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We Invented The Remix
05/21/2002 5:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy
The title is akin to Al Gore's claim about inventing the Internet, and is annoyingly bleated every 30 seconds or so, in case you forget. But Diddy did help pioneer the concept of remixes as a start-from-scratch second chance for songs, and they've showcased some of his best work. Despite its flaws, this compilation is proof, as it ends up superior to last year's messy The Saga Continues.
One reason is the return of Puffy's magpie pop smarts; once again tapping an '80s hit for musical DNA, he and co-producer Mario Winans smashingly rebuild Faith Evans's "You Gets No Love" atop Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams." The winning hooks continue on two versions of "I Need A Girl," which finds the auteur revisiting his failed relationship with J-Lo by eating as much crow as he's capable of publicly, and he even toughens up two bits of 112 fluff by wisely enlisting Ludacris and Beanie Sigel for cameos. There are still too many posthumous mic-checks from the Notorious B.I.G., and when the heavyweight guests depart ("So Complete"), Diddy's DOA. Yet this disc reminds you, at least sometimes, of how he got where he's at.
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