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57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just another remix album, June 5, 2004
Linkin Park's "Reanimation" is a remarkable CD. Many people I know said they wouldn't buy it because they assumed it was just a collection of extended, watered-down versions of their originals. Untrue. Each song is completely unique from it's parent, often times barely resembling it. With each song they took it to the next level, sometimes rerecording/rewriting the entire vocal or rap section to make it different from the original. "Pushing Me Away" comes to mind as a great example of this. So there's the first thing - this is not just a pale reflection of "Hybrid Theory"; it's completely fresh takes on the songs, including some previously unreleased cuts only available to LP fan club members.Although they used a dozen different producers throughout the CD it has an amazing continuity to it. The same melodic string and piano motifs appear throughout each recording, connecting it in a surreal way. There is only one production that seems out of place to me, and it's on the worst possible song - "In The End." This was their biggest hit from "Hybrid Theory" and fans were expecting more out of it than any other cut on the record (at least I was). They destroyed it. The producers gave the song a shuffle feel and laced it with the "yo-yo-yo" street thing, rather than the more rapcore attitudes that permeate the rest of "Reanimation." Terrible. Fortunately, though, the rest of the CD shines. This may be the first record, with the exception of "Hybrid Theory," that utilizes the newest technology for the good of music, not for the worse of it. Here's a brief explanation. Music is done entirely on computers today. There is no more tape. Only hard drives. We can now work with music in a similar way that a writer works with a word processor - just cut and paste. The result has been the demise of music. We now have tools of unbelievable power, undreamt of only ten years ago, yet the quality of music has steadily gotten worse. Why? Because the tools are so powerful and simplified that unqualified musicians can now use them. Performances can always be "fixed later" so a good performance doesn't really matter anymore. The vocals can be tuned, the drums can be put in time - not need to waste precious studio time on perfectionism. That's if you're lucky enough to be in a studio. Most of these systems are in the producer's house, which brings us to the second reason for demise - location. We no longer need 84 channel consoles and racks upon racks of outboard gear. It's all in the computer. Anyway, I'm going off a little too much. The point is, music quality is declining because enormous power is now in the hands of people who aren't qualified to have it. Linkin Park, however, has used this power for good. They've managed to use it to produce new sounds we've never heard before and to overall improve the quality of their sounds. On "Reanimation" the editing is used as an instrument as much as anything else. Make sure to stick with every song because they often turn midway through into some new, amazing section. Track 7 comes to mind as a production with a less interesting first half that ends up providing the best moment on the album in the outro. If you liked "Hybrid Theory" I can't imagine you wouldn't love "Reanimation."
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Remix CD, But No Follow-Up, July 30, 2002
If you like Linkin Park's original CD, "Hybrid Theory", you'll probably like their remix CD, "Reanimation". Linkin Park brought in a slew of DJs and rappers to help them bring out a CD that would hold fans over until their second "true" CD comes out in about six months. Some remixes turned out really great, standouts include "By Myself", "Place For My Head", "Pushing Me Away" and, of course, their single, "Points Of Authority", which came out with some harsh beats and more speed to them. However, the great dissappointments of the CD were their original singles. The remix of "In The End" sounds faster at best, nothing much has changed. Although they did change many of the lyrics of the song, the song sounds too similar to the original, with only real noticeable difference to the song being in the chorus, where the tune becomes more muddled and crowded. "Crawling" sounds similar as well, the beat is changed very little, sounding more like a rehash than a remix. A new, rapid fire verse is added, which is a nice addition, but not enough to make me like it as much as the original. "Papercut" was my biggest disappointment. Being my favorite song on the "Hybrid Theory" CD, I was excepted a great remix, if nothing else at least a good one. However, I was disappointed, as they just put out the exact same song, with the tiny change of making the song sound a little more electronic, not remixed at all. I could do the exact same thing with the original version of "Papercut", all I'd have to do it put it on really poor speakers and turn up the static. "One Step Closer" is the only decent remix of their singles, which is a true remix, but instead of speeding it up, they slowed it down and put a lot more emphasis on the beat, so the vocalists are overshadowed by the beat. I find this to be one of the average remixes on the CD. With the "Cure For The Itch" remix, you'll find more of the same, great DJing, but a variety of new samples have been added to his old ones. "With You" is also slowed down and lengthed, I would say the same thing about this one as the "One Step Closer" remix. Along with the "Hybrid Theory" remixes, you get remixes of a variety of remixes of songs from their first EP. "High Voltage" was a good song originally, but the has a much stronger beat as well as a featured rapper added to it. I have not listened to the songs of "My December" or "X-ecutioner's Style" enough to get a good grasp of what I think of them, but what I've heard of them, they aren't really stand-outs of the album, but aren't disappointing either, don't buy the album to hear these song though. Really, it's a really good album, but don't think of it as a follow-up to "Hybrid Theory", it's not that. What it is, though, is a little treat for those of us who like remixes and something to hold all of Linkin Park's fans until they release their next CD.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's got a lot Hybrid Theory didn't., July 31, 2002
Hybrid Theory was, in the opinion of most, an excellent album, and was certainly a financially successful one, especially considering it was the first serious recording venture made by the California band. The songs were usually bitter, often sorrowful, but seldom really angry in the dark, Nine Inch Nails sense of the word. NIN and bands like it have demonstrated that you don't have to be loud to be bitter and brooding, and Linkin Park has embraced this theory in Reanimation. By and large, the tracks on Reanimation are much quieter than their Hybrid Theory counterparts, but they are much darker. The effect complements the original album very well. The remixes themselves are very masterfully done, most notably 'Enth E End' (the almost jazzy new piano sample will catch your attention right away) and 'Krwlng' (Staind's Aaron Lewis lends himself very well to the song). The remixes of 'Place For My Head' and 'Pushing Me Away'--to which Korn's Jon Davis lends his considerable talents--and the previously unreleased track 'My December' are also well done. However, if you didn't care for Hybrid Theory, don't expect to enjoy Reanimation. Listening to the CD, I found myself preferring and disliking the same songs that I had when I got Hybrid Theory. Overall, though, it's certainly worth your money and an excellent CD to have, especially if it's to complement Hybrid Theory. Just as a brief aside, if nothing else go to a store and look at the back of the CD. You can have a little fun trying to decipher the twisted takes on the names of the original songs. 'Frg/10' gave me fits until I figured it out.
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