Four remixers tackle the latest single from The Killers' Springsteenian Sam's Town album, and the results are pretty interesting, but not the lifechanging experience I was hoping for. I'll readily admit that when I first heard that the Pet Shop Boys and Gabriel and Dresden would all be taking a crack at it, I was ecstatic. Intelligent energy and pounding beauty, coming at the listener from both ends- simply delicious, right? Maybe there was no way that any track could live up to those expectations…
The Pet Shop Boys 'Stars are Blazing' Mix, on this disc in full-length, radio edit, and instrumental versions, is very true to the original- too true, in fact. With the exception of Neil Tennant's additional vocals, there's very little to distinguish this track from its original incarnation until a good ¾ of the Mix has elapsed, when everything gets all dissonant and synth-y. The mix is good, and it certainly sounds like what dance radio should be playing, it's just not as transformed as one might hope. I wanted hands-in-the-air anthem, and what I got was something more subtle…
There is a similar frustration with the Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix, which is also represented in Dubstrumental and Radio Edit versions. Way too much of the song is spent at the same level of dynamics, with the occasional drop-out the only drama or shift introduced. Of course, this changes considerably toward the final third of the mix, when the track becomes something very special indeed (calling to mind their STELLAR remix of Nicol Sponberg's "Resurrection"), but why couldn't this level of oomph have been deployed a little earlier in the mix... Again- this is not a bad mix, far from it, but it's not an accurate representation of what G&D can do when they turn a song out- it doesn't feel special.
So, to sum up:
Pet Shop Boys Mix and Dub: *** ½
Pet Shop Boys Edit: ****
Gabriel & Dresden Mix: ***
Gabriel & Dresden Dubstrumental and Edit: *** ½
Linus Loves Mix, Edit, and Dub: *** ½
Steve Bays Mix: ***
Good stuff, but not an all-time classic.
