Customer Reviews

Ministry of Sound - Annual 2003 America: Mixed By DJ Sammy

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

 

 

Perhaps it was the excitement of the hype that I had built up for myself to purchase The Annual 2003 America. After all, there are several very hot titles on the track list, and you couldn't have picked a better DJ to mix the year's "Best" than DJ Sammy, who had a very big year in his own right. But upon listening to this 2CD set, I couldn't help getting that unfulfilled feeling, like the post holiday letdown of not getting QUITE what you wanted for Christmas. To begin with, while DJ Sammy was a wonderful choice to mix the American edition, his mixing was not quite what I had hoped. Oh don't get me wrong, his talent was blatently evident, and had I been listening to this on the radio or in a club I would have completely enjoyed myself. But when I purchase a CD, I want to have songs that I can use myself in my own mixes, and unfortunately many of the songs are mixed so tightly that there were no breaks, intro's or outtro's to be found. Some songs had vocals from the previous song still going several lines into the lyrics of the next song. Yes, beautiful for listening, but not so great for USE... Next complaint: some of the songs selected for this compilated were subpar. Like a sore thumb, Res' "They- Say Vision" sticks out as a major mistake, not because of the song itself, but because of the particular remix used (Robbie Rivera's Vox Part 2). Take a wonderful song like "They-Say Vision" and completely dismantle it with useless dub nonsense, and you've just destroyed one of the biggest hits of (and major reasons to purchase) the compilation. Major hits included are from Iio ("Rapture"), Daniel Bedingfield ("Gotta Get Through This" Catchy!), Mary J Blige ("Family Affair" Spanish Fly Remix), DB Boulevard ("Point of View" LOVE IT!), Mad'house ("Like A Prayer" better than the Madonna version), Narcotic Thrust ("Safe From Harm" overrated), 4 Strings ("Take Me Away"), Moby ("We Are All Made of Stars" DJ Tiesto Remix), Kosheen ("Hide U"), DJ Encore ("Walking In The Sky" inferior to "I See Right Through To You"), Ian Van Dahl ("Will I?" their best by far!), Dee Dee ("Forever," I'm bored as ever with this song) and Perpetuous Dreamer ("The Sound of Goodbye"). Other than that, you're looking at mainly "filler" material. When you're talking about a 26 song set, having half of the songs being "filler" is not a great ratio. Sometimes these filler tracks can be suprisingly satisfying, but in this case a breakout hit like that would be the exception rather than the rule. Tina Ann's "In My Dreams" is probably the "best of the rest." While DJ Tiesto can certainly create a mighty fine remix (Moby's "...Stars"), his own music is quite boring. Tiesto is deep, vocaless trance music, and "Flight 643" contained herein is a perfect example. I didn't mention Who Da Funk's "Shiny Disco Balls," Sophie Ellis Bextor's "Murder On The Dancefloor" or Amber's "Yes" among the "big hits" only because they were not hits in my own music world. However, each has generated major buzz in some circles, so perhaps these would entice you, the reader to buy. The Annual was not entirely devoid of merit, however. Some of the remixes were different, and thus somewhat fresh, such as the John Creamer & Stephanie K remixes of "Rapture" and "Hide U." While neither remix was necessarily better than the original track, each did have a fresh new spin. On the other hand, the Spanish Fly Remix of "Family Affair" and the DJ Tiesto remix of "We Are All Made of Stars" are far superior to their original versions. Oh yeah, there's a nice double-sided poster that comes with this CD. One side features the Ministry of Sound logo and the other is a photo of a large club crowd with the logo and "Global Dance Party" at the top. I guess if the music isn't quite enough to sell CD's, gotta throw in a little extra, eh? All in all, 3 stars outta do it.

-discodoc

I can't believe I'm going to say this but this compilation is definitely not one of Ministry of Sound's better cds. If anything, I already have heard the majority of the music on MoS's latest "Club Nation America volume 2" as well as "Clubber's Guide to Ibiza 2002", give or take a few tracks here and there. I think MoS is starting to falter a bit and are beginning to put out the same compilation over and over, just with a different title. I could have sworn I was listening to "Club Nation America volume 2" and "Clubber's Guide to Ibiza 2002" on disc 1, the worst of the two disc compilation. Maybe it is because I'm not into house music as I once was but a lot of the tracks were just not very good. The only highlights on disc 1 is IIO's "Rapture", Amber's "Yes", and Res's "They Say". I am not really sure what to think of the housed up version of Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair". I dug the dance version of "No More Drama" on "Club Nation America volume 2" but "Family Affair"? It was fine as it was until I heard that godawful mix. Disc 2 gets slightly better since there is more of a trance feel through out the disc. Still, nothing new that I haven't heard before. I think it is time that MoS finds new songs for each of their compilations, not to mention djs who are far more talented than DJ Sammy whose taste in music is obviously outdated judging by some of the songs he chose on this cd.

It is such a shame that this CD is composed of poor songs. A few, such as Will I seem to have an uplifting beat, but generally, this CD is not all that good. As a tip, i would advise you download the songs on [local website] and see if thay are even worth your money to buy. Why pay for a CD with like 25 songs, when only 3 or so are even worth your time!?

My first impression of this CD was "Wow this is some old stuff!" Then I stopped and thought, isn't this great if I just want to think back about some HOT music that rocked dancefloors over the past 12 months, and mix in a few new gems like "The Way."

That being said, here is my recommendation:
1) For those who are not regular club goers, BUT don't get nearly enough dance music on your local radio station (for whatever REASON), this is a SURE WAY TO get the bangers (good songs) in one collection. Really, there is NOT one bad or lesser known song even... all of these 12" singles are still in my cases to pull out occasionally and play for my crowds.

2) For those of you who do frequent the clubs regularly, this may well be "past tense" music. This is a great way to still get the good flava of dance music into your system if you want to... IF however you are looking for less cheese and more of the newer stuff try MOS 2003 Import (B000077IB7), it MAY suit you better.

3) As far as DJ Sammy, the mix is flawless (as I have come to expect from MOS) and the variety is good to keep the mainstreamers happy and the non mainstreamers NOT unhappy.

4) As far as MOS. Not their most cutting edge stuff, BUT definitely one CD worth having in the CD changer.

Wow, where do I begin? First of all this is by far THE worst dance compilation I have ever heard. I could of mixed this better on my computer. Better on my turntables. DJ Sammy needs to stick to what he is a little better at.... cliche dance songs for the masses. If there was at least some songs on the 2 cds worth playing again I would of given a higher rating. Do not buy this cd unless you like old songs and bad mixing.

I have heard most of the songs on the radio for several months now. If you want something good and new get the MOS The Annual 2003(Import) to get the newest and best.

Just 3 points:
-DJ sammy chose the (right titles) even if they were a little old but i guess that's what you do when you do the biggest dance hits of the year.
-He put them in the (right places)too.
-He used some (wrong mixes)ie. rapture, gotta get thru this, family affair, murder on the dance floor mixes could have been better

all i have to say is these points:
-DJ sammy chose the (right titles) even if they were a little old but i guess that's what you do when you do the biggest dance hits of the year.
-He put them in the (right places)too.
-He used some (wrong mixes)ie. rapture, gotta get thru this, family affair, murder on the dance floor mixes could have been better

I am a full-time dj but only a casual MOS fan. The mixing on this CD is pathetic. If this was mixed live, then my train-crash mixing has better timing than his beat-mixing. It honestly sounds like Winamp did the mixing for this CD. Vocal overlaps and poor timing destroy some good songs. The thing is, the mixes they picked for the CD are second-rate. Definately NOT the mixes I would pick. Save your money and don't patronized this hack job of mixing and music selection.

DJ Sammy's "The Annual 2003 America" gave me the strangest sense of deja vu, and that's not a good thing. It seems that Ministry of Sound is falling into a rut and is faithfully following a tired formula: take a handful of the year's most overplayed dance hits, condense them to 3 minutes or less, add a few filler tracks, and toss in 2 or 3 really good songs, and--voila!--it's a "new" compilation. "The Annual 2003 America" sounds cheap and recycled, re-compiling tracks that already appeared on other MoS comps such as "The Annual 2002," "The Clubber's Guide to 2002," and "The Clubber's Guide to Ibiza 2002." Iio's "Rapture," Hex Hector's remix of Amber's "Yes," DB Boulevard's "Point of View," and Ian Van Dahl's "Will I" have surfaced on so many other compilations that they add nothing new or exciting on this disc. And while "The Annual America 2002" is danceable and energetic, it isn't particularly soulful or gritty, except for the house remix of Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair." If this is your first Ministry of Sound compilation, and you want to buy a disc of dance hits that have a "six-months-ago" stamp, then get this. Otherwise, pass on this one.