Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing album, January 17, 2006
An amazing album and highly necessary to, simply due to the proliferation of Sarah remixes that had been floating around prior to this compilation, many of which were previously very hard to get hold of.
The album kicks off with the absolutely exquisite Hybrid remix of "Fear". Ever innovative Welsh orchestral breaks outfit Hybrid have really excelled themselves here, with Sarah's breathy vocals taking on a new dimension atop their simply stunning electronic soundscape. At ten minutes in length this track is a truly inspirational opening to what is a truly essentially album.
Track 2 is the jawdroppingly brilliant "Sweet surrender", as remixed by Tiesto. Tiesto's remix of "Silence" - Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan further cemented his reputation within dance music culture as a legend. His remix of "Sweet surrender" is every inch as powerful as "Silence". This remix originally appeared in late 2000 but was not realeased commercially in the UK until early 2002.
Next up is Sarah's signature tune, the hugely emotive "Angel", which, in its original form, truly sends a chill down the spine. The mournful spirit of the original is not lost in Dusted's remix, who pick up the pace ever so slightly to deliver a rework that would not be out of place on their own "When we were very young" opus
Track 4 is another remix that had been floating around for seemingly an absolute age, the BT remix of "I love you". An emotive epic laced with BT's peerless high quality production, "I love you" is one of the highlights of this CD, and is again featured here in full length form. This particular remix echoes ever so slightly of BT's Jan Johnston collaborations such as "Mercury and solace" and "Sunblind"
"Silence" is up next, the biggest dance crossover hit of 2000 by an absolute mile. "Silence" was originally produced by Delerium in 1997 but it was only when the track was remade by US prog-trance outfit Fade in 1999 that it received the attention it deserved and became a massive club favourite. The Tiesto remix is not based on the original of "Silence", but actually takes its cue from Fade's timeless sanctuary mix, adding bombast by the bucketload and culminating in one of the best remixes ever to have been committed to vinyl.
"Black" is up next, as remixed by William Orbit. This track sounds a little out of place when surrounded by high octane, hugely emotional trance remakes. It is the weakest track on the album and something of a disappointment from the usually reliable Orbit
The Rabbit In The Moon remix of "Possession" is another disappointment, seemingly incomparable to all of the other tracks on the CD. The best version of this poignant track scribed about a crazed fan stalking Sarah is surprisingly a cover version which was recorded by Transfer and released on the Multiply label in the UK in 2001
Track 8 is another highlight which is again brought to us by the pioneering BT, whose remix of "Hold on" is simply breathtaking, surpassing even his mix of "I love you". Again a hugely idiosynchratic affair, BT pulls out all the stops to deliver an electonic emotional rollercoaster which is arguably one of the finest Sarah reworks to date
The last track on the album comes care of the aforementioned Fade, who were commissioned to remix "Plenty". Again, doing a fantastic job they did with "Silence", Fade's remix is a less immediate but massively infectious affair which builds and builds before exploding into a sonically stunning climax replete with the hypnotic "Until my dying day, plenty" refrain. Again, another rarity which has been impossible to find either before or after the release of this CD, Fade's remix of "Plenty" is an inspiring and truly enduring offering.
All in all a must have either for fans of dance music in general or of Sarah McLachlan. The follow up album was eventually released in 2005 entitled "Bloom"
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dancing with Sarah, December 21, 2003
As the previous reviewer pointed out, this CD was released over 2 years ago, but the List Date of Dec 2003 is still correct since this remix CD was previously not available in the USA on the Arista label. It was released in Canada on Nettwerk and subsequently around the world except USA.
It's easy to think that a remix CD is another way a record company to make a quick buck, but in this instance, these remixes are sought after and who would have imagined that they could club to any of Sarah's haunting tunes? Now you'd better, Employing the skills of such celebrated remixers like BT, Rollo, DJ Tiesto and William Orbit, the results are certainly pleasing.
It's undeniable that BT does the best job here and I'd give him a perfect 10 for re-creating I Love You into a semi-elctronic dance tune that complements Sarah's sombre vocals there perfectly. Hybrid's remix for the heavenly Fear also scores points for its highly-charged energy. Rollo's mix of Angel typically changes the sad song into a trip hop affair.
The only possible fault here is DJ Tiesto's remix of Sweet Surrender which turns the beautiful song into a generic Euriopean dance mix. I would have preferred Uberzone's funky remix on the CD-single.
In the end, this is a gift for fans and dance maniacs alike. Finally, it gets a general release in the US and that's great!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
undermining the voice, June 8, 2007
I am not one to instantly disdain music revisions and curse them for not being clones of the original stuff I know and love. Hell, I still think that Un-Led-Ed by Dread Zeppelin is one of the best albums ever while I remain a solid fan of the Led (in case you don't know: Dread does reggae versions of Led Zeppelin songs while being fronted by an Elvis impersonator). So I do think that music can be revised and reheard.
And here it is: the But...
But I think this remix disc seriously undermines the core strength of Sarah McLachlan's music--her voice.
Odd to say, because for almost all of these tracks, the voice is all that remains of the original song. This disc is just another exhibit of a belief I have held for a long time, which is that electronic music is ultimately a very limited medium, and that the richness and variety of tones of media as ancient as percussion and the human voice will always outweigh electronics in spades...unless the electronics are so intrusive and underdeveloped that even a voice as rich and multi-layered as McLachlan's is put off-kilter by it.
One track that stood out to me as a good example of the limits of electronic music is the Dusted remix of "Angel." The rigid, limited rhythms of the electronic beats just can't come near addressing the more complex rhythms of McLachlan's voice, and as a result, both of them sound out of place and a little silly (one more than the other, obviously).
It's good to know that Sarah McLachlan isn't a purist or a separatist and doesn't want to express in one area of music alone (although, let's face it, would L7 have been SUCH a bad choice for Lilith?), but this particular effort set her voice back too much.
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