*** (Various Artists)
CLUB SERIES VOL. 4
(Strictly Hype)
Despite the anonymity of the title, this 17-track CD displays, and epitomizes, all the fast- ying
power, orchestral gleam, and stratospheric highs that make Eurodance go. The music compiled here is
the rougher, techno-influenced version of Eurodance more typical of clubs in Ibiza than the honey-sweet,
ethereal style that prevails in Germany and Italy.
Still, if your idea of dancing free is to have your feet never touch the ground and your body oat
free of time and place, this CD has what you want. Even dedicated Euro fans aren’t likely to have
heard of any of the artists and singers herein mixed by DJs the Riddler (10 numbers) and Christian
B (seven), but who needs known names? Few stars leave as unmistakable a mark on your soul as these
17 tracks, which are full of fast deep beats, cathedral orchestrations, divas molting, sighs and
pauses, and choruses of voices longing and lusting. A special high point is “Inferno,” in which the
impossible soprano of French mediævalist diva Emma Shapplin sings in Latin, beckoning, and mocking,
the rational, the earthy, and the matter-of-fact.
— Michael Freedberg
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