David Bowie - Fame 90 [Rykodisc CD Single]

It's remake/remodel time for everyone's favorite stardust monster, and, boy, is this a helluva funky slab of good stuff. On the one hand, prompted by the use of the remixed "Fame" in the movie Pretty Woman, and on the other hand prompted by the Sound + Vision series of Bowie re-releases from Ryko, this CD-5 is thunderous proof that not only is Bowie still viable, but if you treat an old song the right way, it'll come up seeming amazingly fresh all over again, and just about blow away everything else around it. When you consider that one of the people involved with the recording of this song was John Lennon, and not by the use of samplers or old demo tapes, it comes close to raising the old eyebrows. But, you wonder, is it worth all the numerous versions? Well, actually, yes. After all, if constant remakes and rethinks can be considered perfectly normal for classical and jazz music, why not rock? Here the exercise is redeemed 100 percent by the presence of a monster titled Absolutely Nothing Premeditated/Epic Mix (absent from the British version released by EMI), which travels a variety of routes for almost 15 minutes as remixer David Barratt stands the track on its head, among other things, and tosses in odd little sound bites at unexpected moments. The song gets dismembered in the wildest ways and stuck back together in even wilder ones, and is tons of fun all the way through. Sad to say, there aren't many monster remixes you can say that about. You also get the rap version with Queen Latifah, which isn't too bad as these things go (if you want truly stupid rap remixes, try the one on Ofra Haza's "Ya Ba Ye" CD-5), plus the House Mix by Arthur Baker, the Jon Gass mix, which is the most faithful of the lot, and the Hip Hop Mix, which is the dullest of the lot. Overall, though, this is worth checking out. The Jon Gass remix also pops up on the Ryko edition of Changesbowie. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide

Name Credits Arthur Baker Remixing, Producer David Barratt Remixing, Producer David Bowie Main Performer, Producer DJ Mark the 45 King Producer Harry Maslin Producer Herb Ritts Photography Jon Gass Remixing, Producer Queen Latifah Performer