Future Retro (New Wave Remix CD)

 

Sound: B     Music: B

 

 

Remixes are all over the place, but how many can you name?  How many did you really ever like?  There are some talented people who know how to do remixes of great songs, but most others botch it and make some of the worst music you have ever heard.  The interesting thing about Future Retro (2006) is the exceptional talent involved creating very interesting takes on some of the most underrated music of the 1980s.  The tracks here are:

 

1)     The Cure – The Walk (Infusion Remix)

2)     Yaz – Situation (Richard X remix)

3)     Echo & The Bunnymen – Lips Like Sugar (Way Out West Remix Edit)

4)     INXS – I Need You Tonight (Static Revenger Mix Edit)

5)     Depeche Mode – Shake The Disease (Tiga Remix)

6)     Erasure – A Little Respect (Jaded Alliance ‘Electrospect’ Remix)

7)     Howard Jones – New Song (Peter Black & Hardrock Striker Mix Edit)

8)     Alphaville – Forever Young (Hamel Album Mix)

9)     New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle (The Crystal Method Extended Mix)

10)  Grandmaster & Melle Mel – White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)

11)  DEVO – Girl U Want (Black Light Odyssey Mix)

12)  B-Movie – Nowhere Girl (Adam Freeland Mix)

13)  Book Of Love – Boy (DJ Irene Rockstar Mix)

14)  Morrissey – Suedehead (Sparks Remix)

 

 

The great thing about this set is that it has a love of New Wave and how great that era of music really was.  Yes, there was the bubblegum downside, but a serious, numerous, extremely important amount of music came out of the era that was very ahead of its time.  The Cure is still one of the greatest groups of that time, while Yaz is one that deserves to be revived.  Echo & The Bunnymen got a new boost thanks to Donnie Darko (three versions and counting reviewed elsewhere on this site), while the original and only INXS is still the best.  Depeche Mode is still around in pretty much its original line-up, while Erasure is back.

 

This set also features the underrated Howard Jones in what might be his single greatest record.  New Order is another undeniable great, while DEVO is so groundbreaking, our reviews of their other titles only just begin to document their innovations.  Even Grandmaster & Melle Mel have a special place here because White Lines was covered in a successful remake by Duran Duran, who walked the line (no pun intended) between bubblegum and New Wave before their original implosion.  The song has also become more relevant decades later.

 

Tiga, who crated a crazy remake of Nelly’s Hot In Herre, complete with a brilliant Music Video with string puppets, create a rhythmic world that complements instead of slaughters the music.  Infusion adds some terrific edge to The Cure, while Static Revenger takes some of the monotony out of one of INXS’ more played-out hits.  The Peter Black & Hardrock Striker of Jones’ classic is interesting and abstract.  Crystal Method (see their DVD-Audio elsewhere on this site) do some more complex things with the New Order hit, twisting the vocals more than most of the participants here.  Even the DEVO remix is interesting and does not ruin the song, showing Black Light Odyssey really appreciate the song.

 

The PCM 2.0 16bit/44.1kHz Stereo is really good, almost great, with the right balance and engineering to go with the results.  You could toy with surrounds, but this plays exceptionally well in stereo and those fans of the older songs who love them will be pleasantly surprised at the results here.  This is a real winner from Rhino.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo