Beyonce - Grown Woman / Standing On The Sun (Remixes)

Remixes for two songs that were to have been performed during her recent tour have been serviced.

Grown Woman
The women's empowerment anthem has been remixed by Monsieur Adi, Nervo, Ralphi Rosario, and Psyko Punks. Monsieur Adi's Electro/Disco mix had a great concept, but it ends up being a little too noisy. Nervo's is a little noisy too, but it centers around a main riff and plays up the African chants. Ralphi Rosario's mixes work the best, playing up the anthem feel of the song to maximum effect.

Grade: A- (for the Ralphi Rosario and Nervo mixes)


Standing On The Sun
This Summery song has remixes by Dizzy Bell, Mr. Vegas, Tiesto, and WAWA. The Dizzy Bell's Deep Touch mix is aptly titled as it is in a soft, deep house style. Mr. Vegas' reggae mix is a nice downtempo mix that is close to the original. Tiesto's Electro/Trance mix unfortunately has too many noisy parts ruining the mix despite a few pretty sections. WAWA's melodic big room mixes are the best of the bunch. They keep the lush vibe of the original but make it harder.

Grade: A- (for the WAWA, Dizzy bell, and Mr. Vegas mixes)

U2 vs Tiesto - Pride (In The Name Of Love)

U2's modern classic was released nearly 28 years ago. The epic track is often cited as a favorite by many fans of the band. Dutch Trance/Electro producer/DJ Tiesto has reworked this song. Bono's vocals on this new version sound strikingly different from the original, and not necessarily in a good way. The vocal stretch in many places just doesn't sound natural. Tiesto's new production is very uplifting and driving. Even though this rework isn't the greatest, it is done for a good cause. All proceeds from the sale of this track will go towards the (RED) foundation.

-Listen to the original U2 version here (YouTube)
-Listen to the Tiesto radio edit here (YouTube)
-Watch Tiesto talk about the (RED) foundation here (YouTube)

Grade: B+

Various - Just Dance Volume 3

This is the third installment of the compilation series. Featuring an assortment of remixes of Pop, R&B, Rap, and Alternative songs, plus some Dance thrown in for good measure. There are only a couple of exclusives, most notably the Jason Nevins remix (one of them) of Mariah Carey's "H.A.T.E.U.", which has not been released previously. Continuously mixed by Mike Rizzo and Joey Arbagey, they mix together 16 songs in just 68 minutes. The tracklisting is pretty good, except for a minor misstep with the Akcent song at the end.

Tracklisting:
1-Rihanna Feat. Jeezy -Hard-(Jody Den Broader Club Remix)
2-School Gyrls-Something Like A Party-(Ralphi Rosario Club 1)
3-Mariah Carey-H.A.T.E.U.-(Jason Nevins "Loves U" Mix)
4-Taio Cruz Feat. Ludacris-Break Your Heart-(Wideboys Club)
5-MANN Feat. Jason Derulo-Text-(Chew Fu 'He-Mann' Fix)
6-deadmau5 Feat. Rob Swire-Ghosts N Stuff-(Vocal Mix)
7-Mr. Hudson-Supernova-(Dave Aude Club)
8-Shiny Toy Guns-Major Tom (Coming Home)-(Adam K & Soha Remix)
9-Chicane Feat. Natasha Bedingfield-Bruised Water-(Michael Woods Full Vocal)
10-Ludacris-How low-(Groove Police Club Mix)
11-Utada-Dirty Desire-(Mike Rizzo Club Mix)
12-Kim Sozzi-Secret Love-(Stellar Project Remix)
13-Inna-Love-(Club Version)
14-Robbie Rivera Feat. Fast Eddie-Let Me Sip My Drink-(Chuckie Remix)
15-Tiesto Feat. C.C. Sheffield-Escape Me-(Extended Remix)
16-Akcent Feat. Lora-That's My Name-(That's My Name 2010)

Purchase the compilation digitally and physically on June 8 (Amazon)

Grade: B+

Airscape - L'Esperanza

It has been nearly 11 years since this Trance classic was released. A new mix by the duo themselves has been completed recently. They have jumped on the electro-house bandwagon that has been popular for the last couple of years now. Their mix bears some resemblance to the smash hit "Infinity 2008" by Guru Josh Project. Not necessarily a bad thing. The main synth riff that made "L'Esperanza" is used in the new mix. Several remixes from the original releases of the song are included on the single. The Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and Original mixes are included. Even 11 years later, the original mixes still pack quite the punch. Also check out the Beam Vs. Cyrus and Svenson Goes To The Love Parade mixes. The latter is more in line with the remixes that Airscape did during much of the early 2000's.


Listen to the new S&G mix here
Listen to the Original mix here

Grade: B+ (for the new mix)/A (for including some of the original mixes)

VA - Just Dance 2

This is the second release from the new series this year. The first release which came out a few months back was fairly successful. This releasese, too, features a good blend of both dance remixes of non-dance songs and some pure dance songs too. The significant majority of the songs and their versions have been previously released. One of the exclusives is the new Jump Smokers mix of "Russian Roulette" by Rihanna which is not available anywhere else at this time. Only a couple of songs are a bit older, however it's great that those have been included as they do deserve to be heard by a wider audience.

Tracklisting:
01. Rihanna – Russian Roulette (Jump Smokers Remix)
02. Mariah Carey – Obsessed (Jump Smokers Remix)
03. Honorebel featuring Pitbull & Jump Smokers – Now You See It (Club Mix)
04. Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You (Chriss Ortega Club Mix)
05. Tinchy Stryder featuring Taio Cruz – Take Me Back
06. The-Dream featuring Kanye West – Walkin’ On The Moon (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Club Mix)
07. Kim Sozzi – Cry Tonight (Kiss Me Back) (Extended Mix)
08. Jessica Jarrell – Armageddon (StoneBridge Club Mix)
09. Kristinia DeBarge – Goodbye (Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Club Remix)
10. Noisettes – Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) (Dave Audé Club Remix)
11. Armin van Buuren feat. Jacqueline Govaert – Never Say Never (Alex Guadino Remix)
12. Kaskade with Tamra – Angel On My Shoulder (EDX’s Belo Horizonte at Night Remix)
13. Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone (deadmau5 Mix)
14. deadmau5 & Kaskade – I Remember (Vocal Mix)
15. Tiësto – Louder Than Boom (Extended Mix)
16. Basshunter – Every Morning

The compilation will be available in both physical and digital formats on December 1, 2009.

Grade: A