Alabama 3: ‘The Devil Went Down To Ibiza’
September 20th, 2002 by freddie96
Alabama 3
‘The Devil Went Down to Ibiza’ (Lol Hammond remix) /
‘Strobe Life’ (Joe Morena remix)
As front runners in the Acid-House movement Alabama 3 were once labelled ‘the oddest, sleaziest, unhealthiest and most talented blues band in the nation’ so what could you expect from these two remixes?
The first fear as the needle hits each side is that the haunting story telling of Larry Love, the Alabama’s lead singer, would be omitted, or you’d just get a sneaky sample. A sigh of relief comes over you as Love’s somehow kitsch Mock-Texan drawl echoes through each side, really bringing the tracks to life.
‘The Devil Went Down To Ibiza’ sees Love and Hammond take you on a voyage through Guerillaesque basslines into Beelzebub’s pill-popping journey through Ibiza. With Hammond’s flamenco guitar and the bouncing bassline helping reap havoc on an oh-so-beautiful island. Listening to the lyrics you are reminded the island has a darker side which Love emulates superbly.
‘Strobe Life’ is a far deeper, darker house track with that 4am trance-like state enveloping you as the bassline kicks in. Love and Morena again take you on a excursion through the tumble of acid house, but this time it feels like you are trapped in the Alabama’s twisted world.
Love’s lyrics resonate throughout the track and unlike ‘The Devil Went Down To Ibiza’, it is this version you will find on the forthcoming album. The reason, apparently, is that when they came to playback ‘The Devil Went Down To Ibiza’ in the studio a couple of packages got mixed up, things went wobbly and they stripped it down to a near accapella, but that’s another story altogether…
Gareth Harries
