Like the other Verve Remixed compilations, as well as similar projects such as Motown Remixed and
Mayfield: Remixed,
Verve Remixed: The First Ladies is bound to provoke a negative reaction -- or rejection on principle -- from purists. As with those earlier releases, this is more about the remixers than it is the original artists. There's so little of the latter that the tracks are more like new productions that merely sample them. The highlights are the atmospheric and graceful inclusions:
Ella Fitzgerald's "Blue Skies [Maya Jane Coles Remix]" and
Stan Getz and
João Gilberto's "Corcovado [TOKiMONSTA Remix]." ~ Andy Kellman