Even Better Than The Real Thing (Remixes Better Than The Original)

[Wolkenkrabber]

This was more or less the theme of Tom Robinson's BBC 6 Music Sunday show about three weeks ago, based on listener requests. I was slightly surprised that Mr Robinson who once had a hit with

would be interested in remixes, but there you go.

I don't know if you can listen to the show outside the UK now, as they recently introduced a "sign up/log in" feature on the website. Anyway it's available for another six days here to some people at least. The playlist on that page is incomplete. Some of these I would have picked, some I wouldn't.
The full playlist is:

Tori Amos: Professional Widow (Armand van Helden mix).  YEP
Run-D.M.C. vs Jason Nevins: It's Like That
Cornershop: Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook remix)
La Roux: In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix)  YEP
Nuyorican Soul: I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun (4Hero Remix)
Ian Brown: FEAR (UNKLE remix.)
Everything but the Girl: Missing (Todd Terry Remix)  YEP
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Heads will Roll (A Track remix)  YEP
Spiritualized: I Think I'm In Love (Chemical Brothers Remix)  YEP
DNA: Tom's Diner (feat. Suzanne Vega)
U2: Lemon (Perfecto mix)  YEP
Erykah Badu: On & On (Blue mar ten remix)
Azzido da Bass: Dooms Night (Timo Maas Radio Edit)
Mary J Blige: Be Without You (Moto Blanco mix)
Gosssip: Standing In the Way of Control (Soulwax nite version) YEP YEP YEP
Simon & Garfunkel: The Sound of Silence (Tom Wilson rework was the hit version)
Adele: Hometown Glory (High Contrast mix)
Primal Scream: Come Together (Weatherall mix AKA Screamadelica version)  YEP
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Mustt Mustt(Massive Attack Remix) (NOT PLAYED).

I guess you could have picked lots of Soulwax remixes and more than one Chems mix but it might not have made for a balanced radio show. If I could compile my own "remixes better than the original" radio show, I might include the ones I put YEP next to above, and I might also have these on the playist:

Beastie Boys: Body Moving - fatboy slim mix
Felix da Housecat: Watching cars go by - Sasha mix
Ladytron: Seventeen - Soulwax mix
Hot Chip: Boy from school  - erol alkan mix (erol is about to release a comp of his reworks on CD and Ltd Vinyl box set)
New Order: Ruined In A Day - K-Klass reunited in a day mix
Freeland: Supernatural thing - adam and the evils mix
St Etienne: Pale Movie - secret knowledge mix
Nathan Fake: the sky was pink (james holden mix)
The xx: VCR (four tet remix)
Black Daniel: Gimme what u got (alex metric remix)
Test Icicles - What's your damage (braxe & falke mix)
Method Man: Bring the Pain - chems remix
Robbie Williams: Lovelight (soulwax ravelight dub)
Disclosure - Magnets (Jon Hopkins Remix)
Leftfield - Phat Planet (Dave Clarke remix)
Chems - Golden Path (Ewan Pearson extended vocal)
Bloc Party: Banquet (phones remix)
The Kills: The Good Ones -  Backstage Sluts Double Drop Mix or Tiga remix
Unkle: Reign (Unkle reconstruction)
Engineers: Home (Jagz Kooner funhouse mix)
Spectrum: Kinda New (Tiefschwarz vocal or Dub mix)
Fischerspooner: A Kick In The Teeth (Tiefschwarz Remix)
Fischerspooner: Emerge (Dave Clarke remix)
Mylo: In My Arms (Tocadisco remix). *EDIT* Tocadisco's remix of Pet Shop Boys 'Minimal' is even better. Shoulda done that one.
Manics: la tristesse durera - Dust Brothers mix
Ultra Nate: Deeper Love (leftfield vocal mix)

Ok what have I missed? Besides these two...

[WhiteNoise]

Quite the list, I'm going to power through these while I get my midterms done.

Agree with Brimfull of Asha, if only because the remix is the only thing the general public has ever heard - same could go for I See You Baby.

Cool to see the Spiritualized mix on the official list.

Here's a few off the top of my head - a few of these are technically auto-remixes, but eh.

Utah Saints - Something Good 08 (Van She Remix)
New Order - Waiting For The Siren's Call (Planet Funk Mix) [though the original is just fine]
U2 - Tomorrow (Common Ground Mix)
Underworld - Cups (Salt City Orchestra Mix)
Shinichi Osawa - Star Guitar (Popular Computer Remix)
Shinichi Osawa - Star Guitar (Brookes Brothers Remix)
Bomb the Bass - Bug Powder Dust (The Chemical Brothers Remix)
The Chemical Brothers - Do It Again (Audion Remix)

[ThePumisher]

https://soundcloud.com/thepumisher/the-salmon-dance-reconstructed

[MadPooter]

This is definitely an interesting discussion, and I agree with a lot of the above.

The ones on my list would be:

Daft Punk Is Playing at My House - LCD Soundsystem (Soulwax Remix)
Cliff - Will Saul (Infusion Remix)
I See You Baby - Groove Armada (Fatboy Slim Remix)
19-2000 - Gorillaz (Soulchild Remix)
Organ Donor - DJ Shadow (Extended Overhaul Remix)
Nowhere Girl - B-Movie (Adam Freeland Remix)

There is also a question of "mashups," where two tracks go so well together they improve on one another.

We Are Mirage - Eric Prydz + Empire of the Sun

[Ben_j]

Daft Punk Is Playing at My House - LCD Soundsystem (Soulwax Remix)

Any Soulwax remix, really (except for the older ones)

[ThePumisher]

The Subs - Don't Stop (Mustard Pimp Remix)
Massive Attack - Psyche (Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid Remix)
Tocotronic - Freiburg (Tocotronic vs. Console - Freiburg 3.0)

[Csar]

Two remixes I can think of right now which I adore are:

Les Djinns - Djuma Soundsystem (Trentemøller remix)

You've Got the Love - The Source feat Candi Staton (Now Voyager remix), this is the one and only remix/ interpretation for me!

Oh and the remixes for Oasis' Falling Down:

A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Mix by Amorphous Androgynous (aka Future Sound of London), one of the greatest remixes ever

Chems

Prodigy

[sandelic]

any remix of Moloko, especially Francois K. mixes

[satur8]

Some old school classics:

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone's Extended Dance Mix)
Sneaker Pimps - Spin Spin Sugar (Armand's Dark Garage Mix) AND (Armand's Dark Dub)
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full (Seven Minutes Of Madness - The Cold Cut Remix)
Method Man - Release Yo' Delf (Prodigy Mix)

So many great ones listed already, peeps.

[Csar]

Two more
Cold Cut - Atomic Moog (Cornelius mix)

Bonobo - Pick Up (Four Tet remix)

[rynostar]

One's that immediately come to mind.

Cid Rim - Draw (Dorian Concept Remix)
https://soundcloud.com/dorian-concept/cid-rim-draw-dorian-concept

I really enjoy the original. Especially with the Janet Jackson mashup that was floating around a few years back.

But the Dorian Concept takes it from a low-pass water temple steady workout track to a post-modern synth jazz roller coaster of an epic. Quiet piano, snapping, and vocal start. Kicks in with synth and bass kick stabs and the wavy cymbal draw outs. The heavy "breath" metronome leading to the improvisation synth line. Back to the quiet piano, vocal, snap. The infinite build synth releasing back to the building improv synth that keeps going higher. And eventual epilogue where it slowly drops and then...starts to sound like a different track altogether. 

Diana Ross - (Dimitri from Paris Remix)

The original is a good disco track but feels formulaic with it's verse-chorus-verse-chorus-break-chorus layout.

The remix calls out to you immediately with the break vocal call and then kicks in with the crescendo strings while heading into the vocal chorus, continues with the horn drops and punches, all before bringing it all together and finally coming back to the verse. I recognize that it's strength and weakness comes from the multiple highs in the track. It's still one of my favourite tracks to play out and make people dance (including myself).

[Wolkenkrabber]

Nice to see people replying to this thread, otherwise my long first post would have looked a bit silly...

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone's Extended Dance Mix)

Mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand I love BLT, so what could be better than an extended BLT by Mr Pettibone who-also-did-a-really-good- '87-remix-of-True Faith? But on the other hand, he ripped all of Peter Hook's bass off the track, and I really like Hooky's bass on that one. I guess it was to make it more "dancable".

Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full (Seven Minutes Of Madness - The Cold Cut Remix)

Yeah this one is a glaring omission now that you mention it. In fact I saw people suggesting it on twitter before that radio show went out. I guess they got ignored. 

[Conn6orsuper117]

a few from my 10+ hour music collection
petshop boys- music for boys (altern 8 Remix)
daft punk - technologic (Vitalic Remix)
Aesop Rock - No Jumper Cables (DJ PaWL Remix)
Placebo - The Bitter end (Junior Sanchez Remix)
and of coarse
The Chemical Brothers - In Dust We Trust (Sandstorm Barcelona 2002 Remix)

[whirlygirl]

To start... As a crusty old U2 fan, can I just give props to the OP Skyscraper for the name of this thread?

<3 <3 <3

Amazing picks in here.

The epic thread title is what drew me in here today. Some who know me also know I am weak for Spiritualized. Was just listening to the Chems I Think I'm In Love Remix last night for the first time in quite a long time, and thinking for as much as I adore the original, the remix elevates it to a different plain altogether.

[Ben_j]

Nobody mentioned any of Stuart Price's work?

[Enjoyed]

Way more to come as I slowly find more time to get back into my music collection and remember things, but here's one that came up today:

EDIT: also, with more of a focus on showcasing remixes that are 'surprisingly better' than the original (rather than a decent version of a crap original), here's this: