Fantastic Plastic Machine

Half a standard best-of compilation and half a gathering of remixes, Les Plus: Best of Fantastic Plastic Machine falls between two stools. For one thing, Tomoyuki Tanaka's collaborative project has only four albums to its credit, which makes it simply too early for a best-of for an active group. Listening to tracks from the four albums, from 1998's Fantastic Plastic Machine through to 2001's Take Me to the Disco, in close proximity shows only how narrow Tanaka's musical world view of turntables, bossa nova rhythms, and nondescript female vocals is and how little growth and variety there is between the albums. Paradoxically, the remixes -- of some of Tanaka's best songs, like the dreamy "Bossa for Jackie" and the brilliant reworking of Eurythmics' "There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart)" -- are actually the most disappointing part of the album, as they offer no interesting new twists on the material and merely sound like change for change's sake. There are some excellent songs on here, including "Bachelor Pad," Fantastic Plastic Machine's bubbly contribution to the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and an imaginative take on Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out," but as a whole, Les Plus: Best of Fantastic Plastic Machine is less than it could have been. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide