The Ultimate Gay Anthems & PRIDE Classics — Volume 1

Party Favorz is officially kicking off the 2022 Gay Pride season early with volume one of the Ultimate Gay Anthems & PRIDE Classics series. These sets are a massive update to the original Gay Pride Classics sets that were originally released in 2014 (It Get's Better, Love Sensation, True Colors, Together Again & We Are Family).

This and the forthcoming volumes primarily focus on gay anthems that were released in the 90s through the first half of the millennium. As far as Party Favorz is concerned, this is the golden age of club music with so many entries for inclusion it was painful to drop just one song. However, there are some newer songs that go past that timeline that have become staples in the Gay Pride arsenal as well. The majority of newer anthems will be included in the upcoming 'Ultimate Gay Anthems For A New Generation' release scheduled for later in the month.

Since the original release, there has been a glut of remixes for instantly recognizable classics who's original version didn't quite fit in with the overall flow of this release so we went with the updated versions. To be certain, this is not the same series as the original releases. Barry Harris and Dirty Disco have been the main contributors who have preserved and modernized many of our favorite gay anthems.

Speaking of which, you're going to find a hefty dose of other legends like Hex Hector, Junior Vasquez, Ralphi Rosario, Freemasons, Victor Calderone, Wayne G, Almighty and 7th Heaven amongst the many songs included here.

Over the years, we've had a lot of calls for the creation of a best of the Diva Hall of Fame. While there are currently no plans to create such a series because it's a bit redundant — consider these final Gay Anthem releases to be just that. The tracklist alone on this series reads like a who's who of our favorite divas who've been inducted into the Hall of Fame including those one or two-hit wonders that never went beyond the kind of recognition they rightfully deserved.

You will notice in this initial tracklist a little something, something by one our personal favorites K.D. Lang. The one solid remix missing from her induction into the Diva Hall of Fame was a great remix of 'Constant Craving.' I don't want to speak ill of the person who did the remix that was included in the release but it was really bad and there weren't any other options at the time of its release. Enter the fabulous legendary Tracy Young.

It appears Tracy created a remix of 'Constant Craving' in late 2021 after the release of our Diva Series, which may be updated to include it later this year and can be purchased here for diehard fans.

I could go on and on about how much fun this set was creating and all the headaches entailed in working in a diverse setlist like this but that would only suck the joy out of listening to it. If you enjoy this as much as we did making it — that's all that matters because there's more to come. Until the next time...ENJOY!
Album: Ultimate Gay Anthems & Pride Classics Vol. 1
Genre: Circuit, House, Hi NRG
Year: 2022
Total Time: 04:05:34
1. Club 69 feat. Kim Cooper - Diva (European Club Mix)

2. Diana Ross - Love Hangover (Almighty Anthem 12" Mix)

3. Kortezman feat. Rozalla - Everybody's Free (7th Heaven Mix)

4. Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly With His Song (Soul Solution Mix)

5. Patti LaBelle - When You Talk About Love (Hex Hector Main Club Mix)

6. Rosabel feat. Jennifer Holliday - And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going (Ralphi's Classic House Mix)

7. Kim English - Unspeakable Joy (Razor 'n' Guido Vocal Mix)

8. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Barry Harris Xtra Drama Mix)

9. The Weather Girls - It's Raining Men (Barry Harris Refresh 2018 Mix)

10. JSTO feat. Alison Jiear - I Just Wanna Dance (Wayne G Circuit Anthem)

11. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Hex Hector Club Mix)

12. Deborah Cox - Absolutely Not (Hex Hector & Mac Quayle Chanel Club Mix)

13.