Shirley Bassey
The Remix Album... Diamonds Are Forever

Yesterday my girlfriend went shopping, she felt like spending money, she said, to lift her spirits, since I was too busy with my DIY projects to entertain her as she likes, and the rain kept persistently soaking the lazy, gray, afternoon. When she returned, beaming and with much lighter pockets, all soaked like a newborn chick, she started hopping around the house, approached the stereo blaring The Heads at full blast, and without saying anything, she turned it off and put on the first of her purchases, looking at me with a satisfied expression.

"Shirley Bassey, The Remix Album... Diamonds are Forever." I have deep respect and admiration for Dame Bassey, her Welsh pride mixed with ebony-colored sensuality, never below impeccable elegance, flirtatious and extremely "stylish". Shirley reminds me of my university days, when I shared my then apartment with a German guy, and gay, very gay, who every Saturday morning would wake up, put on Shirley, and start a meticulous cleaning of the house, dancing with the broom and the red feather boa around his neck... I smile at the memory, and I prepare to listen to this CD...

The album is a collection of tracks sung by Shirley Bassey and remixed by various artists and specialists of the genre. From the dub of "Where Do I Begin" by the away Team, to the Groove Armada's drum and bossa of "Never Never Never", passing through an electro-funk version of "Goldfinger" by the Propellerheads, which however fails to reach the top of "coolness" achieved with "History Repeating" in 1998. The lady, eclectic, manages to add a touch of magic to every note that comes from her throat. All the tracks are excellently produced, like the closing track "If You Go Away", remixed by DJ Skymoo, who juggles between techno and flamenco without ever slipping into trash. Or the 70's disco of "The Big Spender" by Wild Oscar, groovy to the right point, for a terrace with a sea view, July night, icy daiquiris, and beautiful girls.

Impeccable collection, although in my opinion more of a record for DJs, who can use one track at a time depending on the needs of the evening, from opener to closer (no reference to Fiat, thank you), than a record to put on and "seriously listen" to. Pleasant but impersonal, almost indispensable in a "group" context, practically useless as a standalone work.

PS: however, my girlfriend danced to it from start to finish and then...