Customer Reviews

Panthalassa: The Remixes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Judging from reviews--here and elsewhere--Miles Davis fans don't appreciate his music being overhauled/remixed to the extent that it is here. Apparently the one paradigm universally deemed as being untouchable was shattered when the remixers took away some of the original instruments and added newly-recorded ones. Even PANTHALASSA didn't cross that line, but PANTHALASSA: THE REMIXES does!

Certainly, if a listener isn't familiar with acid jazz, drums'n'bass and similiar contemporary underground styles, these remixes are going to sound generic. However, to those who know why Roni Size Reprazent's album was considered the class of the d'n'b movement: the remixers chosen here are largely on that stellar level (I actually prefer this album to that one!). Often remixing the music of the greats is a travesty (e.g., the abominable, hackneyed late-70's Sly Stone disco remix LP). However, the PANTHALASSA remixers have earned accolades for their originality. Why not allow producers of this caliber the opportunity to investigate the 1969-75 electric-Miles legacy, which to begin with was recorded in a piecemeal manner to be later mixed 'n' matched for release (whether it be by Macero, Laswell, or the PANTHALASSA "insurgents")?

I'm a Miles Davis fan too...and while no one knows for sure, I think that if he were alive today and in a progressive frame of mind, he would quite likely be collaborating with remix wizards such as those enlisted for this album, and coming up with music that is not far removed from what is actually heard here. I vaguely recall an interview with Miles shortly before he died, in which he stated something to the effect that he had thoughts of taking pieces of older recordings and incorporating them into new music. That sounds a lot like what happens on this album.

Miles Davis fans have every right not to like this album. However--at the very least--this project embodies from a Y2K perspective the restless, curious spirit that Davis exhibited throughout his career. I'm anxiously waiting for a volume two! (by the way, the DJ Krush remix of BLACK SATIN is only available on the vinyl and Japanese versions of this album)

most of Miles Davis' albums and other works have the unparalleled ability to put me deep into a trance, and this one is phenomenal.

for jazz fans who also like acid jazz AND good DJ remixes, this album is fantastic. the essence of miles is not cut up and chopped - it's not a techno mix - Miles is full and present on the album - but the additional underlayers of sound and the careful looping of tracks create a wonderful web of sound that i think even Miles would approve of.

it's perfect for long drives, traffic jams, and for just laying back on the couch with the lights low and a bottle of red wine, decompressing.

I would like to preface this review by saying that the reviews panning this album here are totally unfair. They are written by jazz fans, fans of Miles Davis. They have no exposure nor do they have an interest in Acid Jazz. Acid Jazz is only related to "traditional jazz" because it uses jazz samples over its "Trip-Hop" beats. This is a pretty d&&& good Acid Jazz album and certainly warrants a look for fans of the genre. I myself am a big fan of Acid Jazz, but I'm also a jazz musician and can understand how foreign this album would sound to the jazz listening mainstream. However, Miles was always up for a radical change and you can rest assured that if he was around he would full-heartedly endorse this work and probably would be in the works of putting together Acid Jazz recordings himself.

it's funny because i was just thinking the other day how sad it might be if new generations do not have the good fortune or sense to be turned on to miles davis. i was out jogging with an old miles t-shirt on and passed some young teens that looked obviously like musicians. i saw them check out the shirt, but couldn't make out any recognition or not. a couple of days later my brother gave this cd to me for my birthday. just now had time to check it out.
i dig it much. right from the gitgo. shhh peaceful [pulled] me right in. rated x is all that. bill laswell was the right cat for this task. buy it. dig it. miles lives!

The album is the follow-up to Bill Laswell's Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis, 1969-1974, and are remixes from a number of artists of the remixes initially done on that release.

At times the interpretations are miles from Miles Davis, but it must be kept in mind that the emphasis here is DJ remixes in the universe of clubland. Laswell churns out the most intriguing selection with the 16:42 of On The Corner (Subterranean Channel Mix), while the brilliant Davis trumpet line drives In A Silent Way (DJ Cam remix).

There is a fun energy involved in the project and expands on the oftentimes flat work initially done by Laswell.

It's hard to imagine that an album featuring Miles Davis can be this bad. The re-mixers have taken some tremendous Davis music and added amateurish drum machine rhythms that have little or no relationship to the music. The drum patterns sound like the old, el-cheapo boxes and have no originality or interest. They only serve to obscure the trumpet. The remix of In a Silent Way is ridiculous -- the sublime beauty of the original is turned into a bad techno song.

I don't dislike the effort to blend Davis and modern beats (I even like Doo-Bop), but this album is awful. The Laswell version on Panthalassa is light years better.

I'm absolutely astounded. OK, the one listenable track is Bill Laswell's mix of the 'Helen Butte' from On the Corner. The outstanding insult of the set is DJ Cam's both unintentionally hilarious and tragic remix of the gorgeous 'In a Silent Way,' which is now reworked with a lame-ass hip-hop thing dominating and what sounds like a dog barking or whatever. Gag. It's a friggin' shame, really is. avoid Doc scott's 'remix' of 'Rated X' which is such a boneheaded ego trip just as is the rest of the album that I have to fight off the strong desire to regret spending even a cent or a second on this steaming turd of an album.

Columbia/Sony apparently intends to expand on the Panthalassa concept, so now we have a new CD featuring more remixed Miles, this time featuring not only Bill Laswell, but also some other mixers. The results are inconsistent. The first cut, a version of "Shhh" by King Britt and Philip Charles, is a good one, with some deep bass lines and swirling effects added in around Miles's trumpet. You really get the sense that these guys dig Miles and wanted to have some fun with the music. The second cut, however, is a real letdown. "Rated X," which frankly was pretty weak as a Miles original, sounds downright annoying here as remixed by Doc Scott. The third cut, "In a Silent Way," presents a strange mix of Miles's plaintive trumpet, some percussion, and some scratching by DJ Cam. You will love this cut or hate it--I have found myself reacting both ways. It seems to depend on my mood, I guess. Interesting. Cut four is done by Bill Laswell, and his version of "On the Corner" combines some themes from that recording and throws in some funky deep bass. Of all the cuts on this CD, this is the one that seems closest to the spirit of Miles; fortunately, it is also the longest cut (16:40). Let's hope Laswell gets a shot at remixing the whole album!

For some reason, whoever produced this recording (no producer is mentioned in the bare-bones liner notes) decided to end the CD by including a second version of "Rated X," this one remixed by Jamie Myerson. This version is marginally less annoying than Scott's, but it is still pretty darned annoying, and it lasts longer. Ugh. For Miles Davis fans, there is some fascinating music on this CD, but there is some real tedium, too. Let's hope that if this series continues, it gets better.

this is more of a comment on the slip-shod reviewing on the part of the amazon reviewer. miles does not play trumpet on 'rated x'. i would think that a reviewer would have to be familiar with the original material before he/she is able to write a decent review. obviously, this feeling is not universally shared.

The renditions of Rated X are very poor. I do not even understand why the mixers felt compelled to speak louder than Miles in the music? Unfortunately Amazon does not sell Get Up With It which features Rated X...those who know the tune, stay away from this album. On the Corner and SHH were pretty good, they demonstrate a better accomplishment in mixing the music of Miles.