48 minutes comprising 7 versions of the song Hoping, from Louie Austen's second CD 'Only Tonight.'

Louie Austen has taken the same idea Tosca did on two of their CDs, but has managed to keep the price down to that of a CD single. Nice work!

All but four minutes of this CD is exclusive to this single. 3 of the tracks are on a Cheap Entertainment Hoping 12inch. All of it is very listenable. Any of the tracks taken alone would cause almost anyone to ask 'who is this', and probably 'where can I find this.' It is nice that you can tell them that Hoping can be found in any store that stocks underground electronic music. This single is a joint release between the well distributed Berlin label Kitty Yo records and the Austrian label Cheap Entertainment.

Cheap is a cult label that has put out lots of great stuff, and was responsible for turning Louie Austen loose on the world. Kitty Yo is a hot label with such artists as Tarwater and Peaches on its roster.

Louie Austen is a rat pack styled crooner who dwells firmly in the modern world, placing his lounge lizard vocals in tracks with electronics, and collaborators like Peaches. Peaches gives the counterpoint vocal to Hoping, and she does not curse at all (a rare thing for her!).

Hoping has music that reminds me of the Olivia Newton-John disco era song 'Physical.' The song does not sound forced or too clever for its own good. The new mixes are by Naughty, Herbert (Dr. Rockit), Martini Bros. (who just put out their debut record on Poker Flat), Jimi Tenor, and Sugar B.

All the mixes are classy. None of the mixes are dissections of the song. Each mix keeps the winning elements intact, and just gives the track a spin consistent with the remixer's best strengths.