Bad Boy Bill - 'The Album'

"This thing is starting" opens The Album, Bad Boy Bill's full-length debut. About time.

It all began with a little progressive house track named "Falling Anthem," which climbed into the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart. The Album ranges through styles and supports an alarming amount of names associated with the project. The Album was created with the help of Alyssa Palmer, Alex Peace, Dan Chase, JJ Flores, Steve Smooth, Klaas, Kerli, DJ Bam Bam, and Jessy Moss. And that's the short list. The musical variation makes more sense when you see who is involved with each project. For instance, JJ Flores & Steve Smooth's joint style is apparent in their productions. Grungy, bassy stompers like "Do What U Like," "Got That Feeling," and "Headlock" mimic cuts off their own artist album. Alex Peace, who provided the chant-styled vocals of the agressive party track “Fast Life,” also vocalized tracks from Amp'd.

"Ishy" is a poppy track co-written by Estonian singer/songwriter Kerli and has a bouncy, hand-clappy feel to it. Singer Alyssa Palmer is sprinkled heavily over this debut as well, vocalizing the previously mentioned tracks "Do What U Like," "Falling Anthem," and "Ishy," as well as the slower "If I Tell You" which sports rhythmic, urban beats. Klaas and DJ Bam Bam split mixing time, along with Jack Joseph Puig. Most of it was handled by Bam Bam, though, whose own style is upbeat and unstoppable (as witnessed by his mixes for Joseph's "Your Love Still Haunts Me" and "Kinda Freaky"). The best example of this is Bad Boy Bill's cover of Herbie Hancock's 1983 track "Rockit." As a scratcher first and a producer second, the inclusion of “Rockit” is a sound decision. Jessy Moss, who’s voice could be heard in Armand Van Helden’s “Sugar,” has her song “Grace” sampled for the emotive “Wait.”

The Album sports a variety of styles, yes, and while this is great for a casual listener, it makes me wonder if it can spin out another hit like “Falling Anthem.” Alyssa Palmer truly stood out on that track, whereas most of her vocal deliveries on The Album fall short of my expectations. Not that she’s done badly on any track she’s been on, but her Roisin Murphy-esque vocals don’t necessarily suit the styles she is given. The heavy Moogs on “Do What U Like” almost stand out more than she does. “Bite It,” featuring Kid Infinity, is distinctive compared to the rest of the material on the album, but reminds me too much of Ferry Corsten’s L.E.F.-era music. And the lowered BPM on a lot of the interesting tracks may cause them to translate awkwardly into club form.

I won’t base my opinion on conjecture though, so whether or not these tracks perform well in the future, I find this album to be a solid release from Bad Boy Bill. Will it be memorable? I don’t think so. I think the only reason I’d come back to this album more than a few times is for “Falling Anthem.” Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a bad album. My expectations were high with the lead single, however, and ultimately I feel like what was promised wasn’t delivered. With too many cooks in the kitchen, it’s hard to call the result your own, and I feel like that is what happened with The Album. The variety and heavy beats of the album should get people to shake their ass, though.

Released July 2009 on Nettwerk Records.