Straight from the all-star (and in my opinion, the only good) season of American Idol comes Tamyra Gray's first single. Many will remember Gray as being the front runner throughout the competition right up until the end when she was dramatically voted off. Being twice as soulful as Kelly Clarkson and with a much wider range of vocality, many, including me, had her pegged as the very first Idol. Her rendition of THIS HOUSE IS NOT A HOME on the virgin season still gives me chills.
RAINDROPS WILL FALL is a sultry, soulfilled epic of a song that quickly builds on top of itself. The vocals were re-sung specifically for the remixes, yet, eager to impress first time listeners, some of the passages are a bit oversung and should have been more reserved. While the a cappella sounded great, the remix, I'm sure, was no easy task. So how do they stack up?
The mixes on everyone's playlists seems to be the Hex Hector and Mac Quayle versions. In true HQ2 style, they deliver a big room anthem that beautifully compliments Gray's vocals. The club mix and dub have a tinge of European-style to them coming from the synths used. They're very stab-y and patterned much like a Europop Trance tune would have. In my opinion though, I would have loved for it have more bite and be a little less "light" on the ears. Add a heavier drum line, darken the synths, and bring up the bass more would have done it for me but nevertheless, it's a good effort and one that many will be playing this winter.
On the fence are Junior Vasquez's efforts. The longtime New York legend brings a much more underground sound to the table with his bouncy mixes. Included were two versions, both being almost identical. The second version is a bit more beefed up and "finished" sounding, including full-on snare rolls and a fierce drum sample near mid-track. A space-y bassline and flanging drums make for a red-hot beat in both Version 1 and 2, yet the vocal gets lost during some of the verses amid the fury. Personally, this mix sounds better on a packed floor but most won't hear it past their computer speakers so the Hex/Mac versions seems to have won the mix-battle at this point.
Tamyra Gray's vocal is the real problem here. It's just too damn good that it makes for a tough cookie to bite into when it comes to remixing. Here's hoping for a more "club-friendly" second single with stronger remixes to boot.
