Customer Reviews

Red Hot & Dance

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

 

 

The best contributions on this album are George Michael's 'Do You Really Want To Know' and 'Happy'. While 'Too Funky' might have been the big hit with the super-model filled video, it is these other two that are the real gems.

Madonna also contributes a very good track (and I am *not* a fan of Madonna's post-Vogue material) that is well worth the price of admission. The rest of the tracks are "okay" at best, with none really standing out.

But the GM tracks are worth it alone.

the best among these cuts is madonna's 'supernatural'. she was still doing that cheeky combo of latin beats and saucy lyrics. she also still had that tight, closed sound to her vocals that made her voice distinctive. damn that seth riggs for training her out of her style!

because this was a sony release and george michael was a sony contractee, he is the most featured artist on the disc. his contributions, save 'too funky' are not very memorable.

the remixes aren't bad, especially 'change' by lisa stansfield. but there would be more and better suprises with later red hot discs.

Usually the entries in the Red Hot series have a high level of quality and a good degree of thematic consistency, and even when they don't quite measure up, they are at least interesting. This second CD (there have since been at least a half dozen more), however, is a bit of a miss. Chalk it up to growing pains.

The organizing principle this time is dance music, and I submit that only half the cuts here would really qualify as tunes that would make you get your groove thang out on the floor. Madonna's offering is subpar, PM Dawn's single hit (sampling from Spandau Ballet's "True") is NOT gonna make you sweat 'til you bleed, the Crystal Waters remix is pointless, and the film scoring duo of tomandandy contribute a droning and depressing little number.

Lisa Stansfield's "Change" is quite good, but again, not exactly something that sets the pulse pounding, and ditto for "Apparently Nothin'" by the Young Disciples. The strongest songs here are the opening trio by George Michael, and particularly the sample-heavy "Too Funky", which rollicks along in the mode of the fairly contemporaneous "I Want Your Sex".

Altogether, it's not a bad album, but it's far from great, and you can probably get a superior George Michael fix elsewhere.

Length:: 0:32 Mins

As other reviewers have stated, the strongest cuts ARE those contributed by George Michael, an artist whose news-making sexual activities placed him in, what best can be called, "musical leprosy". However, when he was in the limelight, he did shine brightly and the three here exemplify why he was hot.

The other jewel is Todds CD Mix of Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice elf Agin). Adding a heavier bass line reinvigorates a true classic.

The remainder of the album, however, doesn't cut it. A weak Madonna entry and other lifeless remixes seem to contradict the terms "red, hot, and dance".

This CD is good but what makes it great is Madonna's contribution. "Supernatural" is one of her best songs and worth the price of the whole CD. I can't believe it was never released as a single. Great dance number and Madonna's sense of humor is cherishable in this song. Buy it!

Eclectic selection of mixes and previously unavailable songs from artists of the 80s and early 90s. Definitely worth the price, and wothy of adding to any music collection.