Paul Oakenfold Greatest Hits & Remixes Review
A Collection of Dance and House Music Classics from Madonna to U2
Apr 19, 2008
Few artists produce enough hits to fill a greatest hits album, fewer still fill two. Even rarer are DJ’s who create their own chart-topping dance music.
Paul Oakenfold therefore stands alone as one of the most influential and prolific DJ’s around, as confirmed by this 2-disc collection, Greatest Hits & Remixes.
Starting out in the DJ scene when celebrity DJ’s were just a wishful dream, Oakenfold built a cult following in the late 1980’s that introduced house music to the mainstream. Moving from remixer to producer, Oakenfold helped push Happy Mondays to the top of the charts while securing a place in musical history.
In the late 1980’s Oakenfold began DJing at the vacation island Ibiza and incorporated a blend of house, soul, disco from his New York Days and emerging alternative music.
Oakenfold went on to create one of the most successful dance music labels in history, Perfecto Records, and began working with some of the biggest names in dance, pop and rock music. No other DJ has had the chance to officially mix not only Madonna but also U2 and Radiohead, as well as score soundtracks and record best-selling albums.
Ready Steady Go Remixes
Greatest Hit & Remixes gathers the best work of the last 25 years into one collection. Though much of the material here comes from later years. Following a US tour in early 2000, Oakenfold released the remix album Voyage into Trance as well as the soundtrack to the science fiction film Swordfish featuring “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, included on the hits package.
Oakenfold released his first album proper, Bunkka, in 2002. “Ready Steady Go” and “Starry Eyed Surprise”, lifted from that album, mix seamlessly with some of his more famous remixes such as “Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack, “You're Not Alone” by Olive, “Sorry” by Madonna and “Born Slippy Nuxx” by Underworld.
In 2006 Oakenfold released another album of original material A Lively Mind. Though the album didn’t catch fire like his previous effort, two cuts have made the greatest hits including smashing summer dance theme “Faster Kill Pussycat” featuring vocals from actress Brittany Murphy and "Sex 'n' Money," featuring Pharrell Williams.
A Lively Greatest Hits & Remixes
While Greatest Hits & Remixes contains few obscurities from Paul’s countless remixes, the beauty of this album is its easy access and familiarity.
Instead of stamping out a few remixes and filling the album with less popular creations and the odd recognizable tune thrown in for marketability, Oakenfold delivers the goods. Clubbers will know every track on this album and curious fans get a great introduction to Oakenfold’s mix style.
Paul Oakenfold’s Greatest Hits and Remixes makes the perfect album to spin as a warm up to a night of clubbing or any time you feel like reliving a night out on the town. One of the best dance music collections to come along this year.
Other new dance music releases include Moby - Last Night and the self-titled release from Crystal Castles.
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