I had previously mentioned this compilation in a posting a few weeks back. This compilation has finally arrived in stores today. The sequence of the songs and some of the songs originally chosen to appear on the compilation went through a slight change. In the original posting, the Kelly Clarkson and Duran Duran tracks had been mislabeled as having a particular mix. The mixes chosen for the compilation were different. In the case of the former, no Hani Remix had been done. While for the latter, that mix was not the popular one. Luther Vandross and Lisa Stansfield had been listed on the original cover art for this compilation, however, they were not listed in the sequence of tracks. Minus the changes and switches, this compilation is just fine without them. The tracklisting reads like the playlist of a dance radio station. It has some currents, some recurrents, and some gold ones. The vast majority of these remixes have been unavailable to the general public, although imports and 12" singles contained these mixes. Some songs did not have official edits available until now. The mixes chosen for the songs are all great. The compilation opens with Kelly Clarkson's current smash "Since U Been Gone" in the Jason Navins Radio Edit. This is a fun dance-rock hybrid that screams for lots of play on your CD player. Next is the previously unavailable Hani Radio Mix of the laid-back, summer-sounding Alicia Keys track "Diary." This is an amazing remix that should have been released. Another rare track featured is Junior Vasquez's mix of Maroon 5's "This Love". There had been speculation that Maroon 5 did not approve of the mix. And the next track doesn't need any introduction at all. It's the Jason Nevins Mix of Duran Duran's "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise". This is an instant classic. Then we go to a slightly more dramatic and deeper track. This next one is Sarah McLachlan's "World On Fire" which gets the remixing treatment from Junkie XL. I was surprised at how good the edit actually turned out. Considering the main mix from the 12" promo and import singles was 12 minutes long. Rarely, have such long tracks been edited in a way that captures the essence of the longer mix. There was a Club Mix Edit of the Junkie XL mix, but that was still 6 minutes long and did not capture the complete essence. Continuing on that same dark and dramatic tone comes Dido's "White Flag." Surprisingly, the Al B Rich Mix was chosen instead of the Scumfrog mix which topped the charts last year. Next is the sexy Kelis track "Milkshake" in the DJ Zinc Radio Mix. This just sounds like a sped up version of the original with a nice, fierce beat added to it. And then there is the Armand Van Helden Edit of Britney Spears' "Toxic". I didn't really care for the extended version of this mix when it came out, but this edit just gets to the good stuff. The Lenny Bertolodo Mix would have been a better choice. Then there is Monica's "So Gone Part 2" in the Scumfrog mix. This is a good track. The original must be even better. Then there is Pink's party jam "Get The Party Started" which has been remixed by Richard Morel. This is a decent remix in comparison to some of the other ones that surfaced. And then there is the late night stomper "Naughty Girl" by Beyonce Knowles. This is an epic remix. The 12" mix is very good, and so is this edit. Then we have come to a classic by Mariah Carey, which was amazingly remixed by David Morales. It's "Dreamlover." The song gets a nice makeover from its previous dance-pop sound to a more retro, classic house sound. And the fact that Mariah re-sang her vocals to fit this mix makes this all the more appealing. The edit is really good and doesn't get rid of the good stuff at all. I recommend checking out the 12" mix of it too. It's one of Mariah's best vocal performances, and one of the best Morales mixes. Next is another classic from Whitney Houston. It's the Thunderpuss Radio Mix of "It's Not Right But It's Okay." This mix put Thunderpuss on the map and made them a household name. They are now one of the most in-demand remixers. This mix is hard and driving, and Whitney's vocals are dazzling over this production. Next is American Idol's 4th superstar that only needs one name to be introduced, Fantasia. This is nice little track called "It's All Good" remixed by the Scumfrog. And another classic from the 90's comes in from Jennifer Lopez. It's the Hex's Momentous Radio Mix of "Waiting For Tonight". It's not the Video Remix as it says it is on the back. The Video remix is just a 18 seconds longer. And this is not the version that Jennifer released on her remix album. It's a whole other edit. The main version and even the ones on the remix album and in the video have two breakdowns in the middle. The one on this compilation only has one. Not very good. Next is Christina Aguilera's Grammy-winning "Beautiful" in an amazing mix by Peter Rauhofer. The Valentin, Al B Rich or Wayne G mixes could have worked as well. The final three tracks on this compilation are remixes that include some involvement by Hex Hector. First it's his mix of Deborah Cox's "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here." This is one of Deborah's best remixes to date. Angie Stone's "Wish I Didn't Miss You", also remixed by Hex Hector, but also with Mac Quayle is excellent. And then the set closes out with Toni Braxton's number one smash "Un-Break My Heart", also in a Hex Hector Remix. The longer version of the mix was perfect in every way. It was very uptempo and did not mess with Toni's vocals. The only problem with this edit is that it feels like it ended in the middle. And that breakdown in the middle of the song with Toni's vocals being looped could have been a little shorter. All in all, this compilation is pretty good minus the two flawed remixes by Jennifer Lopez and Toni Braxton. There is no filler at all on this compilation. Generally, such compilations are beatmixed or each track is segued into the other, but none of that happened here. It's completely unmixed making this a good buy. Tracking down all the original singles, import singles, and 12" singles might become a huge task just to get one song on each of them. And many may want the longer versions too as many of these mixes sound great. This compilation is almost perfect. It's much better than what is out there right now.This album is currently available at most music stores, and for pay download at iTunes.
