Various - Soul Jazz presents Voguing

This is a collection of songs that were the soundtrack for the unique dance style that first began in the underground dance clubs of New York in the late 70s. The Soul Jazz label in the UK has put together a collection of Disco, 80s Synthpop, and early 90s circuit tracks that were favorites of Voguers. Spread across 2 discs, all songs are full length and in their hit versions. The sound quality is great. Disc 3 is a continuous DJ mix by NY legend Junior Vasquez featuring nearly all of the songs from the first 2 discs. This collection is also available in vinyl and MP3 editions, however the MP3 edition omits all the Salsoul and West End tracks. This is an impressive release overall.

View the tracklisting, listen to samples, and purchase the compilation here.

Grade: A

Honey Dijon feat Dajae - Until The Day

Miami's Funky Green Dogs (the duo of Ralph Falcon and Oscar Gaeten with then vocalist Pamela Williams) had a hit with this in 1998 with mixes by Peter Rauhofer, Masters At Work, Superchumbo, and Marshall Hansen. This has been given a deep house makeover courtesy of Honey Dijon with the help of a few people including Alex Kenji, Uner, and Aki Bergen. Legendary singer Dajae does a fine job on the vocals, taking thing in a different direction. Alex Kenji's mix is an electro/house floorfiller. Uner's minimal mix is deeper while Aki Bergen's is much darker slightly industrial sounding.

Listen to clips and purchase the mixes here (Beatport)

Grade: A-

River Ocean featuring India - Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochún) 2009

"Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochún)" was originally released in 1994 and is considered a classic. It has received a few updates here and there over the years, but nothing noteworthy enough that would even come close to the original. The last major update was in 2007. The newest one was released a few days back by David Penn. Only a few elements from the original are used. The mix can be best described as a hybrid between electro/house and soulful garage. The mix feels like a percapella in some parts. It lacks the ebbs and flows in energy that the original and even the 2007 mixes had. When the original and its accompanying mixes are that great, it's very hard to duplicate that greatness again. This is good for those who want a new mix to play, but the original is still quite the floorfiller.

Listen to and purchase the new David Penn remix here (TraxSource)
The original 1994 and 2007 remix packages are also available there.

Grade: B-