Customer Reviews

Verve Remixed

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is so cool. Masterminded by some of the world's most influencial DJs, this record is a compilation of some killer jazz music mixed in a new and fresh way. It's an amazing spin on classic material. I'm not a huge Jazz person, but I love some of it. This is mostly remixes of the DIVAs of jazz - Dinah, Billie, Ella, Carmen mixed up in a way that is so catchy. This is the first time I bought an "electronica" album because I'm not a big elecronic person either (I LIKE MOSTLY ROCK!), but since both genres interest me a bit, I checked this one out. It's THE BEST record I've bought this year! And the Verve Unmixed is available for only [$]so I bought it too. It's REALLY amazing as well. Score!

If you love the flavor of stuff like Kruder and Dorfmeister or St. Germain, this is definitely for you! This is a perfect party disc to put on, everyone will love it. Nothing on here is too abrasive or modern, yet nothing on here is to safe or forgettable either. Each track just improves the over-all appeal of this album. This disc mixes the best DJ's and electronic artists with some classic jazz standards and does it extremely well. This is a mix disc waiting for a crowd to enjoy it, and after one listen, they will.

Whew, this is a tour de force and it has certainly been a work of art in the making that has been finally realised. To find Jazz greats such as Ella, Dinah, Ninah, Billie et al in such a contemporary setting has really taken me aback. The album proves that modern producers and DJ's can reinterpret the past. Some manage to retain more of the original sounds than others but for the most part it is something to behold.

There are so many good tracks to take off the album that it is probably better to start with the track which in my opinion is the weakest on the album, this being Tricky's remix of Strange Fruit. However, that is a minor blip and MAW's remix of Nina Simone's See-Line Woman is an absolute masterpiece. De-Phazz's remix of Ella Fitzgerald's Wait Till You See Him oozes with class and the vibe matches not just the original but also Ella's silky smooth voice. The Thievery Corporation are as solid as ever having already been heavily influenced by the Verve catalogue, they certainly don't disappoint. Perhaps this is the direction they should have gone in with their previous release from the Verve vaults, plenty of time for that later. Nina Simone appears twice and the second time it is Rae and Christian's remix of Feelin' Good and again we have a smooth remix of a masterpiece. There is so much to listen to UFO's excellent spy type interpretation of Sarah Vaughan's rendition of Summertime, MJ Cole's excellent midtempo remix of Carmen McRae's How Long has This been going On to name a few of the other tracks.

There have been many great albums this year and this will be up there with the best of them. I can see many other compilations of this type being released in the coming years but this has set a benchmark that will be difficult to surpass.

I dont know if this album will be appreciated by everyone, but I dont think it will be but also it doesnt need to be. I am a big jazz music fan but also a House music fan so this album is just right for me. Combining the creme de la creme of jazz and electronic dance music, the end result is amazing that makes me want to listen to it again and again. But this cd will probably not be accepted by all the jazz purists. Its fresh, its innovative, its respectful to the original music and above all is a pleasure for the ears. The best album for the summer and a future classic. Thank you Verve, I cant wait for the Vol.2

This is an outstanding collection of remixed songs from the Verve vaults. Ever since the duo known as the Thievery Corporation started releasing remixes from the Verve vaults the nu hits have continued to flow for a new generation. All the songs fit like a glove with the exception of "Hare Krishna" which would be more in tune with a collection of eastern music. Even the opening track, the Willie Bobo "hit" "Spanish Greese" is better suited to the thematic flow. All the other songs borrow from the likes of blues/soul divas like Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and Nina Simone. These new interpretations of classic songs maintain their original integrity yet sound extremely fresh. As a traditional jazz lover I found these songs exciting with their electronic meddling and tweeking. Especially interesting are the treatments of "How Long Has this been Going On"? with visionary work by MJ Cole, Joe Causells rework of "Feelin' Good" with jazzy instrumentation highlighted by the soulful renderings of Nina Simone and the marvelous redoux of Billie Holiday's classic banned song "Strange Fruit" that tells of the brutal inhumane Southern lynchings via the Tricky rearrangements. This is a superb collection for old and nu jazz fans alike. You cannot reinvent the wheel but you can make modifcations and expose more people to the beauty and simplicity of a good thing.Great old songs reinvented for new generations makes for great nu music. Highly recommended for those that like their electronica tinged with jazzy overtones, soulful singing and flat out cool interpretations of standards.

If you like the great jazz classics on the Verve/Unmixed CD, you'll either love or hate this CD. It's a great little soundtrack to your next late-nite cocktail party. For the most part I enjoyed the remixed versions of all of the songs presented here, but there are three that don't belong.

First off, I never liked "Hare Krishna", the last track, so the remix only takes some of the irritability of that track off for me. The other two just shouldn't have been touched, which are both Billy Holiday tracks. Maybe someone can remix her successfully, but I haven't heard it yet. She is much too magnificent to be watered down in a remix.

My fav is the remix of Carmen McRae's "How long has this been going on?", followed by "Who needs forever?". Nina Simone's "See-line woman" offering is an upbeat deliverance on the Verve/Unmixed CD, and on the remix it really shines. Ella Fitzgerald's original now remixed here is breathy and rich, and a tribute to the original.

If you're just getting into downbeat, jazzy trip-hop or a Jazz purist, this is a CD that should be a staple in your catalog.

~4 stars for the failed attempts on the two Billy Holiday tracks~

I heard this cd last Saturday in a restaurant and 2 things happened. 1. I said where the hell did you get this CD! and 2. I finished dinner and hauled it to the nearest store to get it. I suggest you do the same. I am usually a stickler for preserving the purity of classic artists but this is a twist that is so hot I couldn't resist.

The tracks are so infectious you have to move. Nina Simone's remixed "See-line Woman" is a funky, head nodding, hip-shaking treat that forces you to dance. Ella's buttery vocals are wonderfully enhanced on "Wait til you see him". The only misstep on this CD is Billie's "Strange Fruit". Taking a historically relevant track and placing it on some clunky party beats? Bad move.

Otherwise, this CD is a great addition for people who know good music when they hear it.

Get this CD ASAP!

This is my summertime CD for 2002, and that is a total surprise to me.

As a rule I think dub and remixes have been a major league bore for more than a decade. The mind-numbing dependence of most dj's on a handful of stock sounds--the James Brown clip, the Prince clip, the whole Art of Noise box of cliches--wore the whole genre to a dull edge long ago.

This CD has me rethinking that whole criticism. It helps that the vocals come from some of the 20th centuries greatest talents, but the mixes are warm and earthy and sweaty hot, not the tinny repititious borefests that turned me off a few years back.

Not surprisingly, the very best tracks are constructed around two of the greatest American vocalists of all time, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Fitzgerald's "Wait 'Till You See Him" sounds sexier than the original--I would have bet that wasn't possible--and Holiday's "Don't Explain" is just fantastic. Listening to Holiday is always an eye-opener; here the result of putting that magic voice in the midst of a modern mix is truly hypnotic. The Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughn tracks are hot too.

Maybe the greatest evidence that this is a great piece is the remix of Dinah Washington's "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" The original was sacherine and slow, with the instruments mixed wayyyyyyyyyyy down, kind of a vanilla pull at what is really a pretty spicy lyric. But the remix here is hot, marching and in your face, with a dirty horn part and a drum clip that I think may have been taken off Grand Funk's "American Band," of all things.

This is what hot, sweaty, romantic, sexy summer music should always be.

Loving most of these tracks in the original form I approached this CD with anticipation but at the same time with trepidation. Too often we hear the classics remixed but to what purpose. However, this CD seems to add a layer to the tracks that not only maintains the purity of the original but lifts them into a different sphere.

Nina Simone's See-Line Woman (remixed by Masters at Work) and Dinah Washington's Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby (remixed by Rae & Christian) enter a whole new dimension of electronica and beats whilst maintaining the integrity of the diva's vocals and nuances. The amazing pair of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton from Thievery Corporation have always defined cool for me and with their remix of Astrud Gilberto they don't disappoint. Joe Clausell's remix of Nina Simone singing Feelin' Good would have to be the funkiest chilled track of the year. That haunting piano remains with a backing of electonic funk. This is a great album for chill out Sunday's, friends for brunch, coming down from Saturday night or just you at home alone with a Cosmopolitan. A must have for fans of Verve and some of todays masters of remix.

I enjoy this album, more for the mixers and the new product they've created. But don't buy this looking for new twists on the original material because in many cases, the original stuff is all but obliterated. The thought of taking a song such as Strange Fruit and a singer such as Billie Holiday and re-mixing this stuff to a drum bass melange is sort of follhardy to begin with. Her strentgh as a singer was her incredible phrasing and plaintive emotion - all of which is wrung out of this mix. But that's ok as long as you know that going in. Nina Simone fairs better and Summertime remains evocative. It's very cool and bright background music - something to make and eat dinner to. The unmixed version though, is a knock-out sampler of mostly the great female singers on the verve roster. Some of that stuff can bring you to your knees in awe. Get them both and use appropriately.