Wayne G feat Debby Holiday - Dive '13 (Part 1)

The 2004 club hit has been given a bevy of brand new mixes by Gustavo Scorpio, Isaac Escalante & Xavier Santos, Phil B, Scott Anderson (Solar City), Scotty K, Wayne G with Andy Allder and LFB. Aside from the Scotty K, Drew's mix, and the Wayne & LFB, all of the versions are circuit-oriented with Phil B and Scott Anderson's being the most anthemic. All of those are great. Scotty K's new mix is light and uplifting. It has a delightful 80s hi nrg feel. The Drew and Wayne & LFB mixes are downtempo, ballad ones.

Listen to clips and purchase here (iTunes)

A second package of mixes is planned as well.

Grade: A

Sir Ari Gold - Play My F**kn Remix: A Remix Retrospective

[Note: This review was written based on the 90 second previews on iTunes and not on the full songs as Sweet Muzik hasn't purchased this release yet for reviewing so this is more of a feature/preview.]

Another one of the projects that was funded by his IndieGoGo campaign late last year is released. Instead of a traditional greatest hits album, all of the major singles and selected tracks from his three albums have been given new remixes, and two previously unreleased songs have been added.

Every one of the remixes has a contemporary yet classic sound and updates the songs nicely. The two Jared Jones mixes of "Sparkle" and "Love Wasn't Built In A Day" are some of the highlights. They have a lovely early 90s feel as does the new mix of "Love Will Take Over." Describing how great each and every mix is might be a bit much for this review, but it's rare that all were so well done. The two unreleased songs are terrific, and would be make for great single releases if that were to happen. Overall, this is an excellent collection.

Tracklisting:
1. Play My F**kn Record (Country Club Martini Crew Radio Mix)
2. Wave of U (2013 R.E.mix)
3. Make My Body Rock (Rasjek Rockin' 12")
4. Details of My Life
5. Where the Music Takes You (feat. Sasha Allen) [Quentin Harris vs. Empulsive No Place Like NYC Mega-Mix]
6. Love Will Take Over (WHO's F**kin Remix?)
7. Ride To Heaven (Solar City Buckle Up Radio Remix)
8. Human (Born To Make Mistakes) [Lost Daze Moroder Dub]
9. Sparkle (feat. Sarah Dash) [Jared Jones Inner-Diva Radio Mix]
10. Make My Body Rock (Matt Moss vs. Dr. Brooks Give It Up 90's Mega-Mix)
11. Love Wasn't Built In a Day (feat. Dave Koz) [Jared Jones Transport House Mix]
12. My Favorite Religion (HalfStyle HalfVeryJewish Remix)
13. Where the Music Takes You (Dr. Brooks Ol' Skool Mixtape)
14. Love Goddess (Luv Crew Bombshell Mix)

-Listen to clips and purchase on iTunes here

Grade: A

Paul Lekakis - Meet Me On The Dancefloor

The 80s Dance/Pop singer is back with a new club release with remixes by Solar City, Manny Lehman, Scotty K, and George Figares. The Solar City mixes are club-oriented electropop. Manny Lehman's 'radio' mix is a nice big room one. The heavily autotuned vocals work best on this one. They work on the regular Manny Lehman mix too, but the 'radio' one just feels more tailor-made for the clubs. Scotty K's circuit-oriented mix has a lot of energy and utilizes the vocals well.

Purchase the release here (Amazon)

Grade: B+

Paul Goodyear feat Caroline Lund - Outlaw

This is indeed a remake of the Olive song from 1997. Caroline Lund nails it vocally, doing great justice to the song. There are many remixes of this on the release, however, the standout versions are by Paul Goodyear, Casey Alva with Solar City, and Wayne G with Andy Allder. Paul Goodyear's trance/circuit mix is uplifting and pretty as it is hard-hitting. An instrumental version is also included on the package. Casey Alva and Solar City's circuit mix is perfect for peak hour play. Wayne G and Andy Allder's circuity electro/tribal mix well-produced as well. The additional mixes not reviewed here are good too.

Listen to clips of the mixes here:



Purchase MP3s and WAVs here (Juno)

 Grade: A

DJ Blaine and Barona - Lane McCray - Pump It

Best known for his rapping and occasional singing with successful Eurodance duo La Bouche during the 90's, Lane McCray is back, guesting on a brand new single. "Pump It" is a floorfilling circuit track with Lane's soulful vocals taking center stage. The remix package is quite extensive, with remixes by DJ Blaine and Peter Barona, Solar City, Edson Pride, Rafael M, William Umana, DJ Juanito, and Brian McCombs. DJ Blaine and Peter's mix (which is also the original version) is very hard and dark. Solar City's mix is synthy, but isn't as hard-hitting as his usual. Edson Pride's mix is harder, but stays really one-note at times and doesn't go very far. Rafael M's gets there a little faster with his synth-driven mix. William Umana's mix is synthy as well, but feels a bit underwhelming. DJ Juanito's is really minimal and sparse. Closing out the package is Brian McCombs with a funky electro/house mix with hints of disco. Coupled with Lane's vocals, this one works the best overall.

Purchase the CD single here (Perfect Beat)

Grade: A- (for the track)/B+ (for the remix package)/A (for the Brian McCombs mix)

Zelma Davis - Free Love

This is the highly anticipated new single from the C&C Music Factory songstress. Written by Bill Friar and Zelma, this song is positive, uplifting. Zelma's vocals are great on this. There are remixes by Mike Bordes, DJ JST, Solar City, Rafael M, Peter Barona, and Barry Harris. Mike Bordes offers a soulful house mix. DJ JST's has the soulful undercurrent but is more circuit-oriented. Solar City's is a little lighter. It has a Euro flavor to it. Rafael M's is more bassline driven. Peter Barona's is a nice big room mix. Very much in line with his recent work. And last but not least is Barry Harris with a light circuit mix which also maintains the soulful vibe. The entire package is really good. DJ JST and Barry Harris' are the best ones.

Purchase the digital single here (Juno) and here (Amazon)

Grade: A

Amber & Zelma Davis - No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)

The highly anticipated release of clubland legends Amber and Zelma Davis' cover of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" happens today!












As promised last month when the collaboration was first announced, here is a review.

The vocals by Amber and Zelma Davis are absolutely fantastic! Both of their voices complement each other very well. They do justice to the Barbra/Donna original.

The mixes are by Pathos V2 and Solar City. Pathos V2 did two main mixes. The Classic version bears a slight resemblance to the original one in terms of production elements. But overall, this one is a nice marriage of the classic and the modern. The Kickout mix is a bit more Circuit/Pop-ish. This too has some splashes of the original. Solar City's mixes are a bit more Circuit-oriented. Excellent synth work and semi-hard beats are the highlights. The full club mix is nearly eleven minutes long! The buildup and breakdowns are truly remarkable. One of the best mixes Solar City has done this year. All versions are well-done though.

In addition to the digital release, a CD single has been released. Perfect Beat has some copies left for sale.

Grade: A

Erin Hamilton - The Flame 2008

She burst onto the club scene in the later part of the 90's with a string of successful singles and an album. After a brief, 6 year break, she is back with updated mixes of her cover of Cheap Trick's "The Flame." This is the first artist/single release from MasterBeat Records, previously known for their circuit compilations. They recently rang in the new year with a launch of a new digital download store. This was one of the first digital releases on the site. While the original set of mixes were quite great, this new set is comparable. The Tony Moran & Warren Rigg and Twisted Dee mixes stay true to the mellow Circuit vibe of the original ones. The Solar City (a new mix) Manny Lehman, Jose Spinnin and Offer Nissim ones are quite good as well. A CD maxi with all of the new mixes, except one of them, was released last week. The full digital single is available at MasterBeat exclusively.

Grade: A- (overall)

Katharine McPhee - Love Story

"Love Story" is the second single from the American Idol alumnus. The old school classic-sounding track has only done mildly well since its release earlier this Summer. It has been remixed as was her previous single "Over It."

Solar City and Soul Banger (Tony Moran with Warren Rigg) have done the mixes. Both deliver stellar circuit-oriented mixes with the vocals as the focal point. Solar City's is a lot synthier and harder. A dub of this would be fantastic with all those vocal samples. Soul Banger's mix is a big room, tribal track. Both mixes are awesome. The Solar City mix is currently unavailable for purchase, however the Soul Banger mix can be purchased, albeit heavily edited on the Thrive Mix 04 compilation.

Original
Grade: B+

Solar City Mix
Grade: A+

Soul Banger Club Mix
Grade: A+