Masterbeat New Releases - Pop - 2/15/09

There's been a whole lot of new releases over at Masterbeat in the past month. I'm going to break them down into a few posts.

Masterbeat New Releases - Pop - 2/15/08

• Britney Spears - Circus (Linus Loves Mix)
  Okay, Britney's still a mess but I know The Gays still love her, so I can't ignore her latest release. For the record, I may not be the biggest Britney fan but she's had some memorable tracks over the years and some have been downright enjoyable. In stark contrast, Womanizer made my ears bleed. Fortunately, Circus is a definite step up from that. This is a mediocre track, so it's all up to the remixer to make it interesting. Junior Vasquez has three mixes, the Ringleader Mix has a funky bass line that separates it from the Club mix and Electric Circus mix which are solid but a bit plodding for my tastes. The release includes two mixes by David Morales -- the Camp David Remix and the Camp Epic Remix, the Camp David Remix is a bit lighter has more energy. Friscia and Lamboy have a mix with more of an electro feel that's got a good feel. My favorite of the bunch was the Linus Loves mix, which, like Morales's Camp David Remix is a bit lighter with good energy.
• Beyonce - Diva (Jeff Barringer vs. Fingaz Extended Mix), (Redcap Mix) & (Maurice Joshua Extended Mojo Remix)
  Okay, I REALLY don't care for this track, so I chose mixes that had elements that made the track interesting. First off was Maurice Joshua's groovy style that seems to work with just about any track he works on. Classic groovy house feel with healthy doses of piano and groovy bass line. So silky smooth that it almost makes me ignore the rest... almost. The Redcap Mix goes for the other extreme -- the word that comes to my mind for this track is gothic. Something about it really worked for me. Finally, I really dug the Jeff Barringer vs. Fingaz Extended Mix -- it has a dubby feel at points with more of a techno feel. Definitely not what I'd expect from a Beyonce remix, which is probably why I like it.
  
• Deborah Cox - Beautiful U R (Soulseekerz Club Mix) & (Yinon Yahel Club Mix)
  Praise Jesus, Deborah Cox is back! Okay, I love this track for all the reasons that I disliked Beyonce's Diva -- that is, Deborah Cox comes through with a track that is beautiful, uplifting and shows that pop music doesn't have to be crass and jaded. This release includes a mix by the Soulseekerz who I absolutely adore. This isn't one of my favorite of their remixes but it's solid and high energy. Massimo Nocito comes through with more of an electro-ish feel, though it's not straight up electro. My favorite is the Yinon Yahel Club Mix that manages to feel grand and soaring and has some more trance elements. I know there are some tracks from the early 2000s that this reminds me of, though I can't put my finger on them right now. Welcome back, Deborah, I missed you!
• Solange - T.O.N.Y (Lost Daze Extended Remix)
  Ah, listening to Solange is so refreshing because it's like hearing Beyonce before she started taking herself SO seriously. I love the Lost Daze Remix -- it's like listening to something from the Motown days. The other remixes are solid, but they end up sounding very routine and contemporary, where the Lost Daze mix ends up coming off sounding classic, very much in line with the original track.
  
• Brandy - Long Distance (Jody denBroeder Club Mix)
  Another solid track from Brandy. This release only has two remixes -- the JodyBroeder Club Mix and the Dub. denBroeder comes up with a solid pop remix, doing a good job moving the track from a slow ballad to the dance floor. I was surprised at the energy the track managed to find considering the original. This isn't a peak hour track but it's definitely something that would be great to help bring a crowd to a more relaxed place.