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» The Mike Maurro Peak Hour Remixes

Reviewed by Pete M / Submitted 25-03-15 21:41

Label: Harmless Records
Format: CD
Genre: Disco / Soul


In the ever-changing world of dance music, genres come and go. Some scenes endure while others fade into the background and enjoy periods of resurgence with new producers coming to the front. One scene which has remained constant, in one form or another, is disco. Throughout its halcyon days in the 1960s and 70s, and it’s soundtracking of the movie “Saturday Night Fever”, and its many variations utilised by producers and remixers over the years, disco has never been more popular. But how do you make the old tunes better without ruining the very essence of what made them anthems in the first place? The answer is, you don’t...you work on the originals, using only the multi-tracks and extend them. Which brings us to this 3-CD set of disco extensions by Mike Maurro.

Lets get one thing clear first of all: these new versions are not brand-new, all-singing, all-dancing, remixes with added beats and stuff. They are newly extended mixes with everything in the original just lengthened and expanded so they get a new lease of life. Remixed from the original multi-tracks, these tracks are given a new setting in the 21st century and sound just as fresh as they did when they first came out. This guy has done a dozen or so remixes, some of which are featured on here, 21 of them to be precise, so what’s been left off may well surface in subsequent volumes. Anyway…

To say that this is an amazing time capsule is no mean feat. You’ll all have at least one disco favourite, or maybe two, in mind and, chances are, Mike has you covered. Eleven of the twenty-one tracks go beyond 10 minutes so they’ve been turned into disco odysseys. Again, they’ve been re-edited rather than remixed and that, for me, makes these versions all the more special.

Particular favourites for me are “The Love I Lost”, by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, which was also reblended for a BBE compilation by Dimitri From Paris, now lovingly extended to nearly 12 minutes of soul-funk mastery, with a new extended instrumental intro and a wonderful mid-section, all carried off by the soulful vocals of Teddy Pendergrass. Other highlights include the Extended Love remix of First Choice’s “Doctor Love”, and the gospel sound of a 12-minute odyssey of Candi Staton’s “Victim” and not forgetting the newly extended “Young Hearts”, now extended beyond its 4 minute original version, in a new 6 minute mix. Oh, and the Vertigo / Relight My Fire remix is BEYOND perfection. 13 minutes of fiery awesomeness. It'll erase Take That's cover version from your memory immediately.

I liken this to what Joey Negro or Dimitri From Paris do with their re-edits projects but this is done in such a new and interesting way that the tracks have nothing artificial added, no new sounds (as mentioned above) and the original essences upgraded with newly-resurfaced outtakes, vocals and now-forgotten keyboard sections. Some people may say that the lengths of these remixes may be akin to overkill and are in danger of losing the…emotional feel…that these tracks had when first released. I say get a copy of this album and dance your cares away. This is disco, baby. And you know what? I like it!

NB: This was bought on Amazon.


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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.


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