**1/2 Liquid Todd

ACTION

(Ultra Records)

To succeed in a market suddenly swamped with "exclusive" DJ mixes, a successful foray into the genre has to include at least one of the following: jaw-dropping turntable trickery (DJ Q-Bert); a barrage of eclectic cut 'n' paste tactics (Coldcut); or exclusive remixes and dubby post-production that stretch standard 12-inches to the limit (Kruder and Dorfmeister). Former WFNX DJ and Spin Cycle creator Liquid Todd doesn't scratch much or take many chances in the mixing department. And the track selection on Action isn't going to leave fellow DJs burning with jealousy. But his debut disc succeeds through sheer exuberance and energy, and by delivering, with a kiss of kitsch and a handful of rectro-electro, '80s-nostalgia tracks like Electrotheque's luscious cover of Chocolate Funk's "Everyone's a Winner," Todd's own "Axel F" reminiscence "Rocktronix," and the cheeky "(Hey You) What's That Sound," by the faux French duo Les Rhythmes Digitales. Although big-name producers like the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim receive top billing here, the new-wave tactics of the lesser-knowns -- vocoded vocals, cheesy guitar riffs, and squiggly synth solos -- prove to be more fun than the balls-to-the-wall drum loops and big-beat breakdowns.

-- Michael Endelman