Various Artists - 'The Underground 2008' (Ministry Of Sound) Released 26/11/07

The hardest part of writing a review is trying to conceptualise between the music coming out of the stereo and it’s target audience. Therefore, I’m going to try really really hard to be fair with this one and remain calm, despite the angry twitch enveloping across the right-hand side of my face. This release, the umpteenth of the year for brand Ministry, is aimed at bridging the gap between Ibiza first-timers and clubbing veterans. The lack of any sort of name accredited with the mix is made up for by the fact that three cds replace the standard two. The lack of any degree of continuity in the ‘set’ is allied for the benefit of a who’s who of all the blistering remixers and producers out there at the minute. 

Focus. And Breath. The are some gems here. Tracks that have not yet suffered the needle damage of Doherty’s left arm. The infectious bounce of Matthew Herbert’s ‘Moving Like A Train’ and the pure filth that is Greg Churchill’s ‘Clown Punch’ deserve quieter introductions than those afforded to them. If you think of a big track in a set as stealing the track afters thunder then there’s going to be a hose-pipe ban at Ministry towers as long as the conveyor belt these releases keep churning out on. Open that right eye. Calm. Look straight ahead. It’s to convert the non-believers.

The beauty of Martin Buttrich’s ‘Full Clip’ and the intensity of Oliver Giacomotto’s ‘Gail In The O’ has seen each become staple parts of sets varying in both style and stature. So too the contagious minimal whine of Federico Franchi’s ‘Cream’ and the key change in Dubfire’s ‘Roadkill.’ Unfortunately, much of what Ministry are billing as untapped talent has been on show for some time now.

****, I can’t hold this in any more. ‘Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?’ and ‘The Whistler’, courtesy of Claude Von Stroke, are tracks my old dear’s heard. Tracks every DJ in the country has been hammering and one’s the dustman has been humming for ages. Underground? 2008? Shit. About as underground as Big Ben. This is the dance version of a ****ing Now CD. Let me put this another way, tagging these tracks as the underground tunes of 2008 is like shooting fireworks towards a primary school and calling it a safety experiment. It ain’t the ****ing truth.

Supergrass said it best, "we’re in it for the money, we’re in it for the money."