Search - Rihanna :: Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes

Poorly conceived and hastily created - Radio edits

Music lover "tom" | Toronto | 01/28/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Good Girl Gone Bad the Remixes is yet a third version of Rihanna's classic album with tracks that propelled her into international stardom. I was looking forward to this particular version hoping to finally get the coveted dance remixes to songs like Disturbia, Take a Bow etc that have appeared only in digital format to-date.



What I got instead were SHORT, Edited versions that left me enraged. Why do record companies lament declining sales when they continue to offer a sub-standard product!!! Here's why I say that. I bought the Japanese version of Good Girl Gone Bad. It not only had the original track listing

(Plus 2 bonus tracks) but a second cd of FULL-LENGTH Mixes many of which are featured in this mainly North American release but in the latter are all 3 to 4 minutes shorter.



Why couldn't DEF JAM release this cd with FULL TRACKS and include the Steve Mac mixes for Cry & Haunted (songs that easily could have been singles) along with Rehab? Better yet, why not put a remix of Unfaithful or an earlier single as well to hook new fans to Rihanna? Now I'm stuck with a 3rd cd. One that is edited and only 40 odd minutes in length. And you wonder why so many people refuse to buy cds or see this as a simple money grab? Save your hard-earned money and demand a better product. Rihanna deserves better!"

Actually a pretty enjoyable set.

W. E. Phillips | USA | 02/17/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay. I think it pretty much goes without saying that Rihanna and Def Jam have, by this point, shamelessly milked Good Girl Gone Bad for all it's worth. I mean... there has been a different version of the Bajan singer's third album for each of the past three years! What's even more pathetic is that the label has never even bothered to switch up the packaging; other than the altered front cover, this remix album is pretty much identical in appearance to the original album (and the "Reloaded" version, too, for that matter). There are no new photos. The poster is the same poster from the past two releases. Even the disc and the back cover look the same. It's pretty pathetic. Def Jam could at least put in some money to alter an already two-year old design to be a little bit more discreet in their greedy endeavors. And at the end of the day, this simple fact rings true: Rihanna needs to release a completely new album and quickly. (Which probably won't happen with all this Chris Brown drama, sadly). She has released eight singles and videos, and after the slight success of "Rehab," which was a lame single choice, Rihanna will need to fight for relevancy.



With that gripe aside, this is actually a pretty enjoyable remix album. Even after the over-exposure and the overbearing amount of singles, the material on Good Girl Gone Bad has barely lost any of its irresistable nature, and these dance remixes add to it. Dance mix purists may not like this album because it only contains the edited versions of the mixes, taking some that would be eight to ten minutes and whittling them down to radio length. I really don't mind the short mixes. Quite frankly, I prefer them. This set begins with a fantastic remix of "Umbrella" by Seamus Haji and Paul Emmanuel. Tony Moran and Warren Rigg do an excellent job of turning the originally sulky "Take A Bow" into an infectious, attitude-packed club banger. The Wideboys mix of "Question Existing," one of my favorite tracks off the original album, is great. The best mix here, though, is the sensual "Say It," which has been embellished with a little Latin flair. I feel that the second mix of "Umbrella" is unnecessary, especially since its predecessor is so far superior. I'm also disappointed that--once again--"Lemme Get That" and "Sell Me Candy," two single-worthy tracks that should've replaced "Shut Up and Drive" and "Hate That I Love You," have been criminally ignored once again. Of course, this album is no masterpiece, but it is certainly a cohesive, danceable, and thoroughly enjoyable remix album that serves its purpose."

She HAS to get control over her career...

Sophia Petrillo | NC, USA | 02/07/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Rihanna is a truly great artist who can make some killer hit songs, but after giving us a poor re-release of her "Good Girl Gone Bad" and now a barely decent collection of remixes, it looks like her label has taken the reigns from her career and is gonna juice every bit out of one album that they can before they let her continue to grow as an artist and release any really NEW and unique material.

This collection of remixes from her two versions of "Good Girl Gone Bad" is pretty amature... instead of giving us some fun club mixes that you can find on iTunes Remix EP's, on this album we get only half enjoyable radio edits.

I really wouldn't reccomend buying this... if you need some good mixes of some recent Rihanna hits like "Disturbia", "Take A Bow", "Don't Stop The Music", etc, check out iTunes for some great EP's which come with long, very enjoyable club versions of the songs remixed by some of the world's greatest recorders."