Daft Punk's version of a remix album is far better than most of its ilk, but far worse than either of their previous production albums or their live record.
But first off, agreeing to remix Daft Punk counts as an act of high hubris for most producers; the duo is responsible for some of the most innovative productions ("Musique," "Revolution 909," "Aerodynamic") and remixes ("Mothership Reconnection," "Disco Cubism," "Chord Memory") of recent years.
But fresh blood is always intriguing, and the acts hired out to post-produce for 2001's Discovery LP were widely varied and highly talented.
Unfortunately, few of the big names tapped turn in tracks equal to their name.
Although Basement Jaxx's version of "Phoenix" (the only track originally taken from Daft Punk's debut album) is a mostly successful translation of DP-style robot disco into Basement Jaxx's vision of sensual house, the Neptunes' remix of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is an unintentionally nerdy lounge tune, Detroit trio Slum Village's sampling (literally) of "Aerodynamic" becomes a hip-hop album track, and Romanthony's unplugged version of his own feature "One More Time" neatly destroys the magic of the original.
Filling in the gaps nicely, however, are lesser-known French upstarts like Jess & Crabbe and Cosmo Vitelli as well as mainstream house mastermind Boris Dlugosch, whose "Digital Love" wisely changes very little of the original.