Panthalassa: The Remixes
In 1998Bill Laswellwent into the vaults and remixed Miles Davis's revolutionary electric music of the '70s, giving more emphasis to the bass lines and rhythm tracks, highlighting the connection between Miles and hip-hop culture. Though a sacrilege to some, Laswell'sPanthalassashowed a sensitivity and understanding of the original music. This disc, a remixing of the Laswell remixes, is considerably more distant from Miles and his sound. Various DJs speed up, slow down, and add drum machine tracks to the material. In some cases--particularly two versions of "Rated X," one by Doc Scott, the other byJamie Myerson--Miles is nowhere to be found. On "In a Silent Way," remixed byDJ Cam, at least his trumpet line appears, albeit over slowly thudding electronic drums. Laswell's "On the Corner (Subterranean Channel Mix)" does the least tampering and consequently has the most Milesian flavor of them all. Over all, a mixed bag (pun intended) and primarily of interest to those new to Miles.--Wally Shoup