Ah the Cut Up Boys, cheeky doyens of the mash up (for which it has been a pretty fine week all well and told) returning for their next Ministry of Sound outing, The Mash Up 2007. Their last effort for Ministry went down rather well as I remember fusing its influences together to create potent and relentless set for the more gimmick loving clubber.
This is the same only better. Rather than going for the obvious “here and now” choices that many bootleggers end up resorting to. Or alternatively the obvious yesteryear smash that would benefit for a vocal graft, this time round the boys have done their homework, picked and plucked from all over the musical timestream and come up with something that wins over with a little more subtlety than its forebear.
I was almost perturbed at first with the slightly heavy hip hop beats making me ponder whether this would be to my tastes. It all kicks off a bit mad as well, with tracks, beats and vocals all skirmishing to get to your ears like runners craning for the finish line. It does settle down though and although the contemporary numbers do bare their teeth they are housed in the clothing of some belting old school dance music. Dirty Cash is dusted off for a new outing, as is M/A/R/R/S Pump Up The Volume, which for an old sod like me is always a thrill.
Of course it all gets a bit cheesy in places but for God’s sake that’s the point. We’ll have no pouty mascara laden cheek sucking in here thank you very much. Just a chance to cut loose and bounce. The second disc follows much in the same vein as the first, rather than building for a mood or a time of night this has the sense of the relentless that The Cut Up Boys had on their previous compilation.
If you fancy some confident, inspired mixes that get a little cheeky without getting too obvious then this could be the CD for you.
