2. Prince - The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Neptunes Remix) ft. Q-Tip
3. Elan - Seeing Things
4. Cardan - Feelin' It
5. Alana Davis - Bye Bye
6. Shea Seger - Clutch (Neptunes Remix)
7. TLC - In Your Arms Tonight
8. Usher - I Heard A Rumor
9. Krayzie Bone - Who's House?
10. Maxi Priest - Mary's Got A Baby (Neptunes Remix) ft. Beenie Man
11. Beenie Man - Feel It Girl ft. Joe
12. Basement Jaxx - Romeo (Neptunes Remix)
13. Cole - I Can Do Too (Neptunes Remix) ft. Queen Latifah
14. 702 - I Still Love You
15. Total - When Boy Meets Girl
16. Keystone - The Day The Earth Stood Still
17. Ben Harper And The Innocent Criminals - Steal My Kisses (Neptunes Beat Box Remix)
18. Foxy Brown - Magnetic ft. Pharrell
19. Sleepy Brown - Life Of a Hustler ft. Big Boi and Pharrell
Now this is more like it. This one has a theme. It is thought out and considered. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a curated mix of smooth Neptunes rarities and remixes and the chances of any one person having heard more than a handful of these songs individually without being a complete Neptunes stan are almost zero. 10 years later I am still quite proud of this selection, there are only a few changes I would consider making now. It should be noted that a great number of these tracks I would never had come across myself either if it wasn't for the good people at the Grindin.org forum.
Chad and Pharrell's re-working of Air's 10,000 Hz Legend single Don't Be Light is a strong opener. The original is a excellent cut from an underrated album but what the Neps did with it took it to another level. Before we hear anything else Pharrell whispers 'Ready?', it echoes softly and then the slightly pitched up vocal sample comes in; 'Don't. Be. Light.' which Pharrell harmonizes with and then repeats. Some piano, a strummed guitar and squelching synth syncopate gently as the vocals repeat the back and forth before Pharrell shouts 'DON'T BE LIGHT!' and then the drums kick in, as tight and snappy as they always are with Williams and Hugo at the boards, and they are joined by a phat bassline. It is one of my favourite ever beat drops. Like top 20 of all time.
Aside from the originals vocal samples very little else is kept, it is instead replaced by some whistling, (sometimes barely audible) vocal ad-libs, detailed synthesizer, piano and guitar parts and other odd sound effects and flourishes dotted around the track. Pharrell is on full creepy, freak mode, his whispered vocals are full of obscenities and sexual menace. The whole track becomes a bizarre blend of eerie and sinister with a funky vibe. But it works. Startlingly well. 20 seconds before it finishes all the instrumentation drops out leaving just the vocal samples and Pharrell quietly pleading innocence, telling us he's 'not sick', ashamed of the depravity of what he's done for a second before fading out. Whatever he's been up to sounds awful but it sounded very good indeed.
And then Prince croons in a way only he could, 'the greatest romance...' A single from his largely forgettable 1999 album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic; The Greatest Romance Ever Sold is an exceptional song. It is a testament to the man and his catalogue that a song this good could be released as a single and still not really be considered generally as one of his greatest hits. Of course at the time he was The Artist Formally Known As Prince or
and he was nowhere near his peak creatively nor popularity wise. It only climbed to number 65 in the UK charts. Baffling considering how hook-laden and lush the soulful RnB ballad is.
It is a shame that Prince and The Neptunes never got in the studio together but at least we have this superior remix. A tantalising indicator at what might have been. After the brief acapella intro, funky drums and some piano dominate in the verses. That trademark snappy snare is high in the mix. Prince's vocal is left intact but the song becomes almost a duet with Q-Tip as they split the verses, Pharrell back at the ad-libs and some backing vocals. A lot of the drama of the original instrumental is ditched in favour of the future-funk The Neptunes made their name on but the middle eight features some synthesized string stabs to lift it and the vocals in the chorus have all the drama the song needs. I really love this tune. Man, I miss Prince.
At first some light symbol taps are the only accompaniment to Elan's voice on the intro to the next track on the disc, Seeing Things, as he ponders if 'this is all a dream'. He is then joined by some simple synthn chords. Signiture Neps stuff. Elan Atias is a Jewish American Reggae singer, one of I'm guessing... em... some? It may just be him and Matisyahu in this particular field. He'd been an off and on member of The Wailers for many years but this song it seems is the unreleased original mix of a track from his also unreleased debut solo album All Roads. It has another great Neptunes beat drop, those snappy snares once again and a wickedly stuttery rhythm. The vocals are beautifully produced and Pharrell vocally lurks at the fringes in the same way he has mostly done so far in this compilation. A post chorus bridge layers a second plinky synth part on top as he questions if the woman he is seeing might be a mirage. This is why he doesn't get high no more. An infectious rarity that earworms its way around my skull from time to time.
Feelin' It by Harlem World member Cardan from his unreleased solo album Hey Young World, is not a particularly great tune. It not bad, but the beat itself is a bit repetitive and annoying and Cardan is not a particularly skilled rapper. The song is interesting example though of how The Neptunes were able to take the best parts of a song that didn't work out and reshape them into hits; the clicking sound on the bridge went on to form part of the Drop It Like It's Hot beat and the hook (more obviously) went on to become Justin Timberlake's I'm Lovin' It which ended up being a massive pay day for Timberlake, Williams and Hugo when McDonalds used it as their ubiquitous jingle. Other examples of songs or beats starting one way for one artist and then being appropriated and sometimes reshaped for others down the line are the Wamp Wamp beat (with bagpipes and all) which was meant for Foxy Brown originally and ended up going to Clipse, Rohff's Where's Yours At? which ended up with Ludacris spitting It Wasn't Us on it and as I have discussed before; Long Night originally recorded by Latrelle but ultimately ending up as a Shakira song.
A couple of fairly obscure tracks by fairly obscure American singer-songwriters are next on the tracklist. First is Bye Bye, a wah-wah infused soulful funk rock number in the vein of Nikka Costa, by New York native Alana Davis. This is the first song on the disc that has a simple four bar intro before the guitar comes in, no beat drop. It is taken from her 2001 record Fortune Cookie and is one of three songs the Neps recorded for the album but the only one that made the cut. It is pleasant enough if slightly disposable fare. It is followed somewhat more successfully by a remix of a Shea Seger single Clutch. The original is a nice, fun alt-pop number but the rework that the Virginia duo give it elevates it greatly. It bears all the 'Neptunes sound' hallmarks of the time, spacey synths, a driving, funky bassline and detailed rhythms and percussion and it suits Shea's original vocals perfectly.
'Let's ride tonight and forget what we've ever known' goes the first line in the stupidly contagious bridge from TLC's In Your Arms Tonight. It is perfect and the verses and middle 8 are really strong too, so it is a shame that the chorus is a little bit of a let down. It just doesn't quite live up to the majesty of its surroundings. Still a great tune and I am always happy to hear it.
Unreleased and even in its unmastered state I Heard A Rumour by Usher is straight fire. Snare and whistles and Ush nailing the falsetto, naturally. No problems on the chorus in here either. It is crazy to me that this remained on the cutting room floor, the only unreleased collaboration between these guys that is more unjust is What's A Guy Gotta Do which had Justin Timberlake on back up and bridge duties and was the track with the highest play count on my iPod when it died.
Also fire is Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member Krayzie Bone's solo jam Who's House from his 2005 album Too Raw For Retail. It came out around the same time as Slim Thug's Already Platinum LP and it shares a lot of traits that Pharrell and Chad were into in that era; it is bombastic and aggressive with blaring horns, thumping bass drums, metallic, clanging snares and eerie synthlines. Krayzie's flow is hard and fits perfectly with the beat; 'And it will be World, War, Three/If you ain't willin' to die/The time is now for you to retreat'. Thugga would have murdered this beat though.
We take a turn next into Jamaican territory with a couple of reggae fusion/dancehall tracks; first the remix of the Lewisham born but of Jamaican decent artist Maxi Priest's Mary's Got A Baby. The Neptunes gave this one a complete overhaul, for the better. The original version is a decent but unexceptional fusion track, Pharrell and Chad give it a hard edge, the restructuring of the song makes it far more immediate and the simpler, more spacious instrumental really allows the hook room to breathe and the result is that it is much catchier. And Beenie Man has never sounded less than excellent on a Neptunes beat; and so the second in this pairing is the alternative version of his own single from the fantastic Tropical Storm album; Feel It Boy. On the album and the single version Janet Jackson featured on the hook, the version that appears here is the B-Side of the single, re-titled Feel It Girl and replaces Janet with RnB stalwart Joe. Either way it is a breezy, fun summer burner and I love it.
Another remix of a big electronic dance act, in a similar field to Air, follows with a flip of Basement Jaxx's Romeo from the seminal Rooty LP of 2001. The remix doesn't quite scale the euphoric heights of the original, it slows it down and the focus becomes a deep bass groove and the vocals, but it is a really nice alternative version. There are loads of lovely little flourishes and details that set it apart but I'd still rather hear the original out in a club.
Upbeat handclaps and castanets form the basis for the single I Can Do Too by Cole from the soundtrack of Girlfight from 2000. The remix that is included here is fairly standard and in keeping with a lot of the sounds and ideas that The Neptunes have explored and done better elsewhere on this mix.
From the relatively unremarkable to utterly sublime; The beat for 702's 2002 single I Still Love you is and absolute masterpiece of minimalism and space. It came out the same year as one of their other minimal masterworks Grindin' by Clipse and again shares ideas and traits but with an RnB slant instead of a hardcore rap one. Thunderous drums that sound like they were recorded in an aircraft hangar, crisp handclaps, a strummed guitar, two different string parts and a milk bottle rattling sound are all united and yet very separate. Huge sonic gaps between each sound but they all hang together perfectly. And then paired with a song and vocals that work in perfect harmony together, complementing each other. Cold and warm simultaneously. I Still Love You is close to the top of the pile for me of the best thing The Neptunes ever did and is a minor miracle.
The earliest production to appear on the compilation is a co-prodcuction with Sean 'Puff Daddy/Puffy/P.Diddy/Diddy/Ciroc Obama' Combs from RnB girl group Total's self-titled debut. It is called When Boy Meets Girl and is a rare track in the Neptunes discography to include a sample. It takes the intro from my favourite Bee Gees song Love You Inside And Out and loops it weaving it in and out of the track. You can hear a lot of their trademark moves even in these early days when they were just starting out.
A year later they went into the studio with RnB duo Keystone to record The Day The Earth Stood Still for their album A Tear Falls In Brooklyn. Listening to it I would never have picked it out as a Neps track without knowing. It is almost completely devoid of their trademarks and signatures besides an instinctive knowledge for what sounds good and an incredible ear for melody and how to produce vocals. The song is quite lovely, I suppose it does sound a little spacey and the titles Sci-Fi reference is absolutely typical of the perpetual nerds who named themselves after a planet, named their studio Hovercraft and their label after Star Trek.
The final remix of the disc is next in the sequence; Ben Harper's bluesy/country/soul track Steal My Kisses gets a makeover this time. It keeps the general vibe of the original but sharpens it up a bit and gives it a bit more colour and funk.
Coming from the studio sessions for Foxy Brown's unreleased Ill Na Na 2:The Fever album circa 2003 is the boisterous Magnetic. Foxy always sounds great on one of their beats but so few of them have ever made it out unfortunately.
Finally we have Sleepy Brown's Life Of A Hustler featuring Big Boi. At least that's what the song was called when it first leaked in 2005 but by the time it was officially released in July 2006 it had been re-named simply Margarita. Another bright and breezy summer anthem here. Colourful and light and catchy as hell. Hearing Big Boi on a Williams/Hugo beat is a real treat too.
And that brings the disc to a close. It doesn't feel like the right ending, if I'm honest. It is misjudged and doesn't suit most of the rest of the tape. The more rowdy and jaunty stuff doesn't sit well with all the more mellow and cold and spacey stuff. I mentioned earlier that there are only a few things I'd change about this selection and closing with this is definitely one of them. I like the song but it is out of place in this context. I could do without the last two songs if I'm honest. There are a few tracks from the other (less good) Neptunes only mix that I made, that would slot nicely in here. Closing with Latrelle - My Life followed by Natsha Ramos' In The Midnight Hour would be the preferred ending. Other changes, if I were so inclined might be the aforementioned Latrelle version of Long Night for example replacing the Cole tune and the Krayzie Bone one could be jettisoned in favour of N*E*R*D's Locked Away. But then maybe that's just me being a pedant. Overall I did a decent job of putting this together the first time. I really enjoyed listening to all of these songs again. And somehow I've managed to write another 2500 words about these two dudes from Virginia and their music and the impact that they have had on my life. A large part of the way I listen to and think about music is down to these guys. Thank you Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo for taking a music fan and making him into a music N*E*R*D.
Chad and Pharrell's re-working of Air's 10,000 Hz Legend single Don't Be Light is a strong opener. The original is a excellent cut from an underrated album but what the Neps did with it took it to another level. Before we hear anything else Pharrell whispers 'Ready?', it echoes softly and then the slightly pitched up vocal sample comes in; 'Don't. Be. Light.' which Pharrell harmonizes with and then repeats. Some piano, a strummed guitar and squelching synth syncopate gently as the vocals repeat the back and forth before Pharrell shouts 'DON'T BE LIGHT!' and then the drums kick in, as tight and snappy as they always are with Williams and Hugo at the boards, and they are joined by a phat bassline. It is one of my favourite ever beat drops. Like top 20 of all time.
Aside from the originals vocal samples very little else is kept, it is instead replaced by some whistling, (sometimes barely audible) vocal ad-libs, detailed synthesizer, piano and guitar parts and other odd sound effects and flourishes dotted around the track. Pharrell is on full creepy, freak mode, his whispered vocals are full of obscenities and sexual menace. The whole track becomes a bizarre blend of eerie and sinister with a funky vibe. But it works. Startlingly well. 20 seconds before it finishes all the instrumentation drops out leaving just the vocal samples and Pharrell quietly pleading innocence, telling us he's 'not sick', ashamed of the depravity of what he's done for a second before fading out. Whatever he's been up to sounds awful but it sounded very good indeed.
And then Prince croons in a way only he could, 'the greatest romance...' A single from his largely forgettable 1999 album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic; The Greatest Romance Ever Sold is an exceptional song. It is a testament to the man and his catalogue that a song this good could be released as a single and still not really be considered generally as one of his greatest hits. Of course at the time he was The Artist Formally Known As Prince or
and he was nowhere near his peak creatively nor popularity wise. It only climbed to number 65 in the UK charts. Baffling considering how hook-laden and lush the soulful RnB ballad is.It is a shame that Prince and The Neptunes never got in the studio together but at least we have this superior remix. A tantalising indicator at what might have been. After the brief acapella intro, funky drums and some piano dominate in the verses. That trademark snappy snare is high in the mix. Prince's vocal is left intact but the song becomes almost a duet with Q-Tip as they split the verses, Pharrell back at the ad-libs and some backing vocals. A lot of the drama of the original instrumental is ditched in favour of the future-funk The Neptunes made their name on but the middle eight features some synthesized string stabs to lift it and the vocals in the chorus have all the drama the song needs. I really love this tune. Man, I miss Prince.
At first some light symbol taps are the only accompaniment to Elan's voice on the intro to the next track on the disc, Seeing Things, as he ponders if 'this is all a dream'. He is then joined by some simple synthn chords. Signiture Neps stuff. Elan Atias is a Jewish American Reggae singer, one of I'm guessing... em... some? It may just be him and Matisyahu in this particular field. He'd been an off and on member of The Wailers for many years but this song it seems is the unreleased original mix of a track from his also unreleased debut solo album All Roads. It has another great Neptunes beat drop, those snappy snares once again and a wickedly stuttery rhythm. The vocals are beautifully produced and Pharrell vocally lurks at the fringes in the same way he has mostly done so far in this compilation. A post chorus bridge layers a second plinky synth part on top as he questions if the woman he is seeing might be a mirage. This is why he doesn't get high no more. An infectious rarity that earworms its way around my skull from time to time.
Feelin' It by Harlem World member Cardan from his unreleased solo album Hey Young World, is not a particularly great tune. It not bad, but the beat itself is a bit repetitive and annoying and Cardan is not a particularly skilled rapper. The song is interesting example though of how The Neptunes were able to take the best parts of a song that didn't work out and reshape them into hits; the clicking sound on the bridge went on to form part of the Drop It Like It's Hot beat and the hook (more obviously) went on to become Justin Timberlake's I'm Lovin' It which ended up being a massive pay day for Timberlake, Williams and Hugo when McDonalds used it as their ubiquitous jingle. Other examples of songs or beats starting one way for one artist and then being appropriated and sometimes reshaped for others down the line are the Wamp Wamp beat (with bagpipes and all) which was meant for Foxy Brown originally and ended up going to Clipse, Rohff's Where's Yours At? which ended up with Ludacris spitting It Wasn't Us on it and as I have discussed before; Long Night originally recorded by Latrelle but ultimately ending up as a Shakira song.
A couple of fairly obscure tracks by fairly obscure American singer-songwriters are next on the tracklist. First is Bye Bye, a wah-wah infused soulful funk rock number in the vein of Nikka Costa, by New York native Alana Davis. This is the first song on the disc that has a simple four bar intro before the guitar comes in, no beat drop. It is taken from her 2001 record Fortune Cookie and is one of three songs the Neps recorded for the album but the only one that made the cut. It is pleasant enough if slightly disposable fare. It is followed somewhat more successfully by a remix of a Shea Seger single Clutch. The original is a nice, fun alt-pop number but the rework that the Virginia duo give it elevates it greatly. It bears all the 'Neptunes sound' hallmarks of the time, spacey synths, a driving, funky bassline and detailed rhythms and percussion and it suits Shea's original vocals perfectly.
'Let's ride tonight and forget what we've ever known' goes the first line in the stupidly contagious bridge from TLC's In Your Arms Tonight. It is perfect and the verses and middle 8 are really strong too, so it is a shame that the chorus is a little bit of a let down. It just doesn't quite live up to the majesty of its surroundings. Still a great tune and I am always happy to hear it.
Unreleased and even in its unmastered state I Heard A Rumour by Usher is straight fire. Snare and whistles and Ush nailing the falsetto, naturally. No problems on the chorus in here either. It is crazy to me that this remained on the cutting room floor, the only unreleased collaboration between these guys that is more unjust is What's A Guy Gotta Do which had Justin Timberlake on back up and bridge duties and was the track with the highest play count on my iPod when it died.
Also fire is Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member Krayzie Bone's solo jam Who's House from his 2005 album Too Raw For Retail. It came out around the same time as Slim Thug's Already Platinum LP and it shares a lot of traits that Pharrell and Chad were into in that era; it is bombastic and aggressive with blaring horns, thumping bass drums, metallic, clanging snares and eerie synthlines. Krayzie's flow is hard and fits perfectly with the beat; 'And it will be World, War, Three/If you ain't willin' to die/The time is now for you to retreat'. Thugga would have murdered this beat though.
We take a turn next into Jamaican territory with a couple of reggae fusion/dancehall tracks; first the remix of the Lewisham born but of Jamaican decent artist Maxi Priest's Mary's Got A Baby. The Neptunes gave this one a complete overhaul, for the better. The original version is a decent but unexceptional fusion track, Pharrell and Chad give it a hard edge, the restructuring of the song makes it far more immediate and the simpler, more spacious instrumental really allows the hook room to breathe and the result is that it is much catchier. And Beenie Man has never sounded less than excellent on a Neptunes beat; and so the second in this pairing is the alternative version of his own single from the fantastic Tropical Storm album; Feel It Boy. On the album and the single version Janet Jackson featured on the hook, the version that appears here is the B-Side of the single, re-titled Feel It Girl and replaces Janet with RnB stalwart Joe. Either way it is a breezy, fun summer burner and I love it.
Another remix of a big electronic dance act, in a similar field to Air, follows with a flip of Basement Jaxx's Romeo from the seminal Rooty LP of 2001. The remix doesn't quite scale the euphoric heights of the original, it slows it down and the focus becomes a deep bass groove and the vocals, but it is a really nice alternative version. There are loads of lovely little flourishes and details that set it apart but I'd still rather hear the original out in a club.
Upbeat handclaps and castanets form the basis for the single I Can Do Too by Cole from the soundtrack of Girlfight from 2000. The remix that is included here is fairly standard and in keeping with a lot of the sounds and ideas that The Neptunes have explored and done better elsewhere on this mix.
From the relatively unremarkable to utterly sublime; The beat for 702's 2002 single I Still Love you is and absolute masterpiece of minimalism and space. It came out the same year as one of their other minimal masterworks Grindin' by Clipse and again shares ideas and traits but with an RnB slant instead of a hardcore rap one. Thunderous drums that sound like they were recorded in an aircraft hangar, crisp handclaps, a strummed guitar, two different string parts and a milk bottle rattling sound are all united and yet very separate. Huge sonic gaps between each sound but they all hang together perfectly. And then paired with a song and vocals that work in perfect harmony together, complementing each other. Cold and warm simultaneously. I Still Love You is close to the top of the pile for me of the best thing The Neptunes ever did and is a minor miracle.
The earliest production to appear on the compilation is a co-prodcuction with Sean 'Puff Daddy/Puffy/P.Diddy/Diddy/Ciroc Obama' Combs from RnB girl group Total's self-titled debut. It is called When Boy Meets Girl and is a rare track in the Neptunes discography to include a sample. It takes the intro from my favourite Bee Gees song Love You Inside And Out and loops it weaving it in and out of the track. You can hear a lot of their trademark moves even in these early days when they were just starting out.
A year later they went into the studio with RnB duo Keystone to record The Day The Earth Stood Still for their album A Tear Falls In Brooklyn. Listening to it I would never have picked it out as a Neps track without knowing. It is almost completely devoid of their trademarks and signatures besides an instinctive knowledge for what sounds good and an incredible ear for melody and how to produce vocals. The song is quite lovely, I suppose it does sound a little spacey and the titles Sci-Fi reference is absolutely typical of the perpetual nerds who named themselves after a planet, named their studio Hovercraft and their label after Star Trek.
The final remix of the disc is next in the sequence; Ben Harper's bluesy/country/soul track Steal My Kisses gets a makeover this time. It keeps the general vibe of the original but sharpens it up a bit and gives it a bit more colour and funk.
Coming from the studio sessions for Foxy Brown's unreleased Ill Na Na 2:The Fever album circa 2003 is the boisterous Magnetic. Foxy always sounds great on one of their beats but so few of them have ever made it out unfortunately.
Finally we have Sleepy Brown's Life Of A Hustler featuring Big Boi. At least that's what the song was called when it first leaked in 2005 but by the time it was officially released in July 2006 it had been re-named simply Margarita. Another bright and breezy summer anthem here. Colourful and light and catchy as hell. Hearing Big Boi on a Williams/Hugo beat is a real treat too.
And that brings the disc to a close. It doesn't feel like the right ending, if I'm honest. It is misjudged and doesn't suit most of the rest of the tape. The more rowdy and jaunty stuff doesn't sit well with all the more mellow and cold and spacey stuff. I mentioned earlier that there are only a few things I'd change about this selection and closing with this is definitely one of them. I like the song but it is out of place in this context. I could do without the last two songs if I'm honest. There are a few tracks from the other (less good) Neptunes only mix that I made, that would slot nicely in here. Closing with Latrelle - My Life followed by Natsha Ramos' In The Midnight Hour would be the preferred ending. Other changes, if I were so inclined might be the aforementioned Latrelle version of Long Night for example replacing the Cole tune and the Krayzie Bone one could be jettisoned in favour of N*E*R*D's Locked Away. But then maybe that's just me being a pedant. Overall I did a decent job of putting this together the first time. I really enjoyed listening to all of these songs again. And somehow I've managed to write another 2500 words about these two dudes from Virginia and their music and the impact that they have had on my life. A large part of the way I listen to and think about music is down to these guys. Thank you Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo for taking a music fan and making him into a music N*E*R*D.
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