the Reviews
Rarewerks: one for the price of eleven?

Look, I'm no obsessive collector who needs to obtain every recorded version of a song or every obscurity by my favorite bands (okay, I did do that once with Huey Lewis and the News for some reason - yeah, I don't know why either) so I don't rush out and buy compilation cds very often. Sure, you'll have one great song, but there's the rub; it's only one great song. Most compilations should be relegated to the used bin immediately upon release, thus saving everyone a lot of trouble.

Still, sometimes you get lucky, and the new Astralwerks rarities/imports/remixes collection Rarewerks looks like one of those comps that could hold some surprises, so...ahh screw it. I heard the Air track, had to buy the cd, and now I gotta assess the damage.

(click on each to skip to the review, or keep reading)

1. FATBOY SLIM - How Can You Hear Us?
2. PRIMAL SCREAM - Exterminator
   (Massive Attack Remix)
3. Q-BURNS ABSTRACT MESSAGE - Feng Shui
   (Groove Armada Lost In Space Remix)
4. AIR - Casanova '70
   (The Secret of Cool Brendan Lynch Remix)
5. CASSIUS - Foxxy (Cassius Remix)
6. SCANTY SANDWICH - This One
7. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS - Out Of Control
   (Sasha Instrumental Mix)
8. PHOTEK - DNA
9. BASEMENT JAXX - Bingo Bango
   (David Morales Latin Dub Mix)
10. THE BETA BAND - To You Alone
11. THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON - Live In New York

The difficulty in reviewing records for this site (I write this as if this weren't the first music review I've done since working for the Banner) is that I have to evaluate records within the framework of "Subconscious Party Music," a definition I myself only marginally grasp. But even if it doesn't quite swing the subconscious soiree, it can still be evaluated on its own merits, and I'll be the first to admit that makes a hell of a lot more sense. The following is a track-by-track assessment of Rarewerks that satisfies the demands of both the scholar and the music fan.

FATBOY SLIM - How Ca - tee hee hee! I'm sorry. I just couldn't keep a straight face after suggesting any kind of scholarly intent to this review. Okay. Sorry. Deep breath.

FATBOY SLIM - How Can You Hear Us?
Sound subconscious? - Not really. Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) doesn't have a subtle bone in his body and his work tends to be too busy-sounding to enable the listener to tune-in to his or her subconscious.
Any good? - Actually, yes. The arrangement is minimalist for Cook; there are no samples of the Who or Jim Morrison, the beats sound measured and mechanical, and electronic noise dominates where rock instrumentation once ruled. Normally, Cook aims to energize but frequently ends up exhausting the listener, however the balance on this track is just right.

PRIMAL SCREAM - Exterminator
(Massive Attack Remix)
Sound subconscious? - Recorded-in-a-tin-can vocals, growling bass, and fuzzed-out guitar samples give it some Jungian cred, but the aggression comes tearing through a bit much to make it suitable for the soiree.
Any good? - The members of Primal Scream were quite good at making the happy, trippy, Brit-hippie techno-rock that characterized their careers in the early Nineties. At some point, though, they decided they were angry at someone, and judging from what they've said in interviews, that someone was Margaret Thatcher, whose now-perceived transgressions they were apparently too high to notice years earlier. Today, their songcraft is somewhat hampered by politics more confused than that of the crowd at a Rage Against the Machine show, but whaddayawant?. This is masterfully executed industrial rock without all the Goth trappings, and you gotta admit that's pretty cool.

Q-BURNS ABSTRACT MESSAGE - Feng Shui
(Groove Armada Lost In Space Remix)
Sound subconscious? - This starts off promisingly with peaceful electronic noises drenched in reverb and a softly pulsing, muted beat. The tempo picks up, though, and it turns into rather generic dance music faster than you can say "aw crap."
Any good? - Not too bad. The intro noises resurface eventually and begin to push the song in a darker direction, apparently to induce a feeling of anxiety while dancing. Isn't the philosophy of Feng Shui supposed to eliminate such mental and emotional conflict?

AIR - Casanova '70
(The Secret of Cool Brendan Lynch Remix)
Sound subconscious? - Actually, a lot less than you'd think. Heavy on the break-beats, this is more of a head-nodder than a out-mellower.
Any good? - A beat-heavy hip-hop take on the best track from Premiers Symptomes, and you have to wonder if it's any good?

CASSIUS - Foxxy
(Cassius Remix)
Sound subconscious? - If a wah-wah guitar sample from the Foxy Brown score and four-on-the-floor disco beats speak to your subconscious, you probably secretly long to wear your shirts open to the waist.
Any good? - Jerry Lewis, Mickey Rourke, and now Blaxploitation: do the French appreciate the finer things or what? For what it's worth, this is the booty-shakingest song on this CD

SCANTY SANDWICH - This One
Sound subconscious? - Fatboy Slim had something to do with signing Scanty Sandwich to the label, so there's your answer. Built around a gratuitous sample from the Knack's "My Sharona," this song is destined to soon be played in sports arenas everywhere. In all likelihood, this was produced before Taco Bell started the ad parody "My Chalupa," so you can't really blame this artist, but for the love of Gary couldn't Astralwerks at least put a disclaimer in the liner notes?
Any good? - Oh hell no.

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS - Out Of Control
(Sasha Instrumental Mix)
Sound subconscious? - "There's a party in my mouth and everyone's invited." No wait, they're already in there and now my head really hurts.
Any good? - Not as great as "Setting Sun." Not as annoying as "Block Rocking Beats." Oh, the curse of being measured against past successes.

PHOTEK - DNA
Sound subconscious? - Ominous and unsettling music with a stuttering, shifting drum track. No more calls please. We have a winner.
Any good? - It's like a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a crispy, crusty, tender, flaky crust.

BASEMENT JAXX - Bingo Bango
(David Morales Latin Dub Mix)
Sound subconscious? - Way too obnoxious to make the cut, unless you want to look at this as a sonic manifestation of the Id. The programmer from the Squints had actually considered using electronic claves on a recording until he heard this song.
Any good? - Oh, who will care for this bastard child of house music and salsa? Alas, who?

THE BETA BAND - To You Alone
Sound subconscious? - Laid back and hypnotic with just a touch of impending disaster. A tad slow to qualify as party music, but there are some tasty breaks in this song.
Any good? - Some of the Beta Band's works are too kitchen-sinky weird for their own good (sounds like Zappa playing hip-hop), but occasionaly they get it right. "The Hard One" was one instance. This is another.

THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON - Live In New York
Sound subconscious? - Even upon repeated listening, this track fails to really make a mental impression. Is it ethereal or just unremarkable? Either way, it probably qualifies.
Any good? - Think so. Can't remember.