We're going to concentrate our efforts for this issue's Groove Line column on some music reviews. But before we get to those, let's take:

A Peak at The Recent Past
Reviews from a variety of my circuit sources indicate that the Black & Blue Festival in Montreal is back on track after a resoundingly successful weekend earlier this month (and I'm not just saying that because Boi is Partner of this event). The trend of less Americans attending, replaced in part by increased numbers from Europe, has made B&B more of an international event, which my sources quite liked (I actually think they liked the increased amount of available foreskin). But apart from the increased in detectable foreign accents, the quality of the venues, performances, and DJ sets was what really made this year's Festival so good. Of special musical note were the DJ sets by Chus & Ceballos and Roger Sanchez at the Main Event and Victor Calderone and Stephan Grodin at the Recovery Party @ Stereo. Kudos and congrats to our friends north of the border for putting on another stellar weekend.

A Peak at the Future
It looks like the 2005 Fireball DJs have been inked with Manny Lehman (Los Angeles) starting things off on Friday night. Rosabel - the DJing tag team duo of Abel (Miami) and Chicago's own Ralphi Rosario - again will guide the music for the main event on Saturday, their third straight year. Sunday will have a bi-coastal slant with Warren Gluck (NYC) and Brett Henrichsen (LA). Too bad another Third Coast DJ isn't in the mix for the weekend. Fireball will be held over President's Day weekend, February 18 ­ 20, 2005.

Music Reviews

Dance Singles --

"Dirtyfilthy" by Superchumbo featuring Celeda (Twisted)
Twisted has been one of my favorite record labels over the past year and they again deliver the goods with this new cut from Superchumbo. "Dirtyfilthy" is a hard house chunky tribal track that has the familiar voice of the one and only Celeda talking about how she likes her dance groove. This song will surely excite late night dance floors with its energy. And as an added plus, the flip side of this 12-incher is yet another quality mix of "This Beat Is" done up by Canada's extremely talented Stephan Grodin, resident DJ at the world famous Stereo Nightclub in Montreal (wow, that's two mentions of him in this column.).

"Call On Me" by Eric Prydz (Data)
If you remember the old Stevie Winwood song "Valerie" in the 1982 album Talking Back To The Night, then the answer to your question is "yes." They have indeed remixed that song into a dance track and in my estimation it's pretty decent. Some have complained about the hook being repetitive, but Prydz has put together a full-bodied package here with a strong beat and a build-up of soaring synths that will play well on circuit and more mainstream dance floors. And the video for this song is creating quite the buzz.

"How Do U Feel" by David Morales (Definity)
Earlier this year it was Definity's other legend, Frankie Knuckles, who released his full-length artist album and next up is David Morales. And with an exquisite tasty morsel of what you can expect, the first single is "How Do U Feel" featuring the vocal talents of Lea-Lorien. Morales has produced a fantastic, moderately paced track in that classic East Coast house music style that always emphasized lyrics much more so than "track"-y Chicago house. If "How Do U Feel" is any indication, then Morales' upcoming album, 2 Worlds Collide, is going to be spectacular.

Full Length Albums/CDs ­

Exodus by Utada (Universal)
Her full name is Utada Hikaru, but it's as a mono-named performer ­ a la Madonna and Prince ­ that this Japanese star hopes to hit it big in the U.S. Her first English language CD, Exodus, is a damn fine beginning, bringing serious songwriting and top-notch production values to the pop music genre. Utada has a very appealing voice with a haunting quality that forces a listener to hear what she has to say. The musical arrangements are sophisticated, unique, and interesting and impressively complement Utada's voice and style. This is a real nice effort from a woman we'll probably be hearing more of in the future.

Where Our Love Grows by Swing Out Sister (Shanachie Records)
The duo who make up Swing Out Sister, Corrine Drewery and Andy Connell, have delivered to America their first CD in seven years. While they may have been away from us for an extended period of time, the songs on Where Our Love Grows - all new and original material - sound pleasingly familiar and comfortable. This collection of twelve songs has a touches of jazzy rhythms, latin soul, and classic R&B: a combination that has been described as "Lounge Motown." Swing Out Sister has maintained a constant presence in the U.K. during the past 20 years and it's sure nice to have them back across the pond stimulating us Americans with Where Our Love Grows.

DJ Plez is the Music Editor of ChicagoPride.com. He DJs throughout the Midwest and has a residency at PUMP! in Milwaukee, WI.