Faint Danse Macabre Remixes

I've always struggled to see the relevance of remix albums. I mean, who would really be prepared to actually go out and buy several different versions of a song that you already own? A Faint completist? Do they actually exist? For that reason alone, I approached the prospect of Danse Macabre: Remixes with a higher than usual sense of trepidation. Luckily enough, there are enough surprises on this record to make listening to it well worthwhile. But, as is the case with a lot of remixes, you have to root through a lot of half-baked toss to really find the good stuff.

The album starts off promisingly enough with the throbbing, string heavy Thin White Duke (AKA Jaques LuCont, AKA Les Rhythmes Digitales) remix of The Conductor, with Thin White Duke managing to do something many people thought was impossible: making a band full of pasty indie-types sound like Simon LeBon shagging Kylie Minogue in the toilets at Nag Nag Nag, with Giorgio Moroder sneaking a quick look over the top of the cubicle. Yes, it's THAT good.

Perhaps the only bad thing about the Thin White Duke Remix is that it makes the following track sound about as interesting as a Max Power collection. The Calculators remix of Posed To Death attempts to be jerky and slightly seedy, but it just ends up sounding like the sort of music that Sci-Fi fans listen to whilst downloading Babylon 5 episodes off the internet (in other words, it's about as sexy and seedy as a tub of margarine).

Thank God then for Paul Oakenfold (now there's a statement I never thought I'd type!), whose remix of Glass Danse pops, fizzes and squelches in all the right places, taking the original adding some much needed decadence to proceedings. The same can also be said for Tommie Sunshine's mix of Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat. It's the sort of remix that hits the spot that most remixes fail to quench by adding a nasty Electroclashy beat that literally punches you in the face and demands to be played at incredibly loud volumes until your eardrums burst. And with a track like that, you can almost forgive The Faint for letting Photek submit a lazy, half arsed remix of Total Job (already a decidedly average track), making it sound like the aural equivalent of a long walk home in the rain. The less said about the Jagz Kooner remix of Agenda Suicide, the better, as there's nothing worse than hearing someone with THAT MUCH talent on autopilot.

Luckily enough, the lesser known Ursula 1000 weigh in with a stunning Hot Hot Heat-cum-Bootsy Collins remix of Your Retro Career Melted, and Medicine bring a chilled end proceedings with a charming, glitchy reworking of Ballad of a Paralysed Citizen.

So as I said earlier in the review, whilst I approached Danse Macabre: Remixes with slight trepidation, I'm happy to report to you all that this album isn't the complete arse-ache that many remix albums fall into the trap of being. It's got more than enough quality and depth to justify it's existence, and instead of offering up the same songs with a different beat, there are enough good ideas on this album to keep you coming back for more. Great Stuff.