Open Season

Feist | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B000F39MEM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,155 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Feist's diverse musical talents have taken her on many paths, from band member (Broken Social Scene, By Divine Right) to guest performer (Peaches, Jane Birken) to respected solo artist. Whatever the project, there has never been a question that the Toronto musician is heavily respected by her peers. When the call went out to remix Feist's work, her respected contemporaries were quick to come on board. Such is the basis of Open Season, a collection of remixes and rarities from Feist's heavily-acclaimed 2004 release Let It Die. Curiously, more than a third of this music comes from remixes of just two songs from that disc, specifically four different versions of "Mushaboom" and two takes of "Gatekeeper." Some of the re-workings arguably exceed the original cuts, most notably The Postal Service who turns "Mushaboom" into a synth-driven track with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) offering joyful harmonies throughout. K-OS' strong take on the same tune follows a hip hop feel, complete with his MC skills front and center. The CD's sweetest spot, however, comes in the form of an emotive acoustic offering of "Inside + Out," captured during a BBC performance. Also worth noting is Feist's softened cover of "Lovertits" a track originally recorded by her famous former roommate Peaches. For casual Feist fans, this may not be the best introduction to her talents. For Feist aficionados, however, it certainly shows the level of respect that other musicians have for the singer, and will provide some great audio candy until her next full-length release. --Denise Sheppard

Product Description

Exclusive French pressing features a different track listing to the Canadian version. This 14-track album features songs, remixes, collaborations and songs that were recorded around the Let It Die sessions and either appeared as B-Sides, promo only releases or on other artist albums. Exclusive tracks to this French version include, 'Mushaboom' (Mocky Mix), 'Gatekeeper' (One Room One Hour Mix), 'Snowlion' (with Readymade FC), 'Tout Document' (Remix) and 'Mushaboom' (VW Mix). Universal. 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Knee deep snow, October 15, 2006

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Open Season (Audio CD)

Folk-popster Leslie Feist garnered a lot more attention with her second solo album, "Let it Die." Now she follows it up with "Open Season," which is basically a lot of odds and ends -- remixes, B-sides, and alternate versions. Sure, not everything is absolutely perfect, but it's a good little album of bits and pieces.

It opens on a quiet note with a piano version of "One Evening," which is basically a pretty, downbeat little instrumental. Things start to kick off with the acoustic-driven "Inside and Out (Apostle of Hustle Unmix," which brings it down to gritty guitar-driven melodies. Okay, whatever, but not exactly my cup of tea.

But the remixes are good stuff -- "Mushaboom" gets done over and over, whether it's a perky pop melody, a heavier techno-laced one, an almost wordless mix by VV, or the peak of the album -- Postal Service's delicate trip-hop remix. There's also the murky "Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix)," a jazzy "Gatekeeper" remix, and a funky redone "When I Was a Young Girl."

There are also some songs that haven't been heard on her regular album: the dreamy "Snow Lion" with Readymade FC, the trippy French "Tout Doucement," the taut ballad "Simple Story" with Jane Birkin," and the naughty-edged "Lovertits" (well, what did you expect with that title?) with Gonzales.

Most albums of B-sides and remixes are pretty much half-and-half. Fortunately, Feist scores higher with an almost perfect array of remixes, and four excellent individual songs. Don't expect the same sound as "Let it Die," though -- the folkpop sound can only be found in a couple of songs here, like the full mix of "Gatekeeper" and the unmix of "Inside and Out."

Instead, we get all sorts of remixes -- jazz, funk, trip-hop, hard electro, and even "One Evening" pared down to a single piano melody. And the songs get a bit of a twist, with everything from skipping vocals to crunching snow to scratching vinyl. Sometimes you'd hardly even know they were the same song, except for the occasional cry of "Mushaboom!"

And fortunately Feist never gets lost in all this remixing, unmixing and reworking. Her clear, fresh voice cuts through all the beats and extra instruments. But she sounds best in the four original songs, with rippling piano, harp and some blippy sound effects. "Tout Doucement" is especially charming -- it sounds like a French cafe at happy hour.

"Open Season" won't give anyone reason to fire at Feist. Her odds and ends sound wonderfully polished, with only a few rough diamonds left over.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, September 7, 2006

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Open Season (Audio CD)

"The evening was long
My guesses were true
You saw me see you
That something you said
The timing was right"

Playful in beauty, Feist's Open Season is a mingling of richly orchestrated sounds and remixes. One Evening (solo piano) is striking in its ornate textures even in the straightforward solo version. The Remix later in the album is hardly recognizable and the mood more sultry.

Inside and Out has dreamy lyrics, but is edgy in acoustic musical exploration. Snow Lion reminds me of Magnet's laid-back albums and the beauty melts into a subtle discordance on a moonlit landscape. The Mushaboom Mocky remix seems the best of the versions on this album, but I still prefer the original song from the Let it Die album recorded in Paris.

"You treat me like a vision in the night
Someone there to stand behind you
When your world ain't working right
I ain't no vision, I am the girl
who loves you inside and out"

A better introduction to Leslie Feist would be the Let it Die album, but this one might make you curious and interested enough to listen to all her music.

~The Rebecca Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A hard album to love, June 10, 2011

By 

M. Zveris - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Open Season (Audio CD)

I'm a fan of Feist, I had never heard any of these remixes when I picked up this CD. I have to say that while I was pleasantly surprised by some, others left me feeling flat or annoyed. I don't think that the weight of a few songs makes this a great album, it's "Okay" and even as a fan I was left feeling a bit jilted by the experience to be found in Open Season.

The opening is beautiful, you cannot argue with a piano solo...well maybe you can but really why would you? It set the tone for what I thought the rest of the album was going to be, only to find myself relatively disappointed by the large. Some of these are very club centered, others appear to add nothing to the song only detract from the original beauty. I was particularly disappointed in the remixes of Gatekeeper which is to me a very beautiful song, while the first remix (One Room One Hour) wasn't terrible, the latter (Do Right) left a sour taste in my mouth.

When I Was A Young Girl was almost completely impossible to listen to for me. This was depressing because it's one of my favorite songs from Feist. The lyrics are so washed out by the heavy base line that it stole from the song instead of adding. The few tracks I really enjoyed, One Evening, Snow Lion, Lovertits (which reminded me of Katamari Forever heavily) weren't enough to carry this album up in acclaim.

For those who have never heard of Feist please do not start here, and if you are a big fan of Feist this still may not be for you. If you really enjoy remixes and how they can change a song from something you knew well into something entirely different this may be an interesting foray. For a remix album this isn't terrible, it does provide a pretty broad swath of changes to songs you may already know and love.

I tend to want my remixes to provide a different way to view a song, this felt more like a regurgitation instead of an inspiration and for that it's only a 3 star album. I'll listen to it again, but I'll be skipping most of the CD to get to the few tracks that really appealed to me.