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A Slick Remix Brings Lidell 'Back Around'

Jamie Lidell channels the likes of Sly Stone and Prince.
Jamie Lidell channels the likes of Sly Stone and Prince.

If the souls of Sly Stone and Prince were united in the form of a white British singer, his name would probably be Jamie Lidell. Though Lidell is likely to perform his funk jams backed by a laptop rather than a live band, he still possesses the full-throated, improvisational vocal talent and showmanship of his predecessors.

A backbeat suspiciously close to Prince's "Raspberry Beret" kicks off one of the most straightforward remixes on Multiply Additions, a collection of live performances and chopped-up versions of the tracks on Lidell's 2005 breakthrough CD, Multiply.

Freeform Reform's take on "When I Come Back Around" opens with the nod to Prince and then builds on it, re-imagining the song as a banging club track. Freeform Five's Anu Pillai complements the cascade of drums and cymbals with a chorus of techno-chirps and pulsating bass. The change is fundamental, but subtle -- and, as it turns out, this "addition" only expands on the original by about 20 seconds.

Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'

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Christina Nunez