Deep Dish – George Is On / 2005 Thrive Records / 20 Tracks / http://www.deepdish.com / http://www.thrivemusic.com / Reviewed 14 July 2005

Deep Dish start out their “George Is On” with “No Stopping For Nicotine”, a track that recollects some of the best days of the dance movement, looking back to the halcyon days when the Utah Saints were at the top. The sedate style of the first few tracks of “George Is On” is more of a nod to the drone and ambient movements of the late nineties, instead of the higher-energy movements that book ended drone/ambient. Each of the tracks on “George Is On” has the potential to be a dance hit; clocking in at 5+ minutes, the tracks will maintain people on the dance floor and allow them to get comfortable with the sound before moving on to the next act.

The music on this disc is obviously sequenced, created in a lave somewhere but what Deep Dish really delineate themselves from the pack by is by making the entirety of their music have the feel of reality; that somewhere there is a band playing all the instruments. In a sense, “George Is On” is more of a studio version of a live set than a cohesive album; the tracks may flow well into each other, but there is enough in the way of differences (for example, between “Sacramento” and “Flashdance” that it feels almost as if Ali and Sharam are trying to elicit different moods from the listening crowds. The female vocals on the aforementioned “Flashdance” further give the disc this feel; it is not necessarily the compositions themselves that make the disc, but rather the creation of a definitive groove using these tracks that sells the disc.

The disc feels as if it is in a rut during the instrumental “Swallow Me”; with the high amount of repetition on the track, it is hard to really make it through the track and the rest of the tracks on “George Is On”. This factoid is depressing, as the detached vocals on “Awake Enough” really make for a retro-disco track, coupled with a Tori Amos-feeling to the vocals. Other tracks create a very interesting flow for “George Is On”; “Flashing For Money” is a true hit in the ever-so-popular mash-up style, while the distinctive vocals of Stevie Nicks provide a definite during the very pensive and dreamy synth-lines present on “Dreams”. Deep Dish have blown by Oakenfold and the Pet Shop Boys (and Michael Flatley) and can really put a definitive claim on the title of “Lords of (the) Dance”.

Top Tracks: Dreams, Flashing For Money

Rating: 6.5/10