With a mission to ‘bring forth’ classic tracks of his own choosing ‘to a new and sophisticated generation,’ legendary gay DJ Danny Tenaglia has compiled 22 songs over the course of two CDs and at the same time shared his love of music with those listening on Choice: A Collection of Classics (Ultra/Azuli). Tenaglia opens the classics compilation with the controversial artist formerly known as Cat Stevens and his legendary experimental electronic cut ‘Was Dog A Doughnut?’ from 1977. Next comes Larry Levan’s mix of U.K. trio Imagination’s ‘Changes,’ which is a classic (although I prefer their better-known ‘Just An Illusion’) from 1982. So far, Mr. Tenaglia earns high marks for being an educator. In addition to the male vocals on ‘Changes,’ Tenaglia includes other masculine performers, such as Mr. Lee (‘I Can’t Forget’), Christian Falk featuring Demetrius (the more recent ‘Make It Right’), and Elevation (‘Blaze’), foregoing diva overkill on disc one. I’m so glad that Tenaglia included the underrated Hugh Masekela track ‘Don’t Go Lose It Baby’ on disc two. I used to love dancing to this song as a college student in Boston, and was constantly amazed by the fact that this was the same Hugh Masekela of ‘Grazing In The Grass’ fame. Other disc two standouts include Adeva’s ‘Independent Woman’ (from her 1991 disc Love Or Lust), Frankie Knuckles’s flawless ‘The Whistle Song,’ and the exceptionally vintage disco funk of ‘I Want To Thank You’ by Alicia Myers.
They call it trance for a reason, and Paul van Dyk, the man who has been called the ‘king of trance,’ knows the hypnotic power of this music. The continuously mixed first disc one, of the double-disc set Global (Mute), compiles a baker’s dozen tracks from van Dyk’s prolific, but still new (he released his first full-length disc less than 10 years ago), career for a concise, yet informative, overview. Beginning with the addictive ‘We Are Alive’ (featuring a vocal sample by Jennifer Brown), the disc also includes crowd-pleasers such as ‘Another Way’ and ‘Words,’ as well as the high-energy collaboration with Saint Etienne, ‘Tell Me Why (The Riddle),’ and two previously unreleased cuts (‘My World’ and ‘Animacion’). The second disc of the set is a DVD featuring an interview with van Dyk, testimonials from his devoted international fan base, a handful of music videos, and a truly ‘global’ movie that takes the viewer all around the world as van Dyk works his turntable trickery for club-goers.