Damn That DJ Made My Day [PA] - CD

Best Buy > Compact Disc

PriceZombie > Music

For Richard Humpty Vission, quantity is king. The man throws vinyl around like a circus performer doing knife tricks, grabbing his 10th record about the time most DJs are still spinning their first. Like Frankie Knuckles on a massive amphetamine dose, Vission's blend of progressive acid house and urban funk becomes a restless sound all its own when he's working at full strength. That sound can be at turns exhilarating or exasperating, depending on how skillfully he manages his high-wire act between variety and continuity. Last year's was an impressive but only half-successful attempt, as Vission struggled to maintain a consistent vibe over the course of that record's 54(!) tracks. Here, having pulled back to a relatively paltry 34, the tracks blend efficiently enough to allow the listener time to take in just how infectiously danceable Vission's manic approach can be. Still, he demands quick, sometimes abrupt, adjustments. When the needle drops on the Adrenaline single "Damn That DJ Made My Day," which justifies its title-track status with an incredibly catchy refrain and mountainous bumps, Vission's sudden switch to a stirring Martin Luther King snippet is just too jarring. Overall, however, he pulls it off, creating a disc that, at times, threatens to fly right out of the player in protest over the sheer number of grooves it's being asked to carry out.