REMIXOMATOSIS

Marillion - Remixomatosis

In the year 2003 Marillion started a remix contest for songs from their "Anoraknophobia" album. Any person interested could buy a copy of the mastertapes directly from the band and make a start on creating their own version of songs such as Between you and me, Number One or This is the 21st Century. The winners of this remix contest are featured on this "Remixomatosis" album. What's in a name, eh?

These songs are mostly complete reconstructions and therefore mostly very original reworks of the original songs. However that is also the main problem with this disc. One person has 5 remixes of his own included here and all have this dublike, jazzy feeling to them and I don't like the sound of it. However there's also some good music included so the purchase wasn't a total waste. And when the songs are good, they are very good!

The Dreamtime Mix of the song Quartz was previously included as a b-side to the DVD-single for the song "You're gone" and therefore already a familiar Tune. It is one of the nicest remixes I've heard up to date. With its chilled-out groove this song is a perfect relaxer. Only I have is the inclusion of the "You're only happy" rap part. I think the track would be a lot better without the sudden up-tempo section.

Another great song is the minimalist remix of This is the 21st Century which features only a basic drumloop and vocals mainly. Especially the semi-A Cappella section with effected vocals is rather splendid. This is also one of the songs by that guy I mentioned earlier on with the multiple entries on this disc and by coincidence this is his only remix I like.

There are several other interesting songs, such as the remixes of Separated out ("The Outré Mix") and the "Marillion vs. Plasma Mix" of Between you and me, which have such a catchy vibe to it that they would've worked well as singles. These are also perhaps the only remixes that have multiple elements of the original songs included; even guitar fills!

I understand you'll have to be a collector to really spend money on buying this directly from the band, but as an experiment I think this would be an interesting listen for anyone who liked the original "Anoraknophobia" album. Unfortunately the idea of a retail release was abandoned, despite the success of one of the remix tracks; Marillion reached #21 in the UK Dance Charts with one of the tracks.

Remixomatosis is the result of a competition to remix the Anoraknophobia album - in fact, it's a complete reconstruction of the running order of that album, each song being a winning entry to the competition. Thus, it's another piece along the same lines as The Positive Light's reworking of This Strange Engine on Tales From the Engine Room - except this time around, there's no one cohesive creative vision to sell the project to the listener.

On the whole, it's probably the least essential album-length projects released under the Marillion name which wasn't a compilation of some sort; The Positive Light on the whole were much more successful at combining Marillion's music with their own laid-back trance music approach. I have to give this one the "only for completists" rating because I suspect even hardcore fans of Marillion will find this one weary listening, even if they are otherwise cool woth dance music.