D1
The Music Is So Beautiful (D1 Music)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Here's something special for those who long for the dreamy house music of a decade ago. D1, which is essentially producer Peter McLean and whomever he is working a track with, brings us a well programmed 68 minutes of prime beats and what feels like Eurovibes, even though McLean hails from Australia and now resides in the United States. These are remixes, mostly of original D1 material with a few extras tossed in, like Bryan Ferry's "Love Is The Drug" and, most interestingly, Fats Waller's "The Joint Is Jumpin'." Every phase of the music gets equal attention from McLean and his cohorts, but something that stand above other great house/dance records is the vocals. This CD contains some of the best vocal tracks I've heard in ages. The voices of Willie Colon, Queen Latifah, and Wanda Houston are dynamite, and Lovestation's Lisa Hunt, who produced a few tracks, is nothing short of stunning. What ties the whole thing together, though, are the slow, low-key raps by McLean himself, as if someone was sharing observations with you as you moved along through the music. I'm glad some people are still making this stuff, and that it's updated so well as to be addictive to the current crop of clubbers. Plant the seeds and let 'em grow.

© 2003 - DJ Johnson