The Riddler - Dance Mix 5

Tommy Boy’s Dance Mix 5 is the fifth CD in the extremely popular and recently renamed Dance Mix NYC series. All five CDs are compiled and mixed by New York’s famed DJ/Producer/Remixer The Riddler, a.k.a. Rich Pangilinan and produced by Victor Lee.

The Riddler does an excellent job of getting mainstream dance music exposed to the public via his affiliation with WKTU FM in New York City. I personally purchased the last installment in the series, Dance Mix NYC – Volume 4, released in 2003. It is packed with excellent tracks: everything from the Riddler's own Al B. Rich remix of Kristine W.’s gorgeous "The Wonder of It All" to Motorcycle's luscious "As the Rush Comes" and contained some truly innovative and fun mixing between tracks.

On Dance Mix 5, The Riddler chooses some slightly darker, but still accessible tunes. Highlights include Origene’s beautiful "Sanctuary," Kristine W’s "Save My Soul" from her amazing recent CD Fly Again, and Made By Monkeys' "I Try." In-Grid’s "You Promised Me (Tu Es Foutu)," which was featured on the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy soundtrack, is found here in its Original Extended Remix form.

On the less mainstream tip, there are tracks from Robbie Rivera, Murk, and Marco V. The one track that just did not appeal to me is the recently remixed classic "Plastic Dreams" by Jaydee. The beauty of the original was its stripped down feel. Fleshing this tune out just didn’t need to happen, in my opinion.

All in all, Tommy Boy's Dance Mix 5 is another good CD in this consistently excellent series and is more than worth the purchase price. Although some DJs and hardcore club music fans will write off dance music compilations, it cannot be denied that good quality collections such as this one keep dance music in the public eye (and ears) at a time when radio exposure is at a minimum. Rumor has it that the next installment will not be mixed by The Riddler, but by another top DJ, yet to be named. Watch this space.