MILES DAVIS


PANTHALASSA : THE REMIXES

  1/  Shhh (Sea4 Miles Remix)                    (Davis)                       10.25
        Remixed by King Britt and Philip Charles
  2/  Black Satin/On the Corner                  (Davis)                       6.17
        Remixed by DJ Krush
  3/  Rated X                                    (Davis)                       6.38
        Remixed by Doc Scott
  4/  In a Silent Way                            (Zawinul)                     5.03
        Remixed by DJ Cam
  5/  Rated X                                    (Davis)                       8.02
        Remixed by Jamie Myerson
  6/  On the Corner (Subterranean Channel Mix)   (Davis)                       16.40
        Remixed by Bill Laswell

          Track 6 created at Orange Music, West Orange, New Jersey
          Track 6 engineered by Robert Musso
(1) Mark Boyce: Fender Rhodes, Polymoog; King Britt: drum programming, dirty Rhodes; Philip Charles: Jupiter 6, Arp2600, CS-01.

          1999 - Columbia (USA), COL 69897 (2x12")
          1999 - Columbia (USA), MILES-04 (Promo 12")
          1999 - Columbia (USA), CK 69894 (CD)
Note: The Promo 12" only contains tracks 1 and 4 only.
Note: The CD leaves of the DJ Krush mix and reverses the last two tracks.

REVIEWS :

Panthalassa: The Remixes is the logical extension of the previous year's Panthalassa project, in which long-time aficionado Bill Laswell restructured several Miles Davis recordings in similar fashion to the original production techniques pioneered by Teo Macero on Miles albums In a Silent Way, On the Corner and Get Up with It. Here, several dance producers are brought into the fold, not just to rearrange the material but remix it as well. The versions that work the best are done by producers unafraid to tamper with the tapes: hence, two separate reworkings of "Rated X" (from Get Up with It) result in darkside drum'n'bass burners by Doc Scott and Jamie Myerson that find the hyperkinetic energy in the original. The highlight of the entire project is an inexplicably vinyl-only bonus track by DJ Krush, who turns "Black Satin/On the Corner" into a minimalist beat odyssey with several different passages and effective scratching in all the right places. The only real disappointment on Panthalassa: The Remixes finds trip-hop deconstructionist DJ Cam creating an uneasy alliance by crudely inserting a loping breakbeat onto Miles' winsome solo from "In a Silent Way." Remix albums are often a mistake for both parties involved, but this one does work on several levels.

3 stars out of 5

John Bush (courtesy of the All Music Guide website)