Everyone who knows me, knows I love Happy Hardcore. I truly love it. And those that disagree, will be seen as my enemy. Who can dislike Happy Hardcore? Yes, it's been ridiculed over the years, but it is as important as Gabber is. It's our history, and the tunes have also become timeless classics. Not all are great, but neither are all Hardcore tunes ever made. It's hit and miss, or too damn cheesy. But the most well known anthems are loved by fans from all over the world, including yours truly.
I've reviewed many Happy Hardcore mixes over the years, and most of them made me a happy person. The records were always awesome, and today's mix could be great too. According to the title, it contains the 25 best Happy Hardcore songs ever. And that's quite the statement. Can you actually boil it all down to just 25 records? Is that even possible?
Funky Frank made this mix back in 2020, and it already has 3k plays. And it's got the big hits in it. I am not even exaggerating. They are the big hits that dominated the charts at the same time. Some you might still hear on the radio, but during the 90s, they were everywhere: on the radio, on compilations, and even when you were in a shop (as background music). You couldn't escape these songs, and even in 2023 there's no hiding from them.
Have a look at this tracklist. You must acknowledge the fact they were everywhere!
Interactive - Forever Young
DJ Paul Elstak - Life Is Like A Dance (Extended Radio Version)
Marusha - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Dune - I Can't Stop Raving
Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Together In Wonderland (Video Mix)
Dune - Hardcore Vibes
Tokyo Ghetto Pussy - I Kiss Your Lips
Dune - Are You Ready To Fly
Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Wonderful Days (Radio Mix)
Critical Mass - Burning Love (Happy Radio Edit)
Party Animals - Atomic
Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Stars
2 Brothers On The 4th Floor - Come Take My Hand
DJ Paul Elstak - Rainbow In The Sky
DJ Paul Elstak - Luv You More
2 Brothers On The 4th Floor - Fairytales (Extended Version)
Party Animals - Hava Naquila
Lipstick - I'm A Raver (Radio Version)
Nakatomi - Children Of The Night (Radio Edit)
Party Animals - Have You Ever Been Mellow
Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - Your Smile (Radio Edit)
4 Tune Fairytales - My Little Fantasy (Radio Edit)
Flamman & Abraxas - Good To Go
Technohead - I Wanna Be A Hippy
Party Animals - Aquarius
Oh, this is an interesting list of Happy Hardcore anthems. Are they the 25 best tunes ever made? No. And are the all the most well known anthems? No. But it's a nice selection, that's for sure. And they did appear on many compilations though. You couldn't buy an album in the 90s without having at least one Happy Hardcore track by Dune, Technohead, Paul Elstak, and many more.
Now the unpleasantries. Even though the tracks are great, the mix unfortunately isn't great. It's filled with errors. And not just tiny ones. Cross fading errors galore, unfortunately. The potential is there, to be a great mix, but with so many errors, and even the quality of the recording dipping below average (sound quality), it's not a pleasant mix to listen to. There are many other mixes out there, better than this one.
He's got a few mixes dedicated to artists on his Soundcloud page, and I thought 'surely they can't all be the same?', and I'm talking about mixing errors etc. Well, unfortunately, they are. And in this Happy Hardcore mix it comes out. This could have been a nice mix, with classics in it, but it's not a smooth and satisfying mix.
So sorry, but can only give this one score.
DJ: Funky Frank
Genre/Style: Happy Hardcore
Mix Info: Happy Hardcore Megamix (Best 25 Happy Hardcore Songs Ever)
Length Mix: 00:58:16
Tracks: 25 (twenty-five)
Download/Listen (via Soundcloud): CLICK HERE
File Size: unknown
File Type: unknown
Audio: Stereo
Bit Rate: unknown
Release Year: 2020
More Information: Funky Frank - Soundcloud Channel