A Certain Ratio, Remixed: Dirty Boy / Shack Up - EP review
They only released a mammoth 53-track collection back in May to celebrate 40 years since Martin Hannett worked his magic by producing their first release - All Night Party.
That was Factory Records’ first single release, and A Certain Ratio became synonymous with one of the richest periods in British music history.
So it's fitting that the voice of the late, great Tony Wilson - whose vision kicked that whole shabang off - has his voice featured on this neat, six-track remix EP of their tracks Shack Up and Dirty Boy, as it did on the original version of the latter which first appeared on that ACR:Box in May.
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Shack Up gets four remixes, and provides the best material. The final two versions featured here - Work Mix and Wipe Out Mix - are the absolute gems.
Wipe Out Mix sounds like it was lifted straight out of the early 90s with its deep, almost industrial bass complimented beautifully by the dancing piano melodies. It sounds like something Moby could have produced if he wanted to release his own workout video. It's nostalgic and gets those thoughts of big club nights pumping from your brain through your limbs.
But the absolute killer is the Work Mix. This could be put on repeat for a long time and not get old. That reverberating snare beat sounds a little like the 25th anniversary remix of CeCe Peniston's Finally which that moneysupermarket advert made famous last year. Industrial and building in nature, it moves beautifully to an abrasive outpouring of emotion that wouldn't have been out of place on the soundtrack to the Blade film franchise.
The laid back 70s/80s vibes of the Electronic Radio Edit, by Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr no less, are a stark contrast to the two mentioned above and is much lighter in nature. Those big synths will have any fans of the era bopping.
And the original 7" version of the track is also included to really crank up the nostalgia.
The two versions of Dirty Boy, where Barry Adamson and Wilson feature, also sit well. The Massey Mix by Mancunian Chris Massey is pretty hard-hitting with its in-your-face beats and cap doffing to the disco era.
Rating: 8/10
A Certain Ratio will play at Birmingham's The Crossing on November 9
