NIGHTMARE (REMIX)

Brainbug

I remember, not so long ago, when vinyl records were dying out like MiniDiscs and cassettes are today. If a song came out on 7" you could bet it was probably by an indie or Britpop band, if it came out on 12" chances are it was designed for DJs or wannabe DJs and if it came out on 10" then all bets were off. Here we are, about five years down the line from that scenario and what's happened? McFly, Jamelia, even Busted for God's sake - all releasing singles on 7" picture discs, Motown shovelling out their back catalogue as fast they can and Elvis Presley's most recent single going for £40 on eBay - that's the 10", not the CD and the single only came out a couple of months ago. All of a sudden, record players have become useful again and personally, I'm quite happy about that. CDs may be indestructible, but records are far more versatile - show me a CD that's either etched on one side or has artwork on both sides (and still plays). Anyway, the reason I'm rambling on like this is because this particular single is only out on 12". Now, as you may be aware, this single originally came out back in 1997 and sounded a lot like a theme tune for some horror movie given a going over for the discerning clubbers of the day. I should also mention here that it was a fantastic song, but of course, that's just my humble opinion. It was, though. It got re-issued last year thanks to Positiva Records celebrating their 10th birthday (strangely, no Vengaboys singles got re-released, it seems the Vengaboys are Positiva's version of the bonkers uncle who's been locked away that his family Do Not Talk About Ever). For some bizarre reason, it's been put out again, but this time only on a blue 12" for the time being, mind you it deserves a proper release purely for the Judge Jules remix. The slow, atmospheric build-up has gone, along with any menace the original had, but in its place we have a madman. As soon as the bass kicks in, it's clear the song is in danger of overspeeding and every time something new joins in the song just gets more and more manic until it has to take a breather for a few seconds (it'd do itself in otherwise). After that, when it's had its Lucozade and got its energy back, it then launches itself into another six minutes of mayhem before stopping dead in its tracks. This is exactly how a remix should be done, the original song's been dissassembled and then put back together with upgraded parts and go faster stripes and it's almost as if any resemblance between this and the original are purely coincidental. Quality from start to finish.

FLAMINGO HONEY

Whirlwind Heat

This has to be one of the strangest things I've ever reviewed. For starters, it's a ten track single, so that's its chances of a chart placing wrecked. For another thing, all ten tracks have a running time of one minute precisely. Sounds awfully like this was done as a bet to me ("Bet you can't do 10 one minute songs." "Fiver says we can." "Bet you don't release it." "Tenner says we do." "Here's your cash." "Nice doing business with you."), but at the end of the day, they're doing something different, so I shan't knock them unless the music's rubbish. The fact that all the songs are sequenced together helps, but the lyric sheet doesn't because the lyrics are largely gibberish (example - "I have no gums is it hard to hear?"), still, full marks for effort there, not many singles come with the lyrics. The most impressive thing about the whole thing is that, despite only using a singer, a bass player and a drummer for the most part (although moogs, harmonicas and drum machines sneak in here and there), each song has its own distinct identity. As 10 one minute songs, it's hard to say how well they work because they rush by (don't like this one? There'll be another one in a minute), but if you see it as one 10 minute piece, it just about works. Don't ask me how, but I think they've just about got away with it.