Remix album explained

A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, 1971). As of 2007, the best-selling remix album of all time is Michael Jackson's (1997).

History and concept

Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (1971) by Harry Nilsson is credited as the first remix album.[1] It was released after the successes of "Everybody's Talkin'" and The Point!, when he decided that his older material had started to sound dated. Neu!'s Neu! 2 (1973) has also been described as "in effect the first remix album", as many tracks see the duo "speed up, slow down, cut, doctor, and mutilate the material, sometimes beyond recognition".[2]

In the 1980s, record companies would combine several kinds of electronic dance music, such as dance-pop, house, techno, trance, drum and bass, dubstep, hardstyle, and trap into full-length albums, creating a relatively low-overhead addition to the catalogs and balance sheets.[3] Soft Cell's Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing (1982) and The Human League's Love and Dancing (1982) are credited for inventing the modern remix album.[4] Since this time, this kind of release is not only seen as an easy cash-in for an artist and their label, but also as an opportunity to provide a second lease of life for a record.[5] In reggae music, it is not uncommon for a whole album to be remixed in a dub style.[6] [7]

Jennifer Lopez's album J to tha L–O! The Remixes is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first remix album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart.[8]

List of best-selling remix albums

! scope="col" style="width:200px;"
AlbumArtistRecord labelReleasedTotal certified units
(from available markets)
Claimed sales
(At least 500,000 sold)
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1Michael JacksonEpic Records1997align=right [9]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"2You Can DanceMadonnaSire Records1987align=right [10]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"3LoveThe BeatlesApple Records2006align=right [11]
4ReanimationLinkin ParkWarner Bros. Records2002
5J to tha L–O! The RemixesJennifer LopezEpic Records2002[12]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"6Paula AbdulVirgin Records1990align=right [13]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"7Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro MixAyumi HamasakiAvex Trax2000
scope=row style="text-align:center;"8We Invented the RemixP. DiddyBad Boy Records2002
scope=row style="text-align:center;"9Justin BieberIsland Records2011
scope=row style="text-align:center;"10Dance!...Ya Know It!Bobby BrownMCA Records1989
scope=row style="text-align:center;"11No More Games/The Remix AlbumNew Kids on the BlockColumbia Records1990
scope=row style="text-align:center;"12Misia Remix 2000 Little TokyoMisiaArista Records2000align=right [14]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"13Further Down the SpiralNine Inch NailsNothing Records1995
scope=row style="text-align:center;"14Ayu-mi-x II Version Non-Stop Mega MixAyumi HamasakiAvex Trax2000align=right [15]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"15DiscoPet Shop BoysParlophone1986
scope=row style="text-align:center;"16New Old SongsLimp BizkitInterscope Records2001
scope=row style="text-align:center;"17Eu e Memê, Memê e EuLulu SantosBMG Brasil2000
scope=row style="text-align:center;"18The RemixLady GagaInterscope Records2010align=right [16]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"19The RemixesShakiraSony Music1997align=right [17]
scope=row style="text-align:center;"20Todas as Estações - RemixesSandy & JuniorUniversal Music Group2000align=right [18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fennessey . Sean . Deconstructing Harry . . 6 August 2013.
  2. Web site: Neu!, Neu! 2, and Neu! 75 (Astralwerks) . Chamy . Michael . 13 July 2001 . 1 October 2022 . The Austin Chronicle.
  3. Web site: Aswad . Jem . Dua Lipa's Remix Collection 'Club Future Nostalgia' Is an Immaculate Reconception: Album Review . Variety. 28 August 2020.
  4. Web site: Lester . Paul . No 216: Spektrum . The Guardian . 1 October 2022 . 31 October 2007.
  5. Web site: Remix albums: the best, biggest and highest charting . Rob. Copsay. Official Charts Company. 9 November 2014. 20 August 2020.
  6. Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.2
  7. Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press, 2006
  8. Web site: First remix album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Guinness World Records. 2 October 2020.
  9. Book: Rojek, Chris . Cultural Studies . 2007 . Polity . 74 . 978-0-7456-3683-2 .
  10. News: Madonna, take a bow. 8 March 2008. 27 July 2013. The Detroit News. "...a fixture in the city's underground dance club scene, her collection of remixes released a year later in 1987 eventually went on to sell five million copies...".
  11. News: EMI Group plc preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 March 2007. 21 May 2007. 27 July 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071219162550/http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2007/press34.htm. 19 December 2007. dead.
  12. Web site: Jennifer Lopez: Officiel engelsk biografi. Sony Music. 1 October 2010. 11 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120222195114/http://www.sonymusic.dk/view.php?page_id=41&template=artist. 22 February 2012. da, en.
  13. News: Paula Abdul back with her brand of light pop . . 24 June 1995 . A9.
  14. GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2000年6月度 . Gold Albums, and other certified works. June 2000 Edition . The Record . Bulletin . ja . . . 10 August 2000 . 489 . 8 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140117092718/http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/2000/200008.pdf . 17 January 2014 . 17 January 2014.
  15. Web site: オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 . Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree' . ja . . subscription . 21 May 2014.
  16. News: Lady Gaga Remix Album Due In The U.S. Next Month. Ziegbe. Mawuse. July 8, 2010. July 9, 2010. MTV News.
  17. Web site: Los millones de Shakira, Empresas - Edición Impresa Dinero.com - Últimas Noticias . Dinero.com . 2011-10-13 . 2014-02-22. es. https://web.archive.org/web/20130125222202/http://www.dinero.com/negocios/articulo/los-millones-shakira/137325. 25 January 2013.
  18. News: A nova namoradinha do brasil . Garcia . Lauro Lisboa . 10 July 2000 . 9 July 2010 . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20080907161403/http://epoca.globo.com/edic/20000710/cult1b.htm . 7 September 2008 . dead .