I love me some Suzanne Palmer, and still nostagically whip out the dusty
vinyl of "Let Me Be Your Underwear." She's got to be one of the brightest
stars (vocally speaking) in dance music. For years, she's been rocking
and yet she's still confined to the underground dance category. But
you already know this. This CD single is "Sound of the Drum," a track taken
from her most recent album, "Home." I've felt the surreal experience of
watching Strictly Rhythm go under, along with Groovilicious, and yet there
are labels that stand strong throughout the tumult that technology has
wrought upon us all, and Star 69 is one of them. Looking at Star 69 these days,
you'd never know there had been any trouble at all in the "biz."
Four mixes: Anthony Acid & Peter Bailey Original, Airmale vs Rauhofer remix, SouthSide remix and Saeed Younan remix. All are good. The Acid/Bailey original is a straight ahead New York vocal track. The Airmale/Rauhofer mix borrows some of the snare hijinx of Edays' "I'm Addicted" and ups the fun factor.
The Saeed remix goes deep and brings out a soul factor that I love a
lot; that deep house vibe along with Suzanne's vocal create a classic vibe.
Nothing what I'd call uplifting here; the lyrics are a bit dark and it
wouldn't make a ton of sense to get all "uplifted" anyway. In fact it's a
good thing none of the remixers tried to do just that. It's goes: "She sits
alone in an empty room / And she don't know what the hell to do / Not
knowing the past or where she's from / All she knows is the sound of the
drum / I can feel her pain her pain when I look in her eye / Knowin' she
wants to break down and cry / But she keeps holdin' on till the darkness is
gone / And all she seems to hear is the sound of the drum." Call me an
existentialist, but this vibe is what gets me through many a day.
Thematically, it's similar to Puretone's "Addicted to Bass."
Sure all the mixes are great but everybody has their favorite. Mine is the
Southside Remix. Baby, it's hard and there is a wicked synth riff that that
absolutely rips. I think this remix complements the existential vocals
perfectly- as in, take me the hell up, up and away. Do it hard and do it
wicked. Can't say this is THE remix, but it's the one I feel the most. Play
it loud, play it late. Get the CD already and you're bound to find your
favorite remix. Do not ignore Suzanne Palmer. Sound of the drum indeed.
