Search - Various Artists :: Fierce Angel: Beach Angel 3

It's Good, But Way Too Recycled

W.C. | Houston, TX USA | 08/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since Mark Doyle left Hed Kandi, many old fans have migrated to the Fierce Angel label. While Ministry of Sound led Hed Kandi is enjoying commercial success, it has seen a huge downturn in reputation among aficionados and critics. Being more pop oriented will usually do this; obviously that's why it's called pop. However, that's not to say that the Fierce Angel releases have been perfect. In fact, I would say that in attempting to make the label stand out, Mark Doyle has forsaken some of the values and production that made the original Kandi so beloved in the first place. With this in mind, Beach Angel III is a pretty big misstep in that it features very little new music. The overall quality is much better than this year's equivalent Hed Kandi collections, but it is far from being a great release.



In fact, many of the weaknesses in this year's Beach Angel are similar to the ones in Beach House. This includes using recycled tracks from previous years. One of the big draws of annual summer House collections was being able to discover new tracks to listen to for the rest of the year. Apparently, 2008 has been very sparse, as more than half of the tracks are making reappearances from previous collections. At least Beach Angel offers some interesting remixes of songs, whereas MoS Hed Kandi uses the exact same versions over and over. And thankfully, there are no tracks directly from Beach Angel 2007. But really, just for example, how many times are people willing to hear Aya's "Sean"? It's a solid song, but I thought better of it four years ago when it was new. Now it's just a shoulder shrug away from bland. It has become a tradition of the Beach Angel series for the third CD to be a "classics" disc, which is fine, but this is getting silly.



Another point of contention is the inclusion of disco House tracks. While none of these tracks are as outright blatant, numerous, and ear achingly misplaced as MoS Beach House, they still feel wrong. I know that this has been an aspect of Fierce Angel releases and that Doyle Beach Houses had a couple of disco tracks every year, but it's more noticeable when a collection isn't great. At least there is only one track with over-the-top, wailing diva vocals ("Latin Lover"). Also, there're only a couple of other songs that mildly fit into this category, so it's not horrific or deal breaking for those who share my general dislike of disco.



Now, the good thing is that the songs, despite their general age, are mostly good. Great tracks of note include "All Over the World" and "Always Be Together". Others like "Another Valentine", "You Make Me Feel Like", and "Waiting For Your Love" are very good. The selection flows well and actually feels like it should. It's not too dance oriented, nor too chill. It's something that other labels have totally struggled with. Also in its favor, there is a lack of generic, cookie cutter songs. The songs, good or not, have personality, which is more than could be said about other collections. With that in mind, the selection is very safe in that none are really risky, genre-bending rubbish. A few tracks are so-so, like "Here I Am" or "Little Girl", but that's okay. No collection is 100 percent filled with greats. Some songs like "Time" and "Sense of Danger" aren't good at all, but bad songs are definitely few and far between.



Based on its own merits, Beach Angel III is an okay collection. The age of the track selection is certainly disappointing, though most really can be considered classics. But offering different remixes on some of them does little to assuage the situation. Besides that, it has a pretty good track progression and still has the beach feel down pat. And there is just one outright terrible song, "Latin Lover". When compared to other choices this year, Beach Angel III definitely comes out on top. That fact alone should tell you how bad this year has been for the summer House scene. How much enjoyment you get out of this release is based upon your level of tolerance for the old (or how up to date you are). I personally like it, but am not enthralled like with some previous collections. Four stars for the songs themselves, but minus a star for recycling and general lack of freshness. There's much less longevity to be found.



For a full track listing, go to the amazon.co.uk site.





Favorite Tracks:

All Over the World

Always Be Together

Another Valentine

Demanda



Least Favorite Track:

Latin Lover"