Public Enemy featuring Paris: Remix of a Nation

By Omar Mouallem, www.exclaim.ca

If there's any good that's come out of these last seven Bush years, it's the resurgence of Public Enemy. No doubt, the American Decider has given PE more to get angry about after a couple of uninspired albums during the Clinton administration. Of their post-Clinton work, Rebirth of a Nation (featuring Paris) was slept on most, largely due to the "meh" production from Paris. So Paris has returned to that album, reawakened it and revised nine of the 16 tracks. It's an interesting experiment, and a definite improvement, but superfluous nonetheless. Instead of Rebirth, a supplement to their best album in years - How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? - would have been more significant and, ultimately, useful. Still, Remix is a good addition to the collection; it's a fan project by their biggest fan.