Nervous is a label with a long history. 30 years of history, in fact. The label was founded in New York in 1991 and was an early home to Mood II Swing, Armand Van Helden, Josh Wink, Frankie Feliciano and countless others. And most labels from the 90s have long disappeared, so I can understand Nervous wanting to celebrate their triumph.
Hence the release of a four vinyl album, showcasing what the label has done in the past alongside some newer remixes of past glories. And from the start, you can tell this is going to be a disappointment, with Louie Vega and Josh Milan’s mix of “Hot” by Willie Ninja not being a patch on Louie’s 1994 mixes, with his original Because I’m Hot Mix being the best of the lot.
The album goes into deeper territory next, with Radio Slave remixing the 2008 Ralph Falcon song “Break You” – who turns out a dull interpretation that screams business techno and tech-house. Dr Packer, Kevin McKay and Franky Rizardo complete the rubbish lineup of hopelessly sub-par remixes that offer nothing new to the often classic originals.
You almost get the feeling this release was basically put together after label boss Mike Weiss got everyone together and they discussed how they could make the maximum amount of money possible, and stuff the integrity of the original releases. In other words, this was treated as a cash cow than a serious attempt to acknowledge and celebrate their legacy.
A while ago, a source of mine dismissed Weiss as “a cheapskate”. Perhaps he was just saving his money for this release – Dr Packer isn’t cheap, by all accounts…
