As the summer progressed, the biggest names of yesterday and today kept rolling out fresh product much to the delight of dance fans who'd been nearly starved the year before. The Mary J Blige remix collection dropped in August, as did the long-promised (and absolutely brilliant) new Ace Of Base album, De Capo. Aquagen moved from progressive cult faves to mainstream hit-meisters with a trio of hit summer singles (most notably the Rozalla-assisted remake of "Everybody's Free") that proved to be as popular with dance fans in this country as they were in Europe. Aquagen deserves major credit (or blame, depending on your perspective) for the season's biggest dance trend: the trance-oriented remaking of classic 80s pop hits became the season's most indelible fad. American NRG mavens, or so it seemed, embraced the 80s renaissance with amazing fervor. On the other hand, the lack of club support here in the USA for the Almighty remix of Westlife's muscular and romantic #1 European pop chart charmer "Bop Bop Baby" was also a surprise, albeit in a decidedly different way. Top quality, masculine dance pop like this doesn't grow on trees, and the Westlife 12" should have been one of the year's biggest dance singles.
Speaking of surprises, who would have thought that Gloria Gaynor would spend the late summer and early fall ruling NRG arenas in every corner of the country with her across-the-board #1 "I Never Knew"? She's never sounded better, and this dazzling combination of old-school panache and contemporary production wizardry puts her in the lead for comeback-of-the-year honors. It seemed to be coming from every boom box and dance club on Fire Island during August and September, though by early October it became clear that several other veteran divas were getting ready to give her some serious competition. September had it's own share of noteworthy highlights, including Paul Oaknefold's "Starry Eyed Surprise" and the brilliant "Blinded" by Hannah (quite possible the most superb Euro-pop single of the year---and we're so glad that Boystown-at-large agreed!).
Some good ones that got lost in the shuffle as the fall colors emerged include Catch's hard-charging Euro-bomber "(Baby You Can) Walk On Water" and the magnificent Drax & Scott Mac single, "Angel". Nothing would make us happier than to report that---at this time next year---"Angel" had been discovered by the public at last and that it went on to become the year 2003's #1 single. It certainly deserves it, but a revival seems unlikely even though this is the kind of record that comes down the pike only once every few years or so. It's a stellar blend of timeless dream trance and contemporary Fire Island circuit-party fare, with a pair of female vocal leads (one sounds just like Alison Moyet, the other like Sandra) that easily rank as this year's best. When they harmonize at the chorus, you'd almost swear that you could hear angels singing. The melody---slightly melancholy and just too beautiful for words---is equally impressive, flowing gracefully over the most compellingly rhythmic bottom line imaginable. Without a doubt, the Drax & Scott Mac single was the most beautiful undiscovered club record of the fall season! The other track that we fell in love with in November, "No More Goodbyes" by Rimini Project, appears ready to break after a somewhat slow start.
