I’m not sure exactly how I found this, but The Remix Album: Diamonds Are Forever is an unbelievably fun little album. It’s entirely electronica/dance remixes of of Shirley Bassey tracks. The original tracks are covers of pretty well known fare in some cases. Included are remixes of Bassey covering Light My Fire, Hey Big Spender, and Where Do I Begin (the Love Story song). Plus Bassey doing the themes for Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker (hey, I’m a Bond geek, what do you want?)…

I love the idea, by the way, of taking these great Jazz vocalists and making new remixes from them. The entire Verve Remixed project turned me on to this stuff and it’s unbelievable what these DJs are able to do with such amazing original material. They’re up to volume three and the talent is getting better. Samples are available at the iTunes Music Store (iTMS link) or on Amazon.

Update: Also have to throw in a track I bought by Walter Wanderley, a Brazilian organist. I got Summer Samba (iTMS link) in part because it’s catchy but also because that song really is tied to my entry into the world of electronic and this type of remixes. Fatboy Slim chose a remix of Summer Samba to kick of his mix on Essential Selection, Vol. 1. I think that was the first mix album I bought and still is one of my favorites. From that album, I got hooked onto Armand Van Helden, Underworld, and Groove Armada, not to mention Fatboy Slim himself. Good stuff.