Blind Test
Hercules and Love Affair featuring Antony-Blind (Original Mix)
Hercules and Love Affair featuring Antony-Blind (Hercules Club Mix)
Hercules and Love Affair featuring Antony-Blind (Frankie Knuckles Mix)
So there is lots and lots of chat about this. Let’s not use the word “hype”, since it means less and less each day. Which version, if any, do you like?
I heard the original mix first and thought it was really poor. It sounded like a really flat radio mix to me, with no space in there at all. The club mix is so much better and I can understand people really enjoying it, it gives Antony’s vocal some room and it sounds as I wanted it to when I heard he sang on a dance track, weird and melancholy and druggy.
Somehow the original ends up sounding like the Scissor Sisters or something, with that vague radio disco-punk sound of the last few years. I hope I’m not overstating the difference, I don’t think so though.
Meanwhile, the Frankie Knuckles mix sounds exactly as I expected it to, and that’s not really a good thing. Has there ever been a positive outcome from somebody hiring a house music “legend” to remix their track after years without a great record? If there has I’m not aware of it.
On that subject, I remember when DJ T’s album (remember him) was coming out a few years ago on Get Physical, he played quite a good gig here in May in the Pod. It must have been way back in 2005! I was helping out Bodytonic at the time so I collected him from the airport and hung out for a little while. He was a very nice guy, a real music freak.
After introducing himself as “T”, he told me that they had planned for Adonis (a guy who made one of the most famous house records of all time in the 80s, though I assume most of you know this) to remix one of the forthcoming singles. I forget which track it was, but knowing dear old Chicago house loving T, it was probably called “Jack The House” or “Jack Charlton” or “Jack Lemon”.
Anyway they tracked Adonis down and he was working in a burger joint or somewhere similar. They gave him some money up front to do the remix, but he missed the deadline. Since the remix never came out I assume that’s the last they heard of it. It’s quite a sad story really but I’ve no doubt he’s not the only house music “legend” to be in such a situation.
I guess it’s a romantic idea to hire these guys but sometimes, like with Knuckles here, it can feel like a bit of a gimmick. I mean, isn’t there a clear allure in having a dazzling time honoured name stamped on your extremely retro 2008 single? Yet the musical results aren’t always fantastic.
John Osborn wrote:
I can’t say I like any of the mixes, sure the club mix is the best - but it is still way to mainstream sounding for my tastes. I would leave the dance floor if I heard that!
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 11:28 am ¶
Ronan wrote:
Well, it is definitely a pop record alright.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 11:29 am ¶
UnaRocks wrote:
I like the club mix the best, but I like the original too, in two seperate ways, if you know what I mean.
I just love Hegarty’s voice really, it just sucks me in anytime I hear it.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 11:49 am ¶
tomo wrote:
yeah , club mix is probably the best. frankie knuckles is nothing special. theres still gonna be people who see these names on records and still get excited but i don’t think that they are that relevant anymore, his old shit his classic. its the same with MAW.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 12:58 pm ¶
Joe wrote:
club mix is wonderful but i like the original a lot too. UnaRocks is right - his voice is magical.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 2:10 pm ¶
kevin wrote:
The Knuckles mix is the best. Think Eric Kupper remixed it with him
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 4:35 pm ¶
clom wrote:
it’s very very poppy.
i’m really looking forward to the album.
the club mix is the best.
i made an unholy show of myself dancing like an idiot to it at optimo a few weeks ago.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 4:45 pm ¶
Ronan wrote:
Once you went to confession afterwards I won’t inform anyone.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 4:46 pm ¶
steve q wrote:
i have to admit that anything with Anthony’s vocals is going to do it for me, i used the Frankie Knuckles version on my radio show over at Proton.
Im surprised to see you writing about the track at all to be honest, with all the goings on in the uber deep tech electro house minimal scene i didnt think this would register on your play-dar.
i think the whole DFA, Im A Cliche, Wurst.. thing is the best thing to come out of Amrica in years!
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 6:25 pm ¶
Ronan wrote:
well I probably wouldn’t play it but I do still try and hear stuff if people talk about it a lot…despite myself.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 6:37 pm ¶
steve m wrote:
The simple radio/popness of the original mix is surely intentional. It’s fine if you still care about that sort of thing. If it’s any kind of hit I’ll be fairly pleased (I mean just look at the top 40 as it is). It reminds me a lot of 90s stuff of course - maybe more the approach and intention than the actual sound I’m not sure.
I think how you felt about vocal house with intentional crossover potential 10-15 years ago probably affects how you feel about this strongly.
If you want Knuckles to do a remix presumably it’s because you want a VERY traditional (i suppose you could say ‘old fashioned’) house take on it. They could’ve got X-Press II to do it and the result would probably be the same (dunno how many see this as a ‘Lazy’esque thing tho, but I can see that). Why they wanted this I don’t know but it ties in with my previous paragraph.
I thought it was interesting what you said about ‘no space’, Ronan. This is the real crux of the divide surely, as in a divide between at least two approaches to house production. If nothing else you’ve summed up there the issues I have with dance music and atttude to space on record therein. But I need to think about it more.
I’ll probably post all this on the ILM thread anyway gah.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 6:43 pm ¶
Tad wrote:
Not really into the Knuckles mix, although he still occasionally turns out a great one. But the radio edit and club mix are great–taking opposite approaches to the balance between vocal and music. Maybe it’s just his voice–some weird late 80s amalgam of Morrissey and Jimmy Somerville, perhaps–that pushes my 37-year-old buttons.
DFA can do no wrong for me lately, but hard to mix into deep tech-house, it’s true. Sits better with my disco collection.
Posted 13 Feb 2008 at 9:26 pm ¶
Fumix wrote:
This is plain rubbish. DFA’s been incredibly consistent of late so let’s hope this is just a one-off mistake. Still looking forward to their album, though.
Posted 14 Feb 2008 at 9:45 am ¶
Cian wrote:
The club mix is the best, the rest all manage to make the vocal sound more irritating. Wasn’t sure about this, but seeing that Ronan has now endorsed it, I will be re-visiting and might perhaps chance it in a set.
Posted 14 Feb 2008 at 10:45 am ¶
Ronan wrote:
Ah Cian I should be looking for your endorsement not vice versa!
Posted 14 Feb 2008 at 10:52 am ¶
jig wrote:
regarding adonis, i picked up a fairly recent track by him on mathematics… well as recent as 2006
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/197547-01.htm&highlight=adonis
thought it was pretty class. I’m a bit surprised to hear that he’s working in burgar bar
Posted 14 Feb 2008 at 1:26 pm ¶
Ronan wrote:
Maybe it wasn’t true…but that’s what I was told at the time anyhow.
Posted 14 Feb 2008 at 1:30 pm ¶
mano wrote:
original mix>club mix.
melodically standard, but a lot of fun….i really like the organic production sounds…
Posted 15 Feb 2008 at 7:29 am ¶
ailbhe1@mac.com wrote:
hi ronan, i personally prefer the original. the sound is so fresh and i think anthony’s voice compliments the music brilliantly… why bother changing a good thing i say!
Posted 15 Feb 2008 at 8:52 pm ¶
alex wrote:
i love both versions. got the LP the other day and it is brilliant - modern day arthur russell stuff - it bounces around from old chi-traxx type house numbers to more spaced out cosmic stuff. really like it.
Posted 19 Feb 2008 at 12:37 pm ¶
Ludbrown wrote:
Posten another song from the album… http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=T5spXHUCmWc
Posted 23 Feb 2008 at 10:20 am ¶