| |
The first two discs are nice and good and well done but they just never found that hook with me. I realize that Faithless is a big thing in the electronic/dance music world and I also realize that these are talented people (note: I said this was good) but for some reason, while I never got bored, I never got really engaged, either. Not on the first two discs. There are some standout tracks, including Faithless' "Blissy's Groove" and "Reasons (Goldrun mix)", Re-Touch's "Running Up That Hill", "Dreams (Axwell Remix)" by Deep Dish feat. Stevie Nicks and "Seven Hours" by D-Nox. But it wasn't until the third disc that ... Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. There's lots of trance and house inspired material, with frequent, shrewd incursions from other angles, on the first two discs, which, overall, are fairly straightforward and club friendly music with lots of intelligence on display. The tunes are largely melodic and quite pretty. As I said, there are good things to be said for the first two discs. But they didn't connect with me. The third disc, however, really ratcheted up the eclecticism and ended up being the crown jewel in this set - a Renaissance comp of artist faves, remixes, etc., that includes original Faithless material as well as DJ-picked tracks by others. Featured talent on this set includes Grace Jones, Donna Summer, Dido, Joe Cocker, Todd Rundgren and more. Anyway, back to the third disc. This is where this collection justifies its existence. Some of this isn't quite as traditional in terms of dance floor action, perhaps, but it's terrific electronic music. Interestingly, a LOT of Disc 3 is very Afro-ethnic in nature, with jazz, hip-hop, reggae/dub, funk, etc., informing the proceedings, and its these cool grooves that have a lot to do with the overall success of the concluding CD in the set, though the tracks on the third disc are by no means limited to such influences. There are a ton of good ones here (not, in all fairness, that there are any bad tracks in this collection, it's just that Disc 3 monopolizes most, though not all, of the best-of-the-best stuff), such as LSK's "The Takeover", Ian Brown's "F.E.A.R.", Horace Andy's "Money Money (AKA The Root of All Evil)", Frankie Paul's "Worries in the Dance", the Jungle Brothers' "Straight Out The Jungle", Joe Cocker's "Woman To Woman", The Real Thing's "Children of the Ghetto", "Go Down Easy" by John Maryn, Roots Manuva's "Next Type of Motion" ... It's obvious the last third of the collection struck me most, isn't it? While these are all good pieces, the one that brings it home and bumps things up a star rating is the last. However, I've no doubt others will feel otherwise. Whatever the case, fans are exhorted to check it out. -- review by Kristofer Upjohn
|
