POP/ROCK Lady Gaga, "The Remix" (Interscope)
The trick for the producers behind "The Remix," a compilation of 10 revamped Gaga songs, is to preserve the integrity of her nuances while still bringing something new to her music. They mostly fared well. Stuart Price whimsically yet respectfully straps the original "Paparazzi" to the equivalent of an electronic jalopy, and the "LLG vs. GLG Radio Mix" of "Poker Face" incorporates the robotic cadence of the melody into a bleeping, computerized roll. Meanwhile, "The Sound of Arrows Remix" of "Alejandro" deferentially shades moody subtext into what is arguably Lady Gaga's "Madonna song," while a "Monarchy 'Stylites' Remix" simply pumps extra oomph into "Dance in the Dark."
Some riskier remixes pay off, too: Richard Vission almost factors Lady Gaga out of "Just Dance," but his elastic rhythm is great fun all the same, and FrankMusik shifts away from the original softness of "Eh Eh" to turn it into something more manic and invigorating. The only blatant disservice to Gaga comes with Starsmith's foul treatment of "Bad Romance," which has been defanged and shaped into something generic.
CHUCK CAMPBELL, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
"Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin" (Disney Pearl)
What do George Gershwin and the Beach Boys' prime mover, Brian Wilson, have in common? A jaunty, exuberant tunefulness for one thing, and a desire to push pop into high-art territory for another. In this disc, Wilson dresses Gershwin tunes in surfer attire. With varying degrees of success he turns the melodies into post-Beach Boys pop with stacked harmonies performed in a barbershop tradition that erases vocal individuality for the sake of a creamy harmonic blend.
The best cut is a pulsing, bouncy "They Can't Take That Away From Me," in which Wilson sounds like a child in the throes of puppy love jumping for joy. "I've Got a Crush on You," garnished with piano triplets, is taken back to the happy days of early rock 'n' roll. An instrumental "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" is the best section of a four-song medley from "Porgy and Bess." Featuring banjo, harmonicas and several percussion instruments, the arrangement evokes lazy 1930s summer afternoons shuffling down a dirt road, fishing rod in hand. Then there's "I Got Rhythm," arranged as a trudging surf-style anthem with martial syncopation. A similar approach to the song was taken by the Happenings, whose hit version in 1967 had a fluency and lightness that is missing in this too self-conscious one. On an album that feels like a posthumous competition, Wilson emerges the clear loser.
STEPHEN HOLDEN, NEW YORK TIMES
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