Robbie Rivera: Wicked

Robbie Rivera boasts an impressive history as a DJ and remixer. In addition to mixing tracks for fellow house luminaries like Erick “More” Morillo, Felix Da Housecat and Funky Green Dogs, Rivera has reworked songs by mainstream artists such as Ricky Martin, Kylie Minogue, and Madonna. As much a musician as he is a DJ, Rivera has recorded and released tracks for the Ministry of Sound, Defected, and Azuli labels, as well as the now defunct Strictly Rhythm. Rivera’s designs for Wicked seem to bring the majority of his musical attributes to bear. For all of Robbie Rivera talents, however, Wicked is just another run-of-the-mill progressive beat-mix.

Presumably, Robbie Rivera sought to create a compilation that focused more on his skills as a musician than his prowess at the turntable. The fact that Rivera produced or remixed ten of the 12 tracks on Wicked gives credence to this assumption. This is further validated by the fact that all 12 tracks appear in full, long-play forms, suggesting Rivera’s desire to showcase not only his adeptness at mastering beats-per-minute, but also his abilities at crafting elaborate tribal house tracks.

Wicked is virtually devoid of standout tracks. The collection plays from beginning to end like highly ornate background music. DJs typically bring compilations of this nature into play before or after their sets — when they expect the club, and more importantly the dance floor, to be devoid of patrons.

The compilation opens pleasantly enough with “Loneliness” by Tomcraft. This track, with its pulsing electronic rhythms, deceivingly sets the tone for a rich and fulfilling dance experience. A vocal trance track, “Loneliness” is one of the two tracks not expressly composed or remixed by Robbie Rivera. The next track, “Vertigo”, is composed by Rivera, and is mostly atmospheric, with few memorable beats. This segues into the slightly better “Funk-A-Tron”, which Rivera recorded as Robbie Rivera’s Grooves.

At this point, the listener has more than likely lost interest in the rather dull mix, so the appearance of the DJ Flex-produced “Amazing” seems less than thrilling. This is the second of two tracks not produced or remixed by Robbie Rivera. This song boasts some great beats and gives the collection some much-needed groove. The collection quickly descends, however, into a redundant, soundalike quagmire of light tribal beats.

Robbie Rivera’s Wicked is a standard dance-mix, at best. His insistence on predominantly sampling tracks from his own musical library on the collection downplays his abilities as a DJ. A more diverse track listing would’ve definitely made the compilation more memorable. Indeed, a little variation could’ve made Wicked a floor-filler, not a break-taker.