Search - Danny Howells :: Choice: Collection of Classics (Unmixed)

Excellent work, Mr. Howells, sir.

Jon Peckman | Wallingford, Connecticut United States | 03/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I guess disc 1 is one of those "you had to be there" kind of things, and since I wasn't there, it didn't really grab me. And then......disc 2. If you're familiar with Mr. Howells' work, you'll know that his best work has a cetain unnameable quality to it (think Day disc of Global Underground's 24/7). If you know what I mean, then you'll find what you think I mean in full display on disc 2 of this collection,know what I mean? It's deep,kinda creepy and excellent. I can't seem to stop listening to it, and I don't mind if I don't. Get this disc, you won't be sorry. Hell, get 24/7,too."

Japan, Iron Butterfly and the Temptatons!

redbank2 | Red Bank, NJ | 03/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All in a row and it works really well... Very interesting combinations but moves and grooves... Super Choice!!! The GU Miami was great and this may actually be better..."

Choice Cuts

Mark Eremite | Seoul, South Korea | 01/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"International DJ, Danny Howells, fresh off of one of the best years of his career, is the latest artist to showcase his diverse range of tastes via Azuli Records' Choice Classics series, an ongoing project that finds influential musicians and asks them to compile all of the songs and tracks that have inspired them most over the years.



Disc 1 provides the most uniformity in this package, with its progressively smoother melding of genres. The record starts with some classic house samples, redolent with crooning R&B ("Alright" by Urban Soul) and alive with salsa back beats ("Carino 90" by T-Coy). The disc drives this energy forward, growing heavier and heavier, hitting near-techno levels of metallic fervency ("12 Min To Do It" by Pleasure Dome). Howells steadily reduces the amp on the final five tracks, keying down through the stomp-heavy "Hocus Pocus" (by the band of the same name) and into the gorgeous gull-call scenery of Ready For Dead's fluidly flavorful song of the same name.



The second disc is fun, as well, but also much more uneven, probably owing to its heavy helping of old school funk and rock. Howells attempts the same sort of seamless arrangement that he pulls off perfectly in Disc 1, but that's hard to do when you're trying to blend The Temptations' "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" into a three minute drum solo by Iron Butterfly (don't be fooled, "In A Gadda Da Vida" is on the track list, but all you'll hear is beats). This is passable, though, given the invigorating energy of the rest of the record. Sub Sub's high-pulse "Space Face" segues dreamily into Coldcut and Hexstatic's "Timer," one of the best deep house tracks I've heard in a long time. With the exception of "Why" by Carly Simon (a great tune that plays awkwardly as the closing track on this disc), the rest of the album is a rhythm-tribute to deep, funky house that will almost make you forget the earlier weak spots (which include the fourth track, Japan's "Ghosts," a synthetic pop number ruined by too much mood)."