Mind The Gap: Deluxe Version

With each album Scooter are sounding more and more like the bastard child of 2 Unlimited and Right Said Fred who was conceived in the KLF's ice cream van while it was cruising the hedonistic and vacant shores of Ibiza. If that makes you shudder in cheese-horror, keep moving, but if it makes you twitch in anticipation, know that Mind the Gap is their most well-rounded and arguably their most fun album outside of any of their compilations. Opening with an everyday, mood building intro, Mind the Gap picks up the pace with the entirely empty but totally kitschariffic "One (Always Hardcore)" which recalls all that was good about "James Brown Is Dead," "Zombie Nation" and that Paul Lekakis chestnut "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back to My Room)." "Shake That!" (it's surprising that every Scooter song doesn't end in an exclamation point) cops KC & the Sunshine Band's "Shake Your Booty" for it's inescapable hook, but if that's no big surprise, "My Eyes Are Dry"'s use of arty rockers Tuxedomoon's "No Tears" is and outdoes the Adults' version by a cheeky mile-and-a-half. "All I Wanna Do" adds the phrase "No Diggity!" to Sheryl Crow's hit for some reason while giving it the "Sesame's Treet" treatment, but it's the grunting, panting, and dramatic stop-starting on "Panties Wanted" that makes it the album's sassy highlight. The trio's take on Depeche Mode's "Stripped" is a bit too note-for-note but the slow pace of the track gives the listener a rare chance to towel off and load up on the protein. Next, Scooter gloriously mishandle Elvis Crespo's signature tune and finish the album with their usual trance steeped in rave. Tasteless, over-the-top, and ten steps back for music, but rarely does trash sparkle this brilliantly. ~ David Jeffries