About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

Since she had good luck -- both artistically and commercially -- with 2003's Remixed, it's not altogether surprising that Sarah McLachlan would return to that well for another cup of artistic inspiration. While her first disc of reimagined versions of her songs had something of a uniform feel to it, Bloom blossoms in several different directions, lending a mixtape-like feel to the proceedings. The most intriguing track is the disc's sole from-scratch recording, "Just Like Me," on which Black Eyed Peas' majordomo Will.I.Am builds an unabashedly infectious track that's topped by McLachlan and rapper DMC trading verses culled largely from the Harry Chapin classic "Cat's in the Cradle." Several of the mixers called in to chop and channel earlier tunes take a similarly pop-centric approach -- notably Tom Middleton, who adds a late-'80s sheen to "Vox." Bloom isn't, however, all about simple head-bobbing. Reggae legends Sly & Robbie take "Train Wreck" on a detour through the land of dub, giving it a down-tempo groove that's at once thickly enveloping and island-breeze light. Talvin Singh extends the travelogue by layering "Answer" with sitar and tabla -- accoutrements that prove perfectly suited to enhancing the original tune's cleansing feel. There are certainly a passel of high-energy mixes -- Junkie XL's "World on Fire" is as highly caffeinated as a double espresso -- but Bloom is one of those remix discs that aim for the head as much as the hips, connecting on both counts. David Sprague, Barnes & Noble

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