Customer Reviews

DJ Kicks

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By far, the best of the Kicks series. This release is solid the entire way through, with incredible varied styles and turntable genius. If you are looking for music that makes you nod your head in uncontrollable agreement, this is it. A lot of the other DJ Kicks CD's in the series burn out about half way through. This one keeps the journey on task - you continue to guess and are not disappointed. Just excellent.

Whoever liked Stereo MC's old stuff, buy this album - you wont regret it. Although its a DJ mix, you can feel stereo mc's old school funky hip-hop style, but its alot more mature this time. Mostly instrumental, very few songs have vocals.... An endless trip, which makes you dream about the album being 2 CDs instead of only 1. I cant understand people comparing this CD to K&D or Thievery Corporation's DJ Kicks - the DJ kicks series is not based on same music style, but rather on giving the choice to some of the most avangard artists today to express themselves. And this one is no exception... A perfect present for today's Date !

Has several funky instrumental tracks and old school rap, but a lot of generic mid-tempo house music filler in between. Also the DJ'ing is nothing special either. If you're new to the DJ Kicks series, get Kruder and Dorfmeister or Thievery Corporation first...if you have those already, consider buying this.

Listen to the 30 second song samples above, and you'll hear a great variety of beats, most a bit dark but quite funky. Stereo MCs have thrown together a lot of catchy, interesting tracks, and the album has enough changes in tempo and mood to keep ya guessing...
BUT, BUT, BUT... shabby mixing, man. That's what those 30 second samples don't reveal. I mean yikes, the transition from track 1 to 2 is an outright TRAINWRECK- S.MCs don't even attempt to mix the two songs, and it left quite a sour taste in my mouth from the get-go.
I'm a dj myself, and by no means any good in my opinion, but I would at least have the decency to MATCH THE BEATS on any mix album I'd put out. They do it again later in album, simply fading from one song to the next without beat matching, which may not be noticable to some, but I know one of the tracks, and the lack o' mix there was quite obvious to me. They do mix some tracks well, but hey, these beats aren't very complex, and there are too many holes in this mix album to be excused.
Cheers to Stereo Mc's for their choice of music; some excellent funk and hip-hop selections, but jeers for a poor showcase of beatmatching and overall dj skills. Man, I would consider my own djing skills as just above amatuer, and I could have whipped up most of this mix album- if that tells you anything.
Again, listen to the track samples to get a feel for the music selection.. but take it from me, the mixing here isn't anything to scream about. peace.

This is a decent mix CD. If you're into the DJ Kicks series, there are certainly better disks to get. But whether you like the Stereo MC's (I don't) or not, this is a fun blend of hip hop beats and silly breaks. Its definitely a party record. Not very well mixed, but again, that's not really the point. If you're looking for a fun, fast paced CD mix of some good hip hop/ big beat, check this out.

Although I was expected more of a 'Stereo MC's' type albums, this one delivers a diversified mix of what seems to be, major hip hop influences on their music.

The change of pace from the opening classic to "Back to the Hip Hop" shows the change of pace and the talent, of Stereo MC's as a mixer and DJ.

All and all, you can pop in this CD at a party and things will be jumping until the CD ends.

This cd has it's faults, it doesn't always flow the way you would like to think a mix should. I have come to reguard this as just another opinion in a very diverse whole of musical styles and influences. Hear the influences are mostly intramental, in a funky groove, uptempo, or in latin time. Drum and bass are thrown in at sparse intervals, rappers appear often enough to make the mix interesting and somewhat enjoyable(I question the inclusion of "Pharoh Intellect"). You can find fault with the mixing style but for me it didn't get in the way.

It's pretty eclectic, showing good turntable skills (The Ultramagnetics mixed over The Disco Four is a damn fine mix). I really liked it and recommend it highly. Check the 'Rocker's Hi-Fi' DJ Kicks for some quality deep rasta dub and drum'n'bass. The Kruder & Dorfmeister DJK is (of course) excellent, as you should expect from them.

buy this album. that is if you like funky old school beats. there are plenty of them about. the songs don't sit around and overstay their welcome. they are all perfectly placed within the mix, which you will realize after a few listens. much better than any of the hip hop out there, with the exception of peanut butter wolf, rob swift, who are the stereo mcs equals in my opinion. buy it now.

I really like Stereo Mc's, and this disc reflects their style well. However, the tracks didn't flow as smoothly together as I'd have liked, and I was surprised and EXTREMELY disappointed by the inclusion of track 15 which expresses some very blatant anti-gay bigotry. (Yes, I pay attention to lyrics, even on a disc like this.) Stereo Mc's normally being the crown princes of tolerance and uplifting themes in music, this came as quite a shock.