Customer Reviews

Many Moods of Mike Cruz

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Mike Cruz is someone I unknowingly chanced upon while searching for DJ Mixed genre. I bought Arrival, which is still one of my favourite after years. This "Many Moods of Mike Cruz" is equally amazing! I shall not commend on the excellent track mixes but just get this!

Question is: Mike, where are you now???

We want more!

Mike expands his sound slightly into the harder tribal stuff and tracks with slight electro influences but stays grounded in his strong percussive vocal house tradition. If you like Mike live you'll love this cd; if you are a tribal fan just be aware there are lots of vocals to go with the beats. Disc 2 gets more play in my stereo.

This one is predominantly for hardcore instrumental listeners...

Disc 1 begins with diva vocals, with a mix of peak hour anthems, tribal, and hints of electro house. The great thing about this disc is that it is loaded with long versions of mixes that are hard to get on CD. Unfortunately, after starting strong with diva Inaya Day covering a Dead or Alive classic, this disc totally slows down near the end and has little energy. It ends with a remake of the 1980s track "White Horse" originally by Laid Back. Not the first time this song has been reworked.

CD2, predominantly non-vocal, opens with a painfully long and boring dubbish track by Friscia & the Lamboy. And you get the same thing for 2 more tracks, before some tribal energy arrives in track 4. But it continues on this repetitive monotone streak with no ups and downs. India and Masters At Work lift the energy level slightly with track 6, and this electro/tribal feel carries through the end of the second disc.

I appreciate the diversity of the DJ, but this isn't a 6-hour set at a real club with clear highs and lows. This is a disc for a single listen, and the "moods" are all over the place, never allowing the listener to feel the true emotion of one style before bouncing to something new. The compilation could have worked better if it was NOT a mixed disc, so you could program your own favorites.

Track times:

CD1

1. Spin me round...inaya day (10:29)
2. sorry...luz divina (9:00)
3. free your mind...ohsha kai (9:19)
4. bring me love...copyright (6:31)
5. im nin alu...dana international (8:22)
6. freedom...pier pressure with Kevin aviance (9:58)
7. gonna take time...nadia (9:43)
8. I feel for you...john kano (6:53)
9. white horse...wonderland avenue (6:26)

CD2

1. deep into your soul...friscia & lamboy (10:50)
2. after hours rhythm...richie santana (8:33)
3. this is tribal...frank Pellegrino (6:59)
4. Show u luv...TKC (8:22)
5. viva Puerto rico...masters at work and India (8:22)
6. la musica...mike ivy & dave rose featuring martina (7:14)
7. electro funk...terranova (8:29)
8. tell me...sumantri (5:59)
9. kobbe & Austin leeds land of voodoo...headbound champion sound (7:53)