Album: Jakatta

Under the guise of faux-Hispanic house producer Joey Negro, Dave Lee helped establish the validity of early UK house music by pretending his records came from America. Having scored a big hit as Jakatta with "American Dream", which does for Thomas Newman's distinctive music from American Beauty what Moby's "Go" did for Twin Peaks, Lee has established himself as one of the main forces in cinematic house. I wouldn't go as far as his friend Ashley Beedle, whose sleevenote begs someone to give Lee a film commission; for, pleasant as the album is, its most striking melodies are lifted from others' work. Besides his American Beauty, Newman's piano theme to The Shawshank Redemption is also used on three pieces, while Gabriel Yared's theme to Betty Blue provides the spine of "Feelin' Blue", and Monsoon's "Ever so Lonely" is adapted for the downtempo groove "So Lonely". By comparison, Lee's own compositions tend to suffer from a lack of character: there's no faulting his skill as mixer, but it's hard later to recall a single melody other than the above-mentioned. As a result, the album becomes an elongated smear of strings and chilled beats occasionally fronted by vocalists like singer Beth Hirsch (suitably bland) and rapper Linda Clifford (irritating), and in one case, the speaking clock. By far the most effective is Seal, whose urgent entreaties bring a focus and power to "My Vision" singularly absent from the rest of the album.