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Review: Jack Foley
IT'S been two years since French duo, Daft Punk, released their
soft-rock tinged album, Discovery, which included the hits
One More Time and Aerodynamic.
Now, however, the band deliver their version of an 'encore',
a 14-track compilation of rare remixes and recordings that were
previously only available from the Daft Club online.
The result is actually better than Discovery in places,
providing clubbers with a near-perfect soundtrack for the approaching
festive party season.
Daft Punk are regarded by many as two of the leading lights on
the fading dance scene, and it is certainly good to have Thomas
bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo back in the limelight
for a while, albeit with familiar material.
Nevertheless, for anyone who didn't enter the exclusive Daft
Club via the membership card secreted from their copy of the Discovery
album, here's what to expect....
Some of the world's most revered producers have given some of
the album's better tracks a pumped-up makeover, and the results,
while varied, remain largely impressive.
High on the list of essentials is the Neptunes remix of Harder
Better Faster Stronger, which provided a neat preview of Pharrell's
syrup-coated vocals pre-Frontin', while Boris Dlugosh's
take on the electro-laden club ballad, Digital Love, remains
as sweet as ever.
Of the three Aerodynamic remixes, the Slum Village take
is probably the best, lending it a contemporary hip-hop vibe,
courtesy of the gutsy urban vocals (the track features as the
soundscape for a Jet Li fight sequence in Kiss
of the Dragon), although with a track as good as this, the
other two remain classic stuff.
Daft Punk get in on the act, early on, by fusing Aerodynamic
with One More Time, and making it sound funkier than ever,
while Aerodynamite takes things in an altogether more explosive
direction, while just barely holding on to the distinctive loop.
The Jess & Crabe remix of Harder Better Faster Stronger
fares less well, however, coming across as one of those Ibiza-based,
monotonous dance anthems that I'm always keen to avoid, as does
Basement Jazz's 'south-London' warehouse remix of new track, Phoenix.
Indeed, the album gets progressively harder the longer it plays,
before the inevitable chillout comes in the form of Romanthony's
awkward unplugged version of One More Time, which strips
it of beats and makes it sound too soft, and Something About
Us (the love theme from Interstella 5555), a suitably uplifting
finale that will have you easing into bed relaxed, but tired,
all the same.
Strong in places, routine in others, Daft Club does, however,
provide a timely reminder of what the Punksters are capable of,
and amid a tide of greatest hits compilations, provides a neat
alternative to anyone wanting a bit of reflection mixed with something
fresh thrown in.
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Track listing:
1 Ouverture
2 Aerodynamic (Daft Punk Remix)
3 Harder Better Stronger Faster (Neptunes remix)
4 Face to Face (Cosmo Vitelli remix)
5 Phoenix (Basement Jaxx remix)
6 Digital Love (Boris Dlugosh remix)
7 Harder Better Faster Stronger (Jess & Crabe remix)
8 Face to Face (Demon remix)
9 Crescendolls (Laidback remix)
10 Aerodynamic (Slum Village remix)
11 Too Long (Gonzales Version)
12 Aerodynamite
13 One More Time (Romanthony's Unplugged)
14 Something About US (Radio Edit)
15 ROM track– Lien vers www.daftpunk.com
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