“And then one day… I got in.”
Rumors surfaced a month ago that Daft Punk’s Tron Legacy soundtrack was going to be remixed by artists such as Moby, The Crystal Method and M83. Fans of the music genre “House” complained that the wrong producers and DJs were picked for this remix album, or claimed that a remix album wasn’t needed at all.
Such as ice cream and Twitter isn’t needed, it’s still fun, right?
I was excited about this album, and hearing leaks of the album just confirmed my predictions. I disagree with the negative reviews of this album. Critics are saying this album is Disney’s feeble attempt at making a House/Dub step album. Although I disagree with the critics, I don’t think every single song on this album is audio gold. The album starts off strong and about mid-way through starts to disintegrate. In the following paragraphs, I will explain my reasoning.
The album starts off strong with The Glitch Mob remixing the most popular song on the Tron Legacy soundtrack, “Derezzed“. This is a remix in the true sense of the word. The Glitch Mob took the same synths from the original version of the song and repeats certain segments, and adding a different melody. It’s similar enough that you know it’s a remix of “Derezzed” but different enough to make it very interesting. One of the hardest hitting songs on the entire album. This song is amazing loud. I saw a Youtube clip of this song being performed live and it sounds brilliant live.
The next song, “Fall” remixed by M83 and Big Black Delta, wow. This song has elements of the original, with the first twenty seconds taking the original synth build-up, but this song has a completely different feel and M83 and Big Black Delta made this their own song. I love the vocals. Love it. I’m now caught singing, “na na na na~”. I’m not sure what the actual lyrics, I’m guessing they’re saying, “so long stairway, so long sun”. Please correct me if you do know the lyrics! This song is extremely catchy and pretty much nothing I ever heard before. Hard bass, catchy childlike vocals, this really is a true original song. I cannot compare it to anything I’ve ever heard before.
The Crystal Method comes in next remixing, “The Grid“. Great remix, when I first heard it, I wasn’t too sure about it, but it has definitely grown on me. This song is very close to the original, and I think they did a great job remixing Jeff Bridge’s vocals numerous times throughout the song. The song ends in a great way too, bringing in the original synths and bringing a whole new synth chord structure to make the song even more epic. The last minute of the song is the best part. I’m talking about the synths that come in right at 3:50.
“Adagio for Tron” was the surprise remix of the album. Not really thinking this song could be remixed in such a way, the Teddybears has made a beautiful remix. The song starts off with little blips that turn into triplets and then builds into more hard hitting synths. The song even breaks down and comes back like a slap in the face at 4:40 along with disco-like synths. I never knew I would like those disco sounds, but it works. I may be stretching it here, but I can’t help but compare this to Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”. The repeating triplets, the sad, somber feel. This remix is best compared to classical music in its groundwork, with introducing the motif, taking it away and re-imagining the motif. You hear the comparison and let me know if I’m off my rocker.
I love that remix more and more every time I hear it.
Next is Ki:Theory with the remix of my favorite song off of the original soundtrack, “The Son of Flynn“. Another great remix, and what makes the remix so great is the electric guitar that is turned into a repeating synth right at “0:36”. Some amazing instruments on this remix, with synth sounding bells to give the song just a bit of an organic feel. The song breaks down and builds back up. Just another great remix.
Paul Oakenfold remixes “C.L.U” next. I’m not a huge fan of this remix, it took me a while to get used to it. I did like the remix. I’m just not a fan of the melody of synths at 2:20. I was kind of expecting more. It’s a good remix, done very well, I think maybe it’s just that melody at that point I was hoping for more variety than those three notes repeated over and over.
Moby remixes a sexy version of “The Son of Flynn“. He brings in this bass beat at “0:09” that I find very satisfying. Moby brings in a lot of violins that keep building up throughout the song. It’s a little unnerving because the song just continues to grow and doesn’t seem like the chords come back to the cadence, it just keeps going. Although, other than that, the song is very beautiful.
“End of Line” by Boyz Noise, another great remix. They took the original sounds, reworked it a little and then made their own anthem, a kind of similar remix style like The Glitch Mob’s remix of “Derezzed“. I’m glad they kept the original synths and melodies from the original soundtrack.
Now this is the part where the album starts to go downhill. It’s not a quick downward spiral, but a slow, downhill trek from where we started. Kaskade remixed, “Rinzler“. I have to emphasize, not a bad remix, but the excitement of the first half of the album gradually declines. This is a more mellow remix, taking the original melody and making it more chill, more like lounge music. Not really the hard hitting house we were introduced with in the beginning of the album.
“Encom Part 2” by Com Truise, an interesting sounding remix, kind of hard to sit through. There’s definitely elements from the 80s in this remix and I do like how the song ends with the violins, but this one doesn’t grab my attention that much.
“End of Line” by Photek, a good remix, not as good as Boyz Noise’s remix, kind of a more chill remix, lounge version similar to Kaskade’s remix. I think Boys Noise killed their remix, so this isn’t as good in comparison.
“Arena” by The Japanese Popstars takes way too long to get started, and even when it does get started, it just seems to be dragging on and on. I feel like this song was meant to be an eight-minute song, because it just seems like it takes forever to get anywhere.
I think “Derezzed” by Avicii is the biggest disappointment on the album. The song sounds nothing like “Derezzed”. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just it’s own song. I think this song has no business being on this album. For the song itself, it’s not even that compelling. Kind of light and airy, but maybe there’s some mathematical reason how this was a remix, but I would think whoever the music supervisor on this album totally dropped the ball on picking this remix.
“Solar Sailor” by Pretty Lights comes back for another interesting remix. The original is a beautiful track, and this remix makes it a bit more like dub step. This is a chill song, great to have in the background, and probably deserves to be part of the first half of the album.
“TRON Legacy (End Titles)” by Sander Kleinenberg is kind of the oddball on the album. It doesn’t sound like any of the other remixes, more of a poppy, club remix. More happier, there are some good elements of the song, but not enough for me to be completely sold on it. It is a good remix, but not part of my top favorites from this album.
This album has its ups and downs. There are amazing, original remixes that are a must-buy, and some we could really do without. This soundtrack wasn’t needing a remix, as it stood on it’s own as a classic soundtrack, but this remix album was a pleasant surprise, reworking these fabulous melodies. I get these songs stuck in my head and it has been a lot of fun.
My advice? Buy the CD, better sounding quality, and you definitely want to hear The Glitch Mob’s “Derezzed” in the best speakers possible. If not, buy the first twelve songs on iTunes.
Best Songs on Album:
The first 12 songs in that order on the album itself. Seriously.
Let me know if you bought the album or any of the songs and what you think of the remixes.
elenamusic 