Various artists - Connected: 90s 12” Mixes

A mixed bag of remixes for undiscerning types

You know the sinking feeling you used to get when you realised a single didn’t have a proper B-side, but instead featured a couple of half-arsed remixes? Well, this is a collection of those. Connected showcases 24 dance mixes that a 90s music fan couldn’t fail to recognise. But, being 12” versions made for DJs to play to drug-addled revellers, many of them are slightly weird incarnations of familiar songs.

It deserves one star for the Perfecto mix of U2’s Lemon, and Portishead’s Sheared Wood mix of Paul Weller’s Wild Wood, both of which successfully span rock and dance. On the whole, however, it isn’t upbeat enough to dance to, nor interesting enough to immerse yourself in. The most upsetting inclusion is Pete Rock’s arrangement of House Of Pain’s Jump Around, which makes the comically rubbish rapping the focus.

If you wants to relive your glory days in your living room with a glass of ’98 Châteauneuf-du-Pape where a Rolling Rock used to be, then this is the release for you. If not, it’s probably best avoided.

UMTV | tbc

Reviewed by Lynn Roberts
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