Bebel Gilberto - Bebel Gilberto Remixed

Bebel Gilberto’s second album gets the two-disc remix treatment from some old faces, some new. DJ Spinna puts his indelible spin on a mellow “Ceu Distante,” and Tom Middleton puts some house-tempo breaks to “Simplesmente” and lets an ambient version float on the bonus disc. The baroque version of “O Caminho” from Guy Sigsworth offers a nice respite from the four nice (broken beat and house from Spiritual South, downtempo from Latin Project and John Beltran), if redundant, versions of “Aganju.” The Nuspirit Helsinki take of “Winter” starts with a stark electro beat, but smoothly moves into warmer territory, reminiscent of Peter Kruder’s mix of “Tanto Tempo.” And the skipping hip-hop beat of Yam Who?’s “Baby” is surprisingly sweet, even after its swings into a house beat (though its dub is rather unfocused). But for full-on house, turn to Grant Nelson’s beatdown of “River Song.” Steve Hillier brings echo and augments the gentle guitar strumming on “Next To You,” and the Bombay Dub Orchestra sets his phasers to chill for "All Around." My favorite track would have to be Telefon Tel Aviv’s delicate take of “All Around,” which brings an abstract beauty to the album. A truly transformative mix -- the way the best mixes can be. Overall, a consistent collection, if a tad predictable. I would have liked to see more risk-taking remixers like Telefon Tel Aviv, but they've given us is fine, actually.