Customer Reviews

On the Ropes

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first heard Mint Royale's music on a dance mix CD -- the song was called "Don't Falter", and to this day I do not understand why this wasn't a huge hit during the summer of 2000; this bright, breezy, guitar-laced jam is the reason I bought this album. Luckily, there's a lot more on here. Here are my favorite songs on the album, in order:

Track #2: Don't Falter (I already discussed this one)

Track #1: From Rusholme With Love - this one is great. Has that 'Fatboy Slim' retro-bounce to it. Love it!

Track #4: Because I'm Worth It - More of that Big-Beat, Fatboy sound. Bouncy and hip.

Track #3: Show Me - Celebratory sounding. Samples a Bertha Egnos (South Africa) song called "Sesiya Hamba" and it shows. A member from De La Soul raps here. I want to hear the original song now...

Track #6: Take It Easy - Great song...nonstop dancing.

Track #9: Diagonal Girl - the fastest of all my faves...has a "chase" sound to it, like something BT would have composed for the movie "Go".

Hmm...need more convincin, eh? Alright. I am by no means an electronica expert...but I do dig the happier, fun stuff like Daft Punk's "Digital Love", Fatboy Slim's fun stuff -- especially "Gangster Trippin", and Groove Armada's "I See You Baby". If you like those too, you're in the clear. If you don't, you might want to listen to the audio samples (that is if your computer will let you!) first. But all things considered (seriously), if you like dance music with leanings towards 'Big Beat' ala the Wiseguys or Fatboy Slim, by all means -- proceed. Give 'On The Ropes' by Mint Royale a chance. You'll probably like it.

Thanks for reading!

C.H.R.

You will enjoy this album if you enjoy the Big beat sound of Fatboy or the Wiseguys.

The Mint Royale duo seem to be a pair of guys who wake up every morning with an enormous grin on their faces and write their music with that in mind. The bulk of this CD is wonderful, fun, uplifting music that you can dance to non-stop for hours. The highlight is the first single, Don't Falter with guest vocals from Kineckie's Lauren Laverne. Radio friendly but with enormous energy and the ability to make you smile, you can play this in the car and feel better when you get out. Take It Easy and Shake Me and Rock And Roll Bar also stand out as tracks to remember. Great fun.

Mint Royale has put out a complex, upbeat, fun, musical party masterpiece of an album. This mere density of melodies and content of this album is amazing. "Deadbeat" is a bubbly, hyperactive dance tune of whimsy that will send all of its listeners into an orgasmic twirl. "Shake Me" has a nostalgic, old school sound that sounds like what "Grease 2000" might would be like. Other favorites of mine include "Because I'm Worth It" and "Diagonal Girl." This group has the creativity of the Beatles, yet they're hip, danceable, edgey, and square, all at the same time.

Absolutely brilliant album. I bought this as a bit of a gamble, although an educated one; I had first bought, without knowing anything about the band, the single "Don't Falter", a fabulous, catchy pop tune which I love; I was surprised to find that the B-side was a very interesting little piece of beats (not in the album, by the way). And then I read somewhere that Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim had said that this was his favourite band, which was high praise indeed, so I decided to go ahead and buy it, and I certainly didn't regret it: this is fantastic, full of cool tunes and great beats that get you going; I would say it is the best beats album (and best album full stop) I've heard in a while, in fact probably the best since Fatboy's "You've Come a Long Way, Baby". It is quite reminiscent to the work of Norman Cook, especially to Freak Power. I've heard it over and over and it never bores me, so I recommend it to everyone.

Mint Royale has put out a complex, upbeat, fun, musical party masterpiece of an album. This mere density of melodies and content of this album is amazing. "Deadbeat" is a bubbly, hyperactive dance tune of whimsy that will send all of its listeners into an orgasmic twirl. "Shake Me" has a nostalgic, old school sound that sounds like what "Grease 2000" might would be like. Other favorites of mine include "Because I'm Worth It" and "Diagonal Girl." This group has the creativity of the Beatles, yet they're hip, danceable, and square, all at the same time

I don't even know how I heard about Mint Royale in the first place, but somehow I ended up with their mirth-driven album that keep giving me hours over hours of fun time.

This is the essence of coolness! A simple-minded 14 tracks that will jump you up on your feet and keep the smile on your face for 45 minutes (think about it - just ... and you have 45 minutes of smiling! And you can repeat it as much as you want!!! Pretty good deal don't you think?)

I can't point on a specific good single cause I like them all.
A mix of pop, easy latin beats, mixing of oldies ("Take it Easy"), dance and party sound.

Hip dance music!

I first heard the song "From Rusholme With Love" on an italian commercial music CD compilation, and loved it...the rest of this CD is absolutely *BRILLIANT* as well. The beats are fantastic and each song is so different from the others that it's like a mixed bag of audiocandy. The overall vibe of this CD is just so ~happy~! It's perfect for summer driving music or just listening to before going to work. HIGHLY recommended!

On the Ropes is probably one of the best CD's in my car. For the first three weeks I had it, it never left the player. This CD is for anyone looking for an easy first step into broadening their musical tastes to include electronic pop.
This CD by Mint Royale aslo does an INCREDIBLE job of leaving you overwhelmingly happy, no matter how you might have been feeling.
Best Tracks:

1. If you've ever seen the movie Kung Pow, this is the opening theme song. Great Song.
2. Very summery, American Eagle-esque sound
3. The undeniable BEST song on the disc, and definately one of my favorites of all time. Without having even heard the rest of the cd, I've had three friends go and buy the disc just for this one song. Needs to be listened to at HIGH VOLUMES to achieve songs full celebratorial feel.
7,8,9,10. All GREAT tracks, just take a little more time to get into

My Rrecommendation? If you are getting tired of hip-hop, but are looking to expand musically, BUY THIS CD!

I spent a good couple of hours going through the listings of new music in Black Book Magazine's summer Rhythm edition, and of all the works that I listened to, this was it! As a music aficionado of many genres, this was a perfect mix of musicianship and great techno mixing. This is an absolute must for any good collection.