Published on Jan 13, 2000
I’m not quite sure when the Mighty Mr. Thelen (TM) is going to
run this review as I had submitted one for the original version of
Talk On Corners. In any case, if you want some of my
thoughts on that album, know that they’re out here somewhere.
(Ed. note: Actually, the version I found that we ran was
from Duke Egbert
.)
I do wonder, though, what exactly prompted the young quartet
from Ireland to go and remix their last album. After all, the
remixing of albums has been, up to this point, something that only
guys like Rob Zombie do. Still, how many people are going to rush
to their local music stores to buy a remixed version of the albums
they already bought? I think most would consider that an attempt to
rip off their fanbase. What’s the point of all this? Nothing more
than to say I don’t know why the band felt they needed to remix
their album. However, they did.
This album starts with a remixed version of “What Can I Do.” In
this case, I found the remix to be a better version than the
original. They spruced up the sound, made the drums sound crisper,
added violins and -this was big – removed the “du-du”s. This made
the song sound more mature and full. “So Young” was also remixed,
though I couldn’t tell a difference. It does sound clearer, but not
by much. In any case, I already liked the song as an example of
good pop. Their remix of “Dreams” does work as well. It makes the
song sound a bit otherworldy, thanks to some celtic sounds.
However, not every one of the remixes works well. The remix of
“Runaway” – the original from their debut album,
Forgiven, Not Forgotten – is in no way a match for the
original version. Also, I do believe that their instrumental “Paddy
McCarthy” was remixed as well. It sounds a bit more pop-oriented
than the first version.
The rest of the album, though, is the original studio versions
of
Talk On Corners. Here would be a good place to tell you to
read that original review. If you can’t find it, here’s the
lowdown. I loved “Only When I Sleep” and still do. This song is
great and still can’t believe that the producers of
Felicity or some WB/teen show hasn’t taken this song for
their soundtrack. “I Never Really Loved You Anyway” is another good
pop song as is “No Good For Me.” On the other side, you have “Queen
Of Hollywood” and “Hopelessly Addicted.” Then, there’s the same
version of “Little Wing,” which I still can’t compare to Jimi
Hendrix’s version, but I still believe Stevie Ray Vaughan did it
better. Oh well.
I guess that what breaks the bank for me is that this is not a
new and complete album, but rather something cooked up to sell more
records. If you were not captured by the original version of
Talk On Corners, then here was the more-hip one for you to
buy. And, if you’re a fan, you feel compelled to go out and
purchase this album – even if you have the original one. That’s not
right. What makes this situation worse is that only less than a
half of the album is remixed. Why stick both new versions and old
versions? At least Rob Zombie has the decency of fully remixing the
entire album. Or, if they wanted remixes of songs from both albums,
that would have been better than the half-assed job you get
here.
Had this been the first time I had heard these songs, I would
have perhaps been more lenient. If the first version had not
existed, I would have given this album a B-. However, as a remix
album, I could give it only a D. Therefore, I will average both and
give them the middle grade. Next time, make sure the album you
release is the one that will still be out there. Don’t do this to
fans.