Sound Bites
Deep Dish “Renaissance Ibiza” Renaissance
The renewed advent of club and vinyl mixing, associated with the
house movement of the mid-’80s, saw, for the first time, a
new type of “album” – the mix CD. While
admittedly a compilation of other artists’ pieces, the mix CD
was introduced as a self-sustaining work and as art accredited to
the producers themselves. Although this concept seemed like
outright plagiarism, mix albums ended up being something of a
propellant for the newly born electronic dance music industry,
igniting publicity for the track artist and the mix artist with the
same match. Deep Dish gained notoriety for producing
tight-rhythmed, deep house tracks, earning industry respect in the
mid-to-late ’90s. Now, on “Renaissance Ibiza,”
the Iranian-American duo uses the mix CD to capture the essence of
a particular feeling associated with a particular place, and does
so magnificently. This place is the picturesque Spanish island of
Ibiza, which has been a refuge for UK clubbers since the days of
Paul Oakenfold’s introduction to ecstasy in the
mid-’80s, and while most of today’s club DJs were still
in their diapers. On its second full-length release Deep Dish
attempts to encapsulate Ibiza’s soaringly elegant trance, its
down-and-dirty garage house, and everything danceable in between,
giving the listener a sensually invigorating flyby of the
island’s club life. Tracks range from an
“extra-beats-on-top” remix of Moby’s
“Porcelain,” to a deep house version of Everything But
the Girl’s “Temperamental.” While house superstar
Danny Tenaglia’s mix of Green Velvet’s
“Flash” kind of drags out into absurdity as Tenaglia
ironically chastises recreational use of nitrous oxide and ethanol,
BT’s mesmerizing “Dreaming (Evolution Mix)” keeps
listeners on their feet and ready to dance – even after the
2-CD album is about to come to a close. The height of
“Renaissance Ibiza’s” ascent occurs on the second
disc, during Muse’s “Sunburn (Timo Maas Sunstroke
Remix),” whose exquisite piano arpeggios, downright
groovalicious bass line and hard-hop house beats might even cause
Al Gore to stand from his chair and throw his hands and knees up in
funky surrender. Well, maybe not. But Deep Dish does a fine job of
introducing the naive to the variety of Ibiza, even with only two
CDs’ worth of material to do so. If one is planning a trip to
the island any time soon, consider “Renaissance Ibiza”
as an introductory tour guide before indulging in European-style
club land heaven. Cyrus McNally
Rating: 8
DJ DB “The Higher Education Drum ’N’ Bass Session” F-111/Higher Education
Although the idea of a drum ’n’ bass mix CD is
nothing new, the idea of mixing furiously fast with scattered beats
together seems like quite a feat to undertake. World-renowned DJ DB
does this, however, and does it seamlessly, even though his track
choices aren’t at the forefront of today’s jungle
industry. Most of the songs, which range from vocal break-beat
fluff to the hardest of the hardcore dark drum ’n’
bass, are taken from DB’s own F-111 label, narrowing his
tonal range a bit too much for comfort. With a pretentious title
like “The Higher Education Drum ’N’ Bass
Session,” you would expect a bit more intellectual breadth
than the DJ provides. but still, this sophomore release has much to
offer the avid jungle fan. Take Trade Secrets’ “I know
Your Soul,” as remixed by industry legend Acen, which
features hip-hop lyrics over frantic, wiry beats set to a dissonant
bass line. Acen’s own “Black Dawn” truly conjures
up just that – music for a planet without sunrise, and
incidentally ruled by drum programming machines as well. The
resulting sound is something along the lines of pure evil, yet with
an educational intention. While much of the album sounds like the
soundtrack for “Terminator 2” if it were to have been
released released this year, DJ DB decided to close on an
“up” note with the jazzy “Vibration” by
Scientist 212, mixed in a somewhat sexy manner (if that term could
ever be used in drum ’n’ bass) with “Tough at the
Top” as performed by the E-Z Rollers. Overall, “The
Higher Education Drum ’N’ Bass Session” is abound
with superior mixmanship, proving DJ DB to be a virtuoso in an art
form in which virtuosity is a necessity, even if his well-focused
journey into the depths of a beat-laden Hades might be a bit of a
strain to the virgin ear. Cyrus McNally
Rating: 5
Various Artists “Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors” Elektra
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Then
again, sometimes it’s best to leave a good thing alone. At
least that’s the case with “Stoned Immaculate.”
The Doors were one of the most cherished and respected outfits of
the ’60s era of rock music, influencing countless musicians
in following years. Since you can hear the band’s signature
creepy rock-blues blend in loads of different contemporary
songwriting, you don’t really need a tribute album to know
that Jim Morrison and his musical compatriots were titans of the
genre. There’s basically two categories of Doors covers:
exact copies and really bad copies. Neither one really does much to
advance the legacy of a band that’s already been praised
highly. Nonetheless, “Stoned Immaculate” certainly has
a plethora of both. Stone Temple Pilots and Creed, never accused of
being particularly innovative bands, lead the way in the former
category. Their respective covers of “Break on Through”
and “Riders on the Storm” are flawlessly executed, but
don’t deviate from the originals at all. Sure, they’re
still good songs, but why bother when Morrison’s version is
just fine? Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, the Doors’
original guitarist and organist, sat in on these remakes, adding
too much of a direct link to the old days. At least these exact
facsimiles sound nice. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said
for Smash Mouth’s “Peace Frog” or Ian
Astbury’s misguided “Touch Me.” Neither does
anything else on this new album approach the raw brilliance of the
Doors’ original takes of the songs on their albums. While the
album has a few small gems, most notably a well-crafted re-working
of “Love Her Madly” by bluesmaster Bo Diddley, it
largely falls flat. If you really want to pay tribute to
Morrison’s lizardly grace, just buy his albums. Brent
Hopkins
Rating: 3
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