Anjulie - Rain

Having already had two club hits with "Boom" and "Love Songs", her new single "Rain" will repeat that success. A folky, guitar pop song in its original version, DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio make the song into an anthem. Their production is very layered and beautiful. It has a rich, complex feel to it that is just so lovely. The production complements Anjulie's subtle vocal performance. There may be other mixes on the way, but this is the mix of choice so far..

Watch the music video for the original here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Nick Harvey - Wurkin

Already on a roll with a number of releases on his label, Nick Harvey's latest track "Wurkin" will also be quite huge. It is a dark, tribal mostly instrumental track, save for some select vocals. It would fit in well during slightly deeper, afterhours type sets in its main versions. Remixes by John Michael & Billy Waters, Michael Hades, Taz, and Streamweaver help this song to fit into other types of sets. John and Billy take the song in a dark, peakhour circuit direction. The synthwork calls to mind the NY club classic "Lift Up The Needle." Michael Hades also takes the song in a slightly more commercial peakhour direction. Taz's is a bit more minimal but it works really well. It calls to mind some of Armand Van Helden's really dark, dubby treatments of songs during the mid to late 90's. Streamweaver takes things in an epic, trancey direction. It's really great to see that much variety on a remix package.

Buy the digital single here (iTunes)
Grade: A

Beyonce featuring Lady Gaga - Video Phone

This powerhouse collaboration between Beyonce and Lady Gaga was first reported about a month or so ago when the music video was being filmed. Lady Gaga makes a guest appearance on this new remix of the song which is a new single off of the re-release of I Am...Sasha Fierce. This new version replaces the solo version that appeared on the original pressings of the album. "Video Phone" is a sexy song about the device of the same name. Lady Gaga fits in quite well with her parts, especially with the spoken word hooks throughout the song. The video is quite sexy as well. There is an alternate uptempo mix featuring Pitbull too. Lady Gaga is not on that one though. Both versions will be quite the floorfiller in clubs.

Watch the music video here (YouTube)

Grade: A-

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

Tony Moran featuring Frenchie Davis - You Are

This is the much-awaited new single from the former American Idol contestant. Although the song was recorded last year, it was not released until just a few of days ago. This song is quite the anthem and could stay around well into the new year. Armed with mixes by Tony Moran with Warren Rigg, Dave Saronson and Giuseppe D, plus Joe Gautheraux, Mauro Mozart, Scotty K, and Klubjumpers, this one is aimed mainly towards a circuit-oriented audience. Tony and company's mixes are nice and hard. They have the right anthemic feel. Joe Gauthereaux's are a tad lighter, but also good. Mauro Mozart's is good, but it feels like it could have been harder. Scotty K and Klubjumpers both go in a similar circuit-lite direction. Frenchie Davis sounds great on "You Are." Here's to a long, successful recording career. Overall, the package is really great.

For now, the CD single is an exclusive at Perfect Beat. Click here (Perfect Beat) to listen to clips and buy the single.

Grade: A+

Lucas Prata - Remember

It has been a little while since he's had a single out. Now signed to Robbins Entertainment, his new single "Remember" will be coming out soon. He is currently working on a new album which will be released next year. "Remember" is just as catchy and memorable as his earlier hits and this one should do quite well too. Lucas sounds great on this too. No word on other remixes at this time, but there should be some. This song is currently featured on the new Robbins mixed compilation Dance Party 2010. A digital release of the song is planned in the coming weeks.

Buy the compilation here (Amazon)

Grade: A-

Billie Myers - Wonderful

English singer-songwriter Billie Myers is back after a short break with a new album, her third overall entitled Tea & Sympathy. "Wonderful" is the first single off the new album to be remixed. Barry Harris and Cajjmere Wray completed mixes for the song. It's a nice guitar and piano driven midtempo. Billie's vocals are in fine form here. The lyrics are lovely as well.

There are three remixes by Barry Harris. On the Saturday Night Club Mix, he takes things in a Latin/Tribal/Electro direction. Billie's vocals have a light, ethereal feel over the production. Things get a tad darker on the Late Night Club Mix. It has that same great feeling too. On the Accatribalelectro Mix, it's a tad percapella-ish until about 3/4 of the way in, however, the lack of other production elements allow the vocal to be further highlighted so that's fine. Cajjmere Wray's is a chunky electro house-oriented mix. It's just hard enough. Overall, this great track gets made even better with such great remixes.

Watch Billie talk about the song here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Bebe Zahara Benet - I'm The Shit

She is the winner of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race on LOGO. Now she is all set to begin her music career with the song "I'm The Shit." The song is in the genre of those runway/bitch tracks which has been sorely missed for some time. Unfortunately, this pales in comparison to almost any of the other songs like this. However, Bebe has the potential to find further success with the right song. There are plenty of mixes for this. Mark Picchiotti's original mixes are circuit-lite with a hint of electro. The production is hot though. His Funkadelic Dub has just enough of the vocals to make it enjoyable. Felix Baumgartner's mixes have that minimal electro/house vibe. Ralphi Rosario's mixes are his usual circuit/tribal fabulous with just enough vocals too. Doctorz MD and TommyZero's mixes are in a similar electro/house direction. Overall, the mixes are good considering what they had to work with.

Buy the release here (Juno)

Grade: B-

Barbara Sheree- Together

This is the much-awaited single from Barbara Sheree. She has been writing and singing for some time now. Barbara is brilliant on the postive, uplifting "Together". The remixes make this song a hands-in-the-air anthem. The DJF1 Extended Mix is circuit-oriented, but still very soulful and melodic. The pianos throughout it are simply wonderful. The Tribal Dub is in a similar direction but with a lot less vocals and lots of effects on the vocals that are there. The Push mix is a little lighter but still quite good. The Clap-apella mix is basically an acapella with some claps. A creative DJ could work in some bits of the Clap-apella to emphasize some of the vocals during a set. This song is a delight to listen to from start to finish.

Check out Barbara on MySpace here



Check out Barbara's website here (the original of "Together" as well as remixes of other songs can be heard here)

Grade: A+

Britney Spears - The Single Collection

It has only been about 5 years since her My Prerogative: Greatest Hits CD was released featuring songs from the 4 albums released up to that point. This collection features most of the singles which were released in the U.S. (some were in other territories outside the U.S.). It comes in several editions. There's a single disc release featuring 17 singles and "3." There's an international edition of that featuring a DVD with the music videos. And then there's the box sets with 30 discs with a total of 58 tracks spread out over the discs. All singles would have the A-side which was released as a single and either a B-side song and/or a remix of the said A-side. A detailed tracklisting is available at Britney's website. Additional details about where to purchase everything is available there too. The collection looks good even though it may not be that necessary. This is truly for the fans. The package would have been more appealing had additional B-sides and remixes been included. A DVD of all the videos should have been released as a stand-alone release.

Grade: B (for what's being offered in the package)

Whitney Houston - I Didn't Know My Own Strength and I Look To You

These are two of the three singles from her comeback album I Look To You to be remixed. "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" saw a couple of mixes by Peter Rauhofer and Daddy's Groove a few weeks back. Immediately following that, "Million Dollar Bill" saw mixes by the Freemasons, Frankie Knuckles, Warren Rigg, and Peter Rauhofer. It just topped the Club Play chart.

Starting off the month of November right, additional mixes for "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" and  new ones for "I Look To You" have been promoted to DJs.

For "I Didn't Know My Own Strength", there are mixes by familiar collaborators Junior Vasquez and Jonathan Peters. Junior's mixes are dark and big room oriented. The Drama Intro one is a little milder. The choice "It's Not Right But It's Not Okay" vocal samples are a nice touch. Jonathan Peters continues in a slightly lighter direction, however, his is quite good as well.

For "I Look To You", there are mixes by Johnny Vicious, Dio, Giuseppe D, and DJ Paulo. Johnny's club mix begins in a tribal electro style but then suddenly it becomes uplifting and melodic when Whitney's vocals come in. Absolutely stunning. His Warehouse mixes are much harder and more electro. Dio's is a funky, electro-house affiair. Quite nice. Giuseppe D's is a Eurodance with a hint of circuit/tribal mix.. The addition of the piano is lovely. DJ Paulo's mashup is an interesting tribal/electro type mix. It's a well-done mashup. It doesn't feel like a mashup as it matches so well.

Overall, the mixes for both tracks are superb.

The mixes will be available for purchase in the coming weeks.

Grade: A+