Tony Moran - Unloaded The Singles Vol 1

This is a new collection of remixes and vocal tracks targeted towards DJs and fans of circuit style music. A number of these tracks were showcased in Tony's podcast last month, and now they are available to purchase. All the tracks are full length and these versions are brand new.

3 mixes of the Anastacia track "If I Was Your Boyfriend" are included by Mauro Mozart, Jeff Valle, and Jose Spinnin. All are big room stompers with the Jeff Valle one being the best of the bunch.

Next are two tracks featuring Inda Matrix (a.k.a. Zhana Saunders) on vocals. Her Inda Matrix alias was prominently used in her early 2000s work with Dynamix on "Love Dominates (No Man Can Tame Me)" and "Bodyfly." The song "Let My Mind Play On" could almost fit in with the Dance/Pop music on top 40 radio right now. It's very mainstream. The other one "You Are The Source Of My Energy" could almost be thought of as a part 2 to the Tony and Ultra Naté song "Destination." The vocals on both are wonderful.

"People Come Together" with legendary, big voiced diva Jennifer Holliday is actually a hard-hitting vocal dub of last year's "Magic." The production is much harder and more suited for peakhour. The ad libs and high notes from the main version are utilized to great effect.

Orion's "Sensation" appears in a Mauro Mozart mix. This is a nice alternative to the original version.

A new mix of the Deborah Cox song "Tenderness" by DJ Head is another nice alternative to the La Cha Cha mix from the unmixed Mix Magic Music compilation. The removal of most of the backing vocals makes it sound different.

Last but not least is Diva Convention's "Heartbeat". It is a scorching hot, ass-shaking track. It is one of the many highlights of this collection.

Overall, every single track is really great, however, "Heartbeat", "People Come Together", "You Are The Source Of My Energy", and "Let My Mind Play On" are the highlights. This is a very strong collection.

Purchase in MP3 and WAV formats at JunoDownload here, and listen to previews of all the songs:



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)