Categories : Miscellany, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 Reviewer: Andrew Mitchell |
Like the endless array of trinkets that have hastily appeared since the King Of Pop’s demise, Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite bears the glean of a shoddy cash in. And that assumption is not completely unfounded. While a good remix can completely reinvigorate an old tune, a poor one can just as easily turn a classic into mindless disco ball fodder. This collection of remixed hits from Jackson’s Motown years carries a balanced dose of both.
Some top of the line producers have a go at Jackson’s hits. ‘Dancing Machine,’ an easy target for remixing, gets not only a hip hop mastering by Polow Don Don but a disco retread by Steve Aoki. By throwing in a rap, muting the original harmonies and replacing them with a soulful melody counterpart, the Polow remix fares best with its cross-genre leap. The same goes for Salaam Remi’s reggae treatment of ‘ABC.’ The genre feels tailor made for the jocund hit, particularly when MJ’s shout-out midsong is met with round robin replies that stay true to the intended spirit of the original. But if there’s one track that feels like a genuine tribute to Jackson, it’s the string-laden, drum machine heavy refitting of B-sider, ‘Maybe Tomorrow.’ The song could easily dupe for a throwaway from Jackson’s 1987 opus, Bad. It’s the sole track pulled from one Jackson era that grabs the sound of another, just as if the King Of Pop had envisioned it himself.
Sadly, the rest of The Remix Suite dithers in what’s commonly found on these mixing table sandbox recordings: incessant club beats that play highly to the strobe light. But to its credit, at least we’re not being tossed another glossy repackaging of previous hits.
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