Daft Club - The Remixes

Album Review

Although not rising to the level of either of their previous production albums or their live record, Daft Punk's version of a remix album is far better than most of its ilk. But first off, agreeing to remix Daft Punk counts as an act of high hubris for most producers; the duo is responsible for some of the most innovative productions ("Musique," "Revolution 909," "Aerodynamic") and remixes ("Mothership Reconnection," "Disco Cubism," "Chord Memory") of recent years. But fresh blood is always intriguing, and the acts hired out to post-produce for 2001's Discovery LP were widely varied and highly talented. Basement Jaxx's version of "Phoenix" (the only track originally taken from Daft Punk's debut album) is a mostly successful translation of DP-style robot disco into Basement Jaxx's vision of sensual house. And although few of the other big names tapped turn in tracks that meet or exceed expectations, the gaps are filled in nicely by lesser-known French upstarts like Jess & Crabbe and Cosmo Vitelli as well as mainstream house mastermind Boris Dlugosch, whose "Digital Love" wisely changes very little of the original.