by Sterling McGarvey

Sequels: For movies, they usually suck. For video games, they're usually better. For albums? Flip a coin.

Resident at NYC's Giant Step weekly, Ron Trent steps in to fill the shoes that François K stretched on the first installment of Deep & Sexy. Rather than go for full-on emulation, Trent brings his own unique style to Wave Music's sizable library of bedsheet-rocking deep house. Since I can't review a Deep & Sexy album without a corny video game analogy, Trent manages to ride his mixes like he's a Tony Hawk skater with unlimited rail grind. Any listener who wants to scroll back in a track to hear the mix coming in is going to have a long way to go back. Trent brings them in with beautiful harmony and rides them out like Kelly Slater on the crest of a wave. Seriously, the sheer technical craftsmanship of Trent's mixing transcends an above-average track selection and is enough to push this CD past being merely a typical deep house mix CD and into something resembling a teaching tool for upstart young DJs. Hey kids, wanna hear how to ride a mix for more than 8 bars? Listen up.

One of the highlights of the album comes in early as the fourth track, "Love Line," rides in on a minute and a half long mix. Featuring a sparse bassline, a horn solo and a beautiful keyboard loop, this one's hot, hot, and hot. A Latin-flavored redux of Tiefschwarz's classic "Music," aptly titled "Latin Music," spices up the midsection of the mix. The number 7 seems to be the lucky track number in the series as Marcus Enochson and E-Man's "Musical Prayer," the house head mantra of 2003, takes the cake. Mattias Heilbronn's redux of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl" also makes an appearance on the CD. Strangely, "Dark Transition" has a vibe that fits in here, but wouldn't sound out of place on a Global Underground CD circa 2000.

All in all, Trent delivers a sequel that exceeds its predecessor in technical marvel. The track selection runs roughly neck and neck with the original, but considering the quality of the first Deep & Sexy, it's not necessarily a bad thing that the tracks don't soar above the original. In spite of a real glut of deep house CDs on the market since the first CD was released, this second installment demonstrates that Deep & Sexy has the potential to have brand name quality to it. It's definitely among the best mix CDs of the year. One can only wonder who Wave Music (and by that extension, François K), will handpick for the third one...

Ron Trent - Deep & Sexy vol. 2

Tracklisting:

1. Aurora - Kaoru Inoue presents Chari Chari
2. Better Day - Deeper Daze Mix AlphaMotive
3. Get It Right - Forever
4. Love Line M.S.D.
5. Minor Villain - Peckham Royalty
6. Latin Music - Tiefschwarz
7. Musical Prayer - Markus Enochson featuring E-Man
8. Ritmo da Rua Universal Love
9. That Girl - Deep Zone Mix Matthias 'Matty' Heilbronn
10. Dark Transition D'Malicious
11. Brazilica Carlos 'Gogo' Gomez
12. Fade Earth Mix Solu Music feat. Kimblee
13. Matty's Love From NYC Groove Matthias 'Matty' Heilbronn
14. Waiting For Your Love - Onda