On June 6th, 2006 Paul Oakenfold releases A Lively Mind, his sophomore artist album and the follow up to 2002’s Bunkka. Like Bunkka, A Lively Mind features a cornucopia of guest appearances from the likes of Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, Grand Master Flash, and of course there’s Brittany Murphy. Yeah, Brittany Murphy from 8 mile and Sin City.

I’d like to say this is a great album. Oakenfold has probably done more for electronic music than anyone, but it’s hard to listen to this album and find anything approaching greatness. At its best, it’s dated and uninspired; at its worst, it's just short of painful.

Without a doubt this album will be a commercial success, and by that I mean that you will hear it on every beer, car, and soft drink ad for the next year and a half. I think that’s essentially what rubs me the wrong way about this album. It just seems to be manufactured to appeal to advertisers more than the traditional trance audience that bought up Paul Oakenfold. Leaning toward the pop side of trance/dance music isn’t a bad thing. "Starry Eyed Surprise" and "Ready Steady Go" were both poppy tracks off the Bunkka album and played well. The tracks here seem forced and with overly simplistic lyrics (even for trance); the album simply never gathers enough steam to make a solid effort

The album is not all bad. Despite the odd paring of Oakenfold and Murphy, "Faster Kill Pussycat" is easily the best track on the album. It’s a good electro/pop tune that will get a heavy rotation in the clubs and will spawn numerous remixes. As much as the pairing of seems like yet another Hollywood-type thinking they should break into the music biz, Murphy’s vocal performance is suitably reserved. She doesn’t push herself too far out of her comfort zone and the “you turn me on“ hook is memorable and catchy.

Maybe it was an attempt to make a catchy into, maybe it was a lack of time, and maybe it was a marketing vision gone totally wrong, but "Set It Off" featuring Grandmaster Flash is the largest misstep of the album. It’s not that the beats are especially bad, it’s that the intro is straight out of a ’92 hip-hop video.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Paul: Hey Flash

<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->GMF: Yo Paul what up?

And it continues like that for what seems like an eternity. GMF was a pioneer in scratching and hip-hop and I would have expected more than this.

Other tracks to note include "Praise the Lord", where Oakenfold seems to be channeling the ghost of James Bond more than any godly being. The disc closes with "Feed Your Mind" that will most likely hold the honor of being the first song to travel to a commercial.

If you’re a fan of Paul Oakenfold pick up one of his DJ mixed albums or catch him on the “A Lively Mind Tour,” but sadly buying this album will leave you disappointed.

Track Listing

1. Faster Kill Pussycat — Featuring Brittany Murphy

2. No Compromise — Featuring Spitfire

3. Sex 'N' Money — Featuring Pharrell Williams

4. Switch On — Featuring Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic Amsterdam

5. Set It Off — Featuring Grandmaster Flash

6. The Way I Feel — Featuring Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic

7. Praise The Lord

8. Save The Last Trance For Me

9. Not Over — Featuring Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic

10. Vulnerable — Featuring Bad Apples

11. Feed Your Mind — Featuring Spitfire