Lenny Kravitz - The Chamber

This is the lead single from his new album Strut which will be coming out on September 23. The single was released several months back, however, the music video was a released today. The song is a throwback to the sounds of the 80s but within a modern context. The main guitar riff and programming bear a striking, unintentional resemblance to that of Stevie Nicks' classic "Edge Of Seventeen". It's classic Lenny from the hook to the lyrical style, and of course, his always strong vocal performance.  The song is quite the grower.

Watch the racy cinematic music video: NSFW


Grade: A

Avicii vs Lenny Kravitz - Superlove

The original song was on his album released last year. The guitar-driven R&B/Pop/Rock track features a really lovely vocal by Lenny. The Avicii remix has gotten a lot more attention as this has been a fixture in his sets for some time now. The rocker's vocals are heavily manipulated and appear in the middle. The main riff sounds like it is based on Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation".

There are additional mixes by Carl Tio & Morjac, Andy Caldwell, Fred Falke, WAWA, Taped & Redtop, Stefan Dabruck, Teddy Douglas, Whatever Whatever, and Redtop. Carl Tio & Morjac's mix is much poppier than the original, however the tempo is almost the same. Teddy Douglas' mix is very hard and tribal. Redtop's solo mix is an extended version of the original.

-Watch the eye-catching music video for the Avicii remix here (YouTube)
-Buy the remixes here (iTunes)
-Buy the Avicii remix here (iTunes)

Grade: A

Offer Nissim - Remixed

This is the first of two Offer Nissim releases that are being reviewed this week.

This collection is the latest release from the Israel-based DJ/remixer/producer.

Disc 1 contains remixes of some of Offer Nissim and Maya Simantov's earlier singles by other remixers. None of these mixes have been released previously on singles or other compilations. Some have been availabe at the digital retailers. Overall, a number of the mixes are Electro/House in style. Some of the highlights include Peter Rauhofer's mostly instrumental take on "Happy People", Ana Paula's reworking of "Love Me" with those lush strings and the Zoltan Kontes remix of "Only You."

Disc 2 contains the original versions of the last six Maya songs, including "For Your Love", "Wish You Were Here", "I'm In Love", "Happy People", "Why" and "Love Me", plus the new Epiphony track, "Out Of My Skin", the Symphony Extreme track "Remember My Name", which is based on the classic "Fame", Offer's new instrumental entitled "Bimbo" and Offer's revisit to Dana International's "Petra." Noticeably missing are the new tracks with Maya including "Hook Up" and "You'll Never Know How" and the two new covers of "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten" and "Believe" with vocals by Hila Davidson (Symphony Extreme) and Meital De Razon (Epiphony), respectively. The new Epiphony track "Out Of My Skin" is one of his stronger works to date without Maya on vocals. Meital's vocal performance is quite good. The Symphony Extreme track "Remember My Name" is mostly instrumental, however the few vocals by Hila are decent. This one may have worked better with more vocals. The other instrumental, "Bimbo" is pretty good too. Really energetic. Some of the instrumental elements call to mind Offer's mix of "Ze She'Shomer Alay" from last year. The updated mix of Dana International's "Petra" is really good. Only some of the vocals from the original are used. The production fits extremely well.

All tracks on both CDs are full length, and totally unmixed. Physical editions of the collection are available at the Star 69 website. Digital downloads of the discs individually are available there too.

This collection is a must-have.

Grade: A