Life Is Hard - The Remixes Bright Light Bright Light

Rod continues to put out top notch stuff. His music kicks you in the butt and makes you get out on the floor. Always something to sing to the heart and soul. How could you not love him. Brings back great memories of Robyn S and so many other incredible artists from the past. This guy is a powerhouse yet to break through the top. Beware when he does.

A near-perfect supplement to last year's Life is Easy album! Rod gives us remixes & a few non-album tracks, that when compiled, almost feels like another complete album. Reminiscent of Pet Shop Boys' "Disco" series of remix albums. Most of the remixes keep the original songs' vocals & melodies intact, while adding some 80's & 90's club sounds. Tracks 9 & 12 are the exceptions, falling victim to choppy remixers who use repetitive loops & erase nearly any original aspect of the song. Every other track, however, should please any BLX2 fan & makes for a great backdrop at a party. Overall, a fulfilling stopgap until the next album. Thanks, Rod!

Talk about lunch-bag letdown. A couple of these remixes bring an interesting light to the proceedings; however, most strip the life and vitality of the originals. Most egregious is the remix of "There Are No Miracles," my favorite from "Life Is Easy." Not the most evocative or well written song, perhaps, but one I gravitated to immediately. The "remix" here strips the song of all vocals and presents over five minutes of monotonous beats. That's it. I grew up during the age of the 12" in which the rudiments of a song were maintain (vocals and melody) but additional "fun" was added to the mix. You got the same song...but often better! (I confess, I'm usually a believer in "more is more" when it comes to remixes.) I've played this CD through twice and shelved it, where it will probably remain until I clean out some discs and head to the resale shop. I'm disappointed that Rod Thomas would allow his songs to be ruined like this. The exceptions: "An Open Heart" (Alan Braxe mix), "More than Most" (Starcadian mix) and "Too Much" (Latchmere mix). Bummer.