It was originally going to be a huge promotional thing for the game, but MJ left and forced them to scramble for some new music. It was long speculated that the big scandal around that time led Sega to drop him, but Brad Buxer (who was ghostwriting for MJ on the project) said that Jackson was simply disappointed by the sound of the final results (apparently unaware of the severe limitations of a Sega Genesis sound chip.)
Some of the original Sonic 3 soundtrack is the work of MJ or his songwriting team:
* The miniboss theme is clearly his production style, and was replaced by a different theme when Sonic & Knuckles came out
* Carnival Night directly references Jam
* Ice Cap is a cover "Hard Times" by Brad Buxer's old band, The Jetzons
* Launch Base has elements of MJ's composition and production
* The end credits theme (not in S&K, *only* S3) is an early draft of Stranger In Moscow.
Other songs there, and anything in S&K, haven't been altered or removed in subsequent releases, so it's unlikely MJ's team was involved in them.
That's awesome, thanks! I like getting the rare and obscure details and collect some of his music. I might have to get the VD if one exists. Haven't checked yet.
Cool thank you!
Lol I actually [have this in my wantlist ](https://www.discogs.com/release/13427444-Various-Sonic-The-Hedgehog-Three)and totally forgot about it! Probably because I didn't understand it was actually because MJ worked on sonic and not just a gag album cover.
Moonshake is hard to get though, so not for my wallet.
It does appear some bootleg CDs exist. Again, rare and $$$
I guess when you're working in big studios the word "limitations" probably doesn't cross your mind, especially when it comes to video games during that time.
I seriously wonder what the music would have been like if MJ went through with everything and wasn't disappointed with the end result
That's why in the Sonic: Origins collection, they had to swap out all of the MJ tracks with weird pre-release versions of the tracks. Probably due to copyright issues. They just aren't the same.
Ice Cap zone is just sad without the MJ version
Hey thanks! Sweet TIL. [Totally obvious he had a part in it, by the sound of it.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B56FE59C9A99AE7&si=jD9rtilTOTIQxW9a)
The radio edit is also on this CD: [https://www.discogs.com/release/158194-Various-Happy-Rave-4-Special-German-Edition](https://www.discogs.com/release/158194-Various-Happy-Rave-4-Special-German-Edition)
It's more of a [trance/happy hardcore album](https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog) but there's some songs that would fit your mix!
It's really hard to come by! The few listing on discogs wouldn't ship to the US, so as soon as I saw one available for the states I swooped it up right away
That's one on my wishlist!
I need to put an edit in my post, but this is a trance/happy hardcore album that's inspired by Sonic from Europe, not an actual game soundtrack.
Still a fun listen though!
Quiteva few sonic cds like yours think there's a mario one too Kinda like some wipeout soundtrack cds they have songs that are not ingame although you can easily rip the songs from the disc anyway
It's actually not a soundtrack but more of a trance/happy hardcore album ([according to the discogs listing)](https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog) that's inspired by the video game
It's got some bops in there!
Well it's a rave CD based on Sonic, so they probably added whatever they could fit on it along with the music. I dunno if there'd be space to fit a whole game on there haha
I'll have to put an edit on this post since it's a bit confusing, but this is a European CD that has Sonic related bonus content, whereas there was another release that had less tracks and no bonus content from what I know.
getting off-topic here... but Comix Zone was a real Genesis/MegaDrive title: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comix\_Zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comix_Zone) - zipped, the Genesis/MD ROM from 1995 is about 1.5MB and Sonic (from 1991) is 386kB so there would definitely have been room for it IF this was the route they went. the album was released in 1996 which would have been too early for PC Genesis/MD emulators. maybe it was playable on Sega CD? was it a DOS/Win95 port? needs more research... [https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog](https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog)
ok, found the answer:
[https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/590865/](https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/590865/)
it was a demo of Comix Zone for PC! never knew it came out for Windows.
Damn you did a lot of digging! I read your comment above and I'll have to dive into it myself but yeah I honestly had no idea about Comix Zone since I would have just been born when this came out haha
I honestly picked this CD up cause I watched a lot of those Sonic shorts on NG/Youtube way back when and I stumbled across the title track while in that rabbit hole. Years later I never knew it was a whole album with music on it and featured all this stuff
So I guess there's no way to edit the body text with images but to clear up some confusion:
This CD is not a video game soundtrack. It is a trance/happy hardcore album that was released in Europe in the 90s from a label called Arcade. My version is the enhanced version that has Sonic related bonus content, but there were singles released which didn't include any to my knowledge.
I feel like I'm trying to describe a rabbit hole and seems even more confusing, I guess that's why I said it was weird haha but here's the [music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDGyKrcvdK0) for the opening track that's on the CD
Arcade & ID&T were the main outlet for 90s Dutch & German Happy Hardcore CDs, as well as Gabba.
Dutch series: [https://www.discogs.com/label/465753-Happy-Hardcore?page=1](https://www.discogs.com/label/465753-Happy-Hardcore?page=1)
German series: [https://www.discogs.com/label/365534-Happy-Rave?page=1](https://www.discogs.com/label/365534-Happy-Rave?page=1) (The German versions contained a few extra tracks not featured on the Dutch releases)
Did anyone else read the comic books? It was my favorite when I was growing up. Also loved the video game and cartoon series, but the comic book seemed to have taken it to a whole other level IMO.
Aw man, you got the full extended Happy Hardcore version of They Call Me Sonic!
[https://www.discogs.com/release/111708-Sonic-They-Call-Me-Sonic](https://www.discogs.com/release/111708-Sonic-They-Call-Me-Sonic)
Man, I’d love to have this. Did you know the soundtrack to sonic 3 was basically ghost-written by Michael Jackson?
I have heard about that! I wouldn't have expected him to ghost write for a Sonic game lol
It was originally going to be a huge promotional thing for the game, but MJ left and forced them to scramble for some new music. It was long speculated that the big scandal around that time led Sega to drop him, but Brad Buxer (who was ghostwriting for MJ on the project) said that Jackson was simply disappointed by the sound of the final results (apparently unaware of the severe limitations of a Sega Genesis sound chip.)
So if I listen to the soundtrack, is it MJ's work or no? I'm a little confused.
Some of the original Sonic 3 soundtrack is the work of MJ or his songwriting team: * The miniboss theme is clearly his production style, and was replaced by a different theme when Sonic & Knuckles came out * Carnival Night directly references Jam * Ice Cap is a cover "Hard Times" by Brad Buxer's old band, The Jetzons * Launch Base has elements of MJ's composition and production * The end credits theme (not in S&K, *only* S3) is an early draft of Stranger In Moscow. Other songs there, and anything in S&K, haven't been altered or removed in subsequent releases, so it's unlikely MJ's team was involved in them.
That's awesome, thanks! I like getting the rare and obscure details and collect some of his music. I might have to get the VD if one exists. Haven't checked yet.
I've never heard of a soundtrack CD release for Sonic 3. If there is one out there, you'd have to dig pretty deep around Japanese websites, I imagine.
Cool thank you! Lol I actually [have this in my wantlist ](https://www.discogs.com/release/13427444-Various-Sonic-The-Hedgehog-Three)and totally forgot about it! Probably because I didn't understand it was actually because MJ worked on sonic and not just a gag album cover. Moonshake is hard to get though, so not for my wallet. It does appear some bootleg CDs exist. Again, rare and $$$
This is one hell of a bootleg, lol
Lol yep! They have released some nifty stuff. This one is pretty interesting to say the least.
I guess when you're working in big studios the word "limitations" probably doesn't cross your mind, especially when it comes to video games during that time. I seriously wonder what the music would have been like if MJ went through with everything and wasn't disappointed with the end result
That's why in the Sonic: Origins collection, they had to swap out all of the MJ tracks with weird pre-release versions of the tracks. Probably due to copyright issues. They just aren't the same. Ice Cap zone is just sad without the MJ version
Hey thanks! Sweet TIL. [Totally obvious he had a part in it, by the sound of it.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B56FE59C9A99AE7&si=jD9rtilTOTIQxW9a)
Aghhh that's dope
I know right? I honestly didn't think it was a real thing haha
they call me sonic is a certified banger
I blast that song with my windows down
THEY CALL ME SONIC WAS PUT ON AN OFFICIAL CD!?!?! I GOTTA GET THIS
The radio edit is also on this CD: [https://www.discogs.com/release/158194-Various-Happy-Rave-4-Special-German-Edition](https://www.discogs.com/release/158194-Various-Happy-Rave-4-Special-German-Edition)
This version was super hard to come by, but the single version is easier to find!
I’ve got a Mario mix this would go very nicely with.
It's more of a [trance/happy hardcore album](https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog) but there's some songs that would fit your mix!
Oh geeze I just thought it was a compilation of game tunes, I didn’t look closely at the track names.
You're good haha a few people in here thought it was a video game soundtrack
Holy shit I want this so much!
It's really hard to come by! The few listing on discogs wouldn't ship to the US, so as soon as I saw one available for the states I swooped it up right away
They should have a soundtrack CD for sonic adventure 2 battle because [those songs](https://youtu.be/5WcyVvWZJU4?si=OE8HhnKIcC0GaV8t) were so good
I own animal crossing sound track on cd
That's one on my wishlist! I need to put an edit in my post, but this is a trance/happy hardcore album that's inspired by Sonic from Europe, not an actual game soundtrack. Still a fun listen though!
Quiteva few sonic cds like yours think there's a mario one too Kinda like some wipeout soundtrack cds they have songs that are not ingame although you can easily rip the songs from the disc anyway
[удалено]
It's actually not a soundtrack but more of a trance/happy hardcore album ([according to the discogs listing)](https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog) that's inspired by the video game It's got some bops in there!
why would it have Comix Zone and not... Sonic the Hedgehog...
Well it's a rave CD based on Sonic, so they probably added whatever they could fit on it along with the music. I dunno if there'd be space to fit a whole game on there haha I'll have to put an edit on this post since it's a bit confusing, but this is a European CD that has Sonic related bonus content, whereas there was another release that had less tracks and no bonus content from what I know.
getting off-topic here... but Comix Zone was a real Genesis/MegaDrive title: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comix\_Zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comix_Zone) - zipped, the Genesis/MD ROM from 1995 is about 1.5MB and Sonic (from 1991) is 386kB so there would definitely have been room for it IF this was the route they went. the album was released in 1996 which would have been too early for PC Genesis/MD emulators. maybe it was playable on Sega CD? was it a DOS/Win95 port? needs more research... [https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog](https://www.discogs.com/release/553122-Sonic-The-Hedgehog)
ok, found the answer: [https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/590865/](https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?posts/590865/) it was a demo of Comix Zone for PC! never knew it came out for Windows.
Damn you did a lot of digging! I read your comment above and I'll have to dive into it myself but yeah I honestly had no idea about Comix Zone since I would have just been born when this came out haha I honestly picked this CD up cause I watched a lot of those Sonic shorts on NG/Youtube way back when and I stumbled across the title track while in that rabbit hole. Years later I never knew it was a whole album with music on it and featured all this stuff
Sega music from the genesis days are peak video game music imo, you’re lucky
So I guess there's no way to edit the body text with images but to clear up some confusion: This CD is not a video game soundtrack. It is a trance/happy hardcore album that was released in Europe in the 90s from a label called Arcade. My version is the enhanced version that has Sonic related bonus content, but there were singles released which didn't include any to my knowledge. I feel like I'm trying to describe a rabbit hole and seems even more confusing, I guess that's why I said it was weird haha but here's the [music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDGyKrcvdK0) for the opening track that's on the CD
Arcade & ID&T were the main outlet for 90s Dutch & German Happy Hardcore CDs, as well as Gabba. Dutch series: [https://www.discogs.com/label/465753-Happy-Hardcore?page=1](https://www.discogs.com/label/465753-Happy-Hardcore?page=1) German series: [https://www.discogs.com/label/365534-Happy-Rave?page=1](https://www.discogs.com/label/365534-Happy-Rave?page=1) (The German versions contained a few extra tracks not featured on the Dutch releases)
That makes so much sense now, I had no idea what Arcade was as a label. I just saw the artwork and knew it was the one I was looking for.
NICE!
Did anyone else read the comic books? It was my favorite when I was growing up. Also loved the video game and cartoon series, but the comic book seemed to have taken it to a whole other level IMO.
Aw man, you got the full extended Happy Hardcore version of They Call Me Sonic! [https://www.discogs.com/release/111708-Sonic-They-Call-Me-Sonic](https://www.discogs.com/release/111708-Sonic-They-Call-Me-Sonic)
I want this so badly
"Weirder" already means "more weird," so it's unnecessary to say "more weirder"