AiH’s remix album, We Died, They Remixed, never really sounded like a good idea – sure, “Do The Whirlwind” was bouncy and danceable, but a lot of their songs didn’t seem to lend themselves to the remix treatment. I hooked myself up with a copy of the album, however, and was proven dreadfully wrong: it’s pretty damn good.
33hz does a number on the already awesome “It’5,” making it a stellar dark disco romp, but keeping intact the fun aspects of the original. I could never have imagined someone turning AiH into Scissor Sisters and me enjoying it, so props there, 33hz.
It'5! [Poutine Dream Mix 33hz & Ming]
Qua’s take on “Maybe You Can Owe Me” is also thoroughly impressive. Though the song doesn’t seem terribly ready for a remix, Qua doesn’t go at it the “expected” way for a remix (big beats, synths galore, &c.), opting instead for something closer to a cover than anything else. Though the vocal track is kept, nothing else from the original is anywhere to be found, and there are absolutely no big beats. Instead, a Tunng-esque guitar backs up the lyrics until we go to a bagpipe breakdown.
Maybe You Can Owe Me [Qua Remix]
Love, The Beatles’ “remix” album created to go with the Cirque du Soleil performance of the same name, is a little less impressive. For this endeavor, George Martin and his son, Giles, remixed, mashed-up, and did everything else they could to re-invent these songs. Or they were supposed to. While a few songs stand out as being pretty excellent, the majority of them come off as too subtle. I guess when the other option is “ruining classic songs,” which way would you go?
Like I said, though, there are a few excellent tracks to be found here. On the straight-up remix side of things, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is well executed, carefully treading the line between respectful subtlety and re-invention. The song simultaneously strips the song down and busies it up, through some excellent production. Though the verses feel almost acoustic and distant, they bring up the bass behind them, and the chorus is even more raucous than it was in the original. No, it’s nothing brilliantly new, but it’s still fun and entertaining.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Love version)
When it comes to the mash-ups, they’re all pretty fun, and some of them are downright excellent, like the track that has “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” juxtaposed with “I Want You” and “Helter Skelter,” perhaps my favorite track from each of their respective albums. And, if you were wondering, it does have that wonderful cut-off that “I Want You” has at the end of it – perhaps my favorite part about that song. A lot of people say that it doesn't transition well on the CD, I think I have to disagree: it is an excellent end to side 1, true, but the way that it backs up to “Here Comes the Sun” contrasts perfectly.
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite/I Want You (She’s So Heavy)/Helter Skelter (Love version)
Don’t be fooled by these tracks, though, the majority of the album sounds very similar to the original renditions, with changes so subtle that they add very little (while we're on the topic, does anyone see a difference between the first “Race for the Prize” and the second one on The Soft Bulletin?). While I can’t say the music is bad in and of itself, I can say that there’s no reason to not go out and buy a greatest hits collection (or better, yet, the entire catalog, but that’s a lot to ask) instead of this.
That’s not to say that the show doesn’t look kick-ass, though; those clips at the Cirque website look awesome, especially the “Mr. Kite” bit. They make me wish I lived near Vegas. Or that I could afford a 60 dollar ticket, let alone a 125 dollar one.
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