All Ears: Dave Wrangler's Under The Influence

Houstonist knows that the crux of a party is the music - get it wrong, and your event is toast, but get it right and your party is the place to be. In this day and age, "anyone can be a DJ" right? Just load up a sweet playlist and go track to track.

Wrong: the world of the DJ is perilous: tragedy awaits, coiled and poised to strike in the form of an improperly selected song, a gear malfunction, or an over-enthusiastic party-goer. Fortunately, a good DJ has been well-versed in party crisis management, able to quickly rectify any situation that may arise. We know a few folks in this town who are more than capable behind a set of tables, and one of those is honorable Dave Wrangler. Thus, you can understand our excitement when Dave sent us his newest collection of mashups and remixes, Under The Influence.

Upon receiving it, the first thing we noticed was Dave's slightly unorthodox choice to unleash it in album format, meaning full tracks of each mix as opposed to a track-to-track mixtape blend. For Under The Influence, this is the double-edged sword of the project - the front to back flow of the album suffers at weaker tracks, but it also allows the stunners to really shine. Make no mistake: Mr. Wrangler is damn good. Getting a "weak track" from him is the equivalent of getting a drink that you don't like from Bobby Heugel at Anvil - it is definitely well made, it just might not be your flavor.

We'll be going through the collection on a track-by-track basis, but here's the condensed version: It's good, with lots of hits, a couple misses, it's free, and you should go download it from Dave's slick new website.

The album leads off with "Hey Ladies" - a stunning mix of the Beastie Boys laid over Kool & The Gang that opens with a great obscure quote from an old Donna Summer disco movie [Thank God It's Friday] that just jumped to the top of our Netflix queue. If it fails to wake you up then you're probably dead. Following that is a great slow and smooth remix of Slim Thug's Diamonds.

In music, there are certain undeniable tracks that DJs are prone to drop. When one such song is used the men are separated from the boys - play it over or behind the wrong track and you've just crushed a gem. Daft Punk's Harder Better Faster Stronger is an automatic red flag inside of a mix, but Dave smartly lays it over The Whitest Boy Alive and crafts a winner. His mix of Outkast's Rosa Parks over Royksopp is a good blend of smart, quirky, and just far enough off the radar, and Dave follows that with an excellent pairing of Dimples D's Sucker DJ over Herbie Hancock's Rockit.

We're not too keen on his version of Amanda Blank's Might Like You Better, however. The song is an automatic pick for DJs - a new hot song that has great dancefloor potential - and because of that we've heard several versions. Dave's is a well assembled slow burner, but we might just be burnt out on the track. He counters with another Outkast song, dropped over Ratatat's Wildcat [another easy recent DJ pick], making an ultra-chill track that feels like gliding around corners in a lowrider.

One of his best works is B.I.G.'s Warning mixed over Dirty Money. It's hard to go wrong with Big Poppa, but this has got to be one of the trippiest takes on his tunes. Damn, ****** wanna stick me for my remix.

Pharcyde is another old-school favorite selection, and at this point Houstonist believes Passin' Me By should probably be passed over for longform remixing. Maybe it's the poor production quality of the original track, with its dry off-key vocals and tin-can feeling. Wrangler offers it on top of Ghostland Observatory - a nice choice, but a miss in our book.

Durrough's Ice Cream Paint Job is a song in the same category of the Amanda Blank track, but this one is a stone cold stunner - excellently paired with HEALTH to evoke that "just gotta dance" feeling. Biggie over Ghostland Observatory and Beastie Boys over Motor Booty make for damn good mixes as well.

Under The Influence then proceeds to move in for the kill. Wrangler pairs Hova with Boy 8-Bit for a fresh, bouncy track, but it's what comes next that really grips us. Houstonist has a weakness for anything featuring Ludacris - and when it's supported by Hercules & Love Affair's fantastic Stand Up we're pretty much guaranteed to lose our mind.

Wrangler then unveils a pair of straight remixes - Kim Zolciak's Tardy For The Party and The XX's Stars. Both are very well done, and showcase why he is currently booked up with remix contracts.

The secret for any DJ is to make sure that you start strong and finish stronger - rope in your audience early, get them hooked, and absolutely crush it for the final half hour. Under The Influence follows this model by mixing another guilty pleasure - Flo Rida's Low over an even guiltier pleasure, Britney Spears - we dare you not to dance. Wrangler ices the cake, puts the cherry on top, and then goes Gallagher all over said theoretical pastry with his closing track - Dead Prez's Hip Hop laced with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Damn right it's bigger than hip hop - it's Houston's Dave Wrangler working his finest.