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Ministry Of Sound — Dance Protocol
(Times Music) * * *
It’s all here. Every
trance track you’ve cherished and danced along with, is included in
this Ministry Of Sound offering. Just look at the list of tracks and you
will not find a track that’s not worthy of being there. Dance Protocol
matches the content rich The Annual (the best selling dance series of
all time). The latest album is bursting at the seams with the year’s
most mesmerising records. Kevin Grainger takes control of the album,
unleashing a seamless remix of Yug’s You Don’t Really Love Me
by E Saint Laurent, Wosp’s Getting Into U, Brother Brown’s Star
Catching Girl (Darren Emerson Underwater Mix) featuring Frank’ee
and Mount Rushmore’s This Is Our Life (James Doman Extended
Mix) presenting Emma Holland. Dance Protocol delivers a treasure chest
of dance-floor gems, including Shannon’s number one smash hit Let
The Music Play, Jakatta’s American Dream (Lucid Remix), Lil’
Devious’ Come Home, Ost Witness’ two hit tracks Did I
Dream (DJ Tiesto Remix) and Red Sun Rising (Lange Mix) and
the current dance anthem How U Like Bass? by Norman Bass. Club
classic Phreaq’s Falling is contrasted with Lexos’ The
Key, with amazing results.
This album promises to
give you one of the best clubbing experience you’ll get in the comfort
of your own home.
Destiny’s Child
— This Is The Remix
(Sony Music) * * *
Destiny’s Child can ‘survive’
any treatment done to their songs. No jokes, this remix album is a
powerhouse that has passed through the most rigorous tests done by some
of the world’s best mix-masters. The album can also be labelled a mini
greatest hits album for featuring most of the significant moments of the
Destiny’s odyssey. Showcasing performances from all eight line-ups of
the band, it comes across as a filler before their next assault on the
music charts. Rockwilder’s Missy Elliott assisted mix of Bootylicious
and The Neptune’s re-do of Emotion show why Destiny’s Child
is a million-selling, award-winning and chart-topping hit machine. No,
No, No Part2 and Independent Woman Part2, surprisingly make
their third respective appearance on a Destiny’s album. The trio’s
true magic can be found with the Timbaland remix of Say My Name,
Da Brat’s extended version of Survivor, the dirty beats of
Refugee Camp mix of Bug A Boo and Maurice’s Nu Soul Radio Mix
of Nasty Girl. As a bonus track the album offers a preview track
from Michelle William’s upcoming solo album Heard A Word. Other
chart-toppers include Jumpin’, Jumpin’ featuring Jermaine
Dupri, Da Brat and Lil Bow Wow, ‘Poppi’ McCalla’s addictive mix of
Dot and Maurice’s soul remix of So Good. Worth listening
to.
Night Fever —
Various Artists
(BMG Crescendo) * *
Finding your way through
the dance hits on this dance compilation demands stamina. There’s no
time to catch your breath as the album weaves 16 club shakers into this
energy-packed album. The moods are electic, sweeping from Hisham Abbas’
Nari Nari through to Gloris Gaynor’s I Will Survive. The
range is wide — slow dance, drum ‘n’ bass, trip hop — but a
common thread that connects the different numbers is a concern for
detail. With Tarkan’s Sikidim, Faithless’ We Come 1,
Takfarinas’ Zaama Zaama and LFO’s sensational Every Other
Time included, the hooks to lure the casual dance browser are also
here. Some of the most popular dance floor numbers in the album include Let’s
Dance by Five, You’re My Mate by Right Said Fred, The Sign
performed by Ace Of Base, All I Want by La Bouche, Gentleman
by Lou Bega, Cartoon Heroes by Aqua and Boom Shack-A-Laka
by Apache Indian. An entertaining team effort.
Album of the month
Eminem: The Eminem Show
(Universal)
No one since Kurt Kobain
has raged so articulately, no one since David Bowie has played with his
persona with more intelligence and confidence, and no one since Snoop
Dogg has been on more parents’ hit list, as Eminem.
The third album opens more
doors to Em’s personal life. Eminem Show features the usual cast of
characters — his ex, his daughter, his mother, and everyone else who
has dumped him lately. The better part of the album is preoccupied with The
Marshall Mathers’ fame and family situation. Eminem’s superstar
status has created a lyrical conundrum. He sums-up the story of his
success with White America — "Let’s do the
math, if I was black, I would have sold half." Dr Dre is still
on board as executive producer, but the hip-hop mastermind has spiced-up
Eminem’s repertoire with some rock riffs alongside the usual synth
beats, including a sample of Aerosmith’s Dream On in Sing
For The Moment. There is also Without Me, where the rapper
welcomes himself back to the game, proclaiming, "it feels so
empty without me." Square Dance, meanwhile, mounts a slightly
muddled attack on the war against terrorism, with Eminem declaring the
plans to "ambush the Bush administration" but
concluding, "I say Hussein, you say Shady." Say Goodbye To
Hollywood is a bouncy summery track and Drips, a duet with
Obie Trice details a disgusting but funny love triangle. The biggest
impression on his life is expressed in a heartfelt song for his daughter
Heilie’s Song, in which he sings about his love, and is
reminiscent of his last rap ballad Stan from The Marshall
Mathers LP- "My baby girl keeps getting’ older, I watch
her grow up with pride. People make jokes cuz they don’t understand
me/ My insecurities could eat me alive. But then I see my baby, suddenly
I’m not crazy. It all makes sense when I look into her eyes."
In Cleanin’ Out My
Closet, he unleashes an astonishingly corrosive torrent of hatred
towards his parents, saying "I’ve got some skeletons in my
closet / and I don’t know if no one knows it." The album
features a number of guests, including Nate Dogg, Xzibit, D12 and the
most prominent of them all — Em’s daughter Heilie Jade Mathers who
sings the chorus on My Dad’s Gone Crazy, marking her first
vocal appearance since the early ’97 Bonnie and Clyde (Just
The Two Of Us). Crazy is another great track where Em’s
rhymes start to show signs of evolving as opposed to simply off-loading
past burdens.
— Saurabh & Gaurav
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