Artist: Prince
Title: When Doves Cry (Hamel & Fitzwater Mixes)
Label: RR1000
By: Simon Jones | 21 August 2003
Tracklist:

• A: Hamel & Fitzwater Mix
• B: Hamel & Fitzwater Dub

Prince "When Doves Cry (Hamel & Fitzwater Mixes)"

Prince. Symbol. Oscar. The Artist Formerly Known As. The man either has multiple personalites or think's hes a producer in the progressive music scene. Though it's neither, he would fit in quite nicely in light of many of today's oddballs who inhabit the music scene, but let't not take away from Prince's huge fan base and his musical reputation, and remember that he dominated the 80s with his Revolution. Indeed the pinnacle of that period was Prince's singing and acting showcase 'Purple Rain' which of course produced the album of the same name. 'When Doves Cry' will probably one remember of one of his finest tracks ever, never to be surpassed.

However, nothing is ever left alone in the world of music, and step forward Bill Hamel and his young protege Matt Fitzwater to update it and bring it kicking and screaming into the 21st century (against it's will no doubt). The result is quite surprising as they retain the cooing and fluttering sounds of the original and update the beats with a tight house groove. Letting the vocal control the direction of the track, they drop the bottom end in and out and keep things shifting in an interesting way. The dub mix on the b-side however, loses the main element of the track and is only any use merely as a dj tool.

When done right, a bootleg can be a wonderful thing, and in this case Hamel and Fitwater obviously appreciate the quality of the production on the original and leave it intact, however the choice to do a dub version as well was perhaps pushing the boat just that little bit too far, and the term milking it for all it's worth springs to mind. Nevertheless, a fun and funky update of a timeless classic.