MO' BETTER BEATS

Rip It Up, Issue 237, 1 May 1997, Page 26

MO' BETTER BEATS

DR DRE Been There Done That (Aftermath) From the album Dr Dre Presents... the Aftermath, this is Dre’s answer to critics of his departure from Death Row Records. A quick peek at the songwriting credits reveals Suge Knight is still getting his percentage, but I guess that’s just a contact Dre can’t escape. Like the album itself, this song fails to fire on all six cylinders; but considering what he’s been through, that’s forgivable. Nevertheless, it fires on all four cylinders, which is enough to keep my head noddin’. MICHAEL JACKSON Blood on the Dancefloor (epic) What trip is Michael on? Does he have a return ticket? I thought he was over the ‘Bad’ thang, but here he is again with ‘Blood on the Dancefloor’, the title track to his new album. But it’s not new, it’s his old hits remixed (which is what History was originally going to be). Anyway, what of the song? It’s pure Michael Jackson/Teddy Riley stuff; ie. a guaranteed floorfiller. Five mixes including Tony

Moran’s ‘Switchblade Mix’, and even one from the Fugees’ Wyclef Jean. The Roger Sanchez remix of. ‘Dangerous’ is also good, very housey, and bodes well for the album release. SMOKE CITY Underwater Love (Jive) Yeah, this is the one they use in the latest Levi’s commercial. I thought I’d hate it, but actually it’s quite interesting. Sparse production from David Morales adds that spooky quality. The Voyager remix is a lot faster — ie. more dancey — with Morales also trying out a Latin salsoul mix. Plenty to choose from, so don’t let the Levi’s collection spoil it for you. LISA STANSFIELD The Real Thing (BMG) Wow, I’ve no idea where she’s been, but she’s back. The break has done her good, because when she last performed she had definitely crossed over into rather

bland, mainstream stuff. Here she’s again mindful of the radio mix, but doesn’t ignore the club crowd with her ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Mix’. It rips along with a merry chug. Also included is a new mix of her late 80s hit ‘People Hold On’. WHITNEY HOUSTON I Believe In You and Me (BMG) From the rather lame movie The Preachers Wife, starring Whitney and Denzel Washington, this is the rather lame theme song. A very sappy track produced by sap meister David Foster, it’s backed with a K-Klass mix of Whitney’s cover of Annie Lennox’s ‘Step By Step’. Strictly for fans. GENASIDE II Narra Mine (FFRR/London) Slick, groovy, ethereal house from the UK, remixed for the American market by Armand Van Helden. Someone should have told Genaside the current spate of hiphop violence doesn’t relate to house — they could have saved themselves the money of providing both an East Coast and a West Coast mix. Actually, there are obvious differences, but any of the four mixes here will fill a dancefloor (unless you’re crowd is into Euro). MR PRESIDENT Cocojamboo/The Remixes (WEA) Two Euro-babes and a black prince — gee, -this is Boney M for the 90s. Yup, six versions of a fine slice of Europop, of which the ‘Candy Club Ragga Mix’ is probably the best. Simple pop for those that just want a good hook to dance to. VARIOUS ARTISTS Lagered! (Universal) Riding the Britpop wave, this compilation focuses solely on the UK house sound. Watch it truck out! The track listing alone really negates any review: Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’, the Chemical Brothers’ remix of Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’, SL2’s ‘On a Ragga Tip’, and must-haves such as the Alex Reece mix of Neneh Cherry’s ‘Woman’, and Red Jerry’s mix of ‘Access’ for DJ Misjah and DJ Tim. Leftfield, Josh Wink, Orbital... if you’ve only just climbed aboard the Prodigy bandwagon you’ll love this. The rest of us will still be happy, it’s a great party/driving compilation.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Dance Inferno (Dino) Dino might put out some crap compilations, but they also have some goodies like this one. Like Lagered!, a quick perusal of the track listing should be enough for you to decide if it’s for you. Leaning to the Eurohouse and Europop sound, this collection features latest hit releases from Junior Vasquez, La Bouche, Lisa Marie Experience, Alison Limerik, JX, and more than a dozen more. Another good party starter. AZ YET Az Yet (BMG) Very much in the Boyz II Men mould, this group even features one of their original line-up, Marc Nelson. Five good-looking black guys, produced by Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds — it’s no wonder they’re already high on the charts with ‘Last Night’. That single should give you a good indication of what this album is about, although the group themselves insist they don’t want to be pigeonholed (their original name was As Yet Untitled). Still, you can’t help feeling you’ve heard this stuff before; which isn’t a problem because it’s quality work. The guys all have excellent voices and share lead vocals amongst themselves. Babyface’s production is just as lush as you’d expect. This album is being targeted directly at the female market, meaning (guys) it’s an excellent date album. RAY-J Everything You Want (Warners) Although only 15 years old, mercifully Ray-J is not another Tevin Cambell. His first single, ‘Let it Go’, features in the movie (and soundtrack) Set it Off, and the album continues in that R&B vein. Ray-J is also the brother of Brandy, who joins her sib’ for a duet on ‘Thank You’ (crap). Judging from the line-up of talent gathered for this album (Rashaan Paterson, Marc Nelson..-.), largejy written and produced by Keith Crouch (who also did the business for Brandy), you can tell the label have big plans for him. There’s a good selection of songs here, capturing the flavour of Bobby Brown, Jodeci, and even a touch of Snoop Doggy Dogg. This should find an immediate audience, but hey, he’s only 15, he’s got plenty of time to make it big.

NICK D’ANGELO