Label: Mute Records
Review by Warren Mayocchi
Taking everything which had come before, Goldfrapp threw everything into the mix and the result was 2017’s “Silver Eye”. A year later the band has provided us with a deluxe edition of the album, a second disc with new versions for many of the original album’s tracks. Of eight tracks, four are alternate versions of “Anymore”, two of “Everything Is Never Enough”, one “Ocean” and one “Systemagic”. For those familiar with Goldfrapp, “Silver Eye” 2017 is all you expect from Goldfrapp, combining the luscious production of “Felt Mountain” with the all the glitter of “Black Cherry”. Literally. Unlike prior albums which generally chose a musical theme and stayed true to it for the duration of the album, “Silver Eye” was a hybrid. Though it did predominately use the electronic-Goldfrapp style rather than the acoustic-Goldfrapp style, there were tracks which echoed the soul of the acoustic albums – “Tigerman”, “Faux Suede Drifter”, “Zodiac Black”, and “Moon in Your Mouth”. In this regard, “Black Cherry” is the album most alike “Silver Eye” (however the glam on “Black Cherry” stole the show). The deluxe disc of “Silver Eye” 2018 places emphasis on the beat of “Anymore”, the song with the James Bond title – “Everything Is Never Enough” – and a two other tracks. In my original ratings, those other two tracks and a couple from the other soul of “Silver Eye” rated above the two selected for emphasis. Of the two “Everything Is Never Enough” versions, one is the video version – superior to, but also quite close to, the album track. The other – “Chris Liebing Burn Slow Remix” – gives the song spacey effects and a dark underbeat. “Ocean” is redone with Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) leading vocal duties and continues to be a great song. “Systemagic” – Ralph Rosario Lunar Eclipse Mix – is given the DJ treatment and loses much of the class of the original. Similarly, Ralph Rosario contributes one of the “Anymore” remixes, this song had a higher beat originally so this remix does retain at least a feel for the source material. There are three more DJ remixes of “Anymore” for the dance-oriented fans – Will Gregory‘s Don’t Stop Now Remix, Joe Goddard Remix, and “Whatever/Whatever” Remix by Justin Strauss and Bryan Mette. The most interesting these get is when Joe Goddard plays with Alison Goldfrapp‘s voice and gives the track some rather excellent effects over the final third, this version is my preferred edition of “Anymore”. Overall it is an interesting marketing approach to re-launch the album as a deluxe version. Personally, I dislike this strategy as it penalizes the fans who purchased the album in 2017. For those still on the fence about the album, or if you already own “Silver Eye” 2017, the track on the deluxe album worth serious consideration for purchase is the new version of “Ocean” featuring Dave Gahan. For those who have not heard of Goldfrapp listen to their earlier albums first.
Rating – 82/100
Tracklist
CD1
- Anymore
- Systemagic
- Tigerman
- Become the One
- Faux Suede Drifter
- Zodiac Black
- Beast That Never Was
- Everything Is Never Enough
- Moon In Your Mouth
- Ocean
CD2
- Ocean feat. Dave Gahan (New Version) (Previously unreleased)
- Anymore – Will Gregory’s Don’t Stop Now Remix (Previously unreleased)
- Everything Is Never Enough (Video Mix)
- Anymore (Joe Goddard Remix)
- Systemagic (Ralphi Rosario Lunar Eclipse Mix)
- Anymore (Whatever/Whatever Remix by Justin Strauss & Bryan Mette)
- Everything Is Never Enough (Chris Liebing Burn Slow Remix)
- Anymore (Ralphi Rosario Remix)