| Jennifer Lopez: J To Tha L-O! The Remixes (Explicit Album)
1. Love Don’t Cost A Thing (RJ SCHOOLYARD MIX FEATURING FAT JOE) 4:18 This remix doesn’t sound all that different from the original version on the J-Lo album. The background sounds a little different, but it doesn’t really stand out. What makes it different is having Fat Joe do some rapping. This remix can also be found on the single for this track. If you like the original version, then you will like this remix. Like, not love. 2. Ain’t It Funny (MURDER REMIX FEATURING JA RULE & CADDILLAC TAH) 3:49 The original track is also on the J-Lo album. That track has a very Spanish feel to it. The original isn’t slow or fast, it’s steady. Personally, I love the original version. I related to the lyrics after a bad breakup (Ain’t it funny how some feelings you just can’t deny/ And you can’t move on even though you try/ Ain’t it funny how a moment could just change your life/ And you don’t want to face what’s wrong or right). Beautiful track. Now, the remix of it. The music is TOTALLY different. It went from Spanish heritage to R&B/Pop. Also different are the lyrics, TOTALLY different. It has a steady beat to it. To me, it’s strange to call this a remix cause it’s like a different song. I love the original, and really like this remix. 3. I’m Gonna Be Alright (TRACK MASTERS REMIX) 3:20 The original track on this is also on the J-Lo album. The original has a really strange background noise, almost sounds like a synthesizer. Personally, I am not too crazy about the original. The remix is an improvement. The synthesizer-like noise is gone, replaced by something that sounds like a drum. The lyrics are basically the same. This remix was played on the radio and is on the single, so if you are expecting this to be a new remix, it’s not. The only way this version is different from the radio is that there is are no male rappers. 4. I’m Real (MURDER REMIX FEATURING JA RULE) 4:18 This should be no surprise that the original track is on the J-Lo album, being almost 5 minutes long. The original is very upbeat with an interesting guitar-like noise in the beginning. You have to listen to it a few times before you actually like it. The remix has Ja Rule. It’s very R&B, no strange guitar-like noise. The lyrics are different. I think the remix is a little better than the original. I like the remix lyrics better. This remix can also be found on the special edition of the J-Lo album. 5. Walking On Sunshine (METRO REMIX) 5:50 Another original track from the J-Lo album. The original starts out sounds like techno, which I found surprising on this album, considering all the other tracks on J-Lo. It has a light bass beat to it, and all the usual techno sound effects, like lasers and light synthesizers. It’s very danceable. I like how, in the later choruses, she backs up her own vocals, so you can either sing to the chorus or her doing her own thing. The track ends too quickly. The remix starts out with guitar, and a heavy bass beat. Then other instruments join in, it doesn’t sound like being in a techno club. The lyrics are the same. To me, the remix has too much going on in it during certain parts. I like both the original and the remix about the same. I wish I knew more about this Metro guy. I like to think I am “in the loop” about remix people like Thunderpuss, Jr. Vasquez, Hex Hector, etc. I know he does a lot of “gay music,” like remixes of Geri Halliwell and stuff. 6. If You Had My Love (DARK CHILD MASTER MIX) 4:11 Finally, a track from a different album. This was the first single off of her first album, which is a truly great track, the video is even better. I like the rain-shaker effect in the beginning. It’s hard to describe this track. It’s laid back, but not boring or slow. When the original track first came out, it was constantly playing in my head. I think this is the best song she has ever recorded. I tried to find a version on a CD that had all the different styles of music like in the video, couldn’t find a version like that. In the video, there is a part where she dances to 4 different kinds of music, which is awesome. No remixes have those music parts in them. The remix is kinda bad. The beginning is cool with the guy talking, and you can kinda hear the original music in the background, but it is changed a little. It’s basically the same, except the music sounds a little different. I guess that’s what made the original so good. I prefer the original version over this remix. 7. Feelin’ So Good (BAD BOY REMIX FEATURING P. DIDDY & G. DEP) 4:27 The original track is also off her first album, entitled On The 6. It’s a very funky track. The original version sounds like a remix with the male rappers in the beginning, Fat Joe and Big Pun. Another R&B feelin track, not bad at all. It’s not either fast or slow, more like a mixture of both. There is a clapping-like noise in the background that I think is cool. The remix is very enjoyable, because it is lighter. I think that less are instruments are used, which also makes it seem cleaner. As usual, P. Diddy keeps saying things like “Bad boy, baby,” and “yeah,” and “this is the remix.” I don’t understand why people keep using him in remixes. Jennifer’s singing goes well with G. Dep. The lyrics are the same in both tracks, which I prefer. 8. Let’s Get Loud (PABLO FLORES REMIX) 5:29 Another track from her first album. It begins with her talking in Spanish. The original track has a Spanish-feel with the horns and the background shouting and the other instruments. It keeps that feel then kicks in a steady beat, the combo is very enjoyable. The Spanish-feel is present throughout the entire track. I also like the piano playing and the part where the horns are made more noticeable. The clapping goes along with the steady beat, it’s hard to resist bobbin your head and/or tappin your foot along. This track is not about lyrics, it’s about the beat. The remix is weird. The steady beat has gotten techno and we hear her laughing and it echoes. It’s like being in a dark tunnel, that’s what I see when I hear the track begin. One by one, more instruments are added. The Spanish-feel has become techno-Spanish, so to speak. Even the clapping has been techno-ed. The lyrics are the same, so are the women in the background. The part where she speaks just after the middle of the track is very cool, I love that laugh she does, especially how it squeaks at the end. This track is just as good as the original, once you are past the beginning. 9. Play (SACK INTERNATIONAL REMIX) 4:18 Another remix of a track from her J-Lo album. The original track has some cool sounds in it, generated by technology, not actual instruments. The further and further you go, more is added into the track. The concept of the song is cool, going to a club and telling the DJ to play your request over and over again (wish I was that bold). The music in the remix is different from the original, but the lyrics are the same. The original track and the remix are both hard to explain, I think you gotta really hear it for yourself. 10. Waiting For Tonight (HEX’S MOMENTOUS RADIO MIX) 4:32 Another track from her first album. The maracas in this track give it that ethnic feel, so do the drums. Even the original track has light incantations of some techno sounds, but very few. The video has green lasers, very club-like. The remix is very clubish. The lyrics are the same, the only difference is it’s more fitting for a club. The maracas are gone, so are the drums we heard. I think the remix has more going on, so I prefer it. Sometimes, remixes have too much going on, this one doesn’t. This is the remix that is on the ‘Will & Grace’ soundtrack because she “performed” it in an episode, she was very funny. 11. Alive 4:40 This is such a beautiful song! It was featured in her film 'Enough.' I think it is the best movie she has ever done, it is so thrilling! It is also a perfect song to end a CD with because it's so beautiful with an amazing voice. Basically, it's her and a few simple instruments, like a piano and a string instrument. The only part I don't like is her little laugh at the end, it kinda throws the feeling of the track off just a bit. The video didn't do very well because it was a video of clips from the movie, those videos rarely do really well. There is no remix to this song on this CD, you can get two remixes on the 'I'm Gonna Be Alright' single, those are good remixes by Thunderpuss. They are a great remix team, I recommend the 'Lady Marmalade' single that has 3 of their remixes. SUMMARY: I feel that Jennifer Lopez having a remix CD after only two albums was a little too soon. At least Destiny’s Child waited until they had three or four albums. Another drawback was that these remixes weren’t unique, because many of them were either played on the radio or used in the music video. Aside from that, it is a good remix CD, with only a few bad tracks. If you liked the remixes you heard on the radio or in the videos, then this is a definite CD to add to your collection. 3.5 - 4 out of 5 stars |
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