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The World of Remixes

Started by 23 Daves, February 17, 2008, 10:49:10 PM

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23 Daves

I found two remix albums going cheap in Virgin Megastore yesterday (or "Zavvi") - the Stone Roses one, and the Depeche Mode two CD effort.  I'd held off buying either at the time of their release, purely because the very nature of these things is that they're enormously patchy pieces of work, and not usually worth forking out for at full price.  A lot of remix projects have their share of lazy reinterpetations, downright pigs ears (usually where the remixer has tried to create something interesting out of a loop of one particular part of the song, and has just succeeded in creating something irritating instead), and spot-the-difference jobs where a drum rhythm has been beefed up a bit and a guitar part extended, and that's about all.

The Stone Roses album has one example of the latter.  The Paul Oakenfold remix of "Waterfall" is a waste of time, adding nothing much apart from perhaps a certain skippiness to the drum pattern.  Soul Hooligan's mix of "Shoot You Down", however, actually surpasses the original in my book, adding an ambient moodiness that turns a low point of the album into something with a lot more texture.  808 State's mix of "Made of Stone" is good, too - not better than the original by a long old chalk, but it tries to turn it into a purely electronic track and amazingly gets away with it, leaving you surprised at the very least.  Otherwise, it's as patchy a project as you'd expect.

I don't think there's been a thread on here about remixes before, so I was wondering if you good chaps had any you were particularly fond of (MP3s may be welcome).  Also, are there any that fail on every conceivable level, to the extent that you actually find yourself getting angry?

For my personal money, the only truly successful remix album I've heard (and own) is The Pet Shop Boys six track "Disco" effort, which is sublime.  There's not a track on there that isn't interesting in some way, and the Shep Pettibone ten minute version of "West End Girls" pisses over the original.  And there's the kitchen sink version of "Suburbia" on there too, which finishes with the noise of the Brixton riots. 

Paaaaul

My favourite remix album is Blissed Out by The Beloved which is mostly remixes of songs from the Happiness album. A couple of the tracks don't do a lot with the originals but aren't any worse for it and the ragga version of Time After Time is a nice warping of the ambient-pop of the original.Worth tracking down on cassette for a 90 minute runtime.
Also, Disco is great.

The worst remix project that I can think of was the 12" of Roses In The Hospital by Manic Street Preachers which contained 5 awful remixes of a fairly poor song. They all manage to make it worse.

Mindbear

This is going to be a shit post.

I remember I bought a boyfriend the Stone Roses singles box set in the mid nineties and there was a remix on one of the b sides that sounded a bit like new kids on the block. It was a fucking atrocity.

Yep. Shit.

Looknorth

I especially love Paninaro on Disco.

Passion and love, sex, money,
Violence, religion, injustice, death
Paninaro, paninaro, oh oh oh

I like Paul Okenwhatsischops mix of Hurricane # 1's 'step into my world'. In fact that's the version I favour.



Danger Man

Quote from: 23 Daves on February 17, 2008, 10:49:10 PM
Also, are there any that fail on every conceivable level, to the extent that you actually find yourself getting angry?

I'm not sure it makes me 'angry' but didn't the Aphex Twin once give a record company one of his own tracks, claiming it was a remix of something , when in fact he hadn't bothered to listen to the original track in the first place?

That has to be a remix that fails 'on every conceivable level'.

Paaaaul

Quote from: Danger Man on February 18, 2008, 08:14:25 PM
I'm not sure it makes me 'angry' but didn't the Aphex Twin once give a record company one of his own tracks, claiming it was a remix of something , when in fact he hadn't bothered to listen to the original track in the first place?

That has to be a remix that fails 'on every conceivable level'.

It was a Lemonheads song.Can't remember which though.


23 Daves

Quote from: Paaaaul on February 18, 2008, 08:20:56 PM
It was a Lemonheads song.Can't remember which though.



I quite like the idea of that, though.  Somebody should release a remix album where the contributors haven't actually heard the songs, but have stared very hard at the sleeves of the records for awhile, considered the titles, then tried to imagine what they must sound like.  You'd probably have to get a record company rep to lock the contributors in a room and watch them, though, to make sure they didn't cheat by not staring at the sleeves for the agreed time.  They'd need to pick up the "vibe" properly.

Somebody phone Bill Drummond.  He seems like the sort of chap who'd finance it. 

Danger Man

Quote from: 23 Daves on February 18, 2008, 08:26:29 PM
Somebody phone Bill Drummond.  He seems like the sort of chap who'd finance it. 

Or Mike Alway of el records. He once sent the NME a batch of singles to be reviewed but forgot to include the records. When the error was pointed out he told them to review the covers instead.

Ambient Sheep

"No Protection" by Massive Attack vs. The Mad Professor is a pretty good stab at a remix of a whole album.  And "Blowback" by Swallow is arguably better than the original album "Blow".

As for 12" singles, I could be here all night, so I'll leave that for another time.

Ooh I love a good remix, me. PSB's, New Order and DM. My favourite remixers have to include:

Shep Pettibone
Stuart Price
Oakenfold
Ewan Pearson
Jam and Spoon
Arthur Baker
Richard X
Kervorkian

I even love the recent Hot Chip mixes of Kraftwerk. True, some of the above have occasionally produced some generic,  stuff but mainly, they've added an extra level to the originals, in some ways, bettering it.



Ray Le Otter

Ooh, don't start me off here.

A really good remix album is "Casino Classics" by Saint Etienne, but only if you're not to precious about the originals. This album contains the David Holmes remix of "Like A Motorway" which along with his remix of the Sabres' "Smokebelch II" are two of the best mixes from the nineties.

"Disco" is possibly the best remix album, certainly better than PSB's later attempts at matching it. Their latest "Disco 4" is interesting, in that it's their remixes of other artists so it has a uniformity at least. They make the Killers almost listenable on their mix of "Read My Mind".

That Stone Roses remix album is a prime example of Silvertone flogging a dead horse, though the 808 State, Soul Hooligan and Justin Robertson mixes are very good. The Manics "Forever Delayed" remix CD is a nice compilation of their remixed singles - I've always got a soft spot for the Chemical Brothers mix of "La Tristessa Durera" and the Apollo 440 version of "Design For Life".

If anybody likes Oakenfold's mixes, there's a very nice 3 CD career retrospective which came out before Xmas "Greatest Hits & Remixes" which has all the usual suspects such as "Even Better Than The Real Thing" by U2, "Wide Open Space" by Mansun, plus a few surprises ("Everything In It's Right Place" by Radiohead being one). 

The Depeche Mode Remixes CD which came out a few years back is a must, especially in it's 3CD format, as it has some classic mixes from Air, Beatmasters, Underworld, Kervorkian & Portishead, and some new mixes from the likes of Goldfrapp ("Halo").

One of the best remix albums I've found is from someone I have little time for otherwise - Sarah McLachlan's "Remixed" which is a corker of an album, with great mixes from Dusted, William Orbit, Rabbit In The Moon, Tiesto, Hybrid and BT.

If you're feeling a little camp AND experimental, Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever -Remix Album" is a good laugh, with the Propellerheads doing the business on "Goldfinger", Mantronix attacking the title track and Kenny Dope doing a great job on "Light My Fire".


alan nagsworth



Quote from: WikipediaLaika Come Home is a Gorillaz remix album released in July 2002 (see 2002 in music). Unlike a typical remix album, it is done by just one group, Spacemonkeyz. It contains most of the songs from the Gorillaz' first album, Gorillaz, but remixed in dub and reggae style. The album features Terry Hall, U Brown, Earl 16 and 2D.

...and it's brilliant! Not much more I can add really other than 'Did I mention it's brilliant?' but I think I already did.

CaledonianGonzo

Quote from: Ray Le Otter on February 19, 2008, 12:01:36 PM
A really good remix album is "Casino Classics" by Saint Etienne, but only if you're not to precious about the originals. This album contains the David Holmes remix of "Like A Motorway" which along with his remix of the Sabres' "Smokebelch II" are two of the best mixes from the nineties.

My favourite track on that - and my favourite Saint Etienne track in general - is the Monkey Mafia mix of 'Filthy' - it's boss.  I've never heard the original, but one would suppose it's fairly (if not substantially) different.

Quote from: Ray Le Otter on February 19, 2008, 12:01:36 PMI've always got a soft spot for the Chemical Brothers mix

Some of their early mixes for the likes of Primal Scream and The Charlatans when they were still trading as the Dust Brothers are brilliant.

Orias

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on February 19, 2008, 12:29:12 PM
My favourite track on that - and my favourite Saint Etienne track in general - is the Monkey Mafia mix of 'Filthy' - it's boss.  I've never heard the original, but one would suppose it's fairly (if not substantially) different.

Can't remember the Monkey Mafia remix but the original version of Filthy is totally marvellous.  Pick it up, CG.

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on February 19, 2008, 12:29:12 PM
My favourite track on that - and my favourite Saint Etienne track in general - is the Monkey Mafia mix of 'Filthy' - it's boss.  I've never heard the original, but one would suppose it's fairly (if not substantially) different.

Some of their early mixes for the likes of Primal Scream and The Charlatans when they were still trading as the Dust Brothers are brilliant.


Indeed. The Dust/Chemical Brothers mixes of "Jailbird" & "Burning Wheel2 by PS & "Just When You're Thinking Things Over" by The Charlies are fucking great (aahhh, the genre we called Big Beat).  More recent, their mixes of Kylie's "Slow", Mercury Rev's "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" and "Spiritualized's "Think I'm In Love" are as close to perfection as you can get.

All versions of "Filthy" are top, especially seek out Saint Etienne's track "Studio Kinda Filthy" (on "I Love To Paint") - it's possibly the best mix of all, if only for the Radio One Top 20 intro circa 1975 with Tom Browne.

Vitalstatistix

It might be an urban myth but I heard Venetian Snares was commissioned to do a remix once. He shat in a pot, and recorded the sounds of it cooking on the hob and sent that in as his remix. Anyone know if there's any truth in this story. It brings a smile to my face anyway.

mitzidog

Anything remixed by Hybrid is worth listening to, even if their drum loops can sound a bit samey if you have too many mixes at once.

Ray Le Otter

That "Blissed Out" album by The Beloved mentioned earlier is quite a decent remix album, but then I'm biased as I think "Happiness" is a great album so I'd like anything derived from that. 

I used to think that Shep Pettibone remixes were the dog's bollocks, but having downloaded a slew of them recently, I realised he had quite a few offdays. Some of the Erotica-era Madonna remixes are shite (then again you can't polish a turd, even if he produced the originals himself), and basically avoid anything post 1989.

Just realised this thread's running along similar lines to this one:
http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=15810.0

Mindbear

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on February 19, 2008, 12:29:12 PM


Some of their early mixes for the likes of Primal Scream and The Charlatans when they were still trading as the Dust Brothers are brilliant.


Oooh, I was going to mention earlier that I absolutely loved the remix they did of Jailbird in the nineties, it was on some free melody maker tape I think, and I listened to nothing but that for an entire day.

Paaaaul

I can't believe anybody can put Paul Oakenfold's remixes up for inclusion in this thread.
He's a total hack. All he does is take the drums off the original track and stick basically the same "beat" on it instead.


Hans Resist

I would have to disagree with that, unless the word Perfecto is attached. The Cure's Close To Me, the Mondays' Hallelujah (with Weatherall) and the Sneaker Pimps' 6 Underground are nothing remotely like each other or the originals. In fact the production he pulled for the Happy Mondays was epoch defining (for some of us), and to be fair to his Waterfall remix, I'm pretty sure all he was asked to do was an extended 12", not an interpretive overhaul. I think his name only appears in small print on the 12" production credits (I'm not climbing into the attic to check), and it's only an "Oakenfold Remix" when it suits marketing.

So yeah... while Bullet In The Gun, Faster Kill Pussy Cat, etc., are pretty much wastes of plastic and he's unlikely do anything of note ever again, to be fair, he has a lot of laurels to rest on.

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: Paaaaul on February 19, 2008, 05:58:42 PM
I can't believe anybody can put Paul Oakenfold's remixes up for inclusion in this thread.
He's a total hack. All he does is take the drums off the original track and stick basically the same "beat" on it instead.



Well, I did and I'll stick to it. Recent stuff is a bit shit but you can't fault the remixes of "Close To Me", the U2 mixes or his Happy Mondays work ("Loose Fit" in it's 12" form is exquisite). Mansun's "Wide Open Space" is magnificently remixed by Oakey, as was Muse's "New Born".

So to say he's a total hack is bollocks.

Paaaaul

Quote from: Ray Le Otter on February 20, 2008, 10:56:41 AM
Well, I did and I'll stick to it. Recent stuff is a bit shit but you can't fault the remixes of "Close To Me", the U2 mixes or his Happy Mondays work ("Loose Fit" in it's 12" form is exquisite). Mansun's "Wide Open Space" is magnificently remixed by Oakey, as was Muse's "New Born".

So to say he's a total hack is bollocks.

I think I've only ever heard his Perfecto remixes which seemed to be everywhere 10/15 years ago.
It's nice to know that he had a quality control and put a different moniker on his lazy ones(yes, I know it wasn't just him).
I'm not a fan of U2, Muse, Mansun et al, so I've not heard any of that lot, may have heard the Happy Mondays remix if that was the version played on the radio, otherwise I've just heard the album version.

Hans Resist

He produced the album Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches. If you've even heard Step On, you've heard Oakenfold behind the desk for The Mondays, he wasn't just their remixer.

Looknorth

Casino Classics by the Etienne is pure gold. Especially 'filthy'.

Pinball

I'd recommend Essential Mix on Radio 1. Lots of streams to be had. Oh, and I have had.