories - waiting for Hunter's Moon to load off tape and being treated to that superb Rob Levy picture. Matt delivered a great loading track for this game which is not too fussy and loud, it just goes along doing it's own thing. I prefer this to the game title track which was, like the game itself, a bit odd (but not unpleasantly so)!

10. Tusker (Loader)

If there's one thing I like in a Matt Gray track it's a "flutey" main voice - and this spooky tune features a CORKER! Matt has also created a brilliant "insect" type noise for the background which creates a wonderul atmosphere. After the eerie start this tune goes up a gear and brings in a trademark cool Matt Gray bassline, WIBBLES (yes!) and some catchy backing beats. Awesome.

11. Tusker (Desert)

And now here we are in the desert. Thumpy drums will have your foot tapping as Matt takes you on a five minute journey through searing heat and shifting sand dunes. Listen out for the superb section towards the end with plenty of drums and a cool high pitched lead. Mesmerising and brilliant stuff!

12. Tusker (Village)

Not the best tune in the game but it delivers a great bassline and sounds very Last Ninja 2-esque in the middle! I think the weak start lets this one down a little but once that's out the way Matt gets on with it and pumps out some good stuff.

13. Tusker (Temple)

Now we are back on track with this fabulous tune which features a wicked start! There's also a nice flutey lead voice and a BRILLIANT Matt Gray bassline! The way the tune winds down at the end is great too - a definite winner this one!

14. Quedex (Title)

I had to have something from Quedex on this CD and it was a toss-up between the loader and title tune. The title tune won as it gets straight down to business and has a nice and catchy lead. There's a nice snippet of "2 channel lead" near the end which is quite unusual for a Matt Gray track.

15. Maze Mania

A surprisingly meaty track this one considering the jolly nature of the game. Plenty of filtered lead voices are featured throughout this track and I had a hard time deciding which model of C64 to record this one from. I opted for a newer C64 as the old style beige breadbin made it sound a little bit "twee". The resulting CD track is pleasing to the ears and it's nice to hear Matt mucking around with the filters.

16. Motocross

I'm not sure what Matt was on when he made this tune but I'd like some please! The track begins with the VroooOOOOOOM of engines before some rapid wibbles take over. A funky bass line kicks in and then all hell breaks loose as Matt goes BONKERS (kind of!) This mad track has utterly catchy backing, clinically strange lead sections and even some filtered wibbles which are definitely ear-candy. (Shame the game was bobbins though!)

17. Treasure Island Dizzy (Title)

Can Matt Gray do "cute" music? Yup! Here we have the jolly title theme from Dizzy's Treasure Island caper. It's another one of those short and sweet tracks ... Nuff said!

18. Treasure Island Dizzy (In-Game)

A surprisingly enjoyable little in-game track this one. Very nice wibbly-wobbly backing, a decent lead to hum along to and boppy doosh-da-doosh drums! This actually reminds me of the gorgeous music FeekZoid did for the Jon Wells game "Treasure Isle" - Perhaps Feeky was inspired by this track in some way ... ?

19. Hyperion 2 Intro

A bit of a treat for Matt Gray fans here, a previously UNRELEASED (commercially anyway) track!! And the good news is it's DAMN FINE! It's a gritty piece with another one of those wondefully DIRTY sounding bass-lines and a grungy bit of "tortured SID" lead. Matt Gray wibbles(tm) also make a welcome appearance in the middle of the track. Groovy!

20. Driller.

This CD simply would NOT have been complete without this stunning piece of music. 8 minutes and 42 seconds of Matt Gray at his BEST in one of the most atmospheric in-game tracks ever produced on the C64 (in my opinion). This track ebbs and flows delivering one good section after another. There's something for everyone in this track which at times is cosmic, then haunting and then industrial! This is one to mellow out to with the lights OFF and the volume UP (but watch out for the attack of the killer bass-line at the end!)