Karen Young - Rendezvous With Me (Part 2)

This was first reviewed in February.

The previously unreleased Karen Young song spent much of the Spring and early Summer on the charts and atop many DJs top tens. Now the song will dominate a second time with the two new mixes that were released last week. First up is the Billy Waters Big Room Mix. He provides a scorching hot circuit/tribal mix. The synths are massive and energetic. The effects he used on the vocals are really great. Next is the 1979 Original Sessions Tracks version which is the previously unreleased Disco version. It's a nice slice of Disco heaven. It will take listeners back to Paradise Garage and Studio 54 all at once. These two were certainly worth the wait!

Download the additional mixes here (Perfect Beat)

Grade: A+

Karen Young - Rendezvous With Me

She was known for her fiery, energetic vocal performances during the Disco era. She is best remembered for "Hot Shot" which originally came out in 1978. "Hot Shot" was re-released with new mixes in 2007, nearly 10 years after another update.

"Rendezvous With Me" was originally meant to be a followup to "Hot Shot", but it never saw a release and remained unreleased up until now. A fresh new production has been constructed and that is the MaxRoxx mix. It's Funky/Disco House at its best. The pianos and horns really work well. Zathan Radix's mixes are a bit harder. His have a really fun strings loop which does call to mind Moto Blanco's work. Paul Goodyear's mixes are even harder and darker. These are more circuit oriented. The core sounds resemble the original.

All versions utilize the vocals extremely well. Karen's vocal performance is really great. The vocals sound like they were recorded very recently. And the remix package is great as well. A little something for everyone.

Buy all of the remixes of "Rendezvous With Me" here (Perfect Beat's digital download store)


Grade: A

Karen Young - Hot Shot (2007 remixes)

Nearly 29 years have passed since this classic was originally released on the legendary West End label. In this age of remixes and remakes being released all the time, it was only appropriate that the original vocals by the original artist were used for an update. MaxRoxx Music is behind this update. Andy Kahn and Kurt Borusiewicz, who originally wrote the song were part of the project. MaxRoxx provide a nice Almighty-styled mix that isn't overproduced. It's just right. The other main mix is by Ralphi Rosario with Craig J. It is not in the hard, thumping anthem style that some of us might have been hoping for. It's very soulful. However, it is a Latin house styled mix with some really lovely percussion. Clocking in at almost 12 minutes, it never gets boring. The use of all the vocals and ad-libs make this one especially enjoyable. The instrumental sections are sublime. In addition to 2 dubs of the MaxRoxx version, there is a remastered version of the original disco version. It sounds very fresh and revitalized. Great addition to the package.

Overall
Grade: B+ (would have been higher had there been a couple more mixes, whether from the original release or new ones)

MaxRoxx mix
Grade: B+

Ralphi Rosario & Craig J mix
Grade: A- (would be A+ if a shorter mixshow length version was included as well)

1978 Bottom Up mix
Grade: A+ (including a freshened up version of a disco classic is always welcome)