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|  | | I am in absolute and TOTAL disagreement with Hitriman...and I don't get his review or stance at all. Living in Montreal, I have been exposed to Ms. Farmer's music for years. I became a fan when she released the 2CD set "Dance Remixes" in 1992 and I've paid close attention ever since. And just as that album brought Ms. Farmer to a whole new audience and a whole new clubland, this remix album brings her to a whole new level. A big fan of remix albums, many of them fall flat (like the bonus remix disc in the PSB Box Set). But this one delivers two-fold. As the double CD set from 1992 just offered sorta extended versions of her singles with stronger beats and whispy effects, which was great in her case, the remixes on there are exceptional club mixes, this compilation offers total reworkings of her songs, and that IS what a remix truly should be. It should take the song, and turn it into something COMPLETELY different, hence it not being s VERSION but a RE-MIX. If you have nothing to compare it to, as this is your first exposure to this brilliant French chanteuse, you will not really get a grasp of her style, as this album is a compilation of remixer's styles...and a fantastic one at that. If someone is going to put out a remix album, don't just compile ten songs that sound like the originals, but are longer. How lame is that? Make an album of REMIXES...something that, thankfully, more artists have grasped. "Sans Contrefacon" is a fantastic track, but I just wish it had been ever so slightly more vocal. It kicks off the album very well, however. The remixes of "L'Instant X" and "XXL" are absolutely amazing and make both songs FAR better than the questionable originals... JXL is at the top of his game here, as the chorus just SOARS in his mix...and the bells in One-T's mix are awesome and the mix has such a great summer feel. Full Intention, often being hit-and-miss, do ok with "L'Ame-Stram-Gram," as they use the same little guitar riff that Stardust used for their mega-hit "The Music Sounds Better with You." It's not a bad mix, but doesn't really go anywhere, thus the eight minutes do tend to drag a bit as the song becomes sorta a forgetful atypical club song. They should have cut down the length some, but I digress... Many might say the same of "C'est un Belle Journee," but the laid-back feel of this mix works well, I think, and it's only just a notch over five minutes... The album kicks into super high gear with the absolute brilliance of Felix da Housecat. He took my favourite Mylene song, "Je T'aime Meloncholie," and made it into an absolutely SUPERB electro track. The song, being so dark and reverent, really needed a dark, deep mix, and Felix executed that with absolute PERFECTION. By far, the second best mix on the album. The mix of the vocals made shivers go up my spine. If I weren't in public the first time I heard it, I woulda been bouncing all over the place. The same goes with Y-Front's mix of "Libertine," probably one of Ms. Famrer's best known songs, as Y-Front turned the song into an electro-80s flashback and they did it absolutely brilliantly, letting this incredible song soar in a whole new electronic light. Both the mixes for "California" and "Optimistique-Moi" are very good club tracks that easily keep the NRG flowing throughout the second part of the disk. But then there's the grand finale of Thunderpuss' absolute club ANTHEM mix of one of the best songs of the last twenty years, "Desenchantee." By far, the best mix on the album, as would be true with any album that included a mix by the now-defunct duo. What they did to this song...the impossible: they took a song already packed with energy, and brought new life and even MORE energy to it. To explain this mix goes beyond words...and you could not ask to a better conclusion to this album. The compilation's biggest fault? What the hell were they thinking including Paul Oakenfold's HORRIBLE and COMPLETELY useless remix of "Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces"??? Oakenfold has does nothing but crap remixes for the last two years, and this mix was just another sign that maybe he should either go back to his heavy-duty club mix days when he was brilliant, or retire for good, before we have to sit through another mix like this. Sorry, Hitriman, but Oakenfold's mixes of the last few Madonna songs have been an embarrassment to him, along with everything else he has remixed lately (save J. Lo's "I'm Glad," which was the one good thing he has done, period, in the past few years), and they have all just been a complete aural waste of time. If you want a fanstastic mix of "Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces," check out Boutonnat & Rogen's Remix Club on the 1992 double CD. Ms. Farmer's "Remixes" is an astounding collection of styles, beats and rhythmes and, besides Oakenfold, a must-have for any fan, and a definite worthwhile purchase for anyone curious about Mylene...or just wanting a great dance album.
| | Just pretend you bought Les Mots with a bonus remix CD :) | |
| | I never gave much attention to Mylene's albums in reviews, though I have always admired her talent. Of course this is a purely commercial release - nothing new, gift for the holidays, collection item for completists. However, those who enjoy Mylene's music will find some joy in this disc, and those not too familiar with her may find it a good dance album. Besides, she has not put out a remix album in many years, and probably it was time. It can in no way compare to the fabulous remix collection released after L'Autre album, but the beauty of that one was in the fact that most songs on it were extended versions of her original hits (the way it should be and the way that has been abandoned now by many artists). This collection offers completely reworked versions, well, with mixed results:
1. Sans Contrefacon is a fair remix, works for the first track - nice steady beats, vocals preserved in their entirety.
2. L'Instant X does not work at all, the original rock version is much more powerful. I like the bells the remixer used in it, but it bores you too quickly.
3. L'Ame Stram Gram needed more boost than this, it lacks energy.
4. C'est Une Belle Journee could use re-energizing as well.
5. XXL, like L'Instant X, is a rock song and is meant to stay that way. Just listen to Mylene's performance on Live At Berci, and you will not need a dance version.
6. Je t'aime Melancolie - with all respect to Felix Da Housecat, he butchered a very fine song, made it truly electro CLASH - way too dark with vocals applied in the wrong pace.
7. Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces - I expected good work from Paul Oakenfold, and it is a good mix. He did a good job on Madonna's American Life and is usually good in remixing slower songs. Original is of course the best, but Paul gave it a good twist, result is pleasing.
8. California version shows once again that some songs are just not meant to be done in dance/club format. Sped-up vocals sound a bit silly, even though the mix preserves the gloomy mood of the original.
9. Libertine is just silly
10. Optimistique-Moi works well - nice fast beat
11. Desenchante - well, good to see that American DJs contributed to Mylene's release, however Thunderpuss could use more creativity - something they have been lacking for couple years now. This version sounds very much like their remix of Morning Star by Cooler Kids. Good for dancefloors, even in the US (as clubgoers could mistake this for Kate Ryan's cover of the song, since it was released in the States).
Anyway, this may work for you, works for me as a background music. If you are disappointed with the purchase, then buy Mylene's greatest hits Les Mots (unless you have it) and keep them together pretending this remix collection came as a added-value bonus CD (like with Pet Shop Boys' limited-edition 3-disk Pop Art).
| | | While Mylene Farmer's music has gone largely unnoticed by US club-goers, her music in Europe and Quebec has spawned a legion of followers. The one thing, however, that's kept Farmer her cult figure status (though ever loyal) here in The States has been the quality of her sound. Her voice is always in typically fine breathy character, while her instrumental backing is often too obviously machined, clumsy, and amateurish, which has left much of her material with a very dated stamp for US DJs and dance music consumers. Compare the constantly contemporary sound of one classic like, say, Madonna's "Vogue" to an equal classic of Farmer's like the original production of "Desenchantee" and you'll hear the what keeps superb songs from remaining as superb years down the road. This is where Mylene Farmer: Remixes steps in. With fine-tuning given to every single one of the eleven featured tracks from mostly very high profile mixers and DJs, Farmer's songs finaly receive the polish and top priority quality they've long deserved. Nothing here is a misfire, out of context, nor the poor manipulation of a cocky DJ; nothing is overtly drawn out on time nor features a groove that's incongruous to Mylene's original vocal and melody. Thunderpuss' reworking (one of their last as a duo, not to mention one of their absolute best) of the above-mentioned "Desenchantee" pays full respect to the integrity of the original song by letting it take center stage ahead of their crystaline production. Keeping the heart of the song, Mylene's beautifully ethereal vocal, as the main focus of their mix while providing it with such an insistant beat has proven to be one of the duo's smartest aesthetic decisions in an examplary career. This masterfully hypnotic closing track is a main reason for any club afficianado to own this disc. Other highlights of this project are Full Intention's stomping and percussive take on "L'Ame-Stram-Gram", Devil Head's very original minimalistic approach to "C'est une belle journee", and Y-Front's perfectly New Wave treatment of "Libertine" (this track's 4:02 time is just enough considering its energetic BPM). Anyone who's a dance music die-hard investing in this release without any prior inkling of Farmer's work will certainly not be disappointed, nor will anyone making the investment solely for the work of a favorite DJ--all here have done their enthusiastic best. With the proper marketing to US clubs this project could be Farmer's big US breakthrough, as every track here suggests she deserves.
| | Mylene has nothing to do with this CD | |
| | I would like to throw some information in on this disc. According to the Internet sources, Mylene Farmer herself had nothing to do with the album. It was the initiative of the recording company, and, therefore, singer can't be blamed for the flaws that the CD has.
Overall, I think it is a good quality album that serves the purpose, considering that it was released for a certain target group. I think that group has been satisfied.
And if a customer is a real Mylene fan, it can't be a waste of money to purchase this item.
Good luck.
| | | | Some of these remixes work nicely, others less so, but none equals the original version in sonic complexity, lyric wit, or -- curiously enough -- danceability. Best is Felix da Housecat's recreation of "Je t'aime melancholie"; also likeable are the remixes of "Californie,""Optimistique-moi," and "Libertine" -- her very first hit single (1986) and one that she herself has frequently re-arranged (including as a power rock song, on the LIVE A BERCY cd). Much less succesful are the new versions of "Pourvu qu'elles soient douce,""Sans contrefacon," and "L'ame-stram-gram." As for Thunderpuss's remix of "Desenchantee," I disagree with Woofbear; the sonic overkill of the remix -- overkill is a Thunderpuss specialty -- squashes all the subtlety, and almost all of the disillusionment, out of Farmer's original -- and a Farmer song without subtlety is like Gerard Depardieu without a nose. Note to Woofbear: "Desenchantee" appears on 1991's L'AUTRE, not on the 1988 CD AINSI SOIT-JE.
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