Remix albums are usually pointless exercises by a record company to bleed loads of money out of unsuspecting fans and into pockets of artists-and moreso, the labels themselves. Since the remix album exploded in 1989-90 with the likes of Bobby Brown, Paula Abdul and the New Kids, there haven't been many remix albums that are not average, at best.

Now St. Louis rapper nelly joins the fray with his clunkily titled "The Derrty Versions: The Reinvention". This is basically a souped-up greatest hits album. While some of his hits enjoy a slight adjustment in beat, none of these songs is extraordinarily different than te original version, which is a good and a bad thing. If you're a Nelly fan, you're getting jerked out of your money to get a buncha stuff you already own. If you're like me and think the man has a couple of hot singles, it's an OK buy because it means you don't have to buy either of his middling-to-weak albums.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a Nelly hater, but he grew on me very slowly. I respect the dude because he has his own style, and he's not afraid to admit that he's not the greatest MC in the world, but he has his own little niche. Of course, his success far outweights his artistry, but how many artists can we say that of? hey, the dude wants to make you dance, he's relatively inoffensive, he doesn't traffic into the super-violent & misogynist cliches that most other popular MC's fall into. Hey, no one will ever confuse him with Rakim, but he's OK.

Some of the remixes leave very little unchanged from the original version. "Country Grammar", Nelly's breakout hit, is exactly the same as the original version with one minor alteration in the chorus as well as a verse from E-40, the hip-hop king of "what the f*** is that dude saying?". "Dilemma" and "Work It" add slightly harder beats (courtesy of Jermaine Dupri and Scott Storch) respectively. JD brings up Nelly's vocal, which is almost buried into the mix on "Dilemma's" studio version, while Nelly alters his flow on "Work It", which was originally a pretty decent party anthem but now is only interesting because of Justin Timberlake's best Michael Jackson impression to date.

"E.I." is remixed by crunk king David Banner, and Banner's rock-etched production is the standout on a couple of tracks here. He takes it back to the old-school Rick Rubin Casio-drumbeat and loud guitar days on this one, despite its' somewhat sexist refrain of "is that yo' a** cuz it ain't yo face" plastered throughout the song. For whatever reason, it appears twice on this set. The album's two best songs are the most chilled-out tracks here, giving Nelly more of an R&B than a hip-hop vibe. "Pimp Juice" coasts along on a jazz-kissed soul background with some sultry sax and a guest vocal by the legendary Ron Isley. "Groovin' Tonight" is all about Brian McKnight's great guest vocal. You almost forget that there's rapping on this track (not to mention a samle of the opening drumbeat of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You"). Save Your Money For This One!
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If you're a Nelly fan, then this CD is probably gonna rock your boombox for the next week or so.....It's very, "Pop" instead of Hip Hop...It's very typical. A few of the songs are very well remixed while others I don't even know why he put them on the CD (Such as the Country Grammar remix....it's the same EXACT song except it has E-40 on it.....

All in all, I enjoyed it. For those of you out there who don't like the route that Hip Hop is going (ie. Bling bling, I got cars, hoes, money, etc.) Do NOT listen to this CD. It will PISS you off beyond belief...

Here are my song reveiws-

Intro-2.5 pointless
Country Grammer-4.5 same old stuff but E-40 makes it better
Iz U-4.5 very good
E.I-4.8 best REMIX on the album
Ride with me-3 not as good as origanl
Batter up-4.5 second best remix on the album
IF-4 solid song
Hot in herre-4 same song except the beat which makes it better
Delemma-3.5 never was a big fan of the origanl
Kings Highway-5 best song on the album
Grovin tonight-4 solid song
Air force ones-4.5 Hudge fan of the origanl
Work it-3 alright
#1-4.5 very good
Pimp juice-4 not as good as orignal
E.I (The tipdrill remix)-4.5 not as good as plain E.I remix

This cd is pretty tight if you are a big Nelly fan. Some songs are crap but then some sound tight as hell. You probably tired of hearing nelly 500 times on the radio but the remixes are worth listening to. I think this cd is worth buying if you are a big nelly fan.

I went out this mornin and bought it on my way to school! Oh I love it!! This is how I rate all the songs:

Country Grammar (3/5)- Prolly one of the songs that isnt much different than the original. Since I already know the song, its not as fun to listen to, but its a tight song anyways!

Iz U (5/5)- LOVE THE BEAT!! (People's Court ha ha) Great song, great bass...great car music, I blew my bass in my car! I LOVE IT!

E.I (4/5)- Love the background beat! Even without the remix its a great track. Ummm its not something that I will continuously play, but its tight!

Ride Wit Me (6/5) My FAVORITE!!! I love the beat, bass, background, Nelly's voice. GREAT TRACK!!!! Its nice to hear Nelly give it some actual voice rather than just rap :)Its great!!

Batter Up (3.5/5) I love the original, but I am not totally sure how I feel bout the remix yet, but who cares! Bring it!

If (5/5) First time I heard this song was off the Neptunes CD. Great track! Everything is great about it.

Hot In Herre (5.5/5) LOVE THE REMIX! Great beat! It flows nice.

Dilemma (4.5/5) Umm the first time I heard it, I wasnt crazy bout it, but It grew on me. I like the background beat, I dunno how to explain it, too me it sounds like an old nintendo game music sound...its cool after awhile.

King's Highway (4/5) Havent listened it to much, but from what I have, I like it... Its ur classic nelly hip hop song. Its cool

Groovin Tonight (4.5/5) This song was on his St. Lunatics CD, Free City. Its nice to hear something slow. Good song, tight song

Air Force One's (6/5) I could never ever give this song a bad rating no matter what! I LOVE THIS SONG with or without the remix. I love the background beat to the remix, its got cool sounds, although nothing can compare to the orig Air Force One's

Work It (2/5) Never liked the song....Justin doesnt fit with Nelly

#1 (4/5) Good song, same beat as the orig. tight!

PimpJuice (4.5/5) I havent listened to it much, but it is growing on me kinda a "sly" song :)

E.I (4/5) Cool beat, worth listening too, tight track

Bottom Line- BUY THE CD, ITS WORTH YOUR MONEY! I am a true Nelly fan and this CD is tight!!In fact buy all his CD's; Country Gramma, Nellyville, St. Lunatics, St. Lunatics...Just buy it!! It has catchy beats, ITS THE SH*T!!!!