Listen And Dance

Frankfurt's Multicolor Recordings, a late-'90s stable for dance and electronic music, has compiled a collection suitable for both the dancefloor and the living room. Many releases end up this way but few are the calculated result of such intentions. According to plan, the first of the two discs is a smooth trip through some Latin-tinged techno and dub, and includes a number of tracks from Senor Coconut's Kraftwerk covers record El Baile Aleman. Also included on side one of the collection are multiple appearances by dub-electro-funkists Banned-X and Gonzalo Martinez, one of the label's very first names. The second disc consists of rather non-descript, laid-back techno and house, once again seeing numerous tracks by the aforementioned Martinez, Banned-X, and also Wondabraa. Though skillfully mixed, there are few standout tracks on the "Dance" contribution to this two-disc set. Overall, a somewhat watered down collection of dancefloor and chill-out music, but perhaps a worthwhile purchase for those not already owning Senor Coconut's full-length. Really, the only remarkable track here is King Tubby's fantastic "Dub in the Right Way," which seems far more suited for the second dance disc but appears on the "Listen" portion. ~ Ken Taylor|