Search - Various Artists :: Electro Lounge 2

Nice try, but . . .

Victor Leclerc | Lewiston, Maine USA | 11/07/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"You know when you find a CD that looks really promising and you take it home and listen to it and . . . it just doesn't quite cut it? This is one of those. Yes, I expected electronica-driven reworkings of schmatzy lounge tunes and this collection does deliver that; unfortunately it's the uneven consistency that causes it to fall repeatedly on its face.Dr. No's Fantasy is a hopeful start, funky and fun. Triste was the first sign of trouble in cocktail paradise; the Latin groove is nicely accented by jungle electronic percussion but seems to be reconstructed awkwardly. Julie London's pair of tunes is playful but only for about 3 minutes; after that I just wanted it to stop. Now, What Is This Thing Called Love is what I wanted, technical, slippery like a b-flick soundtrack studio molded into an irresistible twist tune. I Spy was likewise enjoyable, far from the retro expected. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes is my hands-down favorite (then again, Banco de Gaia could remix the theme to Mister Roger's Neighborhood and I'd probably like it!), an eerie and moody remake of this classic. Sunken City is close behind, a frenetic exercise through ambient and jungle through which all elements are utilized to startling and exciting effect. Quiet Village is perfect with a martini and The Mod Squad Theme would have me tapping my patent leathers any time but Hong Kong Cable Car? What's that mess about? The rest of the cuts fail to satisfy . . . Drivin' Around the Block sounds like a Saturday morning children's show theme that didn't pass the Banco de Gaia treatment, Voodoo Dreams is about as lounge as Victorian architecture and Pyramid of the Sun is nice but too late and too little to matter at the end of this lopsided set.The cuts on Electro Lounge Volume Two that work for me keep me from selling the CD -- they really work and I wouldn't want to be without them. Unfortunately, half of this CD's cuts will be programmed out so I don't have to be reminded that some innovation works and some doesn't. Obviously hits and misses will occur and are par for the course when combining genres. Electro Lounge Volume Two is an illustration of how things can go wrong . . . or right."

Addictive

A. Fair | New York, NY USA | 09/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At first listen, it was silly fun, but it REALLY started to grow on me, and now I listen to it a few times a week. It is cool background music for bouncing along to at home or work. A set of fun remixes that I recomend if you dig lounge music."