Tommy Boy
2004
New York: A Mix Odyssey
About This Album
Armand Van Helden, the superstar late-'90s house producer forever known for gracing the world with the epochal "U Don't Know Me" (among a few other big hits), dropped off the club/dance map for several years after his Gandhi Khan album bombed in the wake of 9/11 (the album was released only a couple weeks after the tragedy and, understandably yet unfortunately, didn't go over well as a result). Granted, Van Helden was already in a bit of creative slump by that point, but the disregard of that album must have really sunk his spirits, because he was simply nowhere to be heard from for years (not even a one-off commercial single surfaced) -- that is, until the release of New York: A Mix Odyssey in 2004. This release by Tommy Boy serves no doubt as the almighty "comeback" that most flagging artists resort to in a bid to reestablish themselves. And like most comebacks, New York is a fairly safe release -- one that is what remaining fans most likely expect from Van Helden (true-blue house music à la New York City), one that is risk free and fairly mass-market orientated (a DJ mix with a couple inclusions everybody knows), and one that is anchored by a sure-fire hit single ("Hear My Name," a Van Helden-goes-electroclash anthem).
Track List (try tracks 3,8,10 and 12)

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