Remixes, Top Ten composers, new Miles product

* Three cheers for remixes of sacred recordings

Promoting Dylan, the new 3CD compilation album, Columbia will release next week a remix of Dylan’s mid-‘60s recording of Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine.

It’s already provoked righteous anger from some of the faithful, but not from here. Remixing is an acceptable way of finding younger markets for classic rockpop – it’s been a huge success with giants like Elvis, Ella, Miles, Bob Marley and Nina Simone, so why should Dylan be immune?

The kids get drawn in. More conservative listeners can simply ignore the remixes – they complement the originals, but they don’t replace them. The classic recordings can still be enjoyed.



* Top Ten Composers

The Independent newspaper is currently giving away a series of 14 handsome short booklets entitled The Great Composers, by Michael Steen.

As the newspaper is using the series to build circulation and can thus be expected to be issuing them in order of popularity, its top ten ranking is revealing:

1. Mozart
2. Beethoven
3. Bach
4. Handel
5. Tchaikovsky
6. Schubert
7. Mendelssohn
8. Verdi
9. Puccini
10.Haydn

Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn apart, I’d say that this ranking would be endorsed by most grown-ups who love classical music.



* More exciting new Miles Davis releases

Sixteen years after the maestro’s death, “new” Miles Davis continues to appear. Autumn 2007 releases exciting me include:

* Evolution Of The Groove, a 5 track (14 minute!) EP of remixes

* The Complete On The Corner Sessions – 6CD box set

* a new Rudy Van Gelder Edition of another of the great Prestige recording, Steamin’

* Live At The 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival, almost featuring the second great quintet (George Coleman hadn’t then been replaced by Wayne Shorte.

Yummy!




Gerry Smith