Greatest Hits

They Say...

Review by Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Greatest Hits isn't really Electric Company's Greatest Hits, first of all. This is a little confusing. Actually, Greatest Hits is a remix album featuring a number of glitch producers aligned with the Tigerbeat6 label. These producers take turns remixing Electric Company -- sometimes particular songs, other times forming new songs from parts of miscellaneous songs. So, given the somewhat perplexing nature of the album's title and concept, it's best just to focus on the music here. Easier said than done, though. While you can safely describe this entire album as glitch because of the cut-and-paste collage approach to remixing and sound construction, the parameters are gaping wide -- these Tigerbeat6 producers are incredibly creative and take unfathomable departures from the original Electric Company recordings. So, on the one hand, you get Jasper laying down a deep and dark dub-techno track blanketed in layers upon layers of echo and reverb while, on the other hand, you get Frank Bretschneider pasting together a bleeping montage of cascading taps and nearly inaudible buzzing: Every producer heads far into his respective aesthetic, to the point you quickly forget this album has anything to do with Electric Company. And that's kind of a problem. Sure, no one will argue with you: The producers here have no shortage of creativity and the means to utilize that creativity. If you're a fan of the Tigerbeat6 roster that's good news -- very good news, in fact, since these guys turn in some impressive remixes. If you're a die-hard Electric Company fan, however, you may feel a little cheated, since this album is obviously more about the remixers than Electric Company. So disregard this album's title because it means nothing. Treat this like you would any other Tigerbeat6 compilation -- explore it and anticipate no shortage of surprises.