I’m in “a mood.” It’s uncomfortably humid here in my apartment. I’m bored just looking at the armload of vintage vinyl I’ve already flipped through a hundred times that’s leaning against the shelf next to my desk. And I don’t really feel like moving crates around in order to pull some other records out of my makeshift library. Besides, I know what I’ve got in there (see my comments from Tuesday about feeling stagnated) and I don’t really want to hear any of it right now. So the usual Records at Random format is getting shoved aside today in favor of something… else.
I’ve had the fourth installment of Verve Records‘ Verve Remixed series sitting here for a while now and I’ve realized I really only listened to it once. And that session was interrupted by police sweeping my building looking for people with outstanding warrants, so it really wasn’t satisfactory at all. Long arm of the law or no, I usually enjoy Verve’s remix projects — where they give tracks from their catalog (and increasingly from other label’s) over to producers and remixers of the moment to rework them as they see fit — and have yet to be disappointed by one as of yet. Thankfully, Verve Remixed 4 doesn’t break the label’s winning streak.
The first cut I heard from the new compilation was a remix of Marlena Shaw’s “California Soul” by Diplo which didn’t impress initially. Being a fan of Diplo’s remixes I was surprised at how subdued it was, leaving the track largely intact, with edits, effects and some programming being added. I guess I was expecting him to really “Diplo it up,” adding thunderous 808’s, B-More-inspired programming and speaker rattling bass or something. Having the opportunity to sit and really listen to it now I really do enjoy his mix, restrained and classy as it is. And I can appreciate the respect he showed the original, adding just enough thump and stutter to “modernize” it while keeping as much of what made it a classic as possible.
With my apprehensions out of the way I could enjoy what the rest of the disc had to offer. And enjoy it I did, particularly the more soulful reworks turned in by some. Whiny synthesizers, an ominous keyboard figure, hefty bass and crackly, reverb-laden drums courtesy of the Truth & Soul crew make Dinah Washington’s “Cry Me a River” sound more like a forerunner of Portishead than it already did. While the addition of a horn section gives it a gritty Stax-esque edge. House legend Kenny Dope dubs out then jazzily strips down James Brown’s pompously ecstatic “There Was a Time” to drums, rumbling bass, piano, horns and guitar, making it sound like a Rudy Van Gelder session for Blue Note during their breakbeat era. And Nina Simone gets the retro-Girl-Group treatment, complete with echo-y claps & snaps, ringing bells, horns and a carefree string arrangment, by Mike Mangini, a former Imani Coppola (currently of Little Jackie) collaborator.
The Soul doesn’t stop as 9th Wonder takes on the Roy Ayers chestnut “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” sampling and re-sampling bits of the original and rearranging the chops over his trademark drumwork. While Detroit’s Karriem Riggins cranks up the low end and the tempo on Willie Bobo’s cover of Santana’s “Evil Ways,” with the vocals speeding over a neck-snapping bop and super-thick bassline. And Canadian musician, songwriter & producer Mocky (a frequent co-conspirator of Feist and Jamie Lidell among others) gives Anita O’Day’s slowly swinging ballad “Tenderly” the sort of makeover I listen to these remix projects hoping to hear. Replacing the original’s brush-stroked backing with a midtempo shaker-n-wood-block groove and a winding Funk-inspired bassline, then massaging the vocals with effects, Mocky transforms the tune into the sort of soulfully sophisticated Pop one would expect to hear on a Fiest record.
Anita O’Day “Tenderly (Mocky Remix)”
If anything gives Mocky’s contribution some competition it’s the Cinematic Orchestra’s minimal rub of Ella Fitzgerald’s bittersweet rendition of the Cole Porter-penned standard “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Beginning with the sound of a needle falling gently into a record’s crackling groove the ensuing mix layers glittering acoustic guitar, upright bass notes, Ella’s transistor-filtered vocal and eventually subtle piano twinkling. The somber tone and wholesome organicness of the new instrumentation compliments the original composition as well as Ella’s vision, makes for a beautiful tribute to the fallen great, and stands alone as a lovely slice of downtempo romanticism.
After that highlight the disc fades out to the sound of more vinyl noise. Which is what I usually write the weekly Records at Random posts to. It’s good to know some things never change.