Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517524194
Format: Enhanced
Label: Interscope Records
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
MPN: 001033160
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Interscope Records
Release Date: 2007-11-20
Studio: Interscope Records

NINE INCH NAILS: Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D

YEAR ZERO ALBUM REMIXED: STEPHEN MORRIS, BILL LASWELL, KRONOS QUARTET, SAUL WILLIAMS, OLOF DREIJER, THE FAINT AND MORE

REMIX IT YOURSELF: EVERY MASTER MULTI-TRACK MADE AVAILABLE

"I'm very pleased with the way it turned out," says Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails' Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (Interscope Records). "Remix records can be disposable garbage (of which I myself have been guilty to some extent) but this collection feels good to me."

Spun off from Year Zero, the #2-charting album issued in the spring, Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D features a stunning diversity of remixers, from Joy Division and New Order's Stephen Morris to classical crossover pioneer Kronos Quartet and hip-hop poet Saul Williams; from avant-garde leader Bill Laswell, electronica's Olof Dreijer from The Knife, Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino and post-punk revivalists The Faint to an unknown fan who submitted a remix via the Internet.

"I reached out to heroes, friends and strangers," says Reznor. "I encouraged those I approached to do anything and insert themselves as much as possible into the track. Some of the stuff that was done earlier led me to choosing other people to balance things out. The Pirate Robot Midget mix is a fan's work--I thought it was great, it filled a need and I asked permission to use it here. It's always interesting for me to hear my work reinterpreted--I hope it is for you as well."

In fact, purchasers can even reinterpret and remix Year Zero themselves. The CD package for Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D includes a DVD-ROM containing every track from Year Zero in multi-track format (Mac and PC). Perhaps for the first time, the master multi-tracks for every recording on a major album are being made available to the public. The tracks are pre-formatted for Apple GarageBand and Ableton Live (Mac or PC); the DVD-ROM also adds the demo version of Ableton Live (Mac or PC) and generic WAVE files at 16 bit 44K that can be loaded into any audio editor.

A special Web site, remix.nin.com, will debut upon Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D's release date. Says Reznor,"Remixes and fun encouraged."

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great music - awesome fun remixing in Reaper
Comment: Nine Inch Nails have been doing high quality music for a long time. They have always been innovative in their approach. Publishing the source files for other musicians to remix is just another example of the forward thinking and experimetal attitude of this band. Great stuff guys! Luv ya work!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: That'll Do, Pig... That'll Do!!!
Comment: Trent, aka NIN, moves me body and soul with his music, always has, because just as with my kids, I love every album, just differently because they are all inherently different though part of the same family. And they are DELICIOUS!! Then to hear takes of the songs through others' ears and souls, WOW, some really cool stuff, though, they are always starting with really good stuff to begin with, right?! :-) Thanks, Trent, for another best in the continuing Halo saga... Yum...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Only for fans of Year Zero; worthwhile for them, though.
Comment: I don't usually listen to remixes. But I think Year Zero is the best NIN album to date, so I took a chance on Year Zero Remixed. Unlike NIN's other remix albums, where Trent Reznor mostly did his own remixing, the arrangements here are all by other artists (though some of them are closely associated with NIN, like Saul Williams or Alessandro Cortini's Modwheelmood). The results are about as good as you could hope for -- pretty uneven, but with a few startlingly good parts.

The biggest show-stopper is Ladytron's version of "The Beginning Of The End." They take what was already Reznor's most danceable song since "Closer," and make it even more danceable. But the remix is just as gloriously doom-laden as the original, with even deeper bass, on echoing keyboards rather than guitar. Additional keyboards in the second half add a lot of ominous atmosphere. The guitar solo in the original is worked into the end of the remix, and serves as a good crescendo. It's the rare case of an alternate version that is significantly different from the original, but is every bit as good. It's also a lot better than most of Ladytron's own work.

Another attraction is Saul Williams' revision of "Survivalism." The original version was aggressive, but I always found it kind of plodding. It just didn't have the same energetic kick as, say, "The Beginning Of The End," and it didn't have anything original in the way of beats and riffs, either. The remix is completely different. The aggression is gone, replaced by trippy ambience and slower, more subtle beats. Most of the noise, including Reznor's snarling vocal, is now submerged in the murk. In the end, part of the chorus is repeated in a floating, disembodied falsetto. I really think that this version fits the paranoid, unsettling imagery of the song's video and the Year Zero concept better than the original.

These two tracks also sound great back-to-back, although they are different in style. Interestingly, the best remixes on the album tend to be the ones that take a certain element that was suggested by the original, and then take that element as far as possible. For instance, Modwheelmood's version of "The Great Destroyer" omits the drum freak-out, and leaves only Reznor's calm chanting, set to acoustic strumming in the verses, distorted and made to sound distant in the chorus. I like the original more, but the slow burn of the remix is also enjoyable.

On the other hand, Olof Dreijer's take on "Me, I'm Not" is awful. The original was a spooky trip-hop soundscape, full of looming menace. You'd figure that would be ideal territory for The Knife, but Dreijer turns in what basically amounts to "Silent Shout," minus about 95% of the synths, i.e. a house beat and some incidental noises, which go on without end. It is very boring.

Some tracks aren't remarkable one way or the other. Bill Laswell's remix of "Vessel" is pretty much the same as the original, with minor variations in the beginning and middle. The Faint clearly have no idea what to do with "Meet Your Master," so they glitch up the vocals and try to make the beat more danceable, in the process losing the dynamics of the original, while gaining nothing. The remix of "My Violent Heart" is notable for being authored by a "regular" NIN fan, but unfortunately nothing else about it is interesting -- he just takes the original song and makes the rhythm track a lot louder and more dissonant, again losing the dramatism of the original while making it much less listenable.

And sometimes, radically changing the originals just doesn't work very well. The Epworth Phones remix of "Capital G" turns the song into a flamboyant house anthem, wrapping altered samples of the screeching guitars around the dance beat. But it also has the flavour of a "typical remix" in the way it pointlessly repeats, cuts up, and alters the original vocals, which were key to the impact of the song. All told, I prefer the original, with the less conventional time signature and the vocals intact. And without the incredible, constantly mutating bass line from the original album, Stefan Goodchild's "The Warning" is not very interesting.

The last three remixes follow the same order as on the original album. Kronos Quartet contribute a straightforward reading of "Another Version Of The Truth" on classical violin, which is just as moody as the original and somewhat reminiscent of Godspeed You Black Emperor in their better moments. Christian Fennesz strips the overbearing percussion out of "In This Twilight," and with the increased emphasis on the words and vocals, it becomes clear that the song is very well-written, and probably Reznor's best ballad (better than "Hurt" -- yes, I said it!). Finally, New Order do something similar to "Zero Sum," cleaning up the hissing percussion and replacing most of it with a dark techno pulse, which accents the rueful tone of the vocals quite well. (They do the same thing for "God Given" as well, and it works there too, although that song is more obviously suited to such a treatment.)

Overall, the whole thing is worth a listen. A lot of it serves as a reminder of how strong the original songs are. The best couple of tracks, particularly "The Beginning Of The End," are good enough to take on the originals. It's fun to imagine that some of these modifications might cause Reznor himself to change his approach in the future.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Reworking a Masterpiece
Comment: A collection of excellent remixes of already excellent songs. The highlights include The Great Destroyer remix, Meet Your Master remix, and My Violent Heart remix. Buy it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Remix
Comment: I have been listening to NIN since I was a teenager and I have to say their music has an acquired taste. I like this remix album. It has great samples and beats to enhance the original tracks. My favorite is Capitol G. It has an electronic/trance sound to it that really gets me going. It is great for listening to while on the treadmill also.

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