Customer Reviews

Verve Remixed 2 (Dig)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am not really a fan of jazz music. I just couldn't get into it. That is until I listened to the samples on Amazon for "Verve Remixed 2". I was bored at the office and decided to check out the samples for this album. Much to my surprise I liked what I heard. I bought the cd yesterday and haven't been able to get it out of my cd player. This collection of jazz songs remixed by today's hottest djs is a great idea. It means that non-jazz fans who might be into dance music (like myself) would give jazz music a chance. "Verve Remixed 2" is the ideal cd to throw into the stereo for a cocktail party with the friends or on a Saturday night before heading out to the clubs. "Verve Remixed 2" is somewhere in between the "Buddha Bar" series and the "Barfly" series. There is a good mix of house music as well as chill out music. I am not a fan of Felix Da Housecat's work but I thought his remix of Nina Simone's "Sinnerman" was excellent. It is one of my favorite tracks on the cd. Oscar Brown Jr. reminded me a whole lot like Nick Cave on his song "Brother Where Are You?". The similiarities in singing style was eerily alike. Another great song. I also really dug Gotan Project remix of Sarah Vaughn's "Whatever Lola Wants". After listening to "Verve Remixed 2", my mind has definitely opened up to the sounds of jazz music. I think remixing standard jazz classics by today's hottest djs is a wonderful idea 'cause it really exposes the music to a whole different generation of music lovers.

Ever hear some music that is familiar yet undauntingly fresh , catchy and infectious that it rarley comes out of one your various CD players? Well that is exactly what happens when you listen to yet another fantastic offering from the Verve vaults of jazz classics. The reworking of the songs originally made famous by some of the jazz heavyweights(check out the names in parenthesis) breathes new life yet maintains much of the flavor of the originals resulting in a pleasing disc with integrity. The reconstruction, remixing and arranging is flat out cool. Some remixes are more exceptional than others. A few that come to mind are the tangoesque version of Sarah Vaughns "Whatever Lola Wants." Even if you have never heard the song it is guaranteed you will be singing along and groovin to the tune. Other faves include the Cuban influenced Dizzy Gillespie classsic "Manteca," Willie Bobo's soulful "Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries" with it's sabor Latino(Latin flavor) that barely detracts from the original version, the hyper-thump-thump beat of Nina Simone's "Sinnerman," the music dropping out of the bottom dub effects of Hugh Masekela's "Mama" and the bizarre shrill, high pitched revamping cry out of " watchiwara" on the mellow Latin jazz standard "Soul Sauce" driven by Cal Tjaders vibes. There is only one song that doesn't fit for my tastes, although I like the song, and that is the light airy Brazilian entry by Koop on Astrud Gilberto's "Here's That Rainy Day." Overall the disc achieves one of it's goals which is to expose jazz music to the dance generation. Being pretty familiar with most of the originals I found the remixes to be very satisfying as though resusitated by a breath of fresh air. I thouroughly enjoyed this disc as much as Verve Remixed 1 and quite possibly even more. Great art work cover too that is further detailed inside the disc with closeups of a Verve 8 track player with a piled on portable electric hot plate heating up some Verve food. If you like a plate of chill out, dance grooves served with a heaping serving of jazz classics than you'll love this disc. Highly recommended.

The first "Verve Remixed" was a winning collection of tracks that married old jazz standards with contemporary electro-heads in a sweltering combination of laid-back grooves and a nod to the history that begat the union to begin with. This second compilation isn't even close to being as engaging.

The key to the first record was "homage": The producers (for the most part) didn't try to tear the original songs apart. They seemed to be trying to figure out how some of the original artists might have re-envisioned the tracks if they were in their studio (again, for the most part); "if Nina Simone had access to an MPC2000, what might button might she push next?" That sort of thing.

The second record falls prey to the type of laziness that keeps many tribute/remix/homage records from actually being good, smart moves: the remixers look at the original source material as a new sample library to lift pieces from to add to already existing tracks that they've had sitting on the shelves or that they whipped up in a day. Where the first record had a number of tracks that sounded like a real attempt to marry the technology to the story and emotion of the original songs (Ella Fitzgerald's "Wait 'Till You See Him" and Nina Simone's "See-Line Woman" leap immediately to mind), the second is house music-by-numbers, when it isn't being merely boring.

The first record I could have given to someone who liked jazz (contemporary or traditional) with the faith and feeling that they would have gotten a kick out of at least half that record, and maybe even been turned on to the work of some of the remixers. This one would just get me blank stares.

If you bought this one first, you'll love the first one.
But just because you liked the first one doesn't mean you'll like the second.

I recently read a review on somebody's website that trashed this album, So when I got it in the mail I wasn't as quick to listen to it. "MY BAD!" This album is full of Jazzy rhythms and housy grooves that will make anyone happy (except the big dummy that wrote that review.) Verve has been preserving JAZZ for a very long time and as it goes, people need change. Here is a ingenious idea that remixers and DJ's have had to take classic Jazz and pop it with a new flavor that is appealing to today's If you can imagine NINA SIMONES' "Sinnerman" being one of today's biggest house cuts? Well that's is just one delight that you find on this album. This version was reinvented by FELIX DA HOUSECAT. Other artist are SARAH VAUGHAN, OSCAR BROWN JR., DIZZY GILLESPIE, ELLA FITZGERALD, RAMSEY LEWIS, ASTRUD GILBERTO, WILLIE BOBO, BETTY CARTER, CAL TJADER and ARCHIE SHEPP. No matter what type of Jazz you like, you will enjoy the experience that VERVE REMIXED volume 2 will give you. If you have never heard of these artist... well you need to know who they are. They have built the platform for today's music from Jazz to Blues to R&B and beyond.

What an incredible "mix" album VERVED REMIXED 2 is: a joyful party for your ears and feet and even better (if possible) than the first VERVE REMIXED.

If you're like me and always on the look-out for a potential exercise/dance tape album that doesn't drone on or insult your need for smart music, here's a pleasant experience for your nerves! Whether it's the sensuous, pulsating "Whatever Lola Wants" (this song CALLS you to dance in a way you cannot fight much the way "Conga" by Miami Sound Machine did in the 80s) or the sassy, happy "Slap That Bass" you will not be disappointed. Finally an album with the moves that disco once promised but never really delivered (or at least in a way that didn't come across as cheap and unfulfilling <g>.)

The reasons this album is special are many:

-"Brother Where Are You?" is haunting and evocative, unforgettable as is "Black is The Color of My True Love's Hair"

-"Do What You Wanna" is a party song in the spirit of the Isley Brothers or Marvin Gaye (i.e. "Got to Give it Up Part 1")

-"Soul Sauce," "Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries," and "Mama"
are great rhythm pieces that take you away to exotic places.

-"Angel Eyes" and "Here's that Rainy Day" leave you breathless with their beauty.

Some people may worry that messing with great artists such as Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald is sacrilege; normally, I would agree. But what you have here is a rarity: an album that merges the classics with the contemporary and comes marching out with respect, beauty and the original intent left intact. Clearly the artists who mixed these songs did so with love and gusto and what emerges is a smart dance album with a simple heart.

(Side not: You will also love the VERVE UNMIXED 2 album which keeps the original songs that are mixed for the REMIXED 2 album. It's a lot of fun to compare the original with the mixed versions and to discover that the source material is as wonderfully catchy and unforgettable as their touched-up sisters.
"Slap that Bass" on VERVE UNMIXED 2, for instance, will blow you away as if it were a leave blower on high octane.)

Obviously "the shock of new" helped propel the first Verve Remixed record. This not to say that remix records are new, but certainly the Verve crew took a step into uncharted waters by allowing electronic music producers free reign to remix its storied vaults.

Rather than just stay in the realm of downtempo and do the same thing over again, there is a greater diversity of styles on VR2 from the trippy tango treatment of Gotan Project on S. Vaughan's "Whatever Lola Wants" to swing house style of Mondo Grosso on the remix of "Blues for Brother George" to Jaffa's soulful downtempo take on "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair."

Jaffa's track to me is the standout on the record, and I'm also in partial agreement that jazz lends itself better to downtempo treatments.

But that doesn't stop me from lovin' the hell out of this record. So what it if makes want to shake your moneymaker? Just bobbing your head gets old after awhile. GET OFF YOUR COUCH AND PUT DOWN THE CHEESE CURLS.

Obviously, the VR2 is going to be judged on a different basis -- the second record must live up to excitement and quality of the first and deal with the "sequel" detractors. Well, so far I think its doing well on both counts.

So thanks to Verve, almost 60 years after your inception, you're still one of the coolest labels on the face of the earth.

Several years ago we rented the DVD entitled "Cellular" with Kim Basinger and William H. Macy. Since then I have had the tune "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone stuck in the back of my mind. The movie may have been forgetable but the music was not. I couldn't remember the name of the song and even thought it might be Strange Fruit at first. I took out the DVD from the rental store again today, fast forwarded to the end and on the music credits it listed "Sinnerman" as the title. So I went online and listened to Nina Simones original version but it just didn't have the catchy beat of this remix version. Felix da Housecats Heavenly House Mix jazzes this tune to a dance beat which has got me by its spell. I bought the CD just for the one song, but listening to the others on the playlist, I think I'll be playing the whole CD....over and over...

LW Neish

I enjoyed Remixed 2 just as much as Remixed 1 but the difference is -- I felt a much stronger personal connection to Remixed 2. If you're someone who listens to Ella in the dark or watches Casablanca alone with a glass of wine, you will gasp and blush at the way this album teases you with nostalgia yet spices it up with some very sexy rhythms and percussions. The remix of Nina Simone's "Sinnerman" bows low to the original and looks up its skirt at the same time. "Angel Eyes" and "Whatever Lola Wants" should not be listened to on a full moon or you'll get yourself in trouble. This is an album for lovers of all things sensual. If Lauren Bacall's line to Bogart about whistling makes you dizzy, get this album for appetizers. Get Pink Martini's Sympathique for the main course.

I don't know what was floating through some of the other reviewer's minds when they were writing the review, and sadly it brings down this godly CD's average score. First off, I will give this 5++. My reasons for doing so lie within the mixes of the individuals who compiled this CD, and with the persons responsible for choosing such beautiful songs. As I stated in my Verve Remix Vol. 2, the song selection made an ENORMOUS deal when it came down to remix time. The only 'flaw' I can find (and I say flaw because essentially the CD has none), is that at times the remixes can be a bit on the repetitive side. Even this though, is nice for some smooth relaxation if you listen to it under certain conditions. Verdict?...Buy three, and give 2 as gifts. They will make any jazz afficionado ecstatic.

As a remix album, 2002's "Verve Remixed" was a much-needed breath of fresh air. It boldly assembled a handful of popular jazz tunes and smartly revamped them to the tune of chilled beats. That compilation was not only a healthy seller but also a distinguished entry among the hundreds of anonymous downtempo CDs. Verve labors to make lightning strike twice in the same place by releasing "Remixed 2," and unlike this summer's blockbuster sequels, the results don't disappoint. Felix Da Housecat drops Nina Simone's "Sinnerman" into a simmering pot of house beats and electro grooves. Cal Tjader's "Soul Sauce" gets a makeover that's surprisingly faithful to the original thanks to its Filla Brazilla Remix. Tjader's vibes go hand in hand with the drum beats, and the result is sure to please both strict fans of Cal and dance lovers alike. Willie Bobo's "Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries" gets the downtempo treatment, while Miguel Migs (known for his soulful house touches) gives an elegantly tasteful update to Ella Fitzgerald's "Slap that Bass." This is a remix album that deserves credit by appealing to two different audiences: open-minded jazz lovers and the chillout crowd. While I personally think its predecessor is a hair better, "Verve Remixed 2" is a worthy sequel that shouldn't be overlooked.