Revisions, Revisions

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:51:02
Though producer Nobody has made his name thanks to his solo albums, part of his job -- and arguably an equally important aspect -- is remixing other artists' work. Sometimes these remixes are included on the normal full-length albums (like Busdriver's "Unemployed Black Astronaut"), while others show up as B-sides or special 12"s or even stay hidden and unreleased, collecting proverbial dust on the hard drive. To show off his versatility and to simplify listeners' searches for his catalog, Nobody, with the help of his label, Plug Research, compiled and issued a collection of 13 of his remixes, titled Revisions Revisions: The Remixes 2000-2005. Here, he gives his treatment of somber electronic chords to songs from Phil Ranelin and Clearlake, to the Free Design, Her Space Holiday, and the Postal Service, among others, and does a good job at keeping the sound of the original piece intact while still incorporating his own thoughts and feelings. Mia Doi Todd's "Autumn" retains the simplicity and the melancholy of the version found on her 2002 album The Golden State, but the added electric guitars and drums give it more drive and even lightness, and for the Postal Service's "Be Still My Heart" -- the original is from the "We Will Become Silhouettes" single -- Nobody uses a slower drum track (though he stays with that same assembly line sound Jimmy Tamborello is so keen on) and lusher instrumentation to convey the romantic sentiments of the song. The fact that Nobody's just as capable reworking jazzier pieces (Adventure Time's "Whetting Whistles," Build an Ark's "Always There," and Ranelin's "Vibes from the Tribe") demonstrates his talents as a producer, and how they are so connected to his ability to understand how different types of music work. True, once it goes through Nobody, "Vibes from the Tribe" loses most of the immediacy and spontaneity of free jazz, but it never becomes predictable, or anything that could be considered particularly straightforward, as he mixes the sauntering bassline with the hi-hat, forgoing the flute and trombone in favor of wavery synths and funky guitar, the whole thing very smooth, very seductive, and very good. Revisions Revisions: The Remixes 2000-2005 is definitely secondary to any of Nobody's solo full-lengths -- he's more restrained here, less experimental -- but it is a good look into his process and his ideas regarding structure and layers and sound, both how he might approach them when working with others and more excitingly, in his own work as well. ~ Marisa Brown