Three successful Vicious Cuts compilations later, Australia’s hottest house label follows up with Vicious Cuts Summer 2008, featuring 37 of the hottest club tunes around (even if it does come at the end of Summer).

Ministry of Sound stalwart John Course, and Grammy nominee and international superstar Dirty South have teamed up yet again following the recent success of Ministry of Sound’s Sessions Four (which went on to sell 140,000 units) to mix 2 CDs of blistering clubbing tracks.

It’s been a huge 12 months for Dirty South, who has been busy making his name on the international scene both as producer and DJ, and is fast becoming one of the globe’s most in demand stars. Recently he’s been commissioned to complete a remix for Snoop Dogg so stayed tuned for that one!

John Course has also kept extremely busy with Sessions Four and 2008 Annual mixing duties, as well as producing a string of hit remixes and original productions (under the guise of “Electro Funk Lovers”) and co-hosting “Overdrive’’ on the NOVA network - all whilst running the show at Vicious.

Whilst the common tagline, “Vicious Cuts Summer 2008 features more hits than Mike Tyson on fight night” does seem to fit, house/electro/techno music fans like myself might be left wondering what to do with it. With no less than six ARIA Club Chart Top10’s and at least five tracks already playlisted across NOVA FM including The Potbelleez, StoneBridge, Dirty South, SE:SA, Bodyrox and the Freemasons, Vicious Cuts Summer 2008 might just seem to some like their previously purchased mixed compilations are on repeat.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, if the quality of music is good. Hell, I still listen to the 2004 Annual and Sessions 2 frequently. I guess good tracks just don’t die. So, to the important question, are the tracks on Vicious Cuts Summer 2008 good enough?

As with many of the MOS compilations over recent years, I have much preferred Disc 1 to Disc 2, more than often mixed by Mr John Course. It’s the same case for VC Summer ’08. Whilst John tends to use more commercial dance/house that we may have all heard before (“You don’t know”, “Smash Disco”, and “Automatic” for example), John does his best to incorporate new mixes of these songs to the compilation, and disperses the perhaps more familiar in with the newer sounds. Big names such as Bodyrox, Freemasons, Carl Kennedy, Cabin Crew and Vandalism make an appearance, and the end result is the better for it.

Dirty South makes a great start to Disc 2 with an instrumental into his own summer smash “Let it Go” and also sneaks in a few other productions/mixes of his own through the disc. I feel however, in comparison to Disc 1, this disc like so many other flipside’s before it, falls short.

Being more electro-heavy, this may just be because I’m more of a commercial house fan than an electro-house fan, to each his own. There is no doubting Dirty South’s talent as a DJ or producer, nor the caliber of artist’s he’s utilized on this disc, including T-Rek, Bob Sinclair, Tocadisco and Steve Mac.

There’s still some sun out there to enjoy so grab some mates, head out on a road trip and get the Vicious Cuts Summer 2008 pumpin’!

Tracklist

Disc One - Mixed by John Course
1. Se:Sa feat. Sharon Phillips – Like This Like That (Extended Vocal Mix)
2. StoneBridge – You Don’t Know (Hott 22 Remix)
3. Peyton & The Rhythm Republic - Never Give Up (Soul Avengerz Dirty Vocal Mix)
4a. Kam Denny & Paul Zala - Sunday School
4b. Carl Kennedy & Dirty South – Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (Acapella)
5. Bodyrox and Luciana - What Planet You On (deadmau5 Mix)
6. Eddie Thoneick pres. Female Deejays feat. Chelonis R. Jones – If Only
7. Supafly Inc. - Be Together (P. Liassi & Tyrrell Edit)
8. Out Of Office – Break Of Dawn 2008 (Club Mix)
9. Freemasons – Uninvited (Wheelan & Di Scala Mix)
10. Vandalism – Smash Disco (The Cut Remix)
11. Hong Kong Blondes – Frisbee
12. Cabin Crew – Can’t Stop It (Mind Electric Mix)
13. Master Project feat. Kim Cooper – Unique
14. Sgt Slick – Sax Addict
15. D.O.N.S. & DBN feat. Kadoc – The Nighttrain
16. Mind Electric - Gotta Keep On
17. Laura Kidd – Automatic
18a. Pitch Dark - Feel Like Makin Love (Pitch Dark Dub)
18b. The Potbelleez – Don’t Hold Back (Acapella)
19. Isaac James – Darker Side Of White (Colt Figure Mix)
20. Noel Sinner – Pull Over

Disc Two - Mixed by Dirty South
1. Steve Angello & Laidback Luke – Be (Instrumental)
2. Dirty South feat. Rudy – Let It Go (Axwell / Dirty South Dub Mashup)
3. Buy Now – Body Crash (Dirty South Remix)
4a. Rainer Weichhold – Bamboo  
4b. T-Rek - FSD No.2 (Fuck House) (Acapella)
5. Chaim - Genesis
6a. Dirty South & MYNC Project - Everybody Freakin' (Piemont Mix)
6b. Dirty South & Paul Harris – Better Day (Acapella)
7a. Arno Cost & Norman Doray – Apocalypse
7b. Soul Vision - Don't Stop (Acapella)
8. Angello & Ingrosso – 555
9. Oxia – 12 Years Later
10. Spencer Parker - YOGOTO
11a. Shinedoe – Phunk (Steve Angello Re-Edit)
11b. Bob Sinclar - I Feel For You (Acapella)
12. Popof – Alcoolic
13a. Dirty South – Minority
13b. Hardsoul feat. Fierce Ruling Diva - Self Religion (Believe In Me) (Acapella)
14. Dusty Kid - Kore
15. Steve Mac & Mark Brown - Bells Of Brighton (Popof Mix)
16. Tocadisco – Morumbi
17. Dirty South - The End (Dirty South Mix)

Tags: Ministry of Sound