Search - Alice :: Personal Juke Box

All different things

loteq | Regensburg | 08/31/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are already three or four "Greatest hits"/"Best of.." compilations from Alice in existence, but this one has a different approach. A lot of songs were remixed or even re-recorded specially for this album. Since Alice's latter-day output has moved to progressive dance music, it's no surprise that "PJB" is marked with the same stylistic features as "Exit" or "Charade". While the sharp percussion loops, bobbing bass lines, and soft melodies certainly sound great on new tracks like "Il giorno.." or "Tutto e niente", they also serve to dilute a number of older tracks like "Per Elisa", Alice's first hit single in 1981. That may be because Alice's early material, which is steeped in traditional song formats, isn't suited for treatment with dance beats, however, this compilation plays nicely as a consistent album. "Open your eyes" (a duet with Morcheeba's singer Skye), "Dimmi di si", and the original versions of "Visioni" and "In viaggio.." are among the stand-out tracks. Also, the cover of David Bowie's "For this is not America" is quite listenable. If mid-tempo dance music is your bag, and you're not afraid of a powerful voice and Italian lyrics, you'll like this album."