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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Misunderstood Record. Open Your Minds, March 18, 2003
The original soundtrack is a brilliant piece of tense, broody strings with lo-fi cinematic backdrops. This LP isn't really made to cater for fans of the Orignial. This is a LP for fans of a different genre, namely techno and dance. Only people with open minds and wide ranging tastes can appreciate both. Still I agree with critics that this Remix Project could have been better. They should have included more IDM or Alternative Dance remixes by the likes of Boards of Canada, Spacetime Continuum, Amon Tobin, Merzbow, Alec Empire and Lamb. Where were the remixes by other classical composers/ bands? Why was the Kronos Quartet track only 15 seconds long? Whats with the inclusion of 8 Film Score tracks which range from 10 to 80 seconds? Still theres alot of great stuff packed onto the plastic. The highlights are Plants remix which includes nice samples of speech from the film (making me reminisce a whole lot). Next we have the Oakenfold track which is amazing, just think all the best string parts with a good beat and some haunting samples. Its really good and doesn't ruin the fragile emotion created by the Kronos Quartet. I wasn't expecting anything good from Delerium but their remix is the darkest, most haunting track on this lp. Its a top remix and again it works with the Kronos Quartet's piece instead of against it to create a stunning track. ILS bring in some much needed Jungle/Drum'N'Bass into the equation with a good track (but I think Clint Mansell, 1.8.7, DJ Dieselboy or Bad Company UK would have been a better choice)
Finally the Clint Mansell vocal track with the inclusion of Stone Roses-esqe vocals (very 80's English Music Scene). The vocals are really good and the darkness of the track is immense. The other full length tracks veer on the boring and 'chillout' side and aren't engaging enough to warrant sustained listening. Owning both the Original and the Remix, I probably would keep the Remix if I had to pick one, and no, I still haven't got bored of that amazing Kronos piece All in all about 6 great tracks with another 4 decent tracks. I bought my copy in the UK for a shade over 22 dollars. Thats alot of money but I stand by my purchase. For the Amazon USA price I really recommend this Lp for open minded Original Requiem Score lovers or new sophisticated Dance fans. PS. It would have been great to have the original Kronos track remixed into different genres. Dalek or Company Flow could handle the hip-hop side. Lustmord or Dead Voices on Air could do the Dark Ambient remix. We could get a indie rock remix by Porcupine Tree or Earthone9, a metal mix by Origin or Opeth and a ...(sorry, i'm day dreaming again).
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An up and down experience, March 21, 2006
After thoroughly enjoying the movie "Requiem for a Dream," I bought this album mainly because of my interest in electronic music (and the movie, of course). The electronic remixes provide very "interesting" takes on the music of the movie.
Some of the songs are good, but most of them are just too bland to be catchy. Overall, the album has a boring feel to it, stemming from the collection of samples taken straight from the movie. Sure, they serve to create a haunting atmosphere and make you feel like you're watching the movie, but I'd rather watch the movie again instead. Personally, I consider them plain filler. In addition, the little audio clips aren't very ideal for MP3 players (such as my iPod), when I prefer to listen to my entire library shuffled. After all, who likes listening to 10-second tracks mixed in with his or her other songs? But maybe that's just me. People who listen to CDs from beginning to end will have a better listening experience than I did and will definitely be taken for a haunting ride. And to keep the whole ride going smoothly, each song is slightly mixed with the next, which is something that might annoy some listeners (that includes me). Otherwise, the brief interludes serve their purpose pretty well.
As you probably know already, I like only a few songs on this album, and they are:
"In the End It's All Nice" by Plant - It's a remix of the main theme, and it has a dark, bouncy groove. This song should have definitely been the "intro," as the cleverly used samples provide a nice overview of the movie's plot and atmosphere.
"Ghosts In the Machine" by Psilonaut - It's a very interesting take on the "Ghosts" theme. It starts off slow, but eventually the calming, powerful (maybe even a bit repetitive) vocals smoothly take you to the end of the song. The sampling in it is weird (a robot counting from one to ten... whoa), but it adds to the haunting atmosphere without being too distracting.
"Aeternal" by Paul Oakenfold - It's another remix of the main theme, but this time it's a hip-hop sort of beat. The song never really changes its style or beat, but perhaps it's good that way.
"Deluxed" by Delerium - This is the darkest remix of the main theme, done by a very talented duo. The song starts off very slow, builds up intensely, and slowly ends back where it started. It's probably the best song on the album.
"Overturned" by ILS - It's nothing really special, but I like this drum-and-bass remix of the main theme for its novelty value.
As for the other songs, I can't say much about them other than I don't like them. But I do recommend this album to anyone willing to experience something that's new and unusual. The songs retain most of the chilling feel of the movie's original score, while they introduce a cool electronic twist that listeners may really enjoy.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the finest remix albums, April 1, 2003
first off, buy the original score first. it's a brilliant disc created by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet with all the amazing music from an incredible film.now buy this. artists like Delirium, Oakenfold, and Josh Wink put some great spins on the original score takes on this fantastic CD. it's very techno, but all of the remixers were able to keep the original feel of the songs and throw in their signature breaks, beats, and effects. 20 more tracks from this sensational film for your enjoyment
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~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - 1998
~ Clint Mansell
~ James Newton Howard
~ Various Artists
~ VNV Nation
is mainly Dance and quite Electronica”
