The Remixes

With each year that passes after the release of The Stone Roses, the album looks more and more like one of the last truly inspired rock albums. The Remixes, compiled in 2000, sees remixes of ten of that album's tracks that do little to improve or expand upon the exuberant genius of the original John Leckie productions. Indeed, many of the remixers -- among them A Guy Called Gerald, Paul Oakenfold, Utah Saints, Grooverider, and Justin Robertson -- seem unwilling to make many tweaks to the original tracks. Remixers who experiment the most present the best results here, especially since many of the remixes seem interchangeable with the album tracks. Soul Hooligan tones down "Shoot You Down" into lo-fi Madchester. 808 State turns "Made of Stone" into an aggressive, high-pitched piece of electro-pop. Rabbit in the Moon earns points simply for taking one of the more daring chances of the remixers, making over "I Wanna Be Adored" into a slow acid house excursion. Elephant dares to twist "She Bangs the Drums" into an echoing, spooky vocoder workout. Mint Royale adds layers of strings to the same song. Had many of the remixers spent more time with their arrangements and reproductions, The Remixes would be more worthwhile. Instead, it's far tamer than one would expect -- only occasionally insightful and markedly less interesting than the source material. ~ Tim DiGravina