HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT! - VOLUME 2

Have you ever heard of Oglio Records? Probably not. I doubt they've done anything beyond this short lived series. And that's a shame really. The second and final volume in this series is just as exciting if not more exciting than the original. The strength of this collection is the release of material on compact disc that wasn't previously available. Most of these mixes were released by the bands on vinyl single back in the days before CD. Certain bands, like Men Without Hats still haven't had their back catalog transferred to CD. There's also some obscure stuff here as well.

Starting with 'The Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats, this is the extended club mix of the song. It's quite fun and definitely worth the purchase. Danny Elfman's 'Gratitude' is an interesting song. I wasn't aware he'd released solo material. So this was a discovery for me. Adam Ant's 'Room At The Top' is a nice addition. It's a newer single, coming out in the late 80's. For the most part, his whole album was kinda throwaway. This was one of the only songs worth having and you get the 12" mix here.

This version of the Pet Shop Boys 'West End Girls' is the original recording with Bobby Orlando. Outside of Orlando's own multidisc single release of this track and subsequent mixes, it's a hard version to track down. It's nice to have it on this release. I'd never heard of The Belle Stars but I like the song 'World Domination'. It's a fun track. The Dead Or Alive track is a mix that also appears on a version of their own record. They used it as a bonus cut on a CD release. I've always loved 'Weird Science' but I've never owned a copy of the track before this disc. It's another great song I'm happy to have. I wasn't a huge fan of The Fixx, but I do enjoy this mix of the song.

And finally, you have Bronski Beat's 'Hit That Perfect Beat' after which the series was named. This is an amazing song that I first heard on an old radio program called Rock Over London. So all in all, it's an exciting and fun disc to have. The tracks are sequenced together in an attempt to give it a DJ club feel. That's probably my one complaint about the disc. Better by far to let the songs stand solely on their own and enjoy the mixes. Still, this is a series I'd have enjoyed seeing continue. My final words: GOOD CLEAN FUN!

HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT! - VOLUME 2
01. Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance (Extended Club Mix)
02. Danny Elfman - Gratitude (Extended Dance Version)
03. Adam Ant - Room At The Top (Extended Mix)
04. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (Original Bobcat Version)
05. The Belle Stars - World Domination (Extended Version)
06. Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me 'Round (Like A Record) (Performance Mix)
07. Oingo Boingo - Weird Science (Extended Dance Version)
08. The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another (Special Remix Version)
09. Bronski Beat - Hit That Perfect Beat - (12" Remix)