Essential Mix

1	The Girl from Ipanema / Boogie Macs 4:04
2	I Warned You Baby / Aldo Vanucci 4:03
3	See Through / Cultural Diversion 2:34
4	Call It Fate / Richie Dan 12" Mix 3:48
5	Let Me Be Your Fantasy / Trick or Treat 5:40
6	Born Funky / Kinky Roland 4:26
7	Whatcha' Gonna Do? / Shauna Solomon Drumatic Mix 3:49
8	Take My Hand / Tutto Matto Different Gear Mix 3:08
9	Everybody Jump / Vzions 3:07
10	Future Sound of Retro / Lee Coombs 2:27
11	Some Say She's Retro / Dark Globe 3:40
12	Drop and Hope / The Armadillos 4:48
13	Spreading the Light / Colein 5:33
14	Filthy Mind / Amanda Ghost Boy George and Kinky Roland Trancessual Mix 3:34
15	Volume 1 / Bassdubs 2:50
16	Thrust 2 / Oscar Goldman 3:26
17	Second Coming / Wavehead 4:00

Barnes & Noble

Though most Americans know Boy George as the lead singer for new wave superstars -- and Behind the Music subjects -- Culture Club, the stylish Londoner has been working as a professional DJ for over a decade. And after numerous bestselling mix-CDs in England, George is making his stateside debut as part of the Essential Mix series, following recent volumes by DJ Icey and DJ Skribble. Only dance music aficionados will recognize the artists on George's Essential Mix -- Amanda Ghost, Bassdubs, Vzions -- so what's important is the decksman's expansive track selection, which touches upon breakbeat, two-step garage, disco, progressive house, and trance. It's wildly eclectic, but he holds it together with tasty mixing skills: Whether he's quick cutting, cross-blending, or beat-matching, George's seamless flow is expertly engineered for sweaty hip grinding. Recalling everyone from NYC-legend Danny Tenaglia to trance-titan Paul Oakenfeld to French house act Cassius, George's Essential Mix boasts a distinctly "Euro" sound -- it's all shiny keyboard wiggles, soulful diva vocals, soaring pop hooks, and crispy digital ornaments. And while it might not feature his distinctive high tenor, some of George's flamboyant, outsized, and cheeky personality bleeds into the mix. Michael Endelman

All Music Guide

Boy George is always an eclectic one who's a few steps ahead of the fashion game, but also one for a keen ear for what's stylistically enjoyable. He's fond of his days of fronting Culture Club, the dark and dreary ones, too, but he comfortably switched from cheeky pop to spinning decks as a mad mix master since the early '90s. His own Essential Mix is a testament to that rise, a trippy 17-track selection that boasts Boy George's own indulgence for dance music. It's a heavy spiral of ragga and progressive house weaved with frenzied techno breaks, a tight swap of the new millennium's definitive music culture. He doesn't necessarily do something outrageously new, but the infectious club vibe in cuts like Boogie Macs' "Girl From Ipanema" and Cultural Diversion's "See Thru (MPcs Mix)" suggest Boy George's steady energetic pitch. His twisted "Trancesexual Mix" with Kinky Roland on Amanda Ghost's "Filthy Mind" transcends into vivacious groove of textured techno loops heightening Boy George's personal emotion that makes him want to feel the music. Essential Mix allows him to fully express his new musical jaunt without the pressure of what's current on the U.K. electronic scene, leaving him the opportunity to construct something that's compassionate, yet something wild. MacKenzie Wilson