GUMixed is a mixed (pardon the pun) bag, no doubt about it.
Following (and inspired by) GU’s successful GU10 comes a nicely packaged three disc (or four, depending on whether you buy the limited edition) mix of unreleased/exclusive tracks and an ’88-’95 retrospective, which is all well and good and certainly unique, but not without a few caveats.

The first disc begins very, very strongly with `An Evening With Bobi Bros’ by Trentmoller & DJ Tom > Tenaglia’s Island Groove Remix of `Dibiza’ > `Lovin’ (Your Body Remix) by Funk D’Void. In fact, the first CD is peppered with a quantity of really decent tracks – some stand-outs include `Shake It’ and `Mal Funktion’ – but the problem is that equally as many just don’t hold water by comparison, leaving mixed impressions at the disc’s closure. `SheShi Lounging’ and `The Operatah’ were a bit too disco-house for my tastes and didn’t seem to fit in; the same goes for `Manga’ and the downright weird `Razorblade.’ Disc one ends as strongly as it began, however, with Bent’s `Waiting For You’ and UNKLE’s `Burn My Shadow’ (remixed by Junkie XL). Make no mistake, there really aren’t any `bad’ tracks on this disc, but a couple of tracks would have been better off omitted.

I can’t quite understand where the GU marketing department came up with “Two discs full of exclusive and unreleased music,” as disc two’s opener `Azure (Part 1)’ has appeared on other mixes as well – but so much the better, as it is a decent track. `School Of Thought’ brings some nice sexy progressive trance to the table, but is followed by the disappointingly short `Warm Milk,’ clocking in at a mere 1:14, and `Female,’ which sounds as if it should have been included on the third disc rather than amongst the exclusive tracks. There are plenty of moments of saving grace on disc two, just like disc one, to make up for some mismatched tracks. Stel performs an earthy remix of Trafik’s `Indestructible’ which expands into a surprisingly hard-hitting number by its end. `Big Booms Bigger Tunes’ > `Xcellr8′ > `Mexico Can Wait’ continue this theme that is abruptly halted by `Winter,’ which is haunting and melodic, as is `Saturn.’ The problem is, again, that these tracks seem woefully out of place even though they are quite enjoyable. Disc two ultimately redeems itself, as does disc one, with a series of fantastic tracks by Jim Rivers (`Black Box’), Gabriel & Dresden Ft. Jan Burton (`New Path’ remixed by Jim Rivers) and Paul Hartnoll (`Patchwork Guilt’). Again, there are no truly harsh tracks present but the inconsistency is paramount.

Which brings us to disc three – the 1988-1995 retrospective of early house/acid-house tracks. I definitely dig this disc because it makes GUMixed a fairly unique and complete package and features songs by long-ago EDM pioneers including Lost Tribe, West Bam, Doi-Oing, Creative Thieves (Sasha performs a remix of their track) and Members Of The House, to name but a few. For a retrospective disc, disc three offers a lot and asks very little in the way of patience with aged tracks.

For the collectors out there who purchase the limited edition with the fourth, unmixed CD, let me be succinct: It is as decent as any of the other discs, but the bumper price does not justify its inclusion. I think GU should have followed in the footsteps of GUMixed’s predecessor, GU10, and made this a standardized four-disc collection rather than making the unmixed disc optional. It serves its purpose well for those who mix their own music, indeed, but it isn’t *that* great.

Overall, GUMixed is a mixed bag of treats with some easily overlooked abrasions in the track sequences. I do think that I like this package better than GU10 because of the exclusivity of many of the tracks plus the retrospective third disc.
Disc 1 – 3.5/5 * Disc 2 – 3.5/5
Disc 3 – 4.0/5 * Disc 4 – 3.0/5
Overall, a strong 3.5, and overall a quality release.

Disc 1

1. Trentemoller & DJ T.O.M. – An Evening With Bobi Bros
2. Danny Tenaglia – D’Ibiza (Island Groove Mix)
3. Funk Da Void – Lovin’ Your Body
4. Anil Chawla & Dale Anderson – SheShi Loungin’
5. Angel Moraes – The Operatah
6. Eric Borgo – Another Man (Daniel Stefanik)
7. Spirit Catcher – Harmonize
8. Gamma Rox – Magical
9. Cubic – Superflyin’ (Francesco Farfa Remix)
10. Arias – Twelve (Noir Remix)
11. Oliver Koletski – Music From The Heart
12. D Dub – Genesis
13. Emjae – Mal Funktion
14. Dom Almond – Shake It
15. Saul B vs Leo Giradi – Manga (Sam Perez & Dariush)
16. X Press 2 – Witchi Tai To (M Factor Vocal Remix)
17. Bent – Waiting For You (Superbass Remix)
18. UNKLE – Burn My Shadow (Junkie XL Remix)

Disc 2

1. Slam – Azure
2. Lutzenkirchen & Zdar – Rock Bottom (Stereovox Remix)
3. Kevin Swain – Old Skool
4. James Talk – Warm Milk
5. Trafik – Indestructable (Stel Remix)
6. Stu Hirst – Big Rooms Bigger Tunes
7. Wehhba – Xcellr8 (D-Nox and Beckers Remix)
8. Roland Klinkenberg – Mexico Can Wait
9. Aril Brihkka – Winter
10. Sebastien Ledger – Saturn
11. Chab – Perspective
12. Spektre – Jade
13. Bleach Eatin Pimps – C.U. Next Tuesday (Eric Kupper Remix)
14. Bleach Eatin Pimps – C.U. Next Tuesday (Trey Casseux Remix)
15. Jim Rivers – Blackbox
16. Gabriel & Dresden – New Path (Jim Rivers Remix)
17. Paul Hartnol – Patchwork Guilt

Disc 3

1. Prefab Sprout – If You Don’t Love Me (Future Sound Of London Mix)
2. Last Rhythm – Open Your Mind
3. Soundsource – One High (Bump Remix)
4. Doi-ing – Good Feeling
5. Kamasutra – Nightwalk
6. C-Concept – Why Naked?
7. Frontierman – Express It Through Dance (Bold Mix)
8. S-Bam – Chica Boom
9. Think Tank – Hack 1
10. Electric Choc – Shock The Beat
11. Westbam – Hold Me Back
12. Lost Tribe – Gimme A Smile
13. Oval 5 Project – Vertigo
14. Hysteria – Love Nature
15. Dance 2 Trance – Psychedelic Solution
16. Paragliders – Paraglide (Humate Remix)
17. Creative Thieves – Nasty Rhythm (Sasha Remix)
18. Shades Of Rhythm – Sweet Sensation
19. PKA – Let Me Hear You Say Yeah
20. Smallage – Together
21. Rhythm On The Loose – Break Of Dawn
22. Members Of The House – These Are My People (Rainbow Mix)

-James Woodruff