Customer Reviews

Perfecto Presents...The Club

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Superstar DJs are supposed to be on the cutting edge, discovering and dropping tracks designed to wow the crowd on the dance floor. It's why globetrotter DJs get paid the big bucks, and exactly why Paul Oakenfold has secured a spot as one of the world's most popular. "The Club", however, will lead many to scratch their heads wondering what is wrong with the former DJ juggernaut.

Every mix album has to succeed in three areas: song selection, sequencing, and mixing. Oakenfold with this release seems to have given up on all three counts. Upon listening to this mix for the first time, I was checking my CD player to make sure I didn't have it set to shuffle play. The songs were disjointed, lacking in context, and seemed to be cut and pasted out of some random MP3 playlist. Many of the tracks, in particular the bumpers at the beginning and end by Oakenfold's own "Perfecto Allstars", are of low production quality. There are fleeting moments of dancefloor joy: Natasha Bedingfield really ups the energy level midway through the set, and "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake, albeit cheesy, is good for a couple laughs and manages to get most uninitiated clubbers on the floor. Yet the few good moments of the mix are not enough to redeem it as a whole. For example, a good chunk of the songs are overplayed hits from the past 5 years and appear on older, forgettable Oakenfold mixes. PPKs "Resurrection" and the Perfecto remix of U2's "Beautiful Day" show no innovation whatsoever, and the Oakenfold remix of the Doors sounds tired and dull.

The near total lack of mixing and beatmatching is a surprise, given Oakenfold's trend the past couple of years to put out quality albums (check out his "Creamfields" or "Great Wall"- two underrated and enjoyable mixes). It sounds like Paul just gave up on the whole beatmatching aspect of DJing; indeed, your CD player on shuffle mode can equal the quality of this album. Since Oakenfold has a name for himself, this album won't ruin his career- but it does provide another black mark on his long resume. Let's hope this "club" shuts its doors in time for his next mix.

One positive review in 11? That seems a little harsh...

All the people who gave such bad reviews seem to forget that Oaky has done this kind of thing before. Anyone remember Perfection? Bunkka? And even his more recent mixes Great Wall and Creamfields began to trend away from his "purist" trance mixes and towards a more mainstream approach to his work. This album isn't exactly unprecedented in his career.

That said, I can see where this might not appeal to all of Oaky's fans. But reviews of "over the hill" and "sellout" are unwarranted, IMO.

You don't like the album on its own merits? Fair enough. But at least give it a fair trial before you decide. The mixes are well enough done, and while some tracks are better than others, [I'm not sure about the "LA Woman" remix myself, frankly) all in all, this album is by no means an embarrassment.

Oh dear,
I have always been a huge Paul Oakenfold fan, and even got to see him live in his Goa prime.... but i have to agree that he is on the decline.
His old albums.. Fluoro, resident etc etc are all classics that have stood the test of time, and that I have listened to literally hundreds of times....
but this, well, this got boring after about 4 listenings, the first it was new, the second time i was unimpressed and by 4 i had decided it was just bad...
too commercial and lacking in the kind of quality that we expect from Oakenfold. Don't underestimate the man... I still believe he has the ability to be the best DJ in the world.. he has skill a plenty. But it just seems like he doesn't care anymore..
just as Tiesto is rockin right now.. that was oakey 10 years ago...
I just hope Tiesto doesn't follow the same sell-out path..

Now release Perfecto Fluoro 2 and prove me wrong!

Oakenfold is losing his brillance and his touch. His work seems rushed. It sounds unlike anything you would expect from the great oakenfold! I think he feels he has his footing securely in the music world and he is going to remain on the top heap! Instead, he shows me that he has long since needed to retire. This is crap. I couldn't get thru the cd without falling asleep in my chair. SAVE your money!

this CD is actually not too bad.. contrary to come of the reviews.. some of the tracks are really good.. some are sort of "meh" but it's a fun CD to listen to. I am happy with the purchase which was done on a whim, and in the midst of many bad reviews.. It's got a great Oakie energy to it, and you can tell he got to touch most of the music on it.. PPK's ressurection and Chroma (long) are my fav tracks..

If you're a long time Oakenfold fan, then don't read this review. I admit that this album is not a highlight of Oakenfold's mixing career, but we the songs on this album are not half bad. If you're new to Oakenfold's work, than this is definitely a place to start. This cd advertises with the title that it is CLUB music (meaning that these are songs that you can definitely bump and grind to at a club) which is exactly what this album has succeeded in. With remixes of Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" along with vocals by pop artists like Natasha Bedingfield, one look at this album and you can already make inferences that the beats will be poppy. One major gripe I have about this album is that the selection of songs and the order they appear on this album are inconsistent with no careful though or planning.

Just because you *can* remix something doesn't mean you necessarily *should*. This album is abysmal.

I am a devoted Paul Oakenfold fan, and have been since 1998. I hesitated buying this until previewing it a few times in the shops. It is definitely a different sound (think mainstream, rock-dance, commercial) than what I and loyal fans worldwide have come to expect.

"The Club" is not a Paul Oakenfold compilation, but actually a advertisement for the TV series "The Club" (based on the new multi-million superclub Ice in Las Vegas) in which Oakey makes appearances. So you really have to take it as that, and nothing more.

Oakey is getting older, has done it all, played everywhere, and seen everything in dance. He's been on top of the game for nearly two decades, and as such, he has grown as an artist and embraced his extensive wealth and the lifestyle that comes with living in L.A.'s social scene.

"The Club" features a couple great songs worth the price of admission alone. Jan Johnston's "Delerium" is a hypnotic slice of main room vocal trance that speaks to the soul, followed by the best song on the album, Deadly Avenger's "Artisan" (Powerful progressive breaks with an epic tone). I believe Oakey put these on the mix for dedicated fans. Thanks!

There are good rock-dance productions by Oakey under his Perfecto Allstarz moniker, with "Psycho" opening up the mix in a surprisingly good way, followed by the Oakenfold remix of The Flaming Lips, which is decent. Perfecto Allstarz follows with "Bullit", which starts off great (you think he is going into trance mode), but journey's off into unchartered waters. Too much commercialness and major key usage = cheese.

Natasha Bedingfield's "If You're Gonna Jump" is a superb example of Oakey's mainstream appeal, and would sound perfect in an action movie, Hollywood premiere, or any main stage in any superclub . Looks like he got everything right on this one, and it shows. Play this in your car and you're guaranteed to exceed the speed limit!

The bad: here we go.

The Doors "L.A. Woman" is just ridiculous. Hollywood has definitely taken hold of him. This is the worst track I've ever heard from him, and I hope it's the last. Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" is given a mild, simple Oakenfold remix that just should never have happened. It's perfect media advertisement, but is still pure cheese. But watch it rock the dancefloor at ANY hip hop club effortlessly! To each his own.

"Southern Sun", U2's "Beautiful Day", PPK's "Resurrection"? How many times have we seen these tracks on other Oakey compilations, and haven't we heard them waaay too much already? Come on Sir Oakey! This is what angers a lot of devoted fans, along with the "L.A. Woman" and Timberlake fiascos. I know you are make millions off this stuff, but enough is enough!

Perfecto Allstarz round out the mix, with "Chroma" (so-so breaks filler) kindly escorting us into the fairly good Ice Las Vegas ad-song "The Club Theme". Oakey probaly made this in one-sitting, but it still sounds pretty good. Nothing special, but good background music for (once again) advertising!

All in all, I recommend this only if you are a rock and dance music fan, or if you are a truly loyal Oakenfold fan. While not a "Another World" or "Creamfields", "The Club" is a nice addition to your collection.

P.S. - History has shown us that Oakey drops a mediocre release here and there before coming out with a monster-think Perfecto's Greatest Hits, Elvis and other shameful remixes, -followed by Creamfield and The Great Wall. We are due for another massive mix soon!

I,ve been following Paul's downfall for some time now but hoped he would make a U turn and go back to what he USED to do best. This is ridiculous, he is going nowhere like this. Pity!

I was pleased with Creamfields and Great Wall, and glad to see Oaky make a comeback from Bunkka, but I think it's really time for him to step away from the mixer. His live shows are still nothing to shake a stick at, but this album would be more honest if it were called, "Paul Oakenfold shamelessly plugs himself using a couple really bad remixes he's made recently, then throws in a couple random tracks that aren't really any good, and doesn't even bother to make an effort at mixing any of it," since that's all this album really is.

I was hoping after hearing his previous two albums that the man that made Global Underground 7 was making a serious comeback, but this release has me worried that we have lost the great Oakenfold indefinately. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say this project was rushed by forces outside of his control, but since it's from his very own record label I have a hard time believing that. I guess it's just kind of depressing to see a release from him that sounds like hardly any effort at all was put into it.