"Remixxer" by Wayne G
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Centaur Music has launched a new line of albums called ‘Remixxer,” highlighting the remixing efforts of DJs.  They have launched the series with Wayne G’s collection, which came out earlier this month.

Unlike recent Centaur Music collections to come across my desk lately, this has more depth to it.  Wayne G has compiled songs old and new for this continuously-mixed collection, and a few surprises result. There’s also some name power here, and one rare gem.

Wayne G puts the work on tracks covering over two decades.  The album kicks off with a remake of “Love Hangover” by Darren Hayes of Savage Garden fame.  Hayes’ range shines through surprisingly well on this song, and the remake is an enjoyable romp.  Like the original, the song starts out slow, and picks up tempo beautifully.  It’s a very classy and timely version of the classic Diana Ross track, and Hayes is amazing on the track.

His and Andy Allder’s reworking of the Erasure classic “A Little Respect” ups the tempo and the volume a bit, to good result.   The same pair reworks Therese’s 2004 dance hit “Time” to similar positive results.  Both remixes do the songs justice and add a nice element to them.

In the new track department Wayne G serves up the powerful vocals of Debby Holiday on “Party Around the World.”  It’s a great straight-up party track with strong vocals that mesh well with the potent beat.  Levi Kreis offers a new track with “Gonna Be Alright,” which doesn’t hold quite to the same level.  The vocals and beat seem slightly mismatched here, but the song is still enjoyable.

Simone Denny and Barry Harris’ recent track “Drama Queen” (released in October) received the remix treatment from Wayne G, and that track is here as well.  Simone Denny is the latest in the line of divas to wisely pair with Barry Harris, and this track holds up favorably with other Harris classics as “Dive in the Pool” (which Harris did with vocalist Pepper Mashay).

The album closes out with a track that’s incredibly rare: Wayne G’s mix of Alison Jiear’s “I Just Wanna Dance” from Jerry Springer: The Opera.  Centaur unfortunately misspelled Jiear’s name on the album, but this appears to be the real deal, with the original artist from the stage production. This song is an incredible show-stopper in its original form, and was reworked into a dance classic by Wayne G in 2004, but never saw the light of day in record stores due to licensing issues, also meaning Jiear sadly wasn’t paid at the time for her incredible performance.  However, Centaur appears to have managed to remedy this, because here it is in all its glory.  Visitors of Gotham Citi has heard this amazing gem on the dancefloor many a time over the past few years, and now it can finally be purchased.  Frankly, this alone is the price of admission.  How can you pass up a song that starts out with the lyrics: “I don’t give a fuck no more/if people think I am a whore/I just wanna dance.”

The album’s padded out with a couple too many remakes, the Hayes cover notwithstanding, a weakness with many of the Centaur releases that have hit my desk over the past few months.  But overall, Wayne G's edition of "Remixxer" has mixed it up nicely, with old and new songs and remixes.

Centaur has a winner on its hands, a label that’s been serving the gay community faithfully for over a decade now with some good selections. It’s also a good exercise album, with the familiar names and the continuous beat. Jiear’s classic notwithstanding, the entire album is an enjoyable launch for the “Remixxer” line and worth a purchase, especially for dance fans.

Tags: 2010, 37-4, LATE FEBRUARY