Limp Bizkit
NEW OLD SONGS
(INTERSCOPE)

Limp Bizkit became the biggest band in the land by hewing closer to hip-hop than did any of their rap-metal peers, so perhaps this remix collection of songs from their first three albums was inevitable. And given the group’s unabashedly commercial slant, it’s no surprise that the disc is heavier on dance-floor pop than on cutting-edge experimentalism. Bizkit head honcho Fred Durst lets fellow Southerners the Neptunes and Timbaland loose on the album’s marquee tracks; both replace the band’s playing with Top 40–approved beats but leave Durst’s familiar raps largely untouched. The Neptunes’ "Nookie" and "N 2gether Now" could be outtakes from their work on the new Britney Spears album; Timbaland almost shows up Durst by recruiting a trio of lightning-lipped MCs (E-40, 8 Ball, Bubba Sparxxx) to tighten things up on the mike.

P. Diddy partially recaptures his circa-’98 rock remix glory on "My Way," contributing the most straightforward of a whopping five versions of one of the band’s most mediocre hits. Durst gets in on the act with a trippy, much-improved cover of George Michael’s "Faith," complete with a gratuitous David Bowie sample and a pugnacious guest rap from Everlast. Butch Vig, William Orbit, and big-beat holdovers the Dub Pistols eventually take things a little farther outside, topping off a fun collection that could have been more so had it been more challenging.

Issue Date: December 13 - 20, 2001

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