Customer Reviews

Mastermind

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

 

 

To compare this with her first disc "Killing Time" is like comparing apples to oranges. The first disc was a full on PWL orchestrated effort to promote Tina as the next big thing, on their terms of course. Think about it. Their songs, their label, and their management!
This time around we find Tina has complete creative control. Theres quite a few hits here. The hits being Wonderful Life, Come to me, Hymn and the next single Pretty Young Thing.
PYT - which in case you havent recognized is a track written by the Metro/Rive Droit guys; who wrote hits for Cher, Kylie, Lara Fabian, and Enrique Iglesias. So far this disc is being released by two seperate labels, and may find a home here in the US later this year. We can only hope.

While Tina's first CD already sounds dated and specifically geared towards that commercial radio euro dance/trance sound from the beginning of the millennium (with some fairly uninteresting slow jams thrown in), her follow-up catapults her sounds into the end of the decade with stronger arrangements and production that varies in styles but keeps the momentum going.

1. Queen of the World--an electro rocker reminiscent of early 80s female guitar wave
2. Wonderful Life--almost more befitting of her first CD, this is a fairly simple euro dance update of the moody track originally recorded by a band called Black.
3. move in time--kinda sing-song moody pop track, reminds me of something Jewel would do when crossing over
4. Mastermind--sort of like Tina Cousins' version of Seal's "crazy." Has that feel, with a great chorus.
5. Pretty Young Thing--wow. This is sweet sugary dance pop perfection. You'll hate yourself for loving this one, which should have gotten US dance radio airplay.
6. Hypnotise Me--new dance with a new wave feel, this one totally reminds me of the song "Shiny", which is a gem from the re-invented version of Berlin from a few years back.
7. Hymn--pretty euro dance remake of an Ultravox classic. This one could have been a bit more aggressive and powerful--as the original was. There are two trance mixes on CD2 of "pretty young thing", but they are a bit too dramatic.
8. Come to me--let's just say, this slammer could have fit in snuggly on Madonna's "confessions". AWESOME.
9. Increase the Dose--hook-laden dance groove that sounds like something Britney or Christina Aguilera would record.
10. Tomorrow's Tomorrow--you'd think a ballad would ruin the flow of this album, but this is just a stunning, atmospheric lullaby that showcases Tina Cousins' voice, making it clear that she's not just another dance artist.
11. Rip it Up--the only real commercial dance `anthem' on here, this one is too catchy for its own good. Sounds dated, with synth lines you would have heard in a house track recorded in 1993. It would have been huge back then.
12. Alive--another one that could have been on Madonna's album. Infectious.
13. Wonderful Life (ballad version)--would have been fine without this version. Pretty much just as dreary as the original version by Black.

For all you freestylers this is one CD that I would recommend to keep in your library.
Queen of the world 10/10
Wonderful life 8/10
Move in time 9/10
Mastermind 9/10
Pretty Young thing 10/10
Hypnotise me 9/10
Hymn 10/10
Come to me 10/10
Increase the dose 9/10
Tomorrow's tomorrow 6/10
Rip it up 10/10
Alive 10/10

After the brilliance of Killing Time I have waited and waited for something else from Tina Cousins. The release of her version of Wonderful Life as a single filled me with great hope but unfortunately this fails to live up to my expectations. It is good but barely a worthy successor to her previous work.