I'm not a hardcore fan of Borat, one of actor/comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's aliases, yet when I first heard the tongue-in-cheek term, "wizard's sleeve," used to (loosely) describe a woman's reproductive organs, the description stuck with me. (Yes, I am warped like that.) Sometime later, I stumbled upon a very cool remix, "Re-Animation," of a song called Roscoe by the group Midlake but I was particularly intrigued by the name of the remix: Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve. Through and through, the BTWS re-animated version is a really amazing song that has provided me with a nice starting point with regards to several of my generally lengthy wine bar sets.
Categorized as psychedelic or trippy rock, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve is made up of Londoners Erol Alkan, who has compiled a nice list of remix work featuring, among other artists, Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Chemical Brothers and Mylo's "Drop The Pressure," and Richard Norris, who was a member of The Grid; remember the ho-down "Swamp Thing" song from the mid-90s, especially from the movie soundtrack Pecker? Before Borat, these two Electronica stalwarts decided to call themselves that which could be culled from either The Lord of The Rings, the online game World of Warcraft, or some other kind of role-playing game. In actuality, I have no idea as to the etymology to which the name is derived from other than their CD cover has an owl on it, reminding me that some wizards have taken to an owl for spirituality and/or luck. Their fans, on the other hand, have nicknamed them The Sleeve.
Comprised of a majority of lesser-known songs, this was a bit of a tricky album to review being that I don't own any of the original incarnations which would be, perhaps, the keys to ultimately deciding whether each of the twelve Re-Animations are a step above or below their original predecessors. Thankfully, and through the assistance of Tunes thirty-second snippets, I was able to get an idea as to the development of each song. In fact I wound up purchasing a few of the original versions. Re-Animations sounds better if not infinitely cooler than say remix because after all, who isn't sick of seeing the word remix? Actually it doesn't faze me the least bit, but it suggests perhaps a creative distinction.
I really enjoyed this compilation despite not loving every version, but I wound up digging 9 out of 12 of the selections, and with good reasonómany of the new versions are so incredibly good and groovy and sound phenomenal (especially when played loud)!
My stand-outs:
Track 2: Franz Ferdinand "Ulysses": The original is Alternative Rock represented by FF's classic guitar and electro-heavy sound; the Re-Animation is the psychedelic, afterhours equivalent.
Track 5: Tracey Thorn "Raise The Roof": The original is one of her best downtempo songs; half of the luminary Dance/Electronica group, Everything But The Girl (along with husband/DJ, Ben Watt), the Re-Animation isn't necessarily a "raise-the-roof" kind of song but retains Tracey's familiar vocals and surrounding melodies and an extra bass oomph.
Track 6: Badly Drawn Boy "Promises": The slow, original version could easily be featured on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy," while the Re-Animation is hands up (as opposed to down) the best of the "Re-Animations" because BTWS not only flipped and rotated the song 180-degrees, but in five words as opposed to one, it's quite the ear-opener. Oh, and quite the dance song, too.
Track 7: Goldfrapp "Happiness": The original is whispery, poppy and breathless; the Re-Animation is downtempo, Lounge-lovely and delightfully groove-licious.
Track 8: Midlake "Roscoe": The original version has a great 70s folk sound that's appealing while the Re-Animation has become one of my favorite remixes within the (psychedelic) rock universe.
Track 12: Findlay Brown "Losing The Will To Survive": The original version features harmonies straight out of the 70s that sound like a revamped Simon & Garfunkel, while the Re-Animation is a toe-tapping, yee-haw gem that is spruced up by this classic "remix". (Note: The Pilooski Remix and the Dimitri From Paris Remix are a must-get and must-have, respectively!)
This is one neat compilation! While I didn't much care for a few of the selections, still, that's part of the attractiveness of this stand-alone compilation. There's something for nearly everyone. There are even two tracks, Real Ones' "Outlaw" and Findlay Brown's "Finding The Will To Survive" that both incorporate and are shaped by varying degrees of 70s melodies that sound reminiscent of the Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, The Doors, and Simon & Garfunkel, all wrapped up in these unique, disco-y, electro tips! Check this disc out; highly recommended!
Released Nov 2009 on New State Music.
