A remix album can be a good thing for an artist. Usually, there is a third party doing the remixing so all the artist/band has to do is sit back and watch more money roll in from selling another album. It’s a way of giving more length and life to a studio album’s cycle. However, the key word in that first sentence is "can." Remix albums can also be extremely overrated. In these overrated cases, it’s easy to listen to the remixed version of an album and simply want to abandon it in favor of the original.
Recently, Radiohead provided listeners with their first ever remix album, TKOL RMX 1234567. It is presented as nineteen rather lengthy and sometimes hart to digest remixed versions of the eight songs that made up the fabulous studio album they released earlier this year, The King of Limbs (QRO review). Having just been released digitally and as a two CD set, originally TKOL RMX 1234567 was released from July to October of this year as seven separate 12" vinyl singles/EPs.
The members of Radiohead felt like of all their albums The King of Limbs would be the best candidate to be remixed. Lead singer Thom Yorke strategically picked the artists he wanted to remix the songs because he was interested in hearing their specific interpretations.
Each song from The King of Limbs is represented and reworked on TKOL RMX 1234567. Some songs such as "Feral" and "Codex" are represented only once while other songs such as "Bloom" are present and remixed five separate times. One of the most high profile and enjoyable remixes on the album is the SBTRKT version of The King of Limbs‘ lead single "Lotus Flower". Also of note is the Anstam version of "Separator", which kept the distinguishing drum part of the original but changed it just enough to make it engaging. Most of the original versions of the songs are barely recognizable in their remixed forms other than Yorke’s occasional vocal line interspersed here and there throughout.
All too often remix albums are an endless sea of bland songs that run into each other and are difficult to tell apart; and if this were any other group’s remix album it would fall flat. But just because (and probably only because) it’s Radiohead and the songs were so good to begin with, means that TKOL RMX 1234567 just barely slides into the realm of enjoyable. At the very least, it certainly makes for good mood music for get-togethers.
MP3 Stream: "Lotus Flower (SBTRKT RMX)"
