GARY NUMAN - The Mix
Songs: 14  Time:  65:30
<sarcasm on> ‘Gosh, where does Cleopatra come up with these novel ideas?’ <sarcasm off>  The Mix is a collection of classic Gary Numan tracks remixed by some of Cleopatra’s best selling artists (excluding Elton John).  Everyone from Leæther Strip to Spahn Ranch to Information Society takes a stab at reworking perfection.  Can it be done?  Well in most of the cases…no, but some of these mixes actually do work.  The Leæther Strip Mix of Are ‘Friends’ Electric? adds a more modernized feel to the piece without sacrificing some of its better elements.  Seeing as how Claus is a fan of the earlier electro scene, I completely understand why he didn’t ruin the track by transforming it into something hard and aggressive.  While I’m a fan of the new Spahn Ranch sound, I don’t really think that they should have injected their drum -n- bass sound into Cars.  It seems that the majority of the music on this mix was re-created by Athan and the boys, leaving Numan’s vocals as the only original sounding element.  Had this been a cover album I might have appreciated their track more. The Transmutator Mix of We Are Glass does manage to stick with many of Numan’s original sounds while still adding a dash of that addictive Transmutator sound.  Talla 2XLC does the worst job on this CD.  His mix of Cars sounds like a cookie cutter techno song that simply samples a tad of Numan here and there.  The JLAB Mix is another one of the better tracks.  Much like Transmutator, JLAB mixes just enough of their own sound in with the original so as not to rework it entirely.  LCD provide another remix that, much like Talla’s, sounds like a typical techno piece with the occasional Numan sample tossed in for good measure.  I’m torn on whether or not I really like this disc, especially since I am fond of the original pieces and hate to se them turned into techno trash.  Decide for yourself on this one.
 
CLEOPATRA RECORDS             Gary Numan homepage:
13428 Maxella Avenue                    http://www.numan.co.uk
Suite # 251
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
e-mail: cleopatra@tunanet.com
CLEOPATRA homepage:
http://www.hallucinet.com/cleopatra