Rebecca St. James

Item: Extended Play Remixes
Author: Roger Appelinski

Extended Play Remixes

(1995)

Reviewed by Roger Appelinski

Discogs

Label ForeFront RecordsThe LighthouseOctober 1995

dance pop electronic techno

Last year brought the first edition of the ForeFront remixes, followed this year by remixes of Geoff Moore and the Distance's Evolution, E.T.W.'s Stay Together, and Rebecca St. James' self-titled debut. The first collection was primarily the work of Scott Blackwell, while Tedd T. is responsible for the remixes on this second batch. If you aren't quite familiar with his name, he recently produced Code of Ethics' Arms Around The World and Tammy Trent's self-titled debut.

Over the discs, which each contain five mixes, there is obviously a more funk-influenced approach than on the previous set. If you heard the word "remix" and immediately associated it with dance, you are in for a disappointment. These aren't exactly your typical club music.

The Evolution Extended Play Remixes offer two remixes of "Godgottaholdonme." One is more upbeat and full of synthesizer techno sounds, while the other has a heavier house beat. There is a funky in-your-face remix of "I Can See Clearly Now" that borders on the overly-repetitious. Two versions of "Evolution" are included: one casually funky and one that is a scaled-down groove.

The Rebecca St. James Extended Play Remixes contains three renditions of "Side By Side." The first is a slow groove, the second leans toward the techno, while the third moves in the pop direction. There are also funked-up remixes of "We Don't Need It" and "Everything I Do."

There are two remakes of "Stay Together" on the Stay Together Extended Play Remixes. One is a slow grooving hip-hop sound with extra-phat beats and the other is an even slower down-beat hip-hop flavor. "Give It Up" is a little more upbeat hip-hop, as are the remixes (one instrumental, one not) of "40 & A Blunt."

These remix collections probably aren't hard-core enough on the dance side to attract dance music fans, so they will probably only appeal to the serious fans of each artist.