[Thor Joachim Haga]

Here’s an old FSM post I wrote, from 2002, that I felt would fit into this thread:

“Let’s talk re-mixes/re-arrangements. Particularly relevant now that DJ XL’s superb mix of Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation” is doing so well all over the world.

To stick with rock/pop first, re-doing something is usually a very mixed bag. Certainly, Pink Floyd proves it. David Palmer tried to re-arrange their music with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, but failed rather miserably as he added a cheesy drum beat and simplified orchestrations. PF’s music COULD have been translated to an orchestral idiom, but one should have used a symphonic premise, not a rock/pop one. Then I’m much more satified with some of the techno re-mixes that have been done – such as “The Pink Floyd Experience” or “Welcome to the Remix 2000”. They have maintained the crucial elements of PF’s music, yet added appropriate synthscapes and beats. Recommended! Of course, “technifying” is not always a success. Look no longer than Scooter’s horrible slaughtering of Supertramp’s sophisticated “Logical Song”. And I won’t even mention boyband A1’s kindergarten whining of a-ha’s fantastic “Take on Me”.

Film music is likewise a very mixed bag. I absolutely loved Paul Oakenfold’s funky remix of Elfman’s POTA main titles, and I really like a lot of what David Arnold did to the original Bond theme. But then you have something like Sting’s performance of “Windmills of Your Mind” in the THOMAS CROWN remake….I like Sting, but his ubiquitous reggae/ska-sound didn’t work well with Legrand’s melodic flow. I’ll take the original any day (although, obviously, one may put the finger on Harrison’s all too casual singing as well). Then you have things like STAR WARS, which ranges from the bizzare but interesting (the jazz trio or church organ arrangements) to the cheesy (Meco).

What is your opinion on the topic of re-arranging in general? What do you think are some good re-mixes or re-arrangments of certain songs or tracks – film music or otherwise (note: I’m not talking about re-recordings of entire scores here)? Got anyone you DISlike? If so, why?”