If it ain't broke, don't remix it. Just in time for his U.S. tour, '80s synth-messiah Gary Numan attempts to demonstrate his enduring influence by setting some of today's dance-floor gurus loose in his tape vaults. Apparently, they didn't get far: "The Mix" is a cursory, cut-and-paste job on a handful of the iceman's better-known tunes, including three takes on Numan's only major American hit, "Cars."
It's not the best tribute to a career that enjoyed a longer, healthier life in the U.K. than we Yanks tend to remember. Nor are the reinterpretations much to write home about; the herky-jerky, editing-project vibe that defines the art of the remix is an odd fit with the steady, cruising-altitude rhythms that suited Numan so perfectly. Only Biokraft's version of "She's Got Claws" generates more heat than its clunky predecessor.
