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"VOLUME: THE BEST OF PAUL VAN DYK" (ULTRA) |
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I don't really mean to dis Van Dyk, but I can't get too charged up about this double disc retrospective of his career (it's what we call a best of compilation, you see). Obviously, some very subjective judgment on my part is showing up here, because, though I always say just because something is popular doesn't mean it's good, there's just too much smoke here not to see fire. This fire just doesn't warm me very much. It's not untilt he second half of the second disc that I began to see the light and that's just too late in a 2-disc set for me to do a critical turnaround. With the onset of Humate's "Love Stimulation (Love Mix)" I began to get into the groove (I'm from the 80s, leave me and my figures of speech alone). The piano/keyboard line there brought in some much needed texture that I would like to have seen accompany the wealth of melodies that inhabit these two CDs. The Van Dyk remix of Hans Zimmer's and James Newton Howard's "Poor Choice of Words" (from "The Dark Knight") was also a compelling piece. And I can't help but be happy that the last track on here is a Van Dyk Club MIx of "Gimme More" from Britney Spears' "Blackout" album, which I have raved about (that album actually has very good production work, so, again, shut up and leave me alone, to paraphrase The Ting-Tings). But ending on a good note doesn't leave me satisfied on the whole. I can't across-the-board recommend this. But I can make a qualified recommendation. Fans of ethereal trance and SOME fans of uplifting/epic trance (which I tend to enjoy, but I like stuff with more verve and boost than is on display here) will certainly find floaty happiness in Van Dyk's greatest hits. He's obviously got a heluva fan base and that is probably a huge chunk of this CD set's target audience.-- review by Kristofer Upjohn
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