It starts off promising enough, even for the staunchest of soul purists. The beautiful guitar playing of David T. Walker and the bass playing of Wilton Felder interweave around one another free of percussion to create one of the most famous and beautiful intros in all of soul music, the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back." From there, it all goes d...

It starts off promising enough, even for the staunchest of soul purists. The beautiful guitar playing of David T. Walker and the bass playing of Wilton Felder interweave around one another free of percussion to create one of the most famous and beautiful intros in all of soul music, the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back." From there, it all goes downhill -- quickly. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, for Motown has stepped into the dimension of despair otherwise known as "the remix project." With the recent onslaught of abhorrent cash-cow remixes feebly flooding the market in an attempt to introduce young people to classic soul imprints (see Atlantiquity, Mayfield: Remixed, Blue Note Revisited and the Verve Remixed series for similar crimes of passion), it has become the trend du jour to grant dance and hip-hop producers access to master tapes locked away (for a good reason, mind you) in vaults or archives. Instead of offering reasonably priced discs of the classic works; instead of offering up single MP3s on Internet purchasing stations; instead of coming up with creative new deluxe editions of these classic works, all that is left is the notion that someone, somewhere, thought this trend was a good idea.

With the exception of a rare few (namely one: Jazzy Jeff), many remixers involved in this project have a limited shelf life due to the complete polarization of the timeless classics they've contributed here. Where are all of the quintessential producers of hip-hop and electronic music? Hopefully they had the good sense to gracefully decline invitations to this project, knowing what kind of car crash was eventually bound to ensue. Or perhaps, like most people, they simply knew better and realized that it's nearly impossible to improve upon near-perfection. Indeed, the first two "remixes" on Motown Remixed -- "I Want You Back" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" -- are saved only by furious bass playing and the impassioned vocal performances found in the original tapes. Their bleak, bare-bones production suggests a half-hearted effort on the part of their remixers. Perhaps they realized (after signing the contract) an important childhood lesson: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Of all these remixers, King Britt has unquestionably turned into the Joey Bishop of the remix rat pack. Not really famous for much else other than the fact he was the DJ for Digable Planets, he's appeared on every single one of the aforementioned remix series albums in an attempt to solidify his place in soul music history as a quintessential remixer. His "remix" here of Edwin Starr's politically potent and groundbreaking (for the candy coated, "nothing's-wrong-stay-apolitical" Motown) "War" is nothing but an insipid Femi Kuti rip-off that strips away all passion and ferocity from the original. Britt should be grounded from his mixing board and his studio until he learns his lesson and stops making horrible remixes. Or at least until he has the good sense to go back and retool his Sylk 130 project. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide