Scooter's raver crack o' the whip, Move Your Ass!, was a major hit in Germany, as well as abroad in Europe, hitting the Top 10 in many countries. To help capitalize on the success, it became common practice to release remix discs to complement Scooter's powerhouse singles. Let's take a look at "Move Your Ass! (Remixes)", a compilation of seven different remixes of that fateful track.
First is the Ultra-Sonic Remix, which gives a strange outer space feeling before throwing some acid synths our way. However, this raving party vibe is interrupted by a piano version of the song's main melody. This pattern actually repeats a few times in a continuous flow of sound. Overall, the remix is not bad for its time; the upbeat atmosphere of the original is kept in full form. The Mandala Remix has a similar effect with its initially muffled acid riffs (and eerily computerized vocal sample) before moving into a strange and disjointed bassline. Some crazy TB303 synths roll in later on, and we're left wondering whether or not this track will relate in any way to the original version of "Move Your Ass!" It's not until two-thirds of the way in that a slightly modified version of the melody kicks in, but it surely doesn't stick around for long. Overall, this remix is a bit too far removed; it's now a full-fledged song on its own, though not even a good one at that.
The Para-Dizer Remix is short and sweet at just under three and a half minutes. Opening instrumentation and a weird voice saying "move your ass", a bubbly bassline leads into more general party beats. However, there's nothing to make this one stand out, either. What we need is something really wild to make this remix package something memorable. If anything can do it, it's the Alien Factory Remix, right? ...RIGHT?! Okay, maybe not. But with its chorusy pipe-style synths and overall old-school rave sound, it's at least a mild curiosity. It sounds like it was done fairly quickly, but at the time, this was the sound.
Trance producers Mega Lo' Mania have their way with the Acid Mania Mix, and for the first minute, it's surprisingly trancy and relaxing, and you begin to think you won't be able to dance to this at all. Then, after some funky rhythms with a sample of the word "ass" (yes, I know this sounds stupid), the rockin' acid hits and you know something bad's about to go down. The trance bit returns, followed by more acid and even some breakbeats for good measure. It's a pretty funky remix with a fair amount of variety in it. It's not related melodically to the original, though, something which seems to be an intriguing trend on these remix discs. The Men Behind Remix also employs some acid synths (another trend here), alongside some fast-paced rhythmic synths. It's actually more standard, but it would fit a club at the time quite well. Last but not least is the Matiz Remix. This one starts out sounding like it belongs in a James Bond movie with some mysterious glockenspiel action. Then it hits: the weird guitar samples, resulting in a rather abstruse production, owing very little to the original "Move Your Ass!", but still being able to differentiate itself from all the other remixes here. Certainly worth a listen.
All in all, it's not a terrible set of mixes by any means, but there also isn't a heck of a lot in terms of musical variety. The majority of tracks here rely heavily on acid synths and a simplistic arms-in-the-air keep-the-beats-going vibe, rather than any discernible melody, which is a bit depressing. Still, as a package, it's enough to keep anyone who misses the 90s nostalgically amused for a short while.
