"Little" Louie Vega Albums (15)
'Percussion Madness'
Release Date 5/5/2006
Tracks 13
Label Pony Canyon
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Mix the Vibe: For the Love of King Street'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 28
Label King Street Sounds
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
A two-disc, 130-minute DJ mix of house music is a daunting prospect for anyone who intends to listen rather than to dance for two hours, so one important measure of a house DJ's skill is his or her ability to make the experience something less than an interminable exercise in thumping, head-numbing boredom. Louie Vega is better equipped than most to do just that, and if this collection doesn't entirely succeed as a listening experience it's probably more because of the limitations intrinsic to the genre than it is to his own skill. And, it's worth pointing out, this isn't really music for listening anyway. So don't be too surprised or dismayed when the overlong remix of Kerri Chandler's "So Let the Wind Come" fails to keep hold of your attention, or when Groove Box's "Casio's Theme" starts to grate. Less excusable are the off-key singing on Peven Everett's minimalist "I Can't Believe I Loved Her (Calypso Mix)" and Charles McDougald's dumb, overwrought vocals on Bassmental's "It's the Music (King Street Club Mix)." These low points are nicely redeemed, however, by such moments of brilliance as Kerri Chandler's "Coro (The Colonial Mentality)," with its hot, funky horns, and the fun '80s soul inflected "Closer (King Street Moody Club)" by Mood II Swing with Carole Sylvan. This album may not win house music any new converts, but established fans of the genre and of Louie Vega in particular will love it. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Louie Vega's Elements of Life album was a fun and funky excursion into a broad range of variations on modern international club music, incorporating everything from salsa and soca to bossa nova and Afro-jazz, and bringing in singers who performed in English, French, Yoruba, Spanish, and more. Elements of Life: Extensions is the inevitable remix project, one that features tracks from the original album in sometimes radically different versions mixed by such dancefloor notables as DJ Spinna, Jazzy Jeff, Joe Claussell, and even Masters at Work (the duo in which Vega does most of his production and DJ work). Maudlin and sentimental lyrics continue to mar both "Sunshine" and the rhythmically pedestrian "Let the Children Play" ("Let them heal the world with the way we feel when they play," etc.), but the jazz-meets-soca bump of "Cerca de Mi" and the exuberantly funky "Nos Vida" more than make up for those soggy interludes, and the House of Rhumba cameo on "Steel Congo" ends the album with a pleasing bang. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Louie Vega, the DJ masterworker and Masters at Work supremo, didn't record a solo full-length until nearly 20 years after his debut as a producer. (Granted, Nuyorican Soul was close to a solo album, and he also produced all of When the Night Is Over, his 1991 collaboration with Marc Anthony.) Accordingly, Vega packed 2004's Elements of Life with varying sounds, including collaborations with friends (Blaze, Ursula Rucker), a tribute to his uncle (salsero legend Hector Lavoe), and a host of fusion experiments -- Spanish Harlem by way of Puerto Rico by way of Africa -- involving musicians he's met during his long studio career. As on Nuyorican Soul, Vega begins by illustrating what a talented modern producer can do to brighten an underappreciated standard without wrecking the effect of the original; instead of Rotary Connection's "I Am the Black Gold of the Sun" Vega reworks the Chakachas' "Jungle Fever," the original ranking as a full-blush sexual escapade on the same order as Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" or Musique's "(Push, Push) In the Bush." His two tracks with Blaze might disappoint listeners expecting a miracle from this meeting of two garage legends; here, as on the majority of the record, the production has the same high sheen of Nuyorican Soul, but lacks the dynamic performances and concentrated compositions. Vocalists Raúl Midón and Anané contribute very little of interest, and Vega's touch is too smooth for the live band he invites into the studio. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Soul Heaven: London & Ibiza'
Release Date 12/16/2003
Tracks 36
Label Import
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Yet another excellent mix by Little Louie Vega, Soul Heaven: London & Ibiza is a double-disc set that's somewhat thematic. The first disc is subtitled London and is typical of what Vega would spin there -- a lot of his classic Masters at Work productions, practically all of them vocal tracks, generally in remixed form here and often creatively interwoven, making decade-old tracks like "I Can't Get No Sleep," "Can't Stop," and "I Got Somebody New" sound as fresh as ever. The second disc is subtitled Ibiza and is typical of what Vega would spin there -- again, a lot of his own productions, except these ones are much less vocally based than those featured on the first disc and lean much more toward Latin music than straightforward house, especially in terms of percussion. As such, Soul Heaven presents both sides of Vega's trademark Latin house style, highlighting the broad spectrum his music encompasses, and while this ability to cater to both ends of the Latin house equation is impressive, it's only part of the overall package. As aforementioned, Vega not only chose these tracks, but he also had a hand in producing a great majority of them, and for that matter, he mixes them with masterful vision, often layering one over the other as if they were intended to be mixed as such. In particular, the opening quick-mix relay of "Brand New Day" into "Days Like This" into "I Can't Get No Sleep" into "Diamond Life" into "Can't Stop" is downright amazing, especially since these tracks are all amazing in their own right, let alone when interwoven with such brilliance. And that's just the opening run of the first disc! It's easy to go on and on about Vega, whether in terms of track selection, production, or mixing -- he's a DJ's DJ, for sure. Regardless of how attuned you are to his accomplishments, however, you should find much to admire here on Soul Heaven. Those already in the know will surely marvel at the way Vega masterfully runs through a long list of well-known classics, making them all sound fresh again, while those unfamiliar with this living legend are in for a proper schooling, as this mix makes a thorough introduction to both Vega the DJ and Vega the Master at Work. It's usually hard to go wrong with this guy's mixes, and Soul Heaven is no exception. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Sessions, Vol. 12'
Release Date 11/27/2001
Tracks 27
Label Ministry of Sound
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
House Nation America is a double-disc mix compilation assembled for the U.K. collective Ministry of Sound, serving as a companion volume to Trance Nation America. Overall, the tracks are well-chosen, with a special slant toward the soulful end of the house spectrum. There's at least one instant classic in the form of DJ Rolando's (aka the Aztec Mystik) "Knights of the Jaguar" -- heard here in the original version, not the European ripoff -- which closes disc one on a high note. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
