4Play

July 18, 2007

Ferry Corsten - Passport to the United States of America - Ultra
Trance DJ and producer/remixer (U2, Moby, Duran Duran) Corsten is known for his audio command of the moods of the dance floor, and he’s put together another one of his carefully mixed, perfectly balanced sets on this release. The CD does include a behind-the-scenes disc with some decently interesting footage, but that’s not the real draw here; what you’ll be glad you bought the album for are the tracks themselves, and the unique way that Corsten throws synths into his own mixmaster style. When you hear how he crafts the transitions between tunes like Wippenberg’s “Promised Land,” Lemon and Einar K’s “Hope,” Solarstone’s “Late Summer,” and Corsten’s own “Beautiful,” you’ll understand why other international DJs strive to be what Corsten’s already become.

Various Artists - Transformers: The Album - Warner Bros/WEA
With the movie inspired by the nifty shape-changing action toys that everyone knows and loves, this soundtrack strives to capture the same feel, but it’s almost too serious - and poorly compiled - for its own good. It’s not that the tracks aren’t credible by themselves - highlights include Smashing Pumpkins’ “Doomsday Clock,” Julien K’s “Technical Difficulties,” and Goo Goo Dolls’ pretty “Before It’s Too Late” - but they’re coupled with shrugoffable choices from the likes of Linkin Park and The Used. And, for some unknown reason, several of the best tracks (Taking Back Sunday’s “What’s It Feel Like to be a Ghost?” and Mute Math’s cool take on the Transformers theme) aren’t even in the movie. Huh? Let’s hope that the movie itself is more cohesive than the soundtrack, ’cause this one’s not working.

Dimitri From Paris - Cocktail Disco - BBE
King of Disco, Dimitri, has gone all out on his latest offering. If you don’t dig disco, then skip to the next review, ’cause that’s what Dimitri’s all about (he’s actually been called the ambassador of this style of music) - but if you do like a little campy, mirror-ball fun with your indie-tronica, then read on, oh platform-shoed one. Almost two dozen tracks jostle for space here - yes, folks, it’s a double CD - and most are giddily awash with that 4/4 disco beat. Plenty of the tracks - such as Rhoda Scott’s “C’est Si Bon,” The Blue Velvets’ “Summertime,” and yet another remixed version of “Girl From Ipanema” - also groove away on such additional twists as Latin instruments and more retro throwbacks, presumably to help conjure up that suave, wink-wink, ’70s cruise-ship feel.

Various Artists - Shrek the Third - Dreamworks
Something about that big green ogre not only charms audiences, but also draws in a pretty hip range of soundtrack-contributing musicians for each movie, and this, The Third, is no exception. It’s a little odd that Justin Timberlake - who voices King Arthur in the film - didn’t contribute a darned thing to the soundtrack, but he’s not really missed, given the rest of the standout talent here. A couple of appropriate oldies hold down one end - namely Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” and Wings’ always-fantastic “Live and Let Die” - while today’s tracks supply exactly the right counterpoint, from Wolfmother’s heavy “Joker and the Thief” to Fergie’s charging “Barracuda,” Matt White’s “Best Days,” and not one, but two tracks from talented quirk-rockers Eels, namely “Losing Streak” and the painless listen “Royal Pain.”