Deconstructing David Bowie’s “Golden Years” -by Helen Bach and Iman Lababedi

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Iman Sez:
Helen recommended she chose some music and we write duelling reviews without reading each others opinions first. Alright with me. But why this? Lemme tell you now: it is possible even Lucia Venezia  couldn’t add a damn thing to Bowie’s “Golden Years” (the only thing worth doing to it is making it longer) but these DJ’s in an attempt at tribute emerge with sacrilige.
I have always considred “Golden Years” a single (released and a hit before the album) and it is a pop soul slam dunk ,a touch out of place on Station To Station. As Philadelphia soul goes it is more Northern bovver boy than Gamble and Huff: and the distance from London to Philadelphia is comparable to the distance from Brooklyn to Manhattan on Saturday Night Fever. A storm of hand claps, whistles and a drum hook so perfect it seems to interrupt and add to the hand claps. 
  The four Dj’s who remixed the song as part of the eagerly anticipated Station To Station box set do the right thing, they rethink elements of the song, but they have nothing to add to it. This is always the fear of the remix: you’re either elongating or deconstructing. These guys are deconstructing. DJ Jeremy Sole recording the backing track as if the Roots were getting experimental on it. Eric Lawrence got with Fol Chen and slaughtered the melody. DJ Veladez adds a synth line that wasn’t there and is the best of the lot. And Chris Douridas adds the rhythm line from the inferior “Fashion”.
All in all? Where’s Holy Ghost! when you need them.
Helen sez: 
Not sure whats going on with this song, but I took a few listens. Huge Bowie fans are artistic and open minded right? Our idol is, Ziggy Thin White Spider from Duke, .. right on.

So fancy stumbling upon a remix of a song that personifies Bowie at his decadent best.

Golden Years Remix by Jeremy Sole starts with great promise and interesting almost dub start that sorta…loses direction midway.

Ranging in background from a ska like keyboard to an African conga beat to a who the hell knows with echo.

I don’t like it.

I think if a remix were to be done it would have to be as dynamic as the original was.

Well, face it that would be impossible but at least take a risk.

Its as if they got nervous as if they were perhaps being disrespectful?

On the ‘meh’ scale I give it a 9. Mediocre product of what could have been a club masterpiece.

Golden Years is a dance song- to update and club-ify it would have been amazing. Fatboy Slim would have pushed it to the max.

This was a tiptoe into what it could have been.

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