DKC Atlas Forum

[BlueTronic]

The beginning of the Flight of the Zinger melody kind of sounds like When The Saints Go Marching In, but it's probably just a cooincidence.

[ALV]

I know this seems a bit random and maybe just a coincidence but I always thought that this part of the cavern caprice track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5YyRsCfwy4 0:57 sounded like the beginning of this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6FNXCfVLk&feature=related 0:11 from an english dub of an obscure Wizard of Oz anime movie.

[S.T. BUGMAN III]

Back in 1981 Nintendo had another gorilla-centric arcade game called Sky Skipper, which never left Japan as far as I can ascertain. The point of interest here is the music -- one of the level clear jingles, which (heard hear at the 2:48 mark) sounds very DKC-ish, very Bonus Room Blitz-esque to me (the first few notes at least).

Now there was very little to the DK franchise at the point. Could Nintendo have shown the very DK-like Sky Skipper to help Rare get a better feel of what, at the time, was the DK "feel"? Could those choice notes been Davis Wise's inspiration for BRB, at least subconsciously? I say maybe! Perhaps the uninspiredly named "Gorilla" was the template for Funky! Who knows!

If I'm off the mark, you've at least learned about a new game. Maybe! I don't know!

[Cosmicman]

The bassline sounds similar, but the rest doesn't, I really doubt it inspired Bonus Blitz but who knows.

[Cosmicman]

This track was released years after the games, so I'm guessing the game inspired it instead of the other way around, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY4Fe1jWvxQ , I think it sounds like the cave track from DKC3.

Edit: After analyzing it a lot deeper sounds nothing like any cave level from DKC3, but it does sound like Hot Pursuit, just a very slow pace.

[Ribbedebie]

The one that comes to mind immediately to me is Haunted Chase and Night on Bald/Bare Mountain. Those got me into classical music. Heh!

And I seem to remember that there was another song that reminded me of DKC... forgot what one though. Oh! I remember! There's this song from this Christina Aguilera chick or something, where she goes all like 'I'm sorry for blaming you', I dislike that song because of my mom listening to it too much... but the first few notes remind me an awful lot of the beginning of DK64's Creepy Castle.

[Ninni973]

Yesterday, on my first day of my new school, when I was on the van on the way to my new school, I heard In The Air Tonight. Because it sounds so Bayou Boogie-esque, and it has the feeling of a swamp, I loved it! The drums remind me of Bayou Boogie too.

[Cosmicman]

Annoying lady singing, but skip to 2:24 , sounds exactly like mining melancholy from DKC2, all it needs is the piano.

[Cosmicman]

I don't know where else to post this, but I guess it will do here, this track was just released, I was surprised when I heard this in my car, DKC2 on the radio!


JQpNH1Ylen4 ← Removed from YouTube

EDIT: At the club

[Cody]

Wow, that sounds absolutely remarkably similar to Bayou Boogie. Something tells me it's not just a coincidence either

[Super Luigi!]

I'm with Cody on that one. Who knows? Maybe this is a track for DKC2 Returns? As farfetched as that may be, it still is interesting to hear a song that sounds just like Bayou Boogie.

[Phyreburnz]

Hmm... I wonder if the original composers (I mean the ones that composed Bayou Boogie) got credit? If they didn't get credit... I'm surprised they didn't get sued.

[BlueTronic]

One part of Can't Buy Me Love from The Beatles reminds me of a little melody repeated in DKC3's Mill Fever...

♫ I, don't, care, too... much for Ellie cause Ellie can't buy meee looove, can't buy meee loove, can't buy meee looooooooove ♫

♫ I pull, the, lever, to... open the dooooor, but the door always shuts onnn meee, always shuts onnn meee, always shuts onnn meeeeeeeeee ♫

[Ribbedebie]

I was playing Donkey Konga not too recently and I heard the piece Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing) from Benny Goodman. I thought they had edited it to fit within a DK game, and went to look up the original... figures I was wrong! DK Jungle Swing seems strongly reminiscent of this piece, later remixes of the theme from DKC even more so - or maybe that's just me. Anyway, listen for yourself!

...Not sure if I mentioned this already.

[Sockpuppet]

I think "We Are Going On Down" by Deadly Sins may have been the inspiration for Disco Train. There's a lot of similarities, in particular the 'whoa's sound a lot like 0:14 of Disco Train.

Here's another version that has an extra melody at 0:17 that sounds a lot like the intro of Disco Train, as well as a closer bass-line.

[Qyzbud]

Sockpuppet! Seems like years since I last saw you round this way... good to hear from you!

I'm still waiting for the clip to load (our internet's capped to dial-up speeds until tomorrow), but I'm keen to check out your discovery. The fact that the track is labeled "ROLLERCOASTER MIX 1993" makes it seem almost beyond the possibility of a coincidence; obviously Disco Train's the roller coaster theme from DKC2... and the track being released in 1993 means it would've had peak exposure in the years leading up to the game's production. Even without hearing a second of the track, I think it's safe to say you've picked the inspiration for Disco Train.

Oh, come on, internet...

Edit: Finally! Anyhow, I think you might be right that this track provided inspiration; all of the references you pointed out do sound fairly similar... still, call me a fanboy, but I must say that compared to those original tracks by Deadly Sins, I do vastly prefer the funky jam David Wise came up with.

I've updated the original post with this new discovery, and will be checking out the previous suggestions in this topic as soon as possible!

[BlueTronic]

The Diddy Kong Racing theme sounds quite similar to Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQIPdHMpjc
I only just heard Achy Breaky Heart after hearing Weird Al Yankovic's parody, Achy Breaky Song, and immediately noticed the resemblance. It always did feel like the Diddy Kong Racing Theme had a bit of a country sound to it

[Qyzbud]

I hear a bit of similarity there.

Some of the vibe, perhaps the metre and key (if not so much the notes themselves)... and yeah, I do think of DKR's soundtrack as having a fair amount of country music influence. Not sure if this particular matchup is any more than a rough coincidence, but hey.

Spoiler!

I'm listening to the Weird Al parody right now, and — as is generally the case — I like his rendition more than the original*.

That's less of a compliment to Al in this case, as I'm not particularly fond of either version, but hey.

*It turns out that Billy Ray's version isn't the original at all...



And heck, here's the DKR theme for good measure:

[BlueTronic]

Wow, Billy Ray completely stole that song and set music ahead 20 years. I'm pretty sure the name is the most different thing about it. Infuriating

[Thrik]

Here's an interesting one. Take a listen to Mining Melancholy:



Then check out Michael Jackson's Ghosts:



The resemblance hit me as soon as I heard the latter a few years ago, but specifically the percussion in both is quite similar and Ghosts' 0:39 sounds like a spin on Melancholy's 0:15.

The interesting bit is that all records I can find put Michael Jackson's track as coming out at least a year after DKC2. To me they sound too similar for this to be completely coincidental, making me wonder if both were based on a common ancestor.

If not then it must be a case of inspiration, but how crazy would it be if it were in fact Jackson inspired by Wise? After all, Michael Jackson was a known gamer — and serious about it.

[Qyzbud]

Fascinating. I definitely hear a bit of similarity with both aspects you highlighted, and MJ's incredible arcade game collection (which I never knew about — thanks for sharing!) has me thinking that it's not entirely impossible that he might have been inspired by the music of such a beautifully scored game...

It's an amazing thing to consider.

[Sockpuppet]

Yeah, I can definitely hear the similarity there. Nice find!

Actually, that reminds me of another similarity. There's an old PC game I used to play called Jazz Jackrabbit that had a track called Scraparap:



The whole track kinda reminds me of the first section (0:00 - 0:38) of Mining Melancholy. Aside from the pan flute-y sound, the instrumentation is vaguely similar; mostly just mining percussion, bass and synth chords. Still, it's different enough that it's probably just a coincidence.

By the way, Jazz Jackrabbit was released in 1994 - a year before DKC2.

[BlueTronic]

The beat for Hot Head Bop?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iU8iK36zvw

[Cody]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSAJ0l4OBHM

^ at 0:55... what does that remind you guys of?

[spaceman2028]

I myself can't quite put it, but it DOES sound slightly like Mining Melancholy...

[thetoad11]

I personally got a disco train vibe from the bassline

[BlueTronic]

Schoolhouse Harmony

[Cody]

Oh wow. I didn't expect all of these diverse answers. It personally reminds me of DKC Treetop Rock... I'd heard it on the radio while chopping down a tree funny enough.

[Qyzbud]

Ah, right... I hear what you mean, Cody. I didn't pick Treetop Rock until you mentioned it, but there's something similar in there.

[MatiZ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UilaEtpQqk
"Culture Beat - Anything" from 1993 is very similiar to Funky's Fugue. Listen to the whole song, especially 1:49 and 2:29.
I know it's Tropical Freeze, but I could say thay Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved was an inspiration to Busted Bayou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxmRCXq ... tml5=False

[BlueTronic]

http://www.synthmania.com/Korg%20Wavest ... %20Run.mp3
A patch from the Korg Wavestation, where a lot of the DKC2 samples or sources

[BlueTronic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N1iwQxiHrs

The chorus = the main melody of Forest Interlude

[BlueTronic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkrLmeeCrhY

Gangplank Galleon Progression

[BlueTronic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0AKJMGxwpE

The ending to this is the ending to Flight of the Zinger

[BlueTronic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r0n9Dv6XnY&t=1m15s was the inspiration for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO5N6exHYnI

[MatiZ]

Someone mention in comment section that Rareware logo intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjWaZxeYYTU could be inspired from Jungle Book intro from 1967 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI_yQM49Bis
Well, it's even about jungle.