Protect Your Mind (For The Love of a Big Tune) (Essential Club Anthems: Fifteen Years Of Dance Classics)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Essential Club Anthems: Fifteen Years Of Dance Classics
Date:	19/05/09 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb collection covering fifteen years' of output

Disadvantages: Occasional odd moments when the mix falters

For anyone who has more than a passing interest in house music, Positiva is a record label to be reckoned with. Launched in1993, the label, famous for its simple black and white cross design, was intended to provide dedicated commercial support to the biggest dance floor hits. The aim was simple and shameless; that club music should be propelled into the mainstream and sell lots of copies. In this aim, Positiva is arguably one of the most successful dance imprints of all time, giving the Ministry of Sound a run for its money in terms of turnover and handing the record-buying public some of the biggest anthems of the last sixteen years. In 2008, to celebrate fifteen years of greatness, the label released Essential Club Anthems, a triple mixed CD of Positiva's greatest hits. It remains one of the best club music compilations that I have ever owned.

The Positiva label has always managed to support diversity in a way that other dance music labels have never even attempted, and Essential amply reflects this. The diversity of music styles here is enormous, ranging from epic vocal trance numbers (like 'As The Rush Comes' by Motorcycle) to lush funky house numbers (Spiller's Groovejet, for example) through to chilled ambient house (Adam F's Circles) and on to cheesy, radio-friendly commercial dance (Alice Deejay's Better Off Alone). You'd think that the variety of sounds would grate a little here, risking a creation that would become something of a jack of all trades and master of none, but the reality is that it's an enormously appealing collection. The fifty-seven tracks contained here are arranged carefully in an indescribable running order that just seems to work effortlessly and complements a mood that can be uplifting, downbeat or perhaps just a little chilled.

This is one of those compilations that I would describe as 'minimally mixed'. There's no gap between any of the tracks, the mix is kept very simple and each track is somehow almost entirely distinct from the next. This is useful to anyone who has the collection electronically because each of the tracks works and can be listened to distinctly within your own play list, but also works as part of one long mix. Technically, it's effortless and simple, with only one or two stumbling points. On disc two, for example, the move from Brainbug's Nightmare into Adam F's Circles is a bit strange and the mix seems to grind to a bit of a shuddering halt to accommodate the very different tempo created by Adam F. The tracks vary in length enormously too, and although there are fifty-seven songs contained here, some are barely a blink of the overall running time. Axwell's 'I Found You', for example, open disc one but runs for only two and a half minutes and this kind of brevity is not entirely unusual. Conversely, on a less remarkable track by Paul Van Dyk (The Other Side) you get a full seven minutes and ten seconds. Generally, however, each of the tracks plays for around four minutes. Even if the mixes are labelled as 'club mix' or 'extended mix', what you're really looking at here is the radio edit.

Although the music spans a period of fifteen years, none of the tracks feels dated in the slightest. The oldest material (tracks like Judy Cheeks' 'Reach' and Reel 2 Real's 'I Like To Move It') sit surprisingly well alongside more recent material, justifying the decision to ignore chronology and group the discs more by the type of sound on each. Disc one is reasonably mainstream vocal house, disc two is a mixture of things but more predominantly funky house and disc three is largely a tribute to the big trance and hard house tunes that Positiva has released over the years. The album yields plenty of surprises too. Despite being an ardent follower of Positiva for many years, I was unaware that records like Mark Brown's 'The Journey' (used in the Lloyds TSB adverts) came from Positiva and I also picked up a song by Moony called Dove (I'll Be Loving You) that I've always loved but had no idea who recorded it. There are some slightly cheeky/misunderstood moments too. Eric Prydz's Pink Floyd cover (Proper Education) was released on the Ministry of Sound Data label but has somehow found its way here and there are two versions of The Source's 'You Got The Love' here, which is greedy by anyone's standards.

All the big number ones are here, including the previously mentioned Groovejet tune that launched Sophie Ellis-Bextor's career along with that song from the Lynx advert Make Luv and the Shapeshifters' anthem, Lola's Theme. To try and make the collection very 'now' Fragma's 'Toca's Miracle' is included here in a remixed format, which actually lets the song down terribly and they'd have been wiser to stick to the original. For me, it's the third disc that really stands out, generally through my fondness for the huge trance anthems that proliferated the scene between 1999 and 2002. Ayla, Binary Finary, Veracocha, DJ Sakin and Watergate are all featured here and make for one of the most repeatable track listings anywhere in my music collection. Disc two feels like the weakest of the three, only really because it doesn't have the massive commercial successes of disc one, but all three discs/mixes are excellent with barely as single weak link.

The Positiva label continues to release music now, but seems less prominent than it was a few years back. Essential Club Anthems is therefore even more timely in its release, almost marking the very pinnacle of Positiva's success before it was drowned by the competition from Hed Kandi and All Around the World. At around £10 online, this compilation is enormous value and hugely appealing. If you Like To Move It, you should absolutely, positiva-ly go and get this record. Now.

Full track listing (not shown correctly in Dooyoo's product overview):

Disc: 1

1. I Found U (Vocal Remode)- Axwell Featuring Max'C
2. Flashdance (Raul Rincon Remix)- Deep Dish
3. Flawless (Phunk Investigation Club Mix) (Edit)- The Ones
4. The Journey Continues (Vocal Club Mix)- Mark Brown Featuring Sarah Cracknell
5. Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (Radio Edit)- Spiller
6. Lola's Theme (Extended Vocal Mix)- The Shapeshifters
7. Make Luv (Extended Mix) - Room 5 Featuring Oliver Cheatham
8. You Got The Love (Shapeshifters Main Vocal Mix) - The Source Featuring Candi Staton
9. Dove (I'll Be Loving You) (T&F vs Moltosugo Club Mix) - Moony
10. Alright (Brad Carter Remix) - Red Carpet
11. Everybody Be Somebody (Peppermint Jam Radio Edit) - Ruffneck Featuring Yavahn
12. I Like To Move It (Erick 'More' Club Mix) - Reel 2 Real Featuring The Mad Stuntman
13. The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind) (Armand Van Helden Re-edit)- Kenny Dope Presents The Bucketheads
14. Reach (Brothers In Rhythm Radio Edit) - Judy Cheeks
15. Always And Forever (Bob Sinclar Remix) - Chocolate Puma
16. Shine (The Lovefreekz Club Mix)- The Lovefreekz
17. Counting Down The Days (Axwell Vocal Mix)- Sunfreakz featuring Andrea Britton
18. Roc Ya Body "Mic Check 1, 2" (Jupiter Ace Vocal Mix)- M.V.P.
19. Everytime I See Her (Sound Of Eden) (Bodyrox Vocal Mix) - Another Chance

Disc: 2

1. Toca's Miracle (Inpetto 2008 Mix)- Fragma
2. Need To Feel Loved (Original Mix) - Reflekt Featuring Delline Bass
3. Proper Education (Original Club Mix) - Eric Prydz vs Floyd
4. De Niro (Journey - 93 EQ) - The Disco Evangelists
5. In Love With You (Original Club Mix) - Atrium
6. Gia (DJ Gregory Remix) - Despina Vandi
7. Junk (D Ramirez Remix) - Ferry Corsten Featuring Guru
8. The Other Side (Deep Dish Other Than This Side Remix)- Paul Van Dyk Featuring Wayne Jackson
9. Musak (Steve Lawler Remix)- Trisco
10. C'mon Lady (Eric Prydz Remix) - Harry's Afro Hut
11. I Fell In Love With The DJ (WAWA Vocal mix)- Che'Nelle Featuring Cham
12. The Storm (Long Version)- Jerry Ropero Featuring Cozi
13. Rock Your Body Rock (Extended Mix)- Ferry Corsten
14. Seven Days And One Week (Club Mix)- BBE
15. Storm (Original Club Mix)- Storm
16. Nightmare (Sinister Strings Mix)- Brainbug
17. Circles (7'' Edit)- Adam F
18. Shake Ur Body (Radio Edit)- Shy FX & T-Power Featuring Di
19. You Got The Love (New Voyager Radio Edit)- The Source Featuring Candi Staton

Disc: 3

1. As The Rush Comes (Gabriel & Dresden Sweeping Strings Remix)- Motorcycle
2. Anthem (Original Mix)- Filo & Peri Featuring Eric Lumiere
3. La (Moonman's Flashover Mix)- Marc Et Claude
4. Ordinary World - Aurora
5. Janeiro (Armin Van Buuren Remix)- Solid Sessions
6. Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Heart Of Asia) (DJ Quicksilver's 'Q' Mix)- Watergate
7. Carte Blanche (Original Mix)- Veracocha
8. I Don't Wanna Lose My Way (Divide & Rule Remix)- Dreamcatcher
9. Bellissima (Original 12'')- DJ Quicksilver
10. Nothing But You (UK Radio Edit)- Paul van Dyk featuring Hemstock And Jennings
11. 1998 (Paul Van Dyk Remix)- Binary Finary
12. Something (Extended Mix)- Lasgo
13. On The Move (Original Mix)- Barthezz
14. Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess) (Lange Remix)- DJ Sakin & Friends
15. Ayla (DJ Tandu Remix)- Ayla
16. Better Off Alone - DJ Jurgen Presents Alice Deejay
17. Fix Me (Radio Edit)- Velvet
18. Passion (Paul Masterson Radio Edit)- Amen UK
19. The Nighttrain (Radio Edit)- Kadoc

Summary: Positiva - The First Fifteen Years