Review

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Motown Remixed Vol. 2

Sacrilege, trashing the memory of the originals and smacking of cash-in, or doing what record companies should do: making money by exploiting their catalogue?

Whatever side of the fence you reside, it certainly makes for some exciting debates. Following on from 2005’s highly success first edition (that was topped with an amazing retooling of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ – one of the finest remixes ever made) it was inevitable that more would follow. However, unlike the first collection that featured a host of well-known remixers, this has none, and with a distinct Latin feel to nearly all the mixes. From the opening Los Amigos Invisibles mix of Jr. Walker’s ‘Shotgun’, through to Smokey Robinson’s Spanish version of ‘Being With You’, there’s fun to be had. Highs include a sensuous rerub of Teena Marie’s ‘Square Biz’, and a languid version of the Temp’s ‘Papa…’. But Diana Ross (‘The Boss’), The Jackson 5 (‘Dancing Machine’) and Marvin’s ‘…Grapevine’, set to samba and reggaeton beats, is just plan wrong.
Words Lewis Dene