Mash Up Mix 2008, The (Mixed By The Cut Up Boys) [Digipak] - Various Artists

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Mixes/Mash Ups .  Amount of Songs .
Disadvantages:	Length of some songs .  Only for dance fans

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I recently received this 2 disc CD set for my birthday..which is on friday. It was given to me on good advice from a friend of me and the person i received it from.

I imagine it was bought from HMV, as this is the only music store local to me. The price of the CD from HMV is £9.99, which is a bargain for the amount of tracks on the disks. 43 tracks to be precise. The majority of which contain 2 or more tracks mixed in with one another. The core tracks are mainly dance songs that will be familiar with most people. And the acappella (vocals) are mainly rap songs, but there are also some classic r'n'b anthems as well as dance anthems and recent dance tracks featured on the vocal side of the tracks.

The album is mixed by the cut up boys, who recently emerged onto the dance scene. And, obviously, by their name, enjoy cutting songs and mixing them with other songs. Some of their best work can be viewed on their myspace site. www.myspace.com/cutupboys.

................DISK 1 -

Right from the start of the CD the songs definitely don't disappoint. The first set of vocals being "Jump Around - Old School Players" A brilliant song in itself. But when it becomes mixed with the tune for back by dope demand. It becomes completely different, but still definitely just as good. It gives off a very dancey vibe, but with the vocals from an early 90s rap song there is a slightly different edge to the song. Both tracks work extremely well with each other and is a very good listen. As i said, this was a good start to the CD.

The first track is definitely one of my favourites on the album. This spot is highly contested though, by many others on the album. These tracks include -
Track 03 - Fatboy Slim - Praise You/Jamsey P - Nookie (Acappella)
Track 08 - X-Press 2 - Lazy (Acappella)/Disco Freaks Feat. Rob Li - Take Me 2 The Sun
Track 16 - Yves Larock - Rise Up/Moloko - The Time Is Now (Acappella)
Track 22 - The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up (Sub Focus Remix)/Dirty Old Ann - Turn Me On (Acappella)
Track 23 - Utah Saints - Something Good '08(High Contrast Remix)/Soul Rebels - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Acappella)

................Track 03 -
Once again this is the base of a dance track, that is very well known, mixed with the vocals of an old school rap song, which is not as widely known among most audiences. However, both of the songs mix in well with one another. There is clearly a lot of thought put into the process of chosing songs to go together. It is quite an up tempo song, but still has the slow mellow undertones that Praise You has. Its the sort of song that if it comes on when you are out, EVERYONE knows the words. A brilliant mix up of songs. The change of tempo in both songs happen almost simultaneously and it works very well, if you didn't know, then you would think they were made together. Overall it's an excellent song and i can't get enough of it. The only problem is that the song is only 2.08 mins long.
9/10 for track 03

................Track 08
Again, these songs work together perfectly. I love the lyrics for Lazy by X-Press 2 and the faster tempo of Take me 2 The Sun gives the lyrics a whole different feel to when they were originally heard a few years ago. (The video for the original song was also brilliant). It isn't quite as catchy as the Fatboy Slim song but it's still good. Though it doesn't have as much staying power as some of the other tracks on the album, its the sort of track you forget is on an album, and then are really pleased to hear it. At 3.43 mins long it's of average length. At the end it changes subtley and skillfully into the next track which is also very good. Booty Luv - Shine/The Creeps - Get on the dancefloor. Both are songs i love.
8/10 for Track 08

................Track 16 -
I think that the only reason i like this song is because of the featuring of Rise up by Yves Larock. It has been one of my favourite songs of the past year. It is such a happy song and uplifting. The voice of Moloko completely brings it down to a different level. Though i have never been a fan of hers. It is a slight remix of the Yves Larock song, but the basic tune is still clearly there within the song. There is something about this song that makes me feel that i wouldn't miss it if it wasn't on the album. But then i wouldn't have Yves Larock to listen to.
7/10 for Track 16
(10/10 for Yves Larock - Rise Up)

................Track 22 -
Considering that The Prodigy are one of my all time favourite bands then it is not exactly surprising that they would be in my favourite tracks. However, one of the best bits of the track is the bit where it has Smack My Bitch Up mixed with the vocals of Dizzee Rascal's Sirens. If this was the whole song it would definitely be my favourite by a long shot. As it is, the lyrics for turn me on, do not disappoint. They are very strong lyrics and vocals that compliment the strong bassy and snare filled loops of The Prodigy masterpiece of Smack My Bitch Up. Both songs work very well with each other. They are both dance songs so obviously the tempo is going to be quite fast. Its definitely one for those who love dance songs. At the 3 minute mark, it kicks back to the vocals from smack my bitch up. Then there is a very heavy dance part after this, the second best part of the song. If only it had Dizze Rascal's lyrics all the way through. Lasting a gripping 4.23 this has to be one of the best songs on the album
(If anyone has not heard the Sub Focus Remix of Smack My Bitch Up, and likes both The Prodigy and Drum n Bass then i would definitely advise it. Its one of the best remixes i have heard.)
9/10 for track 22

................Track 23
This track brings a cool relief to the manic end of the previous song. With a slightly orchestral tone at the beginning, it is very different, but still amazingly good. Again, High Contrast do some good drum n bass remixes of songs.
I had never heard the lyrics for this song before i had listened to it, but they go very well with the song. It sounds very dramatic. It is more of a speech than actual singing, and the passionate background music goes well with this. The fast beat, slow strings of the orchestra, then the speech followed by a female vocalist is very good. If you are going to attempt to listen to any of the songs from this album i would advise this one as it shows completely the diversity of all of the tracks in just 3.55 mins.
10/10 for track 23

................Overall for Disk 1

I would say it is the better of the two disks, giving much more variation of tracks, tunes and lyrics. With some excellent mixes throughout the disk. Though some of the songs are quite short, they definitely make up for this in quality of sound.

................Disk 2
The second disk of the album is a similar installment to the first one, very much influenced by the dance scene, again, with a lot of lyrics from rap songs.

My favourite songs on this disk are -
Track 04 - Sash! - Encore Une Fois (Future Breeze Remix)/The Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On (Acappella)/Septemeber - Cry For You (Acappella)
Track 06 - Hoxton Whores - Friday Saturday Love/Outhere Brothers - Shake It (Acappella)
Track 16 - Joy Kitikonti - Joy Energiser (Psico Mix)/The Ragga Twins & Aquasky - Let Me See Those Hands (Acappella)
Track 18 - Scott Project - O (Overdrive)/The Prodigy - Firestarter/Jason Herd Feat. Katherine Ellis - So Strong (Acappella)

................Track 04
This track is the start of the second disk in my eyes, and finally picks up properly where Pendulum left off at the end of the last disk. (Not that anyone compares to Pendulum, of course).
The tune from the sash song has a very electonic sound to it but is also very trancey all at the same time. This goes well with the lyrics featured in the song. Which sound like they themselves are from a similar style of song. They sound very good together and make for a very good listen. A short song at 2.42 mins, but very good all the way through.
9/10 for track 04

................Track 06
The Hoxton Whores came up with some catchy dance songs in the previous year and this is no exception from that rule. If you don't know the song by name, you would definitely know the tune when you heard it. A very catchy tune. The rap lyrics go well with it, and are quite explicit. I suppose this goes well with the name of the group. This is one of the songs that gives the album its parental advisory stamp on the front. It is definitely one of my favourites, not for that reason. At first i thought i liked it so much due to the catchy tune of Friday Saturday Love, and then on second listen i realised that the lyrics go really well with the song and add something new to it, that makes it even better. These 2 songs were made from each other and it definitely shows in the outcome. 4.41 mins of absolute heaven.
10/10 for track 06

................Track 16
Joy Energiser just sounds like a lot of scratching/speeding up/slowing down of notes with a bass behind it, and i love it. However the original is certainly missing something. That something is some lyrics. By the sound of it those lyrics come from The Ragga Twins. I had a big smile on my face when i first heard this song. The jamaican sounding reggae origin of the lyrics is completely different to the sound of Joy Kitikonti, but they go together perfectly and fit in with each other faultlessly. At 2.04 mins long its one of the shortest tracks on the second disk.
10/10 for track 16

................Track 18
I couldn't review the second disk without commenting on the second Prodigy song of the album. Firestarter only briefly appears in this song, but it goes well with the very fast tune of Overdrive. I would personally like to hear more of the lyrics from firestarter on the track but overall it works quite well.
7/10 for track 18

................Overall for Disk 2

Although it is not as good as disk one on the whole, there are still a few good songs scattered throughout the disk. You just have to give it a listen and make p your mind about the few hidden gems that there are. Again the majority of the tracks are very short but are still quite good.

................Conclusion
I would definitely recommend this CD to anyone who likes dance songs from the last year or so. As each of them have a different take on them in this CD. I have enjoyed listening to it lots and will continue doing so for a long time yet. There is something for all dance fans. The only down side is that probably only dance fans will enjoy it, and maybe not all of them at that.

The cover of the CD keeps well with vthe styling of the tracks and tunes. Sporting a Ministry of Sound logo most dance fans would trust in the quality that there is likely to be inside. Using bright colours and what looks to be a minor explosion on the front illustrates there is a lot of sounds coming together at one. Comes with a card sleeve aswell to protect the plastic casing.