Album review: 'Tron: Legacy Reconfigured'

Daft Punk is allegedly nonplussed about (and uninvolved with) these remixes of its original synths-and-orchestra score for “Tron: Legacy.” “Tron: Legacy Reconfigured” proves the duo was right to keep its hands clean, as it’s a mess of a record that pulls off the neat trick of rendering the source material unrecognizable, yet adding little to the emotional world of the score.

That’s not for a lack of top-flight talent: Moby and Paul Oakenfold added dance-titan bona fides while upstarts such as Com Truise and Pretty Lights should have kept the sound au courant.

But the album’s failures just underscore what an impossible feat they were tasked with. How do you remix an orchestra, anyway? Moby’s take on “The Son of Flynn” is brooding and meticulous, and Avicii and Kaskade turn in capable floor-filling versions of “Derezzed” and “Rinzler.” But the rest makes an incoherent hash of work by a band known for careful detail.

--August Brown

Various artists
“Tron: Legacy Reconfigured”
(Disney)
Two stars

Comments

[DAft Fan]

As a fan of Daft Punk and the Tron soundtrack, totally disagree with the reviewer. Did he even listen to this CD? Love these remixes! The spirit of the original tracks totally remains, and the remodeled songs spin-off in a myriad of new electronic directions--directions this electronic fan finds appealing.

[Planet Bliss]

Spot on review. I only heard one sympathetic remix on the entire album by Moby. Most are fairly chessy dancefloor filler. They got the wrong artists to do the mixes. I think an Ambient remix album would have been a MUCH better fit. I would love to hear what the likes of Eno, BOC, Air, Royksopp, Fennesz, Biosphere etc, could do with the material.

[Electronink]

Like DAft Fan said...Wow you couldn't be more far off on this review. These remix's are amazing. As a HUGE electronic music fan I must say this album is amazing!

[Nick]

This review is pretty spot on. If you're going to remix a beautifully made Daft Punk orchestral original soundtrack, at least do it right or not at all. These songs butcher the original songs and ruin them. I'm glad Daft Punk is not behind this.

[Nyar Tis]

Disagree.
The album is not a score to TRON. the artists are not film scorers. These are DJ's and electronic artists mixing songs like they do. Each artists clearly leaves their trademark sounds on the tracks while leaving enough of Daft Punk's original sound to lend some continuity to the album as a whole.
This album is not a replacement score, its taking the Hans Zimmer out and putting the DJ back in.
The original TRON: Legacy album was mixed in Hans Zimmer's studio, thats why Daft Punk's sound is so clearly a divorce from their previous albums.
If you think this album butchered the original than you don't know what your talking about. nobody would know what the original sound was because Disney toned it down with Zimmer before it ever dropped. Further more, every song on Reconfigured is masterfully mixed and retains clear and easily detectable reference to its predecessor

[Captain Howdy]

So how do you really feel about the album? lol

[DET]

yea anyone who has listened to ONE song by daft punk should know that it was really toned down that said the remixes are very well made like Nyar tis said theses guys are DJs not movie scorers and the sound is awesome!

[Andrew]

Can't go into a bowling game and score it like golf. That being said I like the songs for what they are. Are they Daft Punk, NO, they are remixes from other artists and considering Daft punk first begain thier work in November of 07 and the put their album out September of 10. I think anyone that expects anything better than the originals is out of their mind. But I do know that SOMEONE has to take the first step I'm just hoping that the second step is back up.

[JP]

I agree with Daft Fan. The remixes are great! Although there may be two that weren't on par with the others. Ki:Theory's remix is so epic I sort of wish it could have been part of the soundtrack

[Lu Skywalker]

I felt all the Remixes did better justice to the film then the original, minimalistic soundtrack Daft Punk put out. As and EDM producer and appreciator, i am throughly pleased with the execution the artists had in ever song, especially pretty lights, no wonder he's been blowing up the past year in the EDM community.