mixtape maestro (2.0)

Missy Elliott and producer Danja help guide Ciara back to her electro-crunk & b roots on (the somewhat under-performing) Fantasy Ride‘s second international single “Work”, an overtime-working futuro-runway strut built on club-aimed inspiri-chants (“You better shake that thang like a donkey/ And go hard for it bitch, you better work…”) and one of those manic galactic grooves any normal, non-Ciara person would probably find difficult to keep up with on the dancefloor.

But while it provides a much better artist-to-track fit than Ride’s previous singles, the slightly limp midtempo ballad “Never Ever” and the underwhelming FutureSex leftover “Love Sex Magic”, “Work” has a little too much going on, never really quite gelling as a comfortable whole.

The out-of-breath 4/4 hook slams and there’s a certain charm in Ciara’s sassy, L’Trimm B-girl-isms, but that’s about all to note that’s completely positive here.

Firstly, the lacking of a second sung verse only makes us wish that Ci-Ci would’ve omitted the opening verse altogether and just spent the whole time doling out double-dutch raps as the differing vocal performances on the verses presented here feel odd and disjointed.

Secondly, Missy (sporting a wacky Mad Max mullet in the accompanying video) unfortunately re-reminds us that her best creative days might really be behind her after contributing another one of those pedestrian, hype-woman guest turns she’s been fancying for over a year now here (Lines as elementary as “hee-hee-how” or “Beep Beep/ Who got the keeps to the jeep?” feel like Bob Dylan penmanship in comparison to the uninspired drivel she’s recently been dishing).

And thirdly, Danja’s ever-mutating production annoyingly teeters between genius, mad scientist studio wizardry and an over-the-top, overwhelming mess the track’s entire length, never once allowing us the breathing room to decide whether it’s the former or latter.

Yeah, it’s nice to hear Ciara attempting to return to a sound where she excels and, again, “Work” is perhaps the most instantly gratifying single released from Fantasy so far, but the overall lack of focus presented is hard to easily ignore, and that nagging sense of disappointment ultimately dulls the whole listening experience.

Ciara ft. Missy Elliot- Work It from LowKey on Vimeo.

Even though “Love Sex Magic” has enjoyed time in the Hot 100 Top 10, making it Ciara’s first single to peak that high since 2006′s “Oh”, the original track doesn’t seem like it will have the legs to become the monster summer go-to it was most likely designed to be.

Now, an extended after-life in the remix realm? That just may be the record’s saving grace as it seems like every week some re-tweaked version of the tune is making it’s Web premiere.

The latest remix to get our bums a-wigglin’ comes via Canada’s Skratch Bastid, who matches Ciara & JT’s sexcapades up perfectly with the sketelal White-boy funk of Laid Back’s club staple “White Horse” and Art of Noise’s bump & grind anthem “Moments of Love”.

DL: “Love Sex Magic (Skratch Bastid Remix)” (alt)

For those that are still not quite feeling “Prom Queen” or wish that Ciara and JT’s “Love Sex Magic” didn’t feel so FutureSex-like, producer/ remixer Russ Castella has come to your rescue, tinkering with both records in interesting enough ways they might reverse some listeners’ initial underwhelmed reception.

Of the two, “Prom Queen” is obviously in need of the most help, so it’s not surprising it gets the more drastic makeover. This involves Castella completely stripping away it’s “rock”-y sonic terrain, then orchestrating an entirely new backing arrangement based in moody piano dramatics.

Surprisingly, casting the song in this Evanescence AC ballad-like form ends up sounding far better than one might at first assume; but a delicate sprinkling of keys can’t really solve the major problem that is Wayne’s choked robo-vocal. The man still sounds horrid.

DL: “Prom Queen (Russ Castella Piano Remix)” (alt)

For “Love Sex Magic”, Castella simply colors within the lines of it’s taut funk strut a lil’ melodic synth groove. It’s a minor updating, but damn if it doesn’t wiggle the song out of it’s re-heated feel and elevate it to a whole new plateau of post-disco sexiness.

DL: “Love Sex Magic (Russ Castella Remix)” (alt)

Just when it looked like Ciara’s Fantasy Ride wasn’t going to be that great of a commute, she hooks up with the great Timba-lake team and scores herself a sure-shot chart climber.

“Love & Sex & Magic” was first heard as a Justin-starring demo (then simply called “Magic”) that was somehow leaked to the masses last year. A lean Timbaland-sculpted funk-pop jam, the track definitely feels like a FutureSex knock-off, but who ever said that was a bad thing?

“Imagine if there was a million me’s talkin’ sexy to you like that/
You think you can handle boy, if I give you my squeeze/ I’m-a need you to push it right back,” Ciara flirts, preparing her nastiest lap dance routine. Justin’s response? Simply sit back and enjoy: “Just do what I taught you”. Then, out of nowhere, a fluttery ballad-leaning bridge cuts through all the hanky-panky foreplay so the duo can get a little mushy: “Let’s slow it down so we fall in love…”.

Miss Ciara, you can rest with all the album push-backs now, ’cause with this sexy groover, you’ve finally grasped that jump-off mega-hit you’ve been searching for.