The Summer Is Magic (Clubland 9)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Clubland 9
Date:	15/08/06 (2801 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent value, consistency of tracks, not mixed

Disadvantages: If you don't like it, you'll loathe it

I remember reading an article or comment in a Sunday newspaper, in which a fifty-something father was commenting / complaining about the youth of today. In said article, he referred distinctly to the fact that he could not stand the way in which he could never extricate his son from his bedroom, amidst a flurry of posters of half-naked women and a constant barrage of “that dreadful Techno music”. It’s a pretty safe bet that as you’re sat here reading this review that aged parent is still suffering and that his wayward son is sat playing Clubland 9.

The Clubland series has been running for a few years now, and shows no signs of slowing pace. There have been various spin-offs (Floor Fillers, Clubland XTreme, Club Land Classics) but it’s the core series that remains the biggest seller, and my personal favourite. The recipe seldom changes. You will normally be presented with a double CD of around forty tracks, many of which are exclusive (at time of release) to the series, and from time to time, you’ll also get a bonus “mixed” CD featuring a range of tracks from previous compilations. This time round, there is no bonus CD, but with forty-one tracks in total to its name, Clubland 9 still offers superb value for money. Again, as per the previous eight volumes, the tracks are not mixed, which means that you can play randomly or sort to a play list without disrupting the flow of a particular mix. Similar compilations such as Ministry of Sound or Gatecrasher will normally be mixed by a DJ, which is not a bad thing, but does mean that tracks listened to in isolation can sound a bit freaky.

As ever, Clubland 9 is completely without credibility and features a mixture of styles through trance, house, funky house, pop dance, Euro dance and cheese. There are big commercial tunes here such as Infernal’s “Paris to Berlin” and Leo Sayer’s “Thunder In My Heart”, but at first glance, most of the tunes will be largely unknown to the casual listener. The appealing thing is that after no more than a couple of play backs, you quickly pick up new favourites, often reworked versions of older songs that you know you really shouldn’t like, but do nonetheless. I quickly found a cover version of Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting for Tonight” that seemed to get stuck in my head, only to be quickly dislodged by a pumping, upbeat cover of Sophie B Hawkin’s “Right Beside You”. If you’re one of those people that hate cover versions (or rip-offs as some people might call them) then you should probably not listen to this album. As per other volumes in the series, there are also some beefed / mixed up versions of more commercial pop records, each with varying degrees of success. A mix of Nelly Furtado’s Man Eater makes a bad song dreadful, but a housed up version of Sugababes’ Red Dress works better. Series favourites Girls Aloud are conspicuous by their absence from this volume, but Dannii Minogue maintains her regular presence with another tired pop / house song, “Under Pressure.”

There’s a definite Summery feel to this volume in the series, not surprisingly given the time of release. “The Summer Is Magic” is a terribly cheesy Euro-anthem about some girl dancing with the DJ. “We Can Runaway” is a chirpy little number about flying off and running away together (presumably after some holiday romance) and Beachball is a beefed up version of the Nalin and Kane Ibiza classic, with a new sexy vocal. The pace of both discs is pretty relentless, with a barely a second to gather breath. There are no ballads here, guys. That aside, however, at times, the album does chill out a little bit, slowing down the feverish pace just enough to slip in some slightly funkier house tunes. Michael Gray’s “Borderline” is a far less frantic affair, and “Tell Me” by Grooveland is more a funky disco thing than anything else. Although these tracks (and others) don’t detract from the overall feel of the album, like other volumes in the series, they do give the compilation a slight identity crisis. There aren’t enough of them to justify a “we do all kinds of things” kind of answer, but they’re too far-removed from the rest of the trance and hardcore to stop you from thinking “that’s weird.”

Having played the album relentlessly for the last few weeks (sad but true) I’ve got some clear favourites. Cascada’s “Everytime We Touch” has been around for a couple of years now, but the new version on this album really seems to hit the spot – the word “uplifting” was invented for this song. Immediately afterwards, Micky Modelle featuring Jessy’s “Dancing In The Dark” keeps things going in the same direction with more gorgeous vocals from Jessy – surely overdue more commercial success by now? Ultrabeat vs. Scott Brown’s “Elysium” takes an instrumental trance track and adds new vocals to it with immediate impact and sure fire success. Alex Gaudino’s cover of Waiting for Tonight is cool and Michael Gray’s “Borderline” is gorgeous. Buyers of the Clubland series tend to know what they’re getting and the consistency of the album is not surprisingly strong – you either like this kind of stuff or you don’t. That being said, there are a handful of tracks that do nothing for me – Nelly Furtado and Dannii Minogue already mentioned, as well as a dodgy Irene Cara cover / remix and a very weak version of “Somebody’s Watching Me”.

The Clubland series is, and always has been the musical equivalent of Marmite and is there simply to be loved or hated. The ninth addition is unlikely to change that position and does what it says on the tin. I’ve bought every single one of the Clubland series and will continue to do so all the time I have ears. It’s just my cup of tea. Take it or leave it. I’m off down the rave up.

Recommended

Full track listing:

Disc One

1. From Paris To Berlin-Infernal
2. Everytime We Touch-Cascada [Styles And Breeze Remix]
3. Dancing In The Dark-Mickey Modelle Vs. Jessy [Dancing DJs Remix]
4. Toujours L'Amour (I'll Fly For You)-Gigi D'Agostino
5. SOS-A Studio [M Factor Remix]
6. First Time-Sunblock Feat. Robin Beckl
7. Angel-Flip & Fill
8. Right Beside You-Dancing DJs Feat. Victoria
9. Out Of My Hands-D:Code
10. Everyday Of My Life-Hackett
11. Last Goodbye-Da Buzz
12. We Can Run Away-Ultrasun [Alex K Beachball Mix]
13. Don’t Stop The Music-Disco Kids
14. Deep Inside-Club
15. Tell Me-Grooveland
16. Living On Video-Pakito [Noots Vocal Mix]
17. Waiting For Tonight-Alex Gaudino & Jerma Pres. Lil Love
18. Beachball-Nalin & Kane Feat. Denis The Menace [Steve Murano Club Mix]
19. Rock Da House 2006-Tall Paul
20. Celebrate The Summer-Lacuna [Dancing DJs Remix

Disc Two

1. Under Pressure-Dannii Minogue [Soul Seekerz Remix]
2. Faster Kill Pussycat-Oakenfold Feat. Brittany Murphy
3. Stoned In Love-Chicane Feat. Tom Jones
4. Love Sensation 2006-Eddie Theonick & Kurd Maverick
5. Maneater-Nelly Furtado [Jelo's Toronto Mix]
6. Somebody’s Watching Me-Rockwell
7. Elysium (I Go Crazy)-Ultrabeat Vs. Scott Brown
8. Angel Eyes-Eyeopener [Cheeky Trax Remix]
9. Keep On Moving-Starstylers Feat. Michy [FNP Remix]
10. Nobody Like You-Kelly Llorenna
11. Now I'm Free (Freefallin')-Freeloaders [Raul Rincon Remix]
12. Yeah Yeah-Bodyrox [Chosen Few Vocal Mix]
13. Changes-Chris Lake
14. Something On Your Mind-Mync Project Feat. Abigail Bailey [Soulseekerz Remix]
15. Something (To Make You Feel Alright)-Silosonic
16. Thunder In My Heart Again-Meck
17. Borderline-Michael Gray [Club Mix]
18. Red Dress-Sugababes [Dennis Christopher Vocal Mix]
19. What A Feeling-The Hughes Corporation [Luminate Mix]
20. Satellites-September [Dancing DJs Remix]
21. The Summer Is Magic-Frisco

Best price: I found this for £11.99 from the HMV web site.

Summary: Another excellent volume in the series - you just gotta love it!