Scissor Sisters - Let's Have A Kiki

Taken from the glampop band's 4th album Magic Hour, this has been a fan favorite and underground club hit. It is a throwback to the runway and bitch tracks that were a mainstay of the NYC circuit scene in the 90s. It's a cute tribal romp that you just can't help but smile and dance along to.

There are remixes for this by 2 Bears, Almighty, Danny Verde, DJ Nita, and Olugbenga. The 2 Bears mix is a lower tempo, minimal electro house one. It would work well as a transition record. Almighty's big room electro house treatment feels too pretty for such a sleazy, naughty song. Danny Verde nails it with his dark tribal circuit mix. This is every bit the tear-off-your-shirt anthem that fans and DJs have been waiting for. DJ Nita gives the song a hot runway feel. Olugbenga's mix is very downtempo and almost romantic-sounding, but such a production doesn't work with the song. Overall, Danny Verde takes the prize with this one.

Watch the bootleg music video here (a little NSFW)

Grade: A

Almighty Presents NRG Anthems Vol 4

This is the 4th volume of the popular series. It features a number of covers and revisits of popular Disco and Hi-Nrg classics. Some of the highlights include the covers of the Saint club classics "Endless Road", "Love's Gone Mad", and "Male Stripper." The Matt Pop mixes of "Male Stripper" are very faithful to the original while modernizing the song ever so slightly. The cover of "Wind Beneath My Wings" is pleasant, however nothing compares to the legendary vocals of Bette Midler. The update of Pamala Stanley's "If Looks Could Kill" is cute too. The covers of "Time After Time" and "Born To Be Alive" unfortunately leave much to be desired. Overall, this is a pretty good collection for Almighty and Hi-Nrg enthusiasts.

Listen to clips and purchase the compilation here (Almighty)

Grade: B+

Adam Lambert - Never Close Our Eyes (Remixes)

This is the second single from his Trespassing album. The Electro-Pop original is pretty good but an unusual choice for a single. Adam's vocals are wonderful as can be expected. The production feels a little generic. However, there are some remixes by Almighty, Digital Dog, and Sunship. Almighty's mixes are light and uplifting. Digital Dog's have a harder electro edge. Sunship's house and breaks mix is really fitting. The Sunship mixes are the best of the bunch.

Watch the music video for the original here (YouTube)

Grade: B+ (for the original)/A- (for the Sunship remix)

Hannah Jones - And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

The classic song originally sung by Jennifer Holliday from Dreamgirls has been given yet another update featuring the vocals of Hannah Jones. She originally covered this song in 1999. A subsequent re-release in 2006 occurred when the movie version of Dreamgirls starring Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, and Eddie Murphy was in theaters. Hannah's vocals are really great. This is one of the better renditions. The new Almighty Boys Mix is a lush Hi Nrg/Disco House hybrid. Also included are the original Almighty mix from 2005 and the Xavier Ramirez mix from 1999. The 2005 mix is a Eurodance throwback while Xavier Ramirez offers up a percussive circuit treatment. The new Almighty Boys mix is the standout.

Listen to clips and purchase the CD-r, MP3s, and WAVs here (Almighty's website)

Grade: A-

Consuelo Costin - Feel So Alive

After her first single "Naked" comes the much stronger followup with remixes by Almighty, Oliver Watts, DJ JST, Gustavo Scorpio, and Tony Moran & Warren Rigg. Consuelo finally comes into her element on "Feel So Alive." The Euro-house mixes by Almighty are uplifting and pretty. Oliver Watts' mixes are uplifting and lighter, being a good fit for Dance radio. The last three offer up circuit/big room treatments. DJ JST's is the hardest of the bunch with the hard drums and trancey synths. Gustavo Scorpio's is much lighter. Tony Moran & Warren Rigg's mix isn't quite the anthem some may expect, but it is lovely too. Overall, every mix is great! The Oliver Watts and DJ JST ones are the standouts.

Grade: A

Matthew Morrison - Summer Rain

This is the lead single off of the Glee star's upcoming self-titled album. The midtempo pop song is a bit cheesey lyrically, but Matthew's vocals manage to be the saving grace. He delivers a wonderful vocal performance. Thankfully, Almighty has remixed this. The cheesey nature of the song lends itself extremely well to Almighty's Euro-house styled remixes. The remix is far better than the original. The album will be released on May 10.

-Listen to the original version here (YouTube)
-Listen to a clip of the Almighty mix here (Almighty website) <--- it's track 2 on the player

Grade: C (for the original)/A- (for the remix)

Shayne Ward - Gotta Be Somebody

A former winner of the UK's X-Factor, Shayne Ward is back with a cover of Nickelback's "Gotta Be Somebody". He takes the midtempo Rock song up a few notches, turning into a Dance/Pop song. The electro/pop production, however, is ill-fitting. It just doesn't work. Shayne's stellar vocals are the saving grace. Remixes of this by Almighty and Moto Blanco save this one from being a total disaster. Almighty's Eurodance/Funky House mix is perfect. It is a little on the cheesey side, but the uplifting production works well. Moto Blanco's mix is a bit more sophisticated with its disco throwback sound. Both are exquisite.

Watch the hot music video here (YouTube)

Grade: C+ (for the original)/A (for the remixes)

Cher - You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me

This is one of two solo songs sung by her on the soundtrack for the movie Burlesque. This is a dramatic, power ballad written by Diane Warren. Vocally, Cher sounds fantastic. Her voice has held up quite well. The song starts off slow and then builds to a massive climax. It's great. There are remixes for this by Almighty, Dave Aude, and Stonebridge. Unsurprisingly, Almighty's production fits this song the best. They have remixed Cher numerous times to great effect. The piano-driven production is uplifting and allows the vocals to truly shine. Dave Aude's mix is a tad on the minimal sound. It calls to mind the 2008 revisit of "Infinity" by Guru Josh Project in some parts. The vocals sound good on this one too. Stonebridge's mix leaves much to be desired as much of the vocals are not used for whatever reason. It's a shame because the production is quite good. Overall, the Almighty and Dave Aude mixes are the best of the bunch.

Grade: A

L2 - Boys Or Girls

"Boys Or Girls" is a campy, humorous song about a woman wondering whether a potential love interest is gay or straight. The description may make this song seem a tad off-putting, but it's done tastefully. There are remixes of this by Mike Rizzo, Tracy Young, Almighty, and Lenny Bertoldo. Mike's mixes are electro-pop oriented, easily fitting in on Pop radio. Tracy's mix is suited for a big room environment, but it's mild enough for house sets too. Almighty's mix is funky house-oriented, with a light euro nrg undercurrent. Lenny's mix is in-between and would fit into a wide variety of sets. All versions are well-done.

Purchase the digital single here (Amazon)

Grade: A-

Almighty presents We Love Diana Ross

This is a special remix album that has been in the works for several years. It was first announced a couple of years ago but was canceled for unknown reasons. Unlike some of the other titles in the Almighty 'We Love...'series, this Diana Ross one actually features her original vocals. Several of the versions have appeared on other Almighty compilations over the years and/or have been promoted. This collection features a good amount of her big hits, plus some lesser known ones. A number of the mixes stay true to the original and just feel like freshened up, modernized takes on the classics. Some of the songs that fall into that category include "Love Hangover", "The Boss", "Upside Down", "No One Gets The Prize", and "Lovin', Livin' and Givin'". Some go in a totally new direction, like "Touch Me In The Morning" which is a euro/hi-nrg styled uptempo mix, unlike the ballad original. It does have a piano beginning though. The "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand" is particularly noteworthy as it is not an uptempo remix. It's a nice surprise. The only mixes that aren't as spectactular are the "I'm Coming Out" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" which have seen countless revisits done to perfection by other remixers. Oher than those minor things, this collection is pretty solid.

Buy the collection and listen to clips here (Almighty's website)

Grade: A-

Room For Two - Roots Before Branches

Room For Two is a husband-wife duo made up of Adam and Nikki Anders. They have written and recorded a number of songs. Their latest single "Roots Before Branches" is a simple Acoustic/Pop track. The vocals are just exquisite. There are some club remixes of this song as well. Studio Crashers took this in an Electro/Pop direction. Almighty and Valentin both make their mixes uplifting. The radio edits of both mixes are a bit lighter while the extended ones are a bit more hard-hitting. Overall, the entire package is solid.

Check out Room For Two on MySpace

Watch the music video here (YouTube)

The original as well as the original is available for purchase at most of the digital music stores.

Grade: A

Miquel Brown - So Many Men, So Little Time 2008

This song has been one of a handful of 80's Hi-NRG classics. Having come out almost 25 years ago, this one is still a favorite. It has been remixed and covered a few times over the years. This time, UK-based Almighty provides the remixes. This is one of several Hi-NRG classics that have been updated for the new NRG Anthems Vol. 1 compilation. There are 3 different main versions. The 12" Classic one is basically the original club mix freshened up and modernized. The original flavor of the mix is still there. The 12" Definitive and Definitive mixes differ only in their structure. Both are funkier, modern reconstructions that preserve some of the original flavor too. All three main mixes are quite good overall.

Grade: A-