Customer Reviews

Lazy Dog

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i am an avid collector of quality dance/house/club music and let me take this opportunity to tell you that this 2cd set is the best thing in my collection of over 100 house cd's. i am a musician, a very tough critic when it comes to music and i don't fork out five star ratings lightly. since i bought this set about six months ago, i must have listened to it straight through at least couple of hundred times. let's get down to the music now: disc 1: track 1 is my second favorite tune on the album. it has smooth chords and a simple yet sophisticated beat. it also has samples of a woman's moaning voice laid in very intelligently and that just makes the beat even more awesome. track 3 is a good one also. in my opinion, tracks 5 and 7 are the meat of the first cd. track 5 not only has a great melody, but the thing that makes it is the awesome piano accompaniment; it is very funky. track 7 is my favorite tune on the entire album. it is very retro and very funky indeed. the guitar riffs and funky bassline make this song an incredible joint. sometimes, when i hear it, it gives me chills. disc 2: this whole disc is more of a latin flavored set and has some excellent tunes on it although i like the first disc better. it is hard for me to describe the music on either cd in words but it is just plain awesome. do yourself a favor and buy the best house cd you will ever buy (this one).

This double CD is a real treat. Ben Watt and Jay Hannan take a disc each and include some of the best deep, jazzy house grooves I've heard for a while. The Lazy Dog night in Notting Hill (London) is a sunday-tastic affair - Ben and Jay spin their tunes close to the crowd, not high up in some isolated booth, and generate an atmosphere that's electric.

Disc one contains some massive tunes and builds up nicely - highlights include 'Be Encouraged', ' Love don't Give' and 'Its all right'. If you like funky, deep tunes with the right amount of vocal tension then you'll be in heaven.

Disc 2 contains a distinctly more latin flavour and is every bit as good as disc one - try 'Feel the Real' and 'The Path' to see what I mean.

The guys' 'Everything but the Girl' connection shines through on disc one, with some excellent samples mixed in.

Ben and Jay have ensured that what you hear is taken directly from their record collection (scratches and all) and hasn't been digitally tampered with, resulting in a sound that (on decent equipment) gets close to the real thing.

I bought this CD just before Christmas, and everyone who's listened to it so far has either gone straight out and bought a copy for themselves or begged me to record it for them.

I eagerly await future releases.

I've only just started getting into dance music, and after listening to this CD I can safely say that Deep House is my thing. The best thing about it is the overlaying of jazzy, funky, soulful melodies and vocals over deep and thumping bass lines. I bought this double CD as an experiment, now it's the most played album in my CD collection. Whether instrumental or with vocals, almost every single song blew me away. This is music to dance to, party to, unwind to and groove to. It gives new meaning to the term "uplifting house". Try it for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

This is an excellent collection of deep house from the UK. CD1 by Ben Watt [from Everything but the Girl] contains mostly acid jazz/r&b/lounge selections from the 90's. Listen to Jazzy Kinda Sum'n from Mark Grant for nice jazzy guitar. John Leee's [formerly Imagination] 1996 hit titled The Mighty Power Of Love is also here. Things get more groovy with Sound of Soul and the veteran Julius Papp 'Round in my Mind' (best track of CD1)

CD2 [mixed by Jay Hannan] is more dance-like starting with Kevin Yost and Peter Funk with the sensual Big Sexy. Chicago's DJ Lego is here with the excellent latin trumpet based 'when I'm with you' followed by 'Cada Vez' the BossaHouse anthem by Negrocan. I believe that David Bendeth's 'Feel the Real' hit from 1979 does not belong here. German producer Isolee contributes a gorgeous acid jazz / techno track named Beau Mot Plage. Finally the last track is the highlight of this mix. Will Washington's 'Ain't no running away' with George Benson- like quitar is an absolute gem.

I had the great pleasure of visiting the Lazy Dog club a few times while I was in London working for several months. In fact, I lived no more than a five minute walk away from Lazy Dog. This compilation is a great example of what goes on at the club and brings back many great memories everytime I put it on. It is a must for any fan of deep house, or if you like uplifting dance music. If you're new new to the genre, this cd is an excellent place to begin. You won't be disappointed, I guarantee!

this is the kind of house that, like a good bottle of wine, just gets better with age. also just like a good bottle of wine, this album makes you want to do something sensual as it makes you feel sexy all over with its lush soundscapes and koolgroov-style of organic dance music. when i dropped by to see an acquaintance recently he was halfway through listening the first cd. i didn't recognize that it was lazy dog at first, but i really thought what he was playing was amazing. when i figured out that it was the same lazy dog cd i had, i was pleasantly astonished to realize how great of a cd it really was. if deep house is your thing, then this first lazy dog 2-cd set should move to the top of your "must have for the collection" list. you know what list i'm talking about...

This disc is more like a night out than a collection of "songs". Lazy Dog seems to be more a "scene" than just a couple of London club DJs spinning records once a week. This music creates a genuine, upbeat, fun, funky feeling in whoever hears it. I missed these guys in L.A. a few months ago. As an avid EBTG fan, I was curious to see where Ben was getting his musical influences lately.

Imagine a night out in a hip London club and how the music and scene would make you feel. Very "Euro", very hip, multi-cultural. The Lazy Dog album does more than make your body move, it paints a picture. I find it ironic that I am not into the club scene, don't really like to dance much, yet I am in love with this music! The Mark Grant track three on Ben's disc is the coolest pairing of great Larry Carlton type, jazzy-type guitar playing paired with a good thumping beat. As a guitar player, I have never been able to figure out how to successfully pair virtuoso guitar playing in synthesized dance music. Good to hear that someone out there has.

The vinyl quality on CD is actually pretty good and there is this an almost indescribable sound element at work here that I attribute to the vinyl origination.

The Jay Hannan disc is also surprisingly strong considering I had never heard of him before this. This is the real stuff as far as the Latin influence. None of the "Ricky Martin-Jennifer Lopez" type pseudo-Latin stuff. More diverse selections, very different from Ben's set yet also very cool in a different sort of way. Anyone who thinks that DJs just spin albums should realize that even in sets like these where virtuoso turntable gymnastics like scratching and radical mixing are absent, picking the right combination of songs and pieces to fit together and take the listener "somewhere" is incredibly difficult to do well.

I like all types of music as long as it's performed, mixed, produced, played and re-mixed with heart and soul and these two discs are dripping with raw emotion and positive, upbeat vibes. One look at the inside cover photo of Ben and Jay in their element and you get the idea of what this scene is all about. Great stuff! I hope that they come out with another one soon.

Order it today, you won't regret it!

i first heard of "lazy dog" in london; i started going to ben watt and jay hannan's shows about two years ago and was completely astounded. who knew it was so good? i have moved back stateside since then, but still yearned for the london clubbing days. when i heard the lazy dog mix was coming out, i bought it immediately -- and i still can't wipe this cheesy grin off my face! this music will have you groovin' at your desk, your car, your gym, your seat. it's more than background music -- whenever i have it on at parties, people always ask what it is! and for all you Everything But The Girl fans out there -- there are some excellent remixes of EBTG songs on Ben's disc. (and on a personal note, the compilation makes me oh-so-nostalgic for those london clubbing days -- maybe it will make you take a little field trip to the dancehalls of the UK soon.) i can't recommend this mix more than enough.

By far one of the best deep house compilations that I've listened to in quite a while. Takes you on a journey with each track ranging from old school Detroit to Europe and back.A 2 disc set that any househead will appreciate. I just hope that it's not the last one.

These 2 discs give a good survey of what the critical elements of deep house music are: tasteful Latin, funk, soul, and jazz on the R and B tip. Very skillfully mixed with club hits (see Soul Vision), instrumentals, and sweet vocal tracks alike. One of the best deep house compilations yet; if you like the stuff on Guidance, Pagan, Paper, or are a fan of Kevin Yost, House of 909, A:xus, or 16B, this album is for you. I can only dream of going to the Lazy Dog; this album is the next best thing to being at Lazy Dog Club in person.