Hip-Hop + Rap ALBUM REVIEW
A Lively MindPaul Oakenfold
Release Date: June 06, 2006
Rating:
by Jim Harrington
LiveDaily Contributor
The product is different, but the result is the same. Paul Oakenfold, an artist best known for spinning, producing and remixing, releases an album of original compositions that will make you want to get on the dance floor.
The folks at Maverick, Oakenfold's label, are referring to
A Lively Mind as an "artist album." That basically means that Oakenfold is creating the music instead of just shaping it. It's his second so-called artist album, following 2002's
Bunkka.
A Lively Mind is a worthy successor to
Bunkka., though there's very little on it that can compare to the rush of the earlier album's "Starry Eyed Surprise" or "Ready Steady Go."
Although Oakenfold is a man of many talents, he's not going to try and tell you that he's a singer. Just like on
Bunkka., which featured the likes of Ice Cube, Nelly Furtado and Perry Farrell,
A Lively Mind spotlights many guest vocalists.
The most memorable spin on the mic this time around comes courtesy of, we kid you not, Brittany Murphy. The film star, known for such flicks as
8 Mile and
Sin City, does a great job with the heady rave "Faster Kill Pussycat," which opens the album.
Other highlights include the muscular "No Compromise," featuring Spitfire, and the explosive "Set It Off," where house-music legend Oakenfold jams with hip-hop icon Grandmaster Flash.
Although a few of the collaborations with guest singers on the new album are memorable, Oakenfold saves his best moves for the non-vocal numbers. For instance, the cleverly titled "Save the Last Trance For Me" is an absolute slice of dance-floor heaven.
Article used with permission from
LiveDaily.
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