Open Season!
Here is my album rundown. These are remixes from Leslie Feist's album Let it Die, plus some other b-sides.
*One Evening (Solo Piano Version) [Instrumental] -- 10/10 A lovely interpretation of the song; great for dinner parties.
*Inside + Out (Apostle of Hustle Unmix) -- 9/10 A nice and simple song to chill to.
*Mushaboom (Mocky Remix) -- 10/10 It has a slight hip-hop feel to it, yet Feist still channels her inner peace with alternative.
*Gatekeeper (Full mix) -- 10/10 This is by far better than the original; this version has far more substance to it.
*Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix) -- 9/10 This is a very serene song.
*Mushaboom (K-OS Mix) -- 7/10 K-OS's remix is pretty much the only downfall; the beats were very overdone.
*Snow Lion -- 10/10 I absolutely love this track! It is very calming and brings to mind winter.
*Tout Doucement -- 8/10 There could be a bit more to it, but it's interesting that the track is sung in French.
*The Simple Story -- 7/10 I don't like this track as much, it's a bit boring.
*Lovertits -- 10/10 This is a slower-paced dance track, yet all the energy is still there. Love this one!
*Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix) -- 9/10 The downright quirkiness of Postal Service makes this one a hit!
*Gatekeeper (Do Right Remix) -- 9/10 I love how this almost seems like a modern jazz type track.
*One Evening (Remix By VV) -- 10/10 THE PERFECT REMIX!! Exactly as it should be. Nice and fun, funky and fresh.
*When I Was A Young Girl (Remix by VV) -- 10/10 Once again, better than the original.
*Mushaboom (Remix by VV) -- 10/10 VV delivers yet another groovy mix, this time for Mushaboom.
Overall album rating -- 10/10 This is a must-have for your collection; whether you're a Feist fan or not! These are superb mixes.
*My favorite tracks: 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 15.
Great Mistake
These remixes are point on and I'm glad that Feist had a hand in this collaboration instead of the whole disc being a lame attempt at making money off of someone else's abilities. I bought this CD by accident and I'm really glad that I did. .
Feist Butchery
If you loved Let it die, which i did, dont buy this, youll be sorry. Wow, if id actaully paid for this album i'd be even more angry right now! There are some nice remixes on this album, but more importantly there or some real howlers, who is this "VV", cut his attemps and you'd have a good album, im not sure if its possible to mangle mushaboom more, even if he tried. . . oh im listening to Open Season as i write this, When i was a young girl [vv mix] is playing, seriously cringe worthy.
Baroque Pop
One Evening (solo piano) is striking in its ornate textures even in the straightforward solo version. "The evening was long
My guesses were true
You saw me see you
That something you said
The timing was right"
Playful in beauty, Feist's Open Season is a mingling of richly orchestrated sounds and remixes. The Remix later in the album is hardly recognizable and the mood more sultry.
Inside and Out has dreamy lyrics, but is edgy in acoustic musical exploration. Snow Lion reminds me of Magnet's laid-back albums and the beauty melts into a subtle discordance with the beauty of danger on a moonlit landscape. The Mushaboom Mocky remix seems the best of the versions on this album, but I still prefer the original song from the Let it Die album recorded in Paris.
"You treat me like a vision in the night
Someone there to stand behind you
When your world ain't working right
I ain't no vision, I am the girl
who loves you inside and out"
A better introduction to Leslie Feist would be the Let it Die album, but this one might
make you curious and interested enough to listen to all her music.
~The Rebecca Review
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Knee deep snow
" Now she follows it up with "Open Season," which is basically a lot of odds and ends -- remixes, B-sides, and alternate versions. Folk-popster Leslie Feist garnered a lot more attention with her second solo album, "Let it Die. Sure, not everything is absolutely perfect, but it's a good little album of bits and pieces.
It opens on a quiet note with a piano version of "One Evening," which is basically a pretty, downbeat little instrumental. Things start to kick off with the acoustic-driven "Inside and Out (Apostle of Hustle Unmix," which brings it down to gritty guitar-driven melodies. Okay, whatever, but not exactly my cup of tea.
But the remixes are good stuff -- "Mushaboom" gets done over and over, whether it's a perky pop melody, a heavier techno-laced one, an almost wordless mix by VV, or the peak of the album -- Postal Service's delicate trip-hop remix. There's also the murky "Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix)," a jazzy "Gatekeeper" remix, and a funky redone "When I Was a Young Girl. "
There are also some songs that haven't been heard on her regular album: the dreamy "Snow Lion" with Readymade FC, the trippy French "Tout Doucement," the taut ballad "Simple Story" with Jane Birkin," and the naughty-edged "Lovertits" (well, what did you expect with that title?) with Gonzales.
Most albums of B-sides and remixes are pretty much half-and-half. Fortunately, Feist scores higher with an almost perfect array of remixes, and four excellent individual songs. Don't expect the same sound as "Let it Die," though -- the folkpop sound can only be found in a couple of songs here, like the full mix of "Gatekeeper" and the unmix of "Inside and Out. "
Instead, we get all sorts of remixes -- jazz, funk, trip-hop, hard electro, and even "One Evening" pared down to a single piano melody. And the songs get a bit of a twist, with everything from skipping vocals to crunching snow to scratching vinyl. Sometimes you'd hardly even know they were the same song, except for the occasional cry of "Mushaboom!"
And fortunately Feist never gets lost in all this remixing, unmixing and reworking. Her clear, fresh voice cuts through all the beats and extra instruments. But she sounds best in the four original songs, with rippling piano, harp and some blippy sound effects. "Tout Doucement" is especially charming -- it sounds like a French cafe at happy hour.
"Open Season" won't give anyone reason to fire at Feist. Her odds and ends sound wonderfully polished, with only a few rough diamonds left over.
You can see a complete list of all Feist discography, or go back to the Feist tabs
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