Clubland Vol.5 - Various Artists

...A review of the new Clubland CD from me is now a bit like an Only Fools And Horses Christmas special – you just know you’re going to get one whether you like it or not. Volume five in the series hits the shops for the summer and frankly it’s just more of the same all over again.

Firstly, I shall get the criticisms out of the way.

The Clubland series is released on the Universal record label, an affiliate ...
...Not content with the standard Clubland series, Universal also recently released the second volume in the Clubland Extreme series, as well as a new compilation called Floor Fillers, a sequel to which I would expect to see any week now. The big problem with this is that the record company is running out of new tracks to include on each compilation in the series. On Clubland 5, for example, out of 40 tracks (a significant track listing in its own right) ... more

And so the series runs again.

A review of the new Clubland CD from me is now a bit like an Only Fools And Horses Christmas special – you just know you’re going to get one whether you like it or not. Volume five in the series hits the shops for the summer and frankly it’s just more of the same all over again.

Firstly, I shall get the criticisms out of the way.

The Clubland series is released on the Universal record label, an affiliate of which is All Around the World (AATW). AATW has literally taken over the commercial end of the club music scene, with a relentless barrage of radio-friendly, hyperactive dance music that has anyone with any credibility cringing into his or her copy of NME. Not content with the standard Clubland series, Universal also recently released the second volume in the Clubland Extreme series, as well as a new compilation called Floor Fillers, a sequel to which I would expect to see any week now. The big problem with this is that the record company is running out of new tracks to include on each compilation in the series. On Clubland 5, for example, out of 40 tracks (a significant track listing in its own right) at least 11 of the songs have previously featured on another compilation in the series. If you are a regular buyer of these CDs, you might therefore start to feel as though one compilation is looking much like the next.

Secondly, for this volume in the series, the producers have decided to change the formula slightly. Previously, we were treated to two discs of separate tracks, with a third disc of mixed tracks. This offered pretty fantastic value for money by anyone’s standards. This time round, things have reverted to two unmixed tracks, which still means good value, but I do miss the third mixed disc. The other change in formula seems to be a move to try and include a different range of material on the second disc. Previously, both discs in each volume have featured a similar relentless range of tracks, all of which have generally stuck to a commercial trance kind of feel. This time around, disc two features a much wider selection of house tunes, with only a peppering of commercial trance. This is fine for me – I quite like the variety – but fans of the previous volumes might not like the second disc as much as they would have expected.

As with the previous entries in the series, the whole collection is generally very one-sided – you either like this sort of thing, or you don’t. If I were to pitch this at a particular market segment then I would choose teenaged lads, driving around in Citroen Saxos, wearing Von Dutch baseball caps pulled down over their bleached blond hair cuts. Again, this doesn’t bother me – I’m shamelessly tasteless when it comes to music – but as a truly credible selection of club music, then Clubland 5 would disappoint and offend in equal quantities.

But these things really don’t mean that I’m not going to recommend this album to you, because I absolutely am. As a slice of cheesy, uplifting, summer music then this really can’t go wrong. The AATW stranglehold on the music charts means that if many of these tracks aren’t already familiar to you, then they soon will be. The Clubland series has a real sense of fun and energy about it, and this volume is absolutely no exception. I have literally played this album to death for several weeks now, and despite being familiar with virtually every single track listed, I still enjoy it every time I put it on. Stick it on in the car to wake you up in the morning. Blast it out the stereo whilst you’re getting ready to go out. Worse still (for the neighbours at least) crank up the volume when you get in. I just love this kind of raucous, vacuous dance music, whether it’s fashionable to do so or not.

Musically, there is initially a similar selection of material to the previous four volumes. Remember that cheesy eighties song called Hungry Eyes? It’s pumped up to about four million miles an hour and covered by Eyeopener here in one of the most awfully good cover versions I’ve heard in ages. Alice Cooper’s Poison goes through the mill as well, as Groove Coverage strip out any of the metal shite and turn it into a fabtastic club tune. Wackside’s cover version of the Sister Sledge classic Lost In Music is surprisingly good, but Black Eyed Pea purists should probably turn away when RIP turn Shut Up into a storming house tune. The Royal Gigolos bring some credibility to the place with their groovy cover of California Dreamin’ but all that goes out of the window for The Girls of FHM’s class-less version of Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? Do you get the feeling for what’s going on?

There are some gorgeous trance tunes here, too. Jurgen Vries appears once again with the luscious “Take My Hand”, a dreamy, uplifting little number not that far removed from Matt Darey’s recent efforts. Plummet are back with Cherish The Day – not as good as Damaged, but similar in arrangement and sound. Ultrabeat’s new single is also here - Better Than Life is not really an appropriate description in relation to the overall quality of the tune, but it’s good enough and Flip and Fill’s cheesy Discoland is a belting little tune too. Overall, my two favourite tunes are probably I Adore by Clear Vu (repetitive but really catchy) and Body Talk by Protect The Innocent (even more repetitive and even catchier!).

There are some danced up pop tunes thrown into the mix, which, for once, work pretty well in their own right. Girls Aloud crop up on the first disc with The Show and The Farm’s classic Altogether Now gets transformed into a banging house anthem. Frankee’s delightful reposte F.U.R.B. is also here, albeit in a rather frantic version and I do like George Michael’s new one, Flawless, which mixes samples from The Ones’ classic club tune with typical GM vocals. The biggest surprise for me was Christina Milian’s Dip It Low, which gets housed up by Full Intention and turns into one of my favourite songs on the album.

Of course, it’s not all as good. Scooter’s dreadful Jigga Jigga now seems to be proving that the Scooter formula is really starting to wear thin. Matt Darey’s mix of LMC VS U2 is just, well, boring really. Awesome 3 really should get lost now too. Don’t Go was first released in 1996, and seems to have filled space on at least two previous volumes – it’s back again in volume 5, much to my dismay.

Nonetheless, for those of you who are into this kind of thing, Clubland 5 will not disappoint. It’s a fantastically shameless commercial record that will appeal immensely to anyone who doesn’t take his/her music too seriously. At around £14.99 for the two discs, it’s pretty good value and it would appear that I’m not alone in my affection for the series. All five volumes have now reached number one in the compilation album charts. Clearly, the formula looks set to run, and run – and that suits me fine!

Recommended

Track listing:

Disc One

1. Flip and Fill – Discoland
2. Ultrabeat – Better Than Life
3. Styles & Breeze – You’re Shining
4. Eyeopener – Hungry Eyes
5. Special D – Nothing I Won’t Do
6. Rachel Macfarlane – Lover
7. Neo Cortex – Elements
8. Clear Vu – I Adore
9. N Trance – I’m In Heaven
10. Jurgen Vries – Take My Hand
11. Double Dutch – Bring The Noise
12. Styles & Breeze – Heartbeat
13. Scooter – Jigga Jigga!
14. Groove Coverage – Poison
15. The Fall of Troy – Miss You
16. Protect The Innocent – Body Talk
17. Tina Cousins – Hymn
18. Escape – Flying Away
19. Girls Aloud – The Show
20. The Farm – Altogether Now (Remix)

Disc Two

1. Marly – You Never Know
2. George Michael – Flawless
3. LMC VS Us – Take Me To The Clouds Above
4. Flower Power – Flower Power
5. Narcotic Thrust – I like It
6. Girls of FHM – Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?
7. Milk & Sugar – Stay Around
8. Christina Milian – Dip It Low
9. Mousse T – Is It Cause I’m Cool?
10. Royal Gigolos – California Dreamin’
11. Wackside – Lost in Music
12. DJ Jose – Hecitate
13. RIP – Shut Up
14. Frankee – FU Right Back
15. Awesome 3 – Don’t Go
16. OTB Project – The Sun Is Shining Down On Me
17. Plummet – Cherish The Day
18. Gladiator feat. Izzy – Now We Are Free
19. Ron Van Den Beuken – Timeless
20. XTM & DJ Chucky Presents Annia – Give Me Your Love
 

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