Ubiquitious production crew The Neptunes have remixed The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.” (Watch and hear it here.) Save your outrage, puritans. Of course no one needed to hear a remix of one of rock’s most perfect songs. But the Stones are in business, and “Sympathy” is a commodity. Instead of gnashing teeth over the validity of the act, save that energy for an analysis of the result. Or just read ours.
The Neptunes’ “Sympathy” reset bears many of the duo’s distinguishing marks. Most importantly, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo never overstep the original track. The best example of this style would be the pounding Junkie XL big beat remix of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” – while the track was effective, it was all huppa huppa and neon percussion without any actual substance. Conversely, The Neptunes are masterful at the minimal, as their work on Nelly’s stuttering “Hot in Herre” and the gritty, jerking funk of Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass” proved.
For “Sympathy,” the duo retained the original’s emblematic parts – Jagger’s animalistic yelps; Keith Richard’s mindfucking, Cliffs of Insanity guitar solo – but subtly reengineered its famous percussion track and rumbling piano line. They didn’t soak the master tapes in sound-expanding studio juice, nor is there anything horrid like additional vocals. In fact, the final section of their version, with its add-on acoustic guitar dropout, might be the most effective part of the remix. In the original “Sympathy”‘s spooky fade out, it’s possible to hear satyrs drinking blood out of craniums in the hooting falsetto of Mick Jagger. The Neptunes’ version of endgame is quietly determined. Playing out in the video over Satan’s gentlemanly agreement with a political hopeful, the sobering tension of the acoustic chording is palpable, and just as unsettling as the Stones’ version still is. That’s the best part about the Neptunes’ remix – it amplifies the shadowy power of the original instead of hijacking its naughty bits for a 21st century hack job.
ABKCO will issue the track as part of a seven-song EP on September 16th. In addition to the Neptunes, “Sympathy” was remixed by Fatboy Slim and Full Phatt. All three crews turn in radio and extended versions; the original also appears on the release. The Stones’ iconic logo also gets a futurific update, speaking further to the band’s enterprising nature.
JTL
Give me Laibach over this shit any day.
I think it’s a fine remix. The point that the Neptunes’ version doesn’t try to make *more* of the song is important. It’s a modern but gloomy take that retains most of the Stones’ character. I also think the video is quite well done. I love the part where the guy’s wedding ring vanishes, appearing in Lucifer’s hand when he decides to hit the strip club. Not bad at all, I think.
Pharell is the man, period. Goddamn that soulful voice.
Pretty damn good. The original Sympathy was a great song, but not without it’s flaws. I’ve always thought the ending to the original had a little too much good ol’ British excess. Once the verses are over, I’ve almost always tracked forward. The Neptunes thankfully had the good sense to leave the good stuff intact and just make minor tweaks here and there.
Hmm. It’s well done, that’s for sure. Is it better? I dunno. I’ll have to listen to it a few times more to decide that. ‘Sympathy’ one of the great rock songs to begin with, and unless you can radically change the original song and bring out aspects that you never considered before (ala’ Devo’s cover of ‘Satisfaction’), I kind of wonder why you’d bother. But like I said, I need to listen to it a few more times.
I just found out someone’s remixing my favorite 60s Elvis song, “Rubberneckin’.” While I don’t hate the new version of “A Little Less Conversation,” I think the original was just fine as it was. This whole remixing thing is going to sound really bad and embarassing in about ten years. Have you ever heard Sly Stone’s late-70s “disco” remixes that he did of some of his early hits? Terrible. This shit will have the same vibe in a few years…
People say that some songs sound better when you ingest certain things… I drank a Sprite “remix” before I listened to this and it totally sounds amazing.
I just don’t see the point. Why “remix” a song if you aren’t going really going to change much.
firstly…..pharrell has a terrible voice to whoever said it was soulful. he has no resonance.
secondly…..it doesnt take much talent to remix a song that was already great and not actually change that much. neptunes are overrated, any good all round musician will tell u that.
this puritan has analysed “the result”…..and its pointless. stick to the original.
how about some sympathy for this man?
http://www.cosmiclocksmith.com/sympathyforalroker.gif
PS:
we invented the remix:
http://www.cosmiclocksmith.com/porkfutures.mp3
peace,
CL
this remix is really bad. for the pure fact that it hardly soundsdifferent, and the acoustic 10 seconds at the end is hardly an original thing to do. to remix something in this way takes pretty much no talent, i can tell you this, as a musician.
if you wanna hear something a little different done to this song, try the guns n roses cover, with the lower octave singing etc.
basically that quiet part near the end of the song is actually stolen from the guns’n;roses version. it goes quiet at exactly the same point behind exactly the same lyrics, only difference is they have used an acoustic guitar on that part.
theyve just taken the part of the song that guns n roses made quiet, and copied it.
basically that quiet part near the end of the song is actually stolen from the guns’n;roses version. it goes quiet at exactly the same point behind exactly the same lyrics, only difference is they have used an acoustic guitar on that part.
theyve just taken the part of the song that guns n roses made quiet, and copied it.