It's not really even up for debate: Thievery Corporation turn out the best mixes you'll hear. If you've maintained a long-term love affair with their 1999 remix album Abductions & Reconstructions, it's time to scratch that 7-year itch with Versions. When you compare the list of artists involved in their latest round of remixes to those of their '99 release, you can see how far Theivery Corporation have come. Versions boasts mixes of work from the likes of Herb Alpert, The Doors, Ustad Sultan Khan, Sarah McLachlan, Bebel Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, Transglobal Underground, Nouvelle Vague and numerous others.

1. Ustad Sultan Khan "Tanara (Thievery Corporation remix)"
2. Damien "Habanos Days (Thievery Corporation remix)"
3. Nouvelle Vague "This Is Not A Love Song (Thievery Corporation remix)"
4. Anoushka Shankar "Beloved (Thievery Corporation remix)"
5. Astrud Gilberto "Who Needs Forever (Thievery Corporation remix)"
6. Emilie Simon "Desert (Thievery Corporation remix)"
7. Herb Alpert "Lemon Tree (Thievery Corporation remix)"
8. Originality (feat. Sister Nancy)
9. Fear Of Pop "In Love (Thievery Corporation remix)"
10. The Januaries "The Girl's Insane (Thievery Corporation remix)"
11. The Doors "Strange Days (Thievery Corporation remix)"
12. Revolution Solution (TC remix)
13. Shiva (TC remix)
14. Transglobal Underground "Khalghi Stomp (Thievery Corporation remix)"
15. Wax Poetic "Angels (feat. Norah Jones)(Thievery Corporation remix)"
16. Isabelle Antena "Nothing To Lose (Thievery Corporation remix)"
17. Bebel Gilberto "Cada Beijo (Thievery Corporation remix)"
18. Sarah McLachlan "Dirty Little Secret (Thievery Corporation remix)"

A few of the albums these mixes appeared on have previously been reviewed here at Properly Chilled, like Sarah McLachlan's Bloom, Ustad Sultan Khan's Rare Elements, and the Milan Records released compilation St. Moritz Vibes, Vol. II Suite Royale, not to mention Thievery Corporation's own mixes from songs on The Cosmic Game.

The way it seems Eric Hilton and Rob Garza approach a remix is to strip the original song down to its core elements, then glue the pieces back together with their own unique blend of smooth Latin beats, elegant synth sweeps, laid back bass lines and trademark tambourine. In the process, they replace just enough of the original songs emotional content to make it recognizable. In truth, you could shuffle a playlist between Versions and The Cosmic Game or The Richest Man In Babylon and, unless you're intimately familiar with Thievery Corporation's work, have a hard time telling original from remix.

Ustad Sultan Khan's "Tanara" is an interesting choice as a lead track for this collection. It's slow moving tempo and dubbed out, ambient style doesn't carry the assertive style a opening track typically has. As with their latest original work, you'll find a great deal of south Asian sounds throughout these mixes. In some cases the sound matches the nationality of the artist themself, as with sarangi master Ustad Sultan Khan, sitarist Anoushka Shankar (daughter of famous Indian musician Ravi Shankar), or London-based Transglobal Underground. In other cases, the Indian infusion is totally unrelated to the original artist, as heard in the remix of Nouvelle Vague's cover of P.I.L's well known "This Is Not A Love Song". While my least favorite song is their version of The Doors' "Strange Days", it's nowhere near enough to dampen enthusiasm.

Versions isn't all mixes however. Right in the middle of the whole thing is a new, ironically titled Thievery Corporation reggae cut called "Originality" featuring Sister Nancy.

If you're looking for neatly wrapped catchy pop songs, you'll be disappointed. Thievery Corporation's style is a hybrid product of the electronic and jazz music scenes, and so, requires the listeners ear to appreciate repetition as deeply as melodic sensuality. While Abductions & Reconstructions holds up as a great collection or remixes styled after the earliest years of the duos work, Versions is sure to stand strong as a more current testimony to Hilton and Garza's ability to work their Thievery magic on just about anything that comes their way.

Undoubtedly, you need Versions in your life.

Add a Comment