Bad Boy Bill - Behind the Decks (CD)

All Music Guide

Never known for subtlety or restraint, Bad Boy Bill bangs it not popular, but mainstream. So while you might not recognize the tunes, it's more than easy to grasp and it's all aimed right at the dancefloor. Leave your snooty taste behind and it's a primitive, seamless mix full of good times and guilty pleasures; 36 tracks of mainstream house music whip by before you know what happened and Bad Boy Bill gets name-checked by some overzealous MC repeatedly. Techno-heads will find their long lost hero Joey Beltram in the mix, and big names like DJ Rap and Junior Jack also get their spins. He has more depth than fellow mainstreamer Louie DeVito, and if it weren't for Bad Boy Bill artists like the brilliantly named Shay Coco Butta would have little chance of being in your CD collection. In the style of Moonshine's Mixed Live series, Behind the Decks comes packed with a DVD that includes a 5.1 mix of Bad Boy Bill's set. For the eyes there's video wallpaper of folks who shake it like they mean it and the usual computer graphic doodling on top. Extras include some behind the scenes footage that shows that even superstar DJs occasionally lose the keys to the car. The DVD has an excess of footage that doesn't call for repeat viewing, but the CD can get the party started whenever you need.

- David Jeffries, All Music Guide