Hello? Mr Vain Speaking (Best Of Culture Beat - Culture Beat)

Member Name: benlepensive

Product:	Best Of Culture Beat - Culture Beat
Date:	26/08/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: all the singles

Disadvantages: megamix

Culture Beat were at the forefront of eurodance in the mid nineties. The act comprised rapper Jay Supreme and vocalist Tania Evans. They managed to notch up a run of successive chart hits before disbanding. Tania forged a brief solo career while Jay vanished into the ether.

What do they sound like?

Cappella, Real McCoy, 2 Unlimited, Maxx.

Highlights:

The obvious biggie is the number one hit 'Mr Vain' which fuses Jay's insane rapping with Tania's smooth and sexy vocal. Jay raps with real attitude and conviction while Tania's warm tones really lift the song. The riff is catchy and the song is a dance classic. If this is your thing, then you will love 'Got To Get It' which delivers more of the same winning formula. Big riffs and a pounding bassline charge the song along at breakneck speed.

Less successful is the mid-tempo 'World In Your Hands' where they try to go all classy and arty. It does not quite come off and the track sits badly amongst the dancier numbers, despite a good vocal turn from Tania. Head instead to 'Anything' which is laden with soaring vocals and tense rap sections. It is similar to 'Got To Get It,' only faster and more relentless.

One of the best tracks on the album is 'Crying In The Rain' which combines Jay's enthusiastic rapping with Tania's well pitched vocals. It harks back to the sound of 'Mr Vain' and should have been a much bigger hit. If Cascada covered it now, it would no doubt do very well.

The album culminates with an overlong megamix which gathers some of the biggest hits and bunches them all together. It is alright, but really is not anything special and megamixes seem to be used to pad these sort of albums. There are 15 tracks in total, all the hit singles are included. I was diappointed with the bland cover artwork though, a photo of the duo would have been more rewarding.

Summary: good eurodance