- See all the Ratings
- Add my Rating now
Various Artists - Clubber's Guide to 2007, Mixed by Goodwill & Kid Kenobi
Created On January 23rd, 2007 by Elliot G
This release couldn’t get to me soon enough. I was very much looking forward to getting my hands on it, and my ears around it. What has become a yearly release from Ministry of Sound; for the latest edition two of Australia’s leading DJs – Goodwill and Kid Kenobi – get the gig here, and the Clubbers Guide to 2007 would ultimately leave me very far from disappointed.
Goodwill is renowned for being quite a fluid DJ, spinning breaks, techno, house, and everything in between. On the first disc he gives us a taste of that versatility. He wastes no time, and kicks things off with a monster track – ‘Proper Education’ – Eric Prydz’s bootleg mashup of the Pink Floyd classic ‘Another Brick in the Wall’; a track that has increasingly begun to get solid time on dance floors across the country. While maybe it is labelled cheesy by some, it has also been correctly touted as being a dance floor killer in 2007. Goodwill then puts his own wares on display, grooving into the Richard Dinsdale remix of his track ‘Outta Control’. As a pair, these songs form a solid start to what ultimately proves a pretty crazy, but ultimately damn enjoyable ride. Tracks like Suckers DJs’ ‘Firework’ and the Fedde Le Grand mix of Camille Jones’ ‘The Creeps’ keep the beats pumping at a solid 129 bpm, with plenty more to come to get just as excited about.
Well and truly in to the mix, he rips into what proved to be my favourite thirty minutes of the entire compilation. He kicks this middle section off with the Bodyrox smash ‘Yeah Yeah’ – with a mix I’d previously unheard of by Tony Senghore; looped into MYNC Project’s ‘Are U Sure’, which runs perfectly into the Robbie Rivera mix of Kaskade’s ‘Be Still’. I’m still on a high from seeing Kaskade at Field Day, and having not looked at the track listing before I threw this CD on in the car, when I heard that all too familiar lyric “be still my soul”, for a moment there I got a little too cute, and with arms flailing in the car I actually hurt myself. Only slightly injured, the tracks continued in earnest, and Goodwill loops it into the Richard Dinsdale and Mark Knight track ‘Crunch’ – with an intro, and a series of breaks and overlaps that can only be described as filthy, but oh so good to hear. This is the perfect demonstration of Goodwill’s DJ skills. The fun continues though, into Sebastien Leger’s ‘Hypnotized’ (Chris Lake remix) and from there, like a set that goes well into the night, Goodwill starts having some real fun. The Knife’s ‘Like a Pen’ – with the always-captivating vocals of Karin Dreijer Andersson – kicks off what is a long but thoroughly enjoyable finale. He drops in ‘Take No Shhh’ by Fedde Le Grand, but then places it right next to ‘Who’s Afraid of Detroit?’ by Claude Van Stroke; the hidden joke about the big American city not lost on anyone, one can almost see Goodwill having a little chuckle to himself. He takes it all down a notch with Pete Heller’s ‘Simpler’ (another Field Day monster for me), and ends what is overall a hot mix with Gus Gus’ ‘Need in Me’ – a track with the right kind of vocals to wrap up proceedings.
Kid Kenobi comes to play on the second CD, and the tracklisting itself (which I chose to read this time so as to avoid injury) told me that boy has made a transition of late from booming breaks to dirty electro. The bass is well and truly there from the outset, and the first track, Don Diablo’s ‘Blow Your Speakers’, is – if nothing else – appropriately titled. It’s the Sebastien Leger mix here, and while moving at a solid tempo it still possesses that laid back, almost relaxing vibe that often comes with Leger productions. Any thought of relaxation goes out the window though, as Kenobi cuts into the Switch remix of Spank Rock’s ‘Bump’. With Amanda Blank on vocals, the track provides a rather graphic instructions on her… well… preferred choice of ‘bumping’. Then it’s on to the distinctly sounding ‘Din Da Da’ by Solid Groove and Sinden, before we get a solid electro hit in the Hook n Sling remix of the Stanton Warriors’ ‘Shake It Up’. This was one of my favourites on the Kenobi offering, as it had a bit of everything, with Hook n Sling doing the original sound solid justice. Interestingly, Hook n Sling make a few appearances courtesy of Kenobi, and in fact they come together in their collaborative remix of the Who Made Who track ‘Out The Door’, together with a very distinct sample lifted straight out of Hook n Sling’s vocal mix, and dance floor smash ‘He Doesn’t Love You’.
Back to Kenobi though, and the SpeakerJunk remix of Basement Jaxx’s electro-fused ‘Take Me Back To Your House’ is a welcome inclusion. The Switch remix of the Futureheads’ ‘Worry About It Later’, while I’d never heard this track before, sounds to me like the type of song that makes people lose all control on the dance floor. Not far behind it is Subsource’s ‘This Town’, and Kenobi plonks them next to each other perfectly, the latter having some nice big drops and hard funky beats. You may be nearing the end of the set, but Kenobi is relentless; dropping into the Digitalism remix of Sono’s ‘A New Cage’, and as he runs it straight into Ferry Corsten’s ‘Junk’, you’re wondering if the beats are ever going to stop. He finds the perfect tonic however, and in my opinion saves the best for last, winding it all up with the Trentemoller remix of Moby’s ‘Go’ – an unyielding song in anyone’s books.
While the first CD is my favourite, that is no criticism of the second, rather just a personal preference. Kenobi produces a set that is pounding and stands on its own as a tremendous piece of work. Throw it alongside Goodwill’s electro-rich and perhaps slightly more commercial opus, and while I may be calling this early, you’ve got yourself one of the best CD releases of 2007. Put simply, this compilation is a must have. Do it.
Andrew Wowk says...
Very good, in depth review. I don't rate the CD at all though :P
djbricksta says...
Last years I considered pretty much rubbish, though it did predict some hits. I still think the compilation needs to prove itself a bit.
djbricksta says...
Last years I considered pretty much rubbish, though it did predict some hits. I still think the compilation needs to prove itself a bit.
YourWeird says...
they need more songs like everyday thats it. then it will be the clubber guide to whatever. it seemed like all the old school cds started with that. the one with "i've been thinking since we've been talking" ownz!
ValleyMonster says...
Im not really sold on the 1st CD, but after 2 listerns the Kenobi CD is really good stuff. peeps looking for a compilation like the annual will be disappointed, but breaks fans will dig it.
ValleyMonster says...
Ok, so I gave the Goodwill CD another go today. Played it a lot louder than the first two times and im starting to come round. I think this ones a grower
ValleyMonster says...
Ok, so I gave the Goodwill CD another go today. Played it a lot louder than the first two times and im starting to come round. I think this ones a grower
Elliot G says...
I think they're both growers. The Kenobi CD gets better and better with every listen.
pinkitten says...
I prefer Kenobi's cd over Goodwills.. tho can't say I will be listening to this cd too much