Sheep on Drugs
Never Mind the Methadone (Invisible)
by Chris Best
Ooh, wow! A remix album! You shouldn’t have. No, really, you shouldn’t have. I’m not a big fan of remix albums, believing them to be nothing more than overpriced CD singles. I’m not saying remixes are bad, but they do get tedious after a while (my personal hell will include the “I’m Too Sexy” single with the 15 different versions, played continuously for the first millennium of my damnation). Both of these bands are known for some damn good tunes, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to this. I’m all for experimentation and progress, but I’m against suffering for someone else’s art. If you’re unfamiliar with either of these bands, go find any of their actual albums, you’ll be glad you did, but please stay away from these, as they are wretched introductions. But for the Sheep On Drugs or Collide fan desperate for anything they can get their hands on – Hoo Boy! – there’s a veritable treasure trove of some of your favorite ditties rendered totally unrecognizable by the miracle of modern remixing technology.
Sheep On Drugs win this month’s John Merrick award for outstanding achievement in releasing remixes so deformed, they had me checking, rechecking, and comparing the track listings to the track number on the disc player numerous times each song. “What song is this? ‘X-LOVER’?! It can’t be. The CD player says track 7… the CD says ‘X-LOVER’ is track 7. Well, if they say so…” I’m not saying that the groove-oriented meanderings on this release are bad, but I’m definitely not into this. In their defense, I could conceivably picture myself getting jiggy with some of the “tunes,” but that really doesn’t mean I like any of the stuff. I got down to that Macarena song once and I didn’t like that at all. If you’re into long grooves and remixes, by all means, get this – there’s some good quality stuff here, I’m just not too into it.
Collide’s remixes did even less for me, and did nothing to improve on the songs’ original recordings. At least I could recognize the songs on this one (with the exception of “Son Of A Preacher Man” which would have beat out Sheep On Drugs for the John Merrick award if it weren’t for the sheer volume of remix atrocities those boys racked up), but they still blow pretty hard. Where’s my fucking Busta Rhymes CD?
