Customer Reviews

Planets of the Universe

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very interesting way to promote Stevie Nicks' new cd,"Trouble in Shangri La". They have remixed one of the best tracks,"Planets of the universe" and remixed it,techno style in many different versions. The club mix is already climbing Billboard magazine's "Top club tracks" charts faster than Janet Jackson's new remix! And,the "techno" version is sure to be a fave in the underground rave circuits! This is a MUST for any Stevie Nicks collector.

Great to hear Stevie updated for the clubs. Two very "of the moment" remixers handled this song very well. The nice thing about remixers these days is they rarely make vocals sound "pasted on" to new music tracks...they actually build the tracks around the original vocals, treating the song as a new creation. They have done this with "POTU".

CD Starts off with 2 Tracey Young mixes (Club and Dub). These have a dark, moody feel to them...a Tracey trademark.

Next are the Illicit Mixes. Illicit remix Madison Avenue songs....these songs NEVER fail to get people going at the clubs..these versions are similar to Mad Ave. They are more light hearted type remixes...peppy, happy, and very fun.

My Favorite mix of these is the Illicit Dub version....they have Stevie repeating "you wont forget you wont forget"...very very very slamming. The Dub Mix instrumental could have been left off as there are no vocals in it.

A special treat is the extended mix of the Album version (this was included at the urging of so many Stevie fans who have heard this version was around...but never got to hear it). The added lyrics give the song a very powerful ending. Stevie thought these lyrics were too bitter so she edited them off the album version. When added here, the whole song makes much more sense and the added lyrics give the song more of an edge as does the grinding guitar in the background.

This will probably be the only track re-mixed/done off of "Trouble In Shangrila" (although Bombay Sapphire sapphire would be a good candidate)...so go get it and enjoy..well worth the $...

The remixes, especially the Tracy Young Club Mix, avoid the trap of many remixes which distort the original versions of the song. These remixes actually enhance an already great song and give you more ways to experience it. However, the real jewel on this disc appears on the last track, which is an extended album version of Planets of the Universe with additional lyrics and an extended minute and a half of vocals during the fade out. It appears this longer version of the song was trimmed for the album. For any Stevie fan this is a must have.

I ordered this CD, but there was only 2 tracks - neither one was the club/dance version.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not much for the club scene, nor am I a big fan of club remixes in general. However, when I heard the Tracy Young mix of this song (which I actually had heard before the single got released), I thought it might have a chance in the clubs based on the MP3 I heard.

When I heard the remixes on the CD, though, I could easily picture myself in a club (trying to) dance to a couple of the mixes, specifically the Tracy Young mix and the Illicit mix.

As I said before, though, I'm not a big club mix fan. That's why my favorite track on this single is the extended album mix. The old lyrics get a face lift in this version... instead of the "woe is me" way in which the demo version's sung, this is a more defiant, "I can make it without you and I'll prove it" tone.

The best example is the line "you will remember, but I will die a slow death," which sounds like Stevie's agonizing over the breakup in the demo, but in the extended album mix, it sounds more like, "you'll live to regret it and I'll be around long enough to remind you of it until you die."

The problem with dance remixes is that you often end up with a catchy, bouncy beat behind lyrics that can't be bouncy. A classic case is "Evita," where Eva's confession that she's dying was made into a peppy club frolic. So the treatment of Stevie Nicks' "Planets" seems to go.

Nicks herself has described this song as dark. "Planets" is a song that finds its strength in bitterness coupled with a painful helplessness - the planets, after all, go their way. The remixes (Illicit and Tracy Young) add a zippy speed to this song that belies the underlying premise of pain. Listening to a digitally remixed and speeded up Stevie Nicks repeat the same word over and over again borders on cartoonish, but is no less than strange. The mixes aren't bad, per se. They are fun to hear while in a dance club, but just as you look back in wonder the next day at the events that transpired the previous evening on a dance floor, the magic seems to be lacking and the song curious when played outside the realm of a club.

The savior of this CD is the extended album version. In this mix, the song's integrity is preserved and the added bonus lies in an additional set of lyrics that are probably the only Stevie Nicks lyrics to express rage and are certainly the most blunt Nicks lyrics on record. While academically interesting from this point of view, I tend to agree with Nicks' own assessment that these lyrics are just too blunt such that they detract from the overall ethereal loneliness and sense of detachment created by the rest of the song.

"Planets of the Universe" has quickly become one of my favorite Stevie Nicks songs, and I am a purist (some will say that the album version is not pure as to the demos, but it is the final product by the artist). I think the song is just fine the way it was recorded and I see no need to speed up Nicks's forceful growl and add an array of synthetic accompaniment.

It's funny. I like Stevie's new album a lot. But there were no singles on it that knocked me out. This CD does that. All the Remixes are cool as hell but it's the extended album version that I listen to over and over again. The extended version is true to the demo, which is great. The added lyrics are reminiscent of the Stevie we know and love from the late seventies. Planets is a very fun song and this CD capitalizes on the funky lyrics and spacey moods. I can't wait for more remixes off this album! Great CD!

I think this Planets of the Universe CD single is great! The extended album version that's on here beats the album version by far, with those awesome and powerful "outtake lyrics" such as..."you will remember...but I will die a slow death...It's only an overture to something that was best...and don't condescend to me..take your leave..disappear into the air..i wish you gone, and I don't care..take your leave of me now..." etc. I really love that extended version! All the remixes are great, especially the Tracy Young remixes on here. The CD actually has the lyrics, and that is unusual for a CD single...I have already reviewed this item, but I don't know if it worked, so if I have two reviews sorry. I bought it today, the day it came out, and It's impressive for a CD..also nice art direction..........Stevie Nicks is still the Queen of Rock and Roll, and now she's tearin up the clubs! Go Stevie! Buy this CD you'll enjoy it!

Tracks 1 and 2 are long club edits, very similar, track 3 is the best one....its a great dance mix that is accessible, and a very good ratio of vocals to music...Tracks 4 and 5 are dub edits that have some interesting timing and make the song shine in unique ways. Finally, the last track is the album edit, and is quite different from the others. It is a completely different tempo sounding like a ballad-type rock song. In general, this is a beautiful song, and Ms. Nicks has a voice that is able to carry a power and depth that always makes her a worthwhile listen.

Stevie Nicks has been a force on the rock & pop scene for two decades. Who would have guessed that, in the 21st century, she would dominate the dance charts? But she did, with "Planets of the Universe." The song hit #1 on Billboard's Dance Chart in 2001. This CD presents several dance mixes and an extended rock mix of the standout song from her album "Trouble in Shangri-La." The dance mixes are stellar, and the extended mix rounds out the CD as a nice addition to any fan's collection.