Amy Grant - In Motion (The Remixes)

The Christian/Pop artist's highly anticipated remix album was released today. It was announced late last year that this was in the works. A handful of some of her biggest hits were selected for this collection and they were remixed by an A-list team of remixers. Every remix is produced in an uplifting style that maintains the emotional and spiritual message of the original songs. Some of the songs will take some getting used to with the club-oriented productions. This is another rare case where every remix is well-produced and suits the songs. The remixes of "Say Once More", "You're Not Alone", "Better Than A Hallelujah", and "Stay For Awhile" (both of them) are outstanding, though every remix is excellent. The only downside of this collection is that 90% of the main tracks are radio edits and not full length or mixshow length.

Tracklisting:
01. That's What Love Is For (Chris Cox Radio Edit) (3:12)
02. Stay For Awhile (Tony Moran Radio Mix) (4:08)
03. You're Not Alone (Guy Scheiman Radio Edit) (3:46)
04. Every Heartbeat (Moto Blanco Radio Edit) (3:24)
05. Better Than A Hallelujah (Mark Picchiotti Gospel Radio Edit) (3:47)
06. Find A Way (Ralphi Rosario Big Room Radio Edit) (3:37)
07. Baby Baby (Dave Aude Radio Edit) (3:57)
08. Say Once More (Hex Hector Radio Edit) (3:32)
09. Out In The Open (7th Heaven Radio Edit) (4:04)
10. Stay For Awhile (Tony Moran Destination Mixshow Edit) (6:45)
11. Mega Mix (DJ Andy 7th Heaven Medley) (8:49)

-The album can be purchased in physical formats including CD and vinyl on Amazon
-The album can be purchased digitally on Amazon and iTunes

Grade: A+

4 Rare and Unreleased Donna Summer songs

The Queen of Disco passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. In addition to the vast number of releases she had, there are many songs that have remained unreleased and unheard for a long time. Among them were "My Life", "Love On And On", "Valley Of The Moon", and "Adonai." Certain versions of these four songs have surfaced during the last few months since her death.

Christina Aguilera - You Lost Me (Remix)

As has been done with a number of her ballads, "You Lost Me" has been a given a makeover for the dancefloor courtesy of Hex Hector & Mac Quayle. Christina went into the studio and recorded some additional vocals for the remixes. Hex and Mac's dark and moody production fits the song quite well. Christina's vocals, especially the new ones sound really great. Only a couple of places during the verses sound unnatural due to the timestretch. Overall, this is a nice mix.

Grade: A-

Kristine W. - Be Alright

This is the latest single off of her much-awaited new album The Power Of Music. "Be Alright" is not exactly a new song though. An early version was completed in 2006. A remix by Offer Nissim appeared on his Forever Tel Aviv compilation which came out in early 2007. In this song, Kristine sings about how things will turn out fine even if there are obstacles in the way. The vocals sound very fresh and clear.

Featuring George Lynch, the original version is produced by legendary remixer/producer Hex Hector. It is a rock guitar-driven midtempo track. This does have Adult Contemporary format smash written all over it.

The Boris mixes have an electro/circuit/rock feel that works well. Tom Stephan's mixes are circuit/electro-ish. The Perry Twins mix is nice and anthemic. Bass Mekanik's is at a similar tempo as the original. It's Electro/Pop at it's best. Joe Carrano's are good too, but they lack that extra something his work has unless he is programming for someone else. His slower version is more effective. Offer Nissim's mix is the same as the one that appeared on the compilation mentioned earlier in the review. It's a minimal, dub-style mix. It loses most of the vocals, but keeps just enough. The production is really pretty though.

Overall, this package is pretty good.

Grade: A-

Nelson Polanco - Caña Dulce

"Caña Dulce" is the debut single from the Dominican singer. The original version is a good mixture of Latin Pop, Reggaeton and a little Hip Hop. The song is sung mostly in Spanish, however, there is a Spanglish version as well. It's a nice club-oriented song in its main versions. There are some full-on Dance remixes by Hex Hector and Tim Letteer. Hex's versions are really hard and tribal. He maintains the Latin vibe from the original by keeping some of the instruments. This is incredible. Fans of the tribal-oriented Latin House will love this one. Tim Letteer's mixes are a bit more tribal/electro-ish. While both are quite good, Hex's mix is a bit more exciting.

-Check out Nelson on MySpace.
-Buy the CD maxi or digital single at CDBaby.

Grade: A