VARIOUS ARTISTS
Totally Dance
Arista
Arista Records and Warner Music Group have come out with their answer to the hugely popular NOW CD series by releasing Totally Dance, a compilation of some of the year’s biggest hits remixed by popular DJs.
The album doesn’t contain the best dance songs of the past year, but is a remix collection of the year’s biggest hits (whether they be slow songs or straight-up dance hits). But after perusing the song list on Totally Dance it seems Warner was looking to cash in the easy way, by tapping into the hit-hungry teens that have created a Billboard album chart infested with best-selling compilation albums. Capitalizing on this assessment, the album was released in conjunction with a TV direct-response campaign backed by massive cross-promotional marketing at retail and Internet.
But, like most compilation albums these days, by the time the album actually hits store shelves, the songs seem like yesterday’s throwaway hits. Dream’s “He Loves U Not (HQ2 Mix),” and Dido’s “Thank You (Deep Dish Vocal Mix),” for instance, have seen their airplay heyday come and go.
It is the European hits that really accomplish this album’s mission of setting the dance floor on fire. “Silence (Airscape Mix)” by Delerium is a true club-bopping smash. It’s ability to morph Sarah McLachlan’s voice from high-pitched squeals to whirling up-tempo grooves is, in itself, a gift a to the listener. And its trance-like rhythm and cathartic lyrics allow the track to rise as one of the best on the album.
A huge hit overseas, “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” by Spiller has a disco flavor spinning round and round, asking the repetitive question, “If this ain’t love/ Why does it feel so good?” Its hypnotic effect sucks you in and truly begs the question why does this feel so good?
Darude (from Finland)’s “Sandstorm (Original Mix)” is one of the biggest club smashes to hit the states in years. Its lyric-free content is a testament to its power of arousing the most unremitting of dance-less souls and sending dance maestros into a virtual dance-floor orgy. Another smash is Tamia’s “Stranger In My House (HQ2 Mix).” A fast beat, lacquered in Tamia’s aggressive vocals, helps the song become another romper of a hit.
It’s sad that America provides such a little outlet for dance music beyond the club scene. Even worse is America’s hare-like pace at discovering these great songs – lagging behind Europe is a regular practice that the States have become all too eager to embrace. Darude’s “Sandstorm” was a huge hit in the Euro clubs over a year ago, as were bopping “Touch Me” by Rui Da Silva (from the U.K.) featuring Cassandra, and the congenitally cute “Look At Us (Beam ‘ Yanou Mix)” by Sarina Paris (from Italy). Also from Italy is Gigi D’Agostino with “I’ll Fly With You (L’Amour Toujours)” which soars in its mono-rhythmic structure and stretched out lyrics.
Some Euro songs aren’t without their faults either, though. French Affair (from Germany) fail to lift “My Heart Goes Boom (La Di Da Da)” off the ground, therefore resulting in a grounded bang. Perhaps it’s time to bid adieu to the use of “la,” “di,” or “da” as their overabundant use has become an all-too customary practice (Eiffel 65’s annoying “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” instantly springs to mind). The use of these monosyllabic words does not automatically result in a fantastic song.
Totally Dance will appeal to any soul that likes to get up and boogie. As more than half the songs are conceived by overseas producers, however, it will make the fact all too apparent that Europe is a stalwart music empire while the U.S. is a feeble follower.
