The fifth installment of the Subliminal Sessions finds Subliminal label head/DJ Erick Morillo returning to the helm after letting longtime collaborator/producer Jose Nunez spearhead the fourth edition. However, a lot of things separate this particular release from its predecessors, which could make it easily a contestant for the strongest release yet. Amazingly enough, he forgoes a lot of the progressive house fanfare that he's been associated with and takes on the classics for the first disc. Disc one starts off with Dan Hartman's lost classic "Relight My Fire," and More works his way through some early Chicago jack tracks courtesy of Tyree and Lil' Louis before making a detour in N.Y.C. to pick up the Pal Joey/Earth People anthem "Dance." He intersperses exclusive a cappella tracks from his Subliminal imprint here and there, and they work well -- sometimes almost too well (especially in the case of laying Harry Romero's "Corruption" over Tyree's classic "Acid Crash"). From there, though, things get back to familiar sexy Subliminal territory. Heavy-laden percussion and tribal tracks flow aplenty, all the way well into the second disc, where things get intense and peak with Lil' Louis' epic house anthem "French Kiss" and work their way to the end, where there is yet another gem, this time from Detroit techno legends Reese & Santonio with their KMS lost classic "Rock to the Beat." It's not the most representative mix CD of Morillo's style, but it is most definitely the most adventurous and diverse mix CD he's done to date. The exploration of mixing the new with the old and the challenge of bringing it all together seamlessly make Subliminal Sessions, Vol. 5 worth the purchase price. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
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