Ben and Robin Pasley began recording roots-rock music with interesting, creative percussion and a blend of driving and melodic guitars with their debut album, Time Will Be The Tell, finished around the time of their wedding in 1994. Since that time, the couple, who are known to their fans as 100 Portraits, have released only one other disc in 1997 (the impressive Five Wise Virgins) besides two collaboration worship discs with other artists such as Waterdeep and Calling Cedar. It seems a little odd, then, that the Colorado Springs natives would choose this time to release a tribute album of sorts, as the songs from their first record are remixed by some of their friends.
However, Time:Remix is being packaged as a tribute to the fans who have supported 100 Portraits for most of a decade. As Time Will be the Tell becomes harder to find, the Pasleys have enlisted the help of four producer/artist/mixer extraordinaires to "re-tell" the story of each song on the debut. Suddenly, these straight-ahead, roots-rock tunes have been given a new set of clothes, and some electronic toys to go with them. The new incarnations range in favour from dance to funk, while retaining the bones and meat of the original songs.
For the most part, it works well. The lone contribution on Time:Remix from Barry Patterson starts the CD. A driving song with flange guitar, "Tender the Sky" is given a brooding, dance/techno feel. The treatment serves well to start the disc, as it gives the listener a good feel for what he or she is about to experience in the next fifty minutes or so: This isn't your father's One Hundred Portraits.
Ryan Lott remixes almost half the tunes on the disc. The liner notes reveal that Lott never listened to the original songs, but rather to only snippets at a time. As a result, the songs Lott works on end up with a completely different feel. Often, the vocals are used as another instrument and become a part of the soundscape. This is the case in "Jacob's Ladder," once a folk-rock tune with a bright harmony in the chorus, now treated with loops of Robin's vocals creating a room for Ben's spoken word to dwell in. Lott's funkification of "So Far Away" is also a noticeable departure from the rootsy original.
Rocky Presley also plays with the vocals using loops, countered with unusual percussion and electronic rhythmic devices in "I Ask of You." Presley is given three songs to work with in all, and showcases his producing prowess in turning out three remixed songs that each have their own direction and feel.
Will Hunt plays with wows, flutters, whirrs, and clicks in the three songs he is commissioned to remix. His texturing gives each tune an interesting new atmosphere, although the originally simple "Three Words" now might be a little convoluted with a few too many processes and effects.
Although fans of One Hundred Portraits will get more out of Time:Remix than those who are making the acquaintance for the first time, the disc is solid enough to stand up on its own. The four remixing artists have done a serviceable job of creating a fresh sound to the songs without overwhelming the fans of One Hundred Portraits' signature acoustic roots-rock sound with too much techno. At the end, these songs still feel like One Hundred Portraits songs, albeit wearing a new outfit.
3.5 tocks
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