Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Ministry of Sound sure know which buttons to press when it comes to flogging the latest tunes to the kids. In fact, given the regularity with which Ministry compilations seem to drop from the heavens (or rise from the depths of hell, depending on your view of these things), there’s an argument to be made that the company has some kind of monopolistic hold on the commercial end of the dance music market. The Annual is now firmly entrenched as the biggest-selling release in the dance music calendar, conveniently released to coincide with the time when a big fat bloke with a red suit and white beard circumnavigates the globe promoting materialism and consumerism.

Ministry stalwart John Course takes charge of the first disc, and he turns in a mix that is frustratingly difficult to engage with. It starts off innocently enough, with tracks from MSTRKRFT, Freemasons, Ian Carey all laying some nice rhythmic and melodic foundations. Even the two Pitbull tracks are tolerable, and who thought you’d ever hear the words “Pitbull” and “tolerable” in the same sentence? Yet just when you think you’re in for an enjoyable ride, Mika’s massively annoying We Are Golden, remixed courtesy of Calvin Harris, comes along. This signals the start of a very slow and painful descent into a world of that glitchy kind of electro that stops and starts so frequently the mix is stripped of any momentum and vibrancy, with cuts from Vandalism, Major Lazer and NASA killing the mood completely. There is a glimmer of light with the bouncing, 80s synth-driven stylings of I’ll Get You from Classixx, but this is blocked out by subsequent average tracks from Bob Sinclar and Dirty South.

Disc number two sees The Aston Shuffle make their Annual debut, and, for the most part, it’s a pretty damn cool indie-dance blend. On paper, the sequencing of selections from The Bloody Beetroots, Steve Aoki, Art vs Science and Simian Mobile Disco looks particularly enticing, but in practice, it doesn’t quite work out, with a noticeable absence of energy in the first section of the mix. When some semblance of groove does eventually kick in, it’s a glorious relief. The disco beats of Fake Blood’s I Think I Like It, the delicious disco-house of Armand Van Helden and A-Trak’s aNYway (tune of the summer?), and the subtle pop-infused tones of Bag Raiders’ Shooting Stars make for an absolutely blinding sonic triumvirate. The ball carries on rolling upwards with the French-house sounds of Heartbeats from Grum and the pulsing Alex Metric remix of Bloc Party’s One More Chance. A bit further down the line, Deadmau5 puts in an appearance with Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff, there’s a delightfully sleazy mix of La Roux’s Bulletproof, and ending the mix with Kiss of Life by Friendly Fires is simply inspired.

Goodwill whips up proceedings on the third disc, and as always he deftly fuses the commercial with the credible to create a quality blend of vocal-driven material. Tracks from Dizzee Rascal, Tiesto and Fedde le Grand kick things off adequately, but it’s not until the progressive-house tones of Tommy Trash’s Stay Close that things begin to get interesting. Deadmau5 contributes another masterpiece, this time in the form of a delicate and glowing remix of Medina’s You and I, and it’s my pick for best tune of all three discs. There’s an epic collaboration between Mark Knight, D. Ramirez and Underworld on Downpipe, a track that is surely destined for classic status. David Guetta contributes How Soon is Now, a big-room, peak-time house tune that features the unmistakable vocal talent of Julie McKnight, and there’s a surging remix of Felix da Housecat’s homage to the diminutive purple one We All Wanna be Prince. You might need some convincing to accept the idea of Junior Sanchez collaborating with Good Charlotte on Elevator, but it comes in the form of a towering Laidback Luke remix, so it works out fine. The mix draws to a close with a nice double feature of two new remixes of Gui Boratto’s No Turning Back and David Morales’ Needin’ U.

The Annual releases always attract some criticism, usually from the precious dance aficionados who equate commercialism with inferiority. I’ve never bought into that kind of perspective. There’s always something to love about the Annuals, and there is plenty to love on here (and a little bit to hate). I’m not convinced by the John Course mix, but maybe I’ve just missed the boat with that kind of scratchy and fidgety electro sound. Anyway, the Goodwill and Aston Shuffle mixes make this a worthwhile purchase. So remember, when you’re sat on Santa’s lap in a few weeks and he asks you how he can bring you pleasure, tell him to drop a copy of this in your stocking.

Tracklisting for The Annual 2010.

Disc one, mixed By John Course
1. MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend – Heartbreaker (Laidback Luke Remix)
2. Freemasons feat. Sophie Ellis Bextor – Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) (Angger Dimas Remix)
3. Honorebel feat. Pitbull & Jump Smokers – Now You See It
4. Pitbull – I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
5. The Noise feat. Xamplify – Shake It
6. Ian Carey – Shot Caller
7. Jack Penate – Be The One (Armand Van Halden Club Vocal Mix)
8. MIKA – We Are Golden (Calvin Harris Remix Radio Edit)
9. Laidback Luke & Diplo – Hey!
10. Vandalism & Angger Dimas – She Got It
11. Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel – Pon De Floor
12. Chuckie & LMFAO – Let The Bass Kick In Miami Bitch
13. NASA – Whatchadoin? (DJ Alvaro Remix)
14. Richard Vission & Static Revenger starring LUCIANA – I Like That
15. T-Rek – Out My Bitch
16. Classixx – I’ll Get You
17. Bob Sinclar feat. Shabba Ranks – Love You No More (Chuckie Remix)
18. A) Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South – Meich B) Bertie Blackman – Thump (Acapella)
19. Muzzaik – Going Underground
20. Sir James -Special
21. Wolfgang Gartner – Fire Power

Disc two, mixed By The Aston Shuffle.
1. The Bloody Beetroots feat. The Cool Kids – Awesome
2. Steve Aoki feat. (((zuper blahq))) – I’m In The House
3. Crookers feat. Kardinal Offishall & Carla-Marie – Put Your Hands On Me
4. Art vs Science – Parlez-Vous Fran ais? (Hey Now Remix)
5. Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity Of Huge
6. Wolfmother – New Moon Rising (Riton Club Rub)
7. Riton & Primary 1 – Who’s There?
8. Fake Blood – I Think I Like It
9. Armand Van Helden & A-Trak pres. Duck Sauce – aNYway
10. Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars
11. Grum – Heartbeats
12. Miike Snow – Animal (The Punks Jump Up Remix)
13. Bloc Party – One More Chance (Alex Metric Remix)
14. The Requesters – Pianobytes
15. Count and Sinden – MEGA
16. Lost Valentinos – Thief (Shinichi Osawa Remix)
17. Alex Gopher – Handguns (Dada Life Remix)
18. deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff
19. La Roux – Bulletproof (Just A Band Remix)
20. The Aston Shuffle – I Wanna See You
21. Jokers Of The Scene – Baggy Bottom Boys
22. Cassius – Youth, Speed, Trouble, Cigarettes
23. Friendly Fires – Kiss Of Life

Disc three, mixed by Goodwill.
1. Dizzee Rascal – Holiday
2. Tiesto feat. CC Sheffield – Escape Me
3. Mark Knight & Funkagenda – Good Times
4. Fedde le Grand feat. Mitch Crown – Let Me Be Real (HnS & Goodwill Remix)
5. Tommy Trash feat. Rebecca Kneen – Stay Close
6. Medina – You And I (deadmau5 Remix)
7. Calvin Harris – Ready For The Weekend (Dave Spoon Remix)
8. A) Sebastian Ingrosso – Kidsos (Wippenberg Remix) B) Pocket 808 feat. Nathan Hudson – Ghostship (Acapella)
9. Sam La More – I Wish It Could Last (Hook N Sling Remix)
10. Mark Knight & D. Ramirez vs Underworld – Downpipe
11. Laidback Luke & Gregor Salto feat. Mavis Acquah – Step By Step
12. David Guetta feat. Dirty South, S bastian Ingrosso & Julie McKnight – How Soon Is Now
13. Hook N Sling feat. Johnny Blake – Hypnotised
14. Hardwell feat. I-Fan – Feel So High
15. Mowgli – London to Paris
16. Cirez D – On Off
17. Felix da Housecat – We All Wanna Be Prince (Paper Faces Remix)
18. Luomo – Tessio (Spektre Remix)
19. Junior Sanchez feat. Good Charlotte – Elevator (Laidback Luke Remix)
20. Gui Boratto – No Turning Back (David Tort The Mansion Remix)
21. The Face v Mark Brown & Adam Shaw – Needin’ U (Norman Doray Eivissa Remix)