After her dim and monotonous 2003 album Afterglow, Sarah McLachlan’s legions of fans, especially queer club-goers, should be happy with the thumping, bumping and suitable for humping Remixed (Arista/Nettwerk America). Of the nine remixes, four are taken from McLachlan’s universally acclaimed and adored 1993 album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Hybrid’s Super Collider Mix of “Fear” borders on scary (the good kind of scary) in the haunting way that it layers Jane Scarpantoni’s cello, threading it through the beats and keyboards, winding it around McLachlan’s breathy vocals. Rabbit In The Moon’s mix of “Possession” takes possession almost instantly, from McLachlan’s spoken instruction to “just close your eyes” to the insistent beat and the repetitive deconstruction of the song itself, and BT transforms McLachlan’s AIDS anthem “Hold On” into a dance-floor celebration of friendship and compassion. William Orbit found comfort in the murk of “Black,” a song from McLachlan’s second album Solace, while DJ Tiesto’s In Search of Sunrise Remix of Delerium’s “Silence,” a song on which McLachlan made a guest vocalist appearance, is this compilation’s centerpiece.
In spite of his seemingly insurmountable legal troubles, the abysmal sales of his most recent album, and his continued presence in the pages of supermarket checkout stand tabloids, there is no denying that Michael Jackson has made a considerable contribution to the world of dance music. The first five songs alone on Jackson’s hit collection Number Ones (Epic) tell the story loud and clear. Beginning with “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Rock With You,” the two tracks from 1979’s Off The Wall, Jackson demonstrated his flair for dance cuts that radiated fun and good times. However, it was with the two dance-heavy tunes included here from Thriller – the title track, “Billie Jean,” and “Beat It” – that Jackson almost certainly made his greatest impression. Surprisingly, it was with the Thriller follow-up, Bad, that Jackson had his most number one hit singles. Of those Bad tracks, the title cut, “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Smooth Criminal” are all respectable dance tunes. As for the remaining songs, only the colorful “Black Or White,” from Dangerous, qualifies as a dance-worthy effort.