by Sterling McGarvey

In 2001, keyboardist Uri Caine, bassist Christian McBride, and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (of The Roots) joined forces to create an album that fused jazz, fusion, and 70s soul. The Philadelphia Experiment paid tribute to music legends such as Sun Ra and Philly native Grover Washington, Jr. and also to tracks such as Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" and Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man." In 2002, one of Philly's finest remixers, King Britt, steps in to retool the original album. The results are a crapshoot. Some of the tracks excel, while others feel like retreads of the same grooving, nu jazz sounds that the masses have heard all year. Again, just as with Britt's SCUBA CD from the summer, the album is full of smooth cuts, but they feel a bit faceless and anonymous.

The synth stabs and fierce, shuffling percussiveness of Charlie Dark's Nu Jazz remix of the title track make it undeniably good. The DJ Ghe remix of the title track runs the gamut from organ-loop flavored hip-hop stylings to a drum n' bass breakdown at the end. In a funhouse-mirror sort of way, Ghe's remix of the Philadelphia Experiment cover of Grover Washington's "Mister Magic" is another hip-hop banger. Vikter Duplaix's remix of "Grover" has all of the quality one would expect at this point from Duplaix's work: fat drum programming, spacey synths, and a warm, soulful glow. On the flip side, the SCUBA remix of "Miles Hit," while pretty good, is not the home run that one would expect. The Oba Funke Far Removed Dub of "(Re)moved" is another track that sounds okay, but really doesn't stand out like it could. That, and the string work, make it sound somewhat like it's cloning Britt's outstanding remix of Josh One's "Contemplation," which has been a club staple throughout 2002.

Once again, King Britt drops a collection of remixes for the masses. Depending on the listener's satiation for nu jazz, the desire for a cool, non-threatening soundtrack to an intimate event, or a thirst to hear the sounds of Philly's finest remixers collaborating together to keep it all in the family, the album might be a satisfactory purchase. However, in spite of the ambitious intentions behind the project, the album is a bit too hit or miss to be a standout among the many nu jazz efforts currently on the market. Like the Hidden Treasures CD before it, Britt's effort suffers from being a really good concept that ends up lagged by too much wallpaper and not enough standouts.

The Philadelphia Experiment Remixed
by Brooks
Track Listing:

1. Miles Hit [Rob Life Mix] - Rob Yancey
2. Broad and Cecil B. Moore - Phillip Charles
3. Philadelphia Experiment [Main Mix]
4. Brown Street - Phillip Charles
5. Miles Hit [King Britt Scuba Remix] - King Britt
6. Delaware Avenue - Phillip Charles
7. Philadelphia Experiment [Remix] - Phillip Charles
8. Diamond Street - Phillip Charles
9. (Re)moved [Oba Funke Far Re-moved Dub]
10. Sansom Street - Phillip Charles
11. Philadelphia Experiment [Remix] - DJ Ghetto
12. South Street - Phillip Charles
13. Paul Edwards the Orange Line
14. Spring Garden Street - Phillip Charles
15. Grover [Remix] - Vikter Duplaix
16. Schuylkill Expressway
17. Grover the III [the Theme to Massagejawn.com]
18. Osage Avenue - Phillip Charles
19. Mr. Magic {Remix} - DJ Ghetto