Leave it to good ol' (but not necessarily old-fashioned) product placement with regards to musical advertising to help encourage, if not bolster, online sales of Verve's latest remix compilation in the series entitled "Verve Remixed, Volume 4," because track four, "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw, as remixed by Diplo, is the 45-60 second snippet that's incorporated into the catchy commercial set in San Francisco for the Dockers brand of clothing that's been making the network rounds since early May 2008. I know that I for one was immediately hooked but unless I performed some research into where I could locate the song for eventual procurement, I, like many TV viewers, were left more than a little entranced.
This CD could not have come at a better time. With spring slowly giving way to the warmer months of summer, this CD should be incorporated into many a Summer mix sessions as there's a wealth of obscure and known selections of R&B oldies, some of which are the best the Verve series has to offer—at least thus far—that is, until Volume 5 comes along. I applaud Verve for taking its fourth calculating risk by going back into its own legacy of recordings, either acquired or otherwise, and culling together a rich and entertaining selection of tunes that were experimented with. Of course without the artists' management companies on board, this would not have been possible either. The end result is pretty damn groovy good time as there's a nice compliment of upbeat and downbeat music that spans several decades.
The 47-minute and change CD is too short, time-wise, for my taste; perhaps Verve only has a specific number of volumes that they've contractually allotted to remix in the series? If anything over sixty minutes of remixed special blends would have truly made this release something to behold but alas this is but a minor nit-pick from little ol' me. I just feel a tiny bit cheated when an artist or a compilation's runtime is anything less than an hour's worth of music.
Nonetheless, the gems compiled here are wonderful remixed re-envisions and, although I had vaguely heard of less than a quarter of the remixers associated with this release (Pilooksi, Mocky, Antibalas, or Cinematic Orchestra), the most notable being Kenny Dope, the artists themselves are widely recognized—Sarah Vaughan, Roy Ayers, Dinah Washington, James Brown, etc. Many of the selections are fun and jovial, bubbly Lounge-type music with a dash of sexiness sprinkled here and there; other selections fall to more of the downtempo side but still retain enough of an upbeat nod or three; and I can see and hear a number of the tracks being elongated into dance mixes. Highly recommended!
Stand-out tracks:
Track 2: Nina Simone - "Gimme Some" (Mike Mangini Remix): This is just a fantastic pick-me-up tune. The arrangement for this track could not have been any better but perhaps a wee bit longer. (Slap-slap, NO nit-picking!)
Track 3: James Brown - "There Was A Time" (Kenny Dope Remix): Mr. Dope's remix adds a refreshing take on but one of the King of Soul's infinite legacy, and bumps it up several notches.
Track 4: Marlena Shaw – "California Soul" (Diplo Remix): Prior to the Dockers commercial, I don't recall hearing this ditty but that's part of the beauty of a label such as Verve to take a step back—as well as a heads-up advertising exec—to snap up a sexy tune and introduce it to a whole new generation.
Track 8: Sarah Vaughan - "Tea For Two" (Chris Shaw Remix): As short as this track is, one can similarly hear shades of "The Boy From Ipanema," as remixed by Crystal Waters. But Ms. Vaughan's vocals are spry while Chris Shaw infuses a fun and cool Salsa vibe into this arrangement that's sure to please.
Also highly recommended: Nina Simone's "Sinnerman," as remixed by Felix Da Housecat
Released May 27, 2008 on Verve Records
