Customer Reviews

Motown Remixed (Dig)

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I happened to be in a local music store (FYE) and they were playing a remix of classic Motown songs. The salesman showed me the collection amptly named "Motown Remixed". The songs have all been updated and are given a whole new feel many with new beats and music much like the popular Verve Remixed series. Many of the songs are also longer than their original counterparts. Lovers of the "original" versions may scuff at these versions but I think the whole "remix" idea shows you just how good these songs were. What really comes across are the vocals, they stand out even more than ever. Good examples are Gladys Knight & The Pips "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", The Jackson's "ABC", Rare Earth's "I Just Want Celebrate" (which has been stripped down considerably from it's original version), The Temptations "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", Edwin Star's "War" (given a house feel), Diana Ross & The Supremes "My Life Is Empty Without You" (slowed down to a ballad), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles "Tears Of A Clown" (also stripped down with a hip hop feel) plus more. Note: There's also a cd of this collection that includes only the original versions instead of remixes.

Take a collection of classic Motown recordings, allow some of the best DJs to re-mix the master tapes and what do you get? Some of the grooviest updates of these classics. Eddie Kendricks' "Keep on Truckin'" becomes even funkier thanks to DJ Spinna. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight and the Pips -- as reworked by The Randy Watson Experience -- is packed with even more soul (and that gorgeous voice of Ms. Knight's). Some different arrangements are thrown in to make the classics sound new and fresh, such as "My World is Empty Without You" by Diana Ross & the Supremes, which is slowed down and becomes more of a plaintive message of lost love in the hands of Lionel Sanchez, Jr. Other artists remixed on the album include The Temptations, The Jackson 5, Rick James, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, all mixed flawlessly. My favorites: "Quiet Storm" by Smokey Robinson remixed by David Baron and Rafe Gomez and "The Tears of a Clown" from Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, remixed by Hotsnax. AS it reads in the liner notes: "The groove goes on."

I grew up listening to Motown. So, a lot of these songs have been the soundtrack to my life for as long as I can remember. So when I was out shopping at a local bookstore/music store I found myself enjoying the Motown CD they were playing over the store sound system. Then I realized something was different, when I found self listening to a version of the Supremes' "My World is Empty Without You," one that I'd never heard before...but liked. I asked the cashier which CD it was. She went and got it for me. I read the track list and bought it.

One caveat. This is NOT a collection for purists. If original Motown is the ONLY Motown for you, then pass the collection by. If you're willing to listen with new ears, give it a try. There are some really good vibes here. But, like other remix projects, there are a few misses too. It gets off to a great start. The first five tracks nearly rocket right off the CD. What's noticable in each of the first five is that the tracks were stripped down to the vocals, and the remixes reveal nuances that got lost in some of the original production. It makes the vocals even more important than they were originally, and it makes them more intimate in an unexpected way. It's most evident on "I Want You Back" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," but it realy shines through on "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Glady's Knight and the Pips. Knights vocals shine just as much as they did originally, but the remix reveals how much work the Pips were doing as well. In "Grapevine" and "Signed, Sealed..." the "call and response" pattern so important to Motown's music is even more evident here.

Things start to slow down with "Quiet Storm" and nearly get too slow. The song choices here don't seem to quite be the best. Of all the Supremes songs to remix, "My Wold is Empty Without You" isn't the first that springs to mind, and I wonder what might have been done with a hit like "Back in My Arms Again" or even "Someday We'll Together" or "Love Child." Of the last half, "Tears of a Clown" is probably the best track, and "Mary Jane" is an appropriate nod to the Rick James era.

It's a bit uneven, but all in all a good collection, and I expect it will follow the same pattern as the Verve Remixed franchise.

It is not secret that in today's music world remixing is a big business. Furthermore it is no secret that many an artist and music label have jumped on the remix bandwagon. First it was the Blue Note label's catalog, then you have the Warner Brothers' remixes, lets not forget the disco hits getting it too.
In many cases remixing, or better yet remodeling of classics has come off fairly well. However, you have those who grew up with songs that have undergone remixing and may strongly object. That may be the case here. While most of the songs featured here are completly recognizable, having most of their original music intact, with little additional production, there are a few that are totally overhauled. Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On may be a big NO NO not only for those who grew up with it but oldies fans as well. Let's get it on is trully a legend and it's signature music is known right from it's beginning guitar riff - which is still in the remix but that is all. For me, I really like the remix's uptempo and hypnotic keyboard sound over a infectious rhythmic beat but OBJECTIVELY SPEAKING the legacy is not present. If anyone covered this song like this, people would probally say that they ruined it and should never tried to cover a legacy. This was the outcry over Madonna's cheesy new-age/dance-pop cover of American Pie. It just did not work! With this song the orignal music and feel should have been left intact as they are on most of these songs. Perhaps one of Gaye's other not-so-classic hits could have gotten a overhaul. While I am taken by it, some of you may cry FOUL very loudly!
As for Edwin Starr's War, this remix smokes. The new rhythm track works well along with the songs original music and accents the song in a new way that takes nothing away. When I listened to Smiling Faces by Undisputed Truth and Just My Imagingation by Tempations, it's hard to tell where the remix elements come in as the original song shines.
Overall, this is a nice compilation of newly remodeled classics that presents them in the best light.

...classic Motown tunes, the ideas people noted, ought to be remixed. The premise is a good one....

Remixing has become synonymous with ambush, extreme style makeovers. That is why, while some of the tunes gets serious overhaul, a few are the same tune with licks PRONOUNCED. Eddie Kendrick's Keep On Trucking and The Undisputed Truth come across as the same tune digitally remastered. Many of the other tunes are startingly stirred up--Marvin Gaye's Lets Get It On sounds like R. Kelly's Chicago Steppers' mixing crew had a hand in redoing the bluesy masterpiece. My World is Empty Without You, gets the Madonna/Massive Attack/Blur like stylings (like for Madonna's turn on the R& B tunes I Want You and Love Don't Live Here Anymore). The Jackson Five gets crunked up over some funky original vocal outtakes....they however saved the best two renditions of Motown Rethought for last. Edwin Starr's War gets less military sounding and more electrofunky like a song on a workout tape. The music mix goes with the original vocals near perfectly. Rick James' Mary Jane Remix ougghta be played in the clubs...in fact, all it lacks is Luda or Lil Jon to crunk it up more. Finally overall this is a decent listenable product...if you liked the originals you will appreciate these make overs. (My friend argues that one should not mess with Papa Was A Rolling Stone. I however find the remix here most palatable--the best rendering of it [PWARS] besides the Temps is by Was Not Was.)

Bulldog Dave commented: this will go better as background music for a martini party than for a dance party.

I've been listening to a lot of lounge and cocktail music lately and I think that's why Motown Remixed appeals to me. It's as if the DJs were all thinking the same thing: This is classic stuff; I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel. Nothing here tries to pass as the next club anthem, and I like that! The more I listen to Z-Trip's remix of "I Want You Back" the more I love it. And the first time I heard the "Let's Get It On" remix, I couldn't help thinking, This has got an R. Kelly feel to it. The remixes are subtle but effective. Over all, this CD is better than I expected.

So if you want to throw your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care, you might be disappointed. That doesn't mean you can't dance to this wonderful compilation--I think you can. It's just that you will probably glisten more than sweat.

This first in what I hope is a long line of many Motown remix CD's.Since the album is a set of fifteen distinct remixes the best way I can think to review this is cut by cut so.....phew here I go:
I WANT YOU BACK-Unlike the J5's classic original this one is far more stripped down to allow the groove to shine through and the vocals to stick right out at you.
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE-Randy Watson really threw on the latin percussion very heavily for this one-again the groove is emphasized over the production.
LET'S GET IT ON-NO DISRESPECT toward Marvin Gaye;he was THE MAN!!!!But I find this mix of his 1973 to be far more sophisticated then his orignal.By 1973 the music on the original still had a very strong 60's flavor.This smooth kind of early 80'ish pop/soul backdrop actually brings out the raw sexuallity of the original to a more pronounced degree.
SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED I'M YOURS-DJ Smash really let go the heavy turn table funk let loose and the beats slam at you the same way Stevie's as always animated singing did.
ABC-Krunk was at it's peak when this was made and it shows;basically it turns out to be a mere update of the J5's equally slamming,funky original!
I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE-This is amazing!The collage of sound and wah wah's make for more of a heavy funk version then the originals more rockish sound!
PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE-Yes this appeared on the new Motown Remixed, Vol. 2 but this version didn't get the recognition that the new one did;this being more of a straight modernization of the original then the new version.But I love both and they sound fantastic.
QUIET STORM-Not that Smokey's wasn't chilled out enough this one does so even more by stripping back about 75& of what little music was already there and leaving you with little more then Smokey's emotional delivery and style.
MY WORLD IS EMPTY WITHOUT YOU-This is really a novel concept;take a girl group sounding song from 1966 and make it sound like a girl group song of 2005.However Diana's vocals have the genuine passion and lack the caterwalling melodrama of most female singers who would sing this kind of thing today.
JUST MY IMAGINATION-Again a pleasant update of the original;this song sounds great no matter what.
SMILING FACES SOMETIMES-For everyone who thought this song always needed a beat well that's what you'll get here.The song is virtually unchanged except for the addition of a "funky drummer".
THE TEARS OF A CLOWN- This drum n bass style mix really does justice to the style of the original;the way it might have been recorded had it been written today.
KEEP ON TRUCKIN-The approch DJ Spinna takes with this is somewhat different;he keeps 95% of the original music intact but instead of adding upon it he ELIMINATES horns,wah wahs and other production devices from the original for a more genuinely funky style
MARY JANE-This is really the only remix on the album that suffers badly from too much DJ'ing over the original and doesn't really say much for the original.

Well there you have my two cents!

I was in Italy on vacation and happened to walk into a music store where the first track of this CD was playing (J5's "I Want You Back"). I was looking for some jazz stuff, and at checkout I asked what was playing and the cashier pointed to the CD , which I didn't know existed up till then. So I bought it and am glad I did. I've listened to it about 5-6 times and am still enjoying it. It's a lot of fun to listen to the original vocals with new track behind them, kind of like your favorite movie star in a new movie - different, but the same. J5 is great and MG's, "Lets' get it on" is a fantastic update, to comment on just a couple. Gladys Knight's vocals shine on the two tracks she's on. The one big surprise was Rare Earth's "I Just Want to Celebrate", which I loved. I say surprising, since I didn't care for the original. But here it's stripped down, more elemental, with a better groove.

My only minor complaint is some over-use of digital percussion/synthesizer instrumentation on some tracks.

Anyway, I recommend buying this for some fun listening of the classics.

I was in high school when most of these songs were new during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I think the originals were and still are masterpieces... however, there is plenty of room for a collection like this for today's young audiences. The beats are new and fresh, and in some cases the vocals can be heard better than on the originals.

Alas, some of the tracks do not work very well in their updated form.... "The Tears of a Clown" is a fragmented mess that only someone on serious drugs could enjoy. I also did not care for "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" or "Mary Jane"...

... but some of the songs are truly ingenious... "My World is Empty Without You" is like a totally different song.... slowed down into a passionate and delicate chill house version that is fantastic. I never liked the song "War" for it's strong but redundant rhythm on the original... but this version is infectious and I actually like this version. "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", "Smiling Faces" and "Keep on Trucking" are also standouts.

I hope Motown will do another album like this so some of us veterans of the Motown Sound can enjoy our favorites all over again and hear them in a different way than before. BOTH versions can stand side by side in my book. Great Motown singles like "Nowhere to Run", "Masterpiece", "Trouble Man", "Shotgun", "Love is like an Itching in My Heart", "Friendship Train", "Baby Don't You Do It" and "Back in My Arms Again" would all make interesting new mixes. I'm ready!

MOTOWN REMIXED

I'll be honest. I expected this to suck big time. Why mess with classics? But through give and take (give a little flair/take a little excess off), all your favorite Motown hits are back, giving new meaning to "The Big Chill." Smokey, Diana, Stevie, Marvin, Gladys, the Temps, Michael and his bros all get a musical facelift (not that Michael needed another one), but the minute you start bee-bopping to the familiar guitar groove if the J5's "I Want You Back" with an all-new sexy backbeat, you'll be asking for mo' Motown.