Who would have thought that Ben Watt's near-fatal battle with Churg-Strauss syndrome would result in one of the most delightful career shifts in recent music history? It's been ten years since "Missing" made Todd Terry Thee Remixer of choice and got club kids listening to the masterful songs of Watt and Tracey Thorn, and this disc is a sort of document/appendix of that decade. Adapt or Die is not particularly a compilation of the big mixes that EBTG have had in their career (Todd Terry's immortal mix of "Missing" is absent, though his alternate remix of "Wrong" is included which fills the void with delicacy and tenderness), but more a sampler dish of some of Ben and Tracey's favorites as well as a few new reworkings, plus some previously unreleased stuff for good measure.
This is both a good and bad thing. Any time a remix disc is compiled that isn't aimed at mainstream audiences, you'll run into some stumbling blocks. There are two tracks on this disc that strike me as particularly excruciating, in both instances because of the weird processing that they use on Tracey's voice. "Corcovado," originally done in a flawless drum and bass take for the Red Hot + Rio benefit album, here surfaces in a mutation handled by Knee Deep (and re-edited by Watt himself) that takes the beautiful melody of Antonio Carlos Jobim's song and time expands it into mush. A similar fate befalls Pull's remix of Temperamental (call me mainstream, but I think Hex Hector and Mac Quayle's mix of this was close to perfect), previously available only on EBTG's DVD collection. It's an intriguing idea, making this track downtempo, but the end result is weak.
Of course, these two potholes are more than balanced out by some of the other selections- King Britt's syncopated mix of "Rollercoaster" is like having a designer couture cocktail reception with you everywhere you go, and DJ Jazzy Jeff takes "Mirrorball" (always an EBTG favorite) and makes it even more beautiful.
There's also some great stuff from the band's drum and bass days, which complements nicely the range of styles included.
Even if you have trepidation, do not pass this disc up - it is worthy of your support for two important reasons: 1) because how often does a remix album that isn't comprised of top 40-style edits come down the pike? Also, 2) there is something on this disc that will knock you flat. You may have to search for a bit, but EBTG don't mess around with this kind of thing.
