flavorless pablum that pretends to sophistication - Sorry, absolutely nothing on this record bears a second listen. I get the feeling that, once again, somebody s trying to superimpose jazz-age cool on dance music and ending up with the worst of both. The result is at best inoffensive and forgettable. At worst, (the track Outrageous) it s annoying sampler abuse music fit only for the sports highlight reel. Overall, this record lacks any sort of joy, giddyness, or move-your-ass-edness.
Dance/Soul Mix with Craig David included - Artful Dodger from England, which is some kind of dance group, like mixing the genre s like others, this album is mostly a mix of dance and R&B, pretty good stuff actually even if it s someow soft, they are also knows for always having guest artists singning the vocals, they however are the writers/creators and Dj s. Craig David was discoveded by these fellas back in 99 and appears on 3 songs Re-Rewind arguably best dance song of 99? Women Trouble which appears in the Bridget Jones movie and last What Ya Gonna Do? all good stuff. Movin too fast Outragious Please don t turn me on are good songs too, Twentyfoursenven with All Saint s singer Melanie Blatt is also notable. There s a cd with loads of songs, half of them are really good, some decent some forgettable. I think this is some kind of best of album cause i know that some of the songs appeared on a previuos album already. However it s original and not with remixes of every song, only 2 but the original tracks are also included. A good album, but there are many better dance oriented albums out there.
Not Bad, but it Reveals Nothing New. - The Artful Dodger, one of the leading names in 2-step, has delivered a thoroughly listenable CD that otherwise brings nothing new to the genre s table. That s disappointing, for I expected these guys to come up with an album that would push UK garage to unseen territory. Instead, we get the same beats and basslines, along with a predictable lineup of vocalists, including Craig David who appears on a couple tracks. After a while, the disc threatens to get one dimensional, although the mellowed-out Think About Me, the dreamy Movin Too Fast, and Re-wind aren t bad at all and give the disc some promise. But, ultimately, the verdict is this: pick up the Dodger s previous effort Re-Wind, which is a more consistent and satisfying disc. While casual listeners should consider It s All About the Stragglers, the more discriminating two-step guru is likely to gripe, been there, heard that.
Great CD! - The Artful Dodger are great. They churn out hits like its nothing! Definitely at the top of the UK Garage scene and I only wish more people knew about them. Re-Rewind almost never gets boring, they have an infinite amount of remixes for that one song in particular!
A great album from the UK. - A lot of people criticise UK garage for being too tacky and plain, however, this is not the case with garage guru s Pete Devereux and Mark Hill who show no sign of tack in their album It s All About The Stragglers . These are the people who started off the Craig David phenomenon with their first chart-topping hit Rewind . Various highlights of the album include the sentimental Think About Me (with Michelle Escoffey) which is a song about how you would feel after being dumped for another person, It Ain t Enough which is a high energy collaboration with other UK superstars Dreem Teem, and Woman Trouble which uses a great duet on vocals by Robbie Craig & Craig David. Overall this is a good album and cannot really be critisised for being underdone as every tune has a rhythm and although it is not my faivorite I can definately say life would be much worse without it.