Sacrilege: The Remixes

It both was and wasn’t a good idea, opening up the Can multitracks to the hotshot remixers of the Eighties and Nineties. The good bits more than make up for the dead weight, though. Russell Haswell and Bruce Gilbert’s remix of “TV Spot” is perfectly chaotic and swirly, a true nod to the band’s open-ended nature. The jewel here is the U.N.K.L.E. remix of “Vitamin C,” which strips out the vocal (sadly) and pumps up the drums (especially the kick) to create eight glorious minutes of beat magic, derived from what was there to begin with. Let Jaki’s right foot keep you aloft. Magic. The Orb’s remix of “Halleluwah” is dusted and holy, a beautiful submersion of the original. (I play both of these all the time.) Daniel Miller’s Sunroof remix of “Oh Yeah” is pleasantly messy and Carl Craig’s Blade Runner remix of “Future Days” is like a perfect boutique hotel theme. OG Pete Shelley and Black Radio turns “Father Cannot Yell” into a jungle feedback anthem (v nice) and Jah Wobble and Secret Knowledge turn “Oh Yeah” into a bratty chonk of swamp loops. There is a great EP in here.