Verve Remixed, Vol. 4

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Since 2002 Verve Records have opened select cuts from their highly esteemed catalog to cutting-edge DJ and producers for remixing; a lively dialogue between old and new that is documented on their VERVE REMIXED series. Volume 4 continues to deliver inventive revisions of some of the classic jazz and blues vocal tunes of the `50s and `60s, and adds shades of `70s funk and Latin-jazz. The remixes are as diverse as the label's far-reaching catalog, taking in approaches as varied as modernized Afrobeat, Neo-Northern Soul stomp, and orchestral electronica. Some of the pairings alone are worthy of the price of admission; Kenny Dope taking on the funk Godfather James Brown's "There Was A Time", and hip-hop wunderkind 9th Wonder's clipped, beat-heavy reconfiguration of Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" are among some memorable stand-outs. The fourth volume in Verve's Verve Remixed series was a long time in coming considering how quickly the label spit out the first three. Nonetheless, it is a welcome addition to that shelf if remixes are your personal thang. This set concentrates, once more, on vocalists, and the array is rather startling on the surface, though it's sequenced beautifully. As with any of these packages some cuts work better than others, but there are some true highlights here. Marlena Shaw's reading of Ashford & Simpson's "California Soul" is given a killer treatment by Diplo and Mad Decent, keeping the entire thing rooted in its source material and stretching it with judiciously added bits of early funk, Ramsey Lewis-style soul-jazz, and hip-hop. Antibalas added a ton of organic percussion and loops and Afro-funk to Patato y Totico's Latin bruiser "Dilo Como Yo," just massing the entire proceeding into an orgy of soulful percussion and funky horns while keeping the Afro-Cuban root and Yoruba chant of the tune entirely intact. Kenny Dope does his usual thing on James Brown's "There Was a Time" -- and yeah, it works the breaks while jungle loops careen wildly underneath the J.B.'s strutting horns. The radical chop up on Astrud Gilberto's "Bim Bom" renders the track all but unrecognizable. Dense loops, African thumb pianos, and space age breaks on the back end clutter it up, but it's interesting to hear once. Considering Verve Remixed, Vol. 4 as a whole, however, this volume succeeds simply because technology and perspective have changed so much since the earlier volumes were released. Even on the stuff that doesn't work so well, it does have a far warmer, more organic feel, as if the remix producers were able to actually collaborate on the tune as co-creators of something really new rather than simply updating them. ~ Thom Jurek

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