Adam F — Colours Revisited. What’s wrong with the new version of the great drum‘n’bass album

My unexpected review of the year. I realised that Adam F was re-recording Colours—one of the best drum‘n’bass albums ever—and, apparently, the new version should be on the shelves. Right. I listened to it. My first impression was that the studio sessions with which Fenton teased readers on Facebook seemed much more interesting. My second impression was that after listening to the original a million times, my ear latched onto all the new elements and recognised them as foreign. Still, the 1997 version of Colours sounds more polished.

Yes, I know that remastering took two years, a lot of effort, and a ton of money (they dusted off old instruments, bought missing ones, dug up ancient floppy disks with samples, etc.). Respect for the modern cover, but the album only stands out for its updated versions of Circles, The tree knows everything (better off without Kirsty Hawkshaw, now Adam Fenton’s wife and imitation of Tracey Thorn and possibly the original Dirty Harry (here it’s slowed down, without Grooverider’s remix). The guys seem to have given up on updating the rest of the tracks.

To sum up Revisited: some new sounds were added, some were left as they were, and MC Conrad’s bass has become deeper over the years. I understand Fenton’s motivation: a cover of his Circles has gone viral on TikTok, so there’s a reason to remaster it and release the album digitally after so many years to attract young people. But it wasn’t a revelation. Rather just Remastered than Revisited. Well, maybe it will appeal to others.
__
(One thing you can’t deny about Fenton is his consistency. Thirty years ago, the vinyl was released without the key track Colours, and now the old-new album is also without its title track.)