NYC Dance Party

Mike Rizzo delivers an unimaginative mix on NYC Dance Party, a collection more likely to carry an "as seen on TV" sticker than any sort of critical support. Rizzo throws down lots of popular New York house tracks, most of them remixes: the "Danny Tenaglia Mix" of Kings of Tomorrow's "Finally," the "Creamer & Stephane K. Remix" of iio's "Rapture," and the "Hex Hector Mix" of Kim English's "Everyday," among others. All of the songs are very poppy -- lots of singalong vocals and lots of production clichés. However, though these songs definitely have their merits, the delightful pop attributes tend to sound trite after a few songs; Rizzo rarely departs from a linear mixing approach, throwing in few surprises. In fact, Rizzo doesn't do much of anything here besides cross-fade one track into the next. He's essentially nothing more than an equitable brand name to market the album with. Overall, seasoned dance listeners will despise this, while those looking for an accessible dance mix will find this satisfactory at best.