Life Is a Dance

Chaka Khan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 1989)
• Original Release Date: June 20, 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002LI5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,062 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Bouncing between tracks that take great liberties and ones that simply update and stretch the originals, Life Is a Dance (The Remix Project) is a respectful and joyous celebration of Chaka Khan's solo output. The big hits are treated well, with Paul Simpson's softening of the rough edges in "I Feel for You" making it more of a rolling groove, while Marley Marl presents a minimal house take on "This Is My Night." Richard Tee's glistening piano is pumped way up on Dancin' Danny D's mix of "I'm Every Woman," and the lone Rufus track, "Ain't Nobody," gets a slight update by Frankie Knuckles. The album's highlight, "I Know You, I Live You," is extended to nearly eight minutes by Tony Humphries, giving the shimmering disco groove plenty of deserved room. The sleepers are where Life Is a Dance really shines. Hank Shocklee takes the slinky duet with Rick James on "Slow Dancin'" and adds that clunky drum sound that made him famous, while "Clouds" presents one of the final true house mixes from Clivillés & Cole before going pop and pedestrian with C+C Music Factory. Perhaps a sign of the times, none of the remixers get credited on the outside of the disc and a glossary of terms such as "house" and "def" is included. A few of the tracks sounded dated a couple years after the album's release, but overall the collection shows more restraint and good taste than expected. -All music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GUARANTEED TO GET YOUR PARTY STARTED!!!, May 5, 2005

By 

Beverly Praiswater - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Is a Dance (Audio CD)

This cd is a wonderful mix of not only the best of Chaka's hits, but the best of Chaka's voice. All of the songs have been remixed with a lot of bass, funk, and Chaka's vocals sent into chambers that blow the top of your head off and occasionally echo back.

The opener "Life Is A Dance" perfectly describes the hot mood within it. "I Know You, I Live You" goes to the max. Far more artistically arranged than the original! The wildly funky "This Is My Night" rocks with additional keyboard and percussion programming. "Eye To Eye" is a hot remix of a great song that becomes over 8 minutes of pulsating dance number. "Fate" is transformed into a cooking production number. The infectious percussion in "I'm Every Woman" coupled with the orchestral strings catapults this number way beyond the original version! And it's over 8 minutes long as well! "Clouds" blows a thunderous stormy arrangement right into a steamy 7.40 minutes of WOW!! The finale of "I Feel For You" far surpasses the original hit that everyone loves so much. When you end with this song, you will hit repeat and start the whole cd over again!

This one is a must for every Chaka fan. You will want to play it again and again!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated remix project, April 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Life Is a Dance (Audio CD)

The remixes done are wonderful and 1989 was a great year to pick for remixes for Chaka Khan. If remixes had been done now, it probably wouldn't even be worth the purchase. Pretty much all new remixes base themselves on the repetitive techno beat, which I find takes away the funkiness of the original production and mood of the song. This was also a good release because these are urban remixes. These are club/street songs that work perfectly for Chaka Khan. There are also some rare gems on here that are hard to find on CD anywhere else. "Slow Dancin'" is from her 1982 self-titled album that won a Grammy for best R&B album. I find it strange that since it won a Grammy that it's currently her rarest album to find now in her catalog of music. It would've been awesome if a remix of "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me?" was included. That would've been slammin' baby!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chaka Chaka Khan Grooves, August 18, 2000

By 

Canuck in Brandon (Brandon, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Is a Dance (Audio CD)

This one is a keeper. I bought it in vinyl, cassette, and now CD. If you are looking for energy music, this ol'school grooves with the best that today offers. "Eye to Eye" is my favorite and never fails to energize me. "I'm Every Woman" is a must listen and smacks Whitney down. Great music.