David Bowie – Little Wonder

the remix package was the true measure of an artists appeal in '97 outside the banality of the charts and hoping to straddle the various avenues of cool amongst the club niches. By this point Bowie wasn't in advance of creativity he was busy playing catch up. That they gave a Drum & Bass tune to the then worlds best House Club DJ to remix shows just how far the shapeshifter had fallen behind. Anyway as a slice of late 90's D&B done by a major artist it has a curiosity appeal and in ambient junior form could find a home on the right dancefloor but we are talking a niche of niche of a niche here...

The remixes were NOT a comment on the scene - Indeed Mr Bowie as was his way throughout his latter career looked for the zeitgeist and had a knack of finding it. Drum & Bass cuts, like many dance music tracks, clock in at two, or three times, the length of 'made-for-radio' pop singles. Dance clubs are where music is for losing the mind and you're worries, hence the long length of most dance tracks. Many artists and labels produce multiple mixes in order to get them played in a variety of clubs.
It is a fact that club play, as much as radio play, breaks a tune these days.

Incredibly complex array of mixes available for this really good song - shame that the mixes are not up to the same standard and quality of the original track. I guess it is understandable that DB would want to tout a range of mixes to the dance clubs to try to get his track heard and exposed to different audiences. As mentioned on other disc, do the mixes really need to run to 8 minutes often though?

It's 1997 and Mr.Bowie is bang on trend with his keys jangling on the table at the drum'n'bass party. Of course, being able to ride the wave and keep changing styles is one of Bowie's strengths and the edit version is an enjoyable track. However, this CD clocks in at over 38 minutes and all of the additional mixes stretch out unnecessarily for over 8 minutes - definitely a case where less is more should have been applied. Perhaps the interminable remixes were a subliminal comment on the genre?