Sonic Boom (Album) Review

Details

Sonic Boom, released in 1994, serves as the soundtrack release for Sonic CD and Sonic Spinball. As such it is mainly by Spencer Nilsen and David Young (composed most of CD), featuring Sterling (Collision Chaos, Metallic Madness, and Robotnik) and Pastiche ("Sonic Boom"/vocals). Howard Drossin (known for Sonic Spinball, & Knuckles, etc) also contributes.  

Interestingly, it seems to be unknown whether these are actually full, uncut versions intended for Sonic CD, or if they were remixed later for the album. 

 

Summary

Fans used to the JP OST probably won't notice a difference. US fans, though, will immediately focus on the slight changes. There are different instruments, vocals, and extended portions, making each song an alternate version. 

The changes with the biggest impact are: Wacky Workbench's good future, Palmtree Panic's bad future, Metallic Madness, and Quartz Quadrant Present, though all songs are altered in some fashion. The basic deal with this album: make every song sound even better. 

The full version of "Sonic Boom," about 3 minutes, also comes from this album. The ordering is a bit strange, and the songs have funny names like "Workbench Workout" instead of just calling it "Wacky Workbench Present." Several of the future tracks have been combined, such as "Palmtree Panic" which is both the good and bad future. Additionally, several tracks from the game are missing here, such as Metallic Madness Good Future.

However the album makes up for this with its funky Sonic Spinball bonus tracks. Unfortunately The Machine and Showdown weren't used, but "Fight to the Volcanic Fortress" makes up for their loss (being pretty much 3 seconds in the game but over 3 minutes on the album). The tracks are unique and quite enjoyable.   

Final Ranking: A

While the missing tracks are a bummer, these enhanced songs from Sonic CD and Sonic Spinball are awesome and defiantly deserve more credit.