Disorganized Fun Review

• Reviewed by: Mark Goninon
• Name: Disorganized Fun
• Label: Ronald Jenkees
• Composer(s): Ronald Jenkees
• Number of Tracks: 11

This is probably going to be the first time I've reviewed a soundtrack that's not actually a game soundtrack on this blog. Okay, I just did a quick search of my reviews and that's not entirely true since I did review Video Games Live – Level 3 and that's not technically a game soundtrack, although it's a compilation of orchestral music based on game soundtracks, so it's almost the same thing. "Disorganized Fun" on the other hand is a stand-alone album that's not really the soundtrack of any game, although Before the Echo (which I recently reviewed) does happen to licence many tracks from this album and now you know how I found out about the album in the first place (Before the Echo also licences music from Jenkees's first album released in 2007).

I must've been living under a rock for the past few years, that or I'm just not up on my YouTube celebrities, but apparently Ronald Jenkees, the musician behind "Disorganized Fun", is a Pretty Big Deal. He's well known on YouTube for his keyboard performances and his videos have received more than 75 million views. Despite him being an internet celebrity though, it's taken me 7 years to discover this album and I wouldn't have discovered it at all if I never ended up playing Before the Echo. After listening to the music he contributed to Before the Echo's soundtrack I just had to see if I could purchase the music. Thankfully you can and not only can you buy it in digital format but physically on a CD (which is almost unheard of today).

I paid $12 USD + shipping and handling for the CD version of the soundtrack (since there's not much difference in price between the CD and the digital version of the soundtrack for $10 USD). The soundtrack was delivered very quickly through the mail (I think I only waited a couple of weeks if I recall correctly) and Jenkees was kind enough to autograph the album cover too (at least, I think that's his signature :)).

There are 11 tracks on the album with the first 9 being purely instrumental and the last two being rap tracks. Five of the tracks on the album (so almost half of the album) features in the game Before the Echo and these are by far my favourite tracks; these include the eponymous "Disorganized Fun", "Guitar Sound", "Throwing Fire", "Stay Crunchy" and "Outer Space". "Fifteen Fifty" and "Inverted Mean" aren't bad tracks either but I really couldn't get into any of the other tracks on the album. It's probably because I'm not such a big fan of rap unless it happens to be oldschool hip hop such as "Rapper's Delight" or "The Message", and the other instrumental tracks were passable but that's about it.



So what are the major genres at play in this album? There's a lot going on here with traces of hip hop, pop, R&B, French House and VGM, all having a part to play at some point or another. Thanks to his choice of retro synths, some passages of "Disorganized Fun", "Synth One", "Stay Crunchy" and "Outer Space" wouldn't sound out of place in a 16-bit era video game or on the Amiga. "Throwing Fire" on the other hand sounds like a synth version of something Michael Jackson would sing and towards the end of the track, there's even a slight hint of Daft Punk. And just to keep things even more interesting, Jenkees has the epic "Guitar Sound" on the album which is 7:02 of pure, icy coolness. There's 4:21 of blues rock before it enters a second movement of angelic synths. It's very much like prog-rock, yet danceable.

Score – 8/10

There's enough good stuff on "Disorganized Fun" to satisfy any fan of VGM mixed with elements of French House, 90s pop and R&B. There's even a cool rock track along with a couple of rap tracks about fancy cars and lavish parties (if that's your sort of thing). I think you'll get even more enjoyment out of the album if you've played Before the Echo but it's still worth a listen to even if you haven't. Recommended.

If you're interested in purchasing the soundtrack, it's either available in digital format for $10 USD or on CD for $12 USD + shipping and handling from Ronald Jenkees's website