Search - Various Artists :: Thrive Mix 04 Mixed by DJ Skribble

Great collection of rare mixes...but Thrive Mix blows it wit

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 09/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For many dance collectors, as downloading makes CD-singles a dying format, it is series like this and Ultra Dance that allow us to get SOME form of these dance mixes on CD. Thrive Mix 4 has done a fantastic job of offering a load of mixes that are otherwise commercially unavailable, but then fails to give us even 4 minutes of most of them! What a shame.



Track times and notes:



CD1



1. Read My Mind...Killers (5:47) (the awesome pet shop boys electro mix retains the integrity of the original mix. Neil Tenant even adds some extra backing vocals)

2. runaway...jamiroquai (4:17) (one of the more disco-flavored mixes of this track. Not my favorite mix that's out there, but this is definitely Jamiroquai in true form)

3. put em up...edun (4:26) (this is one of those tracks that can't be categorized. It's simply awesome female vocal dance music. I'm glad I discovered it on here, and only wish it was longer than 4 minutes)

4. Standback...stevie nicks (3:48) (would have preferred the Dave Aude mix because I've heard it's the best. Most of the new mixes of this classic are just boring. This one is one of the better boring ones)

5. Walk Away..Kristine W (5:09) (You can't go wrong with Kristine W and Tony Moran. Should have been more than 5 minutes of this rare track)

6. Say it Right...Nelly Furtado (6:28) (Cool to have the Rauhofer mix on here, but it isn't a particularly exciting mix. The song is originally too mellow to be of much interest as a dance track)

7. Love Story...Katharine McPhee (3:21) (Fantastic to hear Katharine mixed for the club scene, since none of the songs on her CD are really in this style. Great mix...but not even 3 and a half minutes? What a rip off!)

8. All of your Love...HelloGoodbye (3:47) (great electro/retro new wave remix of this track, which was already good on their CD. This mix isn't commercially available on CD single yet, and it's not even four minutes on here! Bummer.)

9. grace Kelly...mika (4:55) (you either love or hate Mika and his funky vocals and falsetto choruses--he reminds me of Freddie Mercury at times, and George Michael at others. It rocks to have the bimbo jones mix here, and almost 5 minutes of it)

10. long way 2 go...cassie (4:47) (Cassie has been virtually ignored since her hit "Me & U", so it's a treat to get a great diva vocal remix of her here)

11. music matters...faithless (6:46) (a gorgeous trippy, floaty, trancy mix by Axwell, with sweet female vocals. A well-deserved near 7 minute run in the mix)

12. somewhere beyond...Michael gray (5:30) (one of those `feel good', tropical feeling house tracks with a rasta-like male vocal. Great transition from previous song, and a nice way to end disc one)



CD2



1. sound of freedom...bob sinclar (5:17) (picks up the main vocal from Rozalla's classic "Everybody's Free." A huge billboard dance chart track--but personally I'd still prefer to listen the original Rozalla track.)

2. Moonlight Party...Fonzerelli (4:40) (Leaving the Sinclar fluff behind, this track takes us into a more driving electro house rhythm, so the disc 2 party can start. Limited female vocals on this one)

3. roller coaster..erika jayne (4:48) (a dubby track with a lustful sounding female vocal)

4. couldn't love you more...the factory (4:48) (a modern electro house feel, but the female vocal delivery is dripping with 1970s disco innuendo)

5. work it out...dj disciple & dawn tallman (5:00) (This feels like a b*tch track from the 90s. The only thing that saves it is diva dawn tallman's vocal on a not so interesting chorus)

6. Patt (party all the time)...sharam (4:40) (ah, the joyous fun of this filter disco remake of the Eddie Murphy classic, but the BPMs of this mix are a little slow and make the vocal drag)

7. again...kim leoni (4:44) (one of the best female vocal tracks on here since track 3 of disc 1. Totally infectious)

8. gotta let go...A. Lee (4;33) (another female slammer. What a treat to get two in a row)

9. I could fall in love with you...erasure (4:01) (one of the better tracks of Erasure's new catalog, and a great mix. Can't compare to Andy's solo project, which was all but ignored)

10. I need a miracle...KLM Music (4:11) (a remake of "Toca's Miracle" already??? No matter how you look at it, this is a great updated mix of a song from this decade!)

11. armed...eric prydz (6:23) (a surprisingly trippy non-vocal track from prydz, and WAY too long at over 6 minutes. They got it all backwards.)

12. feels like home...Meck (6:05) (alternative, gloomy male vocals on this track--which samples a hint of the hard techno riff from the Felix classic "Don't You Want My Love". This track should have come before the Prydz track, which could have ended the disc off with a cool down)

"