les rythmes digitales - darkdancer
when this was originally released back in 99 (!!), and the creator of the noises within proclaimed the return of the 80's dance groove, i totally denounced such madness.
well more fool me.
following the recent high profile transformer dancing commercial featuring 'jacques your body', the album has been reissued with more remixes and extras than you can shake your schtick at. i will admit, that several tracks on the original album, do indeed resurface all that was wrong with the production styles of the decade i grew up in, lots of yamaha dx7 sound libraries were raided during these recording sessions, i suspect. subsequently, several tracks don't really thrill me, opener 'dreamer' being one such example, which as this starts the whole flow originally made me concerned about my enjoyment factor. luckily however, my concerns were unfounded, cos when jacque lu cont (as in the 'jlc' on the cars number plate on the cover - geddit ?) gets the production and the songs sorted, he really makes some wonderful music. whether it's the moody and smooth album closer 'damaged people', the addictive dancefloor standard 'whats that sound', the fantastically slapped/processed bass line of 'music makes you lose control', the wonderful pulsating electro of the eurythmics styled opening of 'hypnotise', or even the unlikely nik kershaw appearance on 'sometimes', then the reasons as to why stuart price (is even that his real name ?) is now very much in demand for remixes, and production (madonna ??) becomes a lot clearer.
the new bits on the extra disc makes this a worthy addition to the jlc hardcore, featuring revisits by lrd himself, junior sanchez, and french house star cassius, adding more bounce to the ounce, as well as some tracks not featured on the album.
good fun - despite the scary memories of the period that the sounds are ripping into.