XDZebra Review #39
Addiction
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Review #39 Contents:
Sven Vath: L'esperanza
Sven Vath: Ritual of Life
The Grid: Texas Cowboys
Sandoz: Digital Lifeforms
Effective Force: Illuminate The Planet
William Orbit: Strange Cargo III
Mellow Mellow: I Can't Stop
Cream of Tomato
Dancekult - These Are Hooj Choons
Curve: Blackerthreetrackertwo
God's Brain: Virtual Love
Sven Vath: L'esperanza
Eye Q/WEA: YZ 757 CD
1 120 03:51 L'esperanza (Single Edit)
2 120 07:39 L'esperanza (Doub Mix Feat. Patricia)
3 144 08:15 L'esperanza (Hope Will Move Mountains Mix)
4 140 07:47 L'esperanza (Raindance Mix)
5 123 10:31 L'esperanza (Wild Pitch Mix)
Comments: One of my favorite tracks from the "Accident" album. The only real
remix that captures all the flavor of the original is the "Doub Mix" which is
essentially an extended remix with French female whispering samples thrown in.
The "Hope Will Move" and "Raindance" mixes are good, but bear little
resemblance to the original. "Raindance" is especially nice on a tribal
theme. Finally, "Wild Pitch" is a too long rendition that only has the "Doub
Mix" samples to connect it back to the original.
Summary: 4/10. The main problem is the strengths of the original have been
thrown out for remixes which are essentially completely different.
Sven Vath: Ritual of Life
Eye Q/WEA: 4509-92529-2
1 138 08:31 Ritual of Life (Tribal Acid Mix)
2 120 13:17 Ritual of Life (The PCP Mix)
3 114 09:10 Ritual of Life (Neutron 9000 Mix)
4 137 08:59 Ritual of Life (The Spicelab Mix)
Comments: Now this, this is what all singles should be. Each remix owes
heavily to the original, yet is completely different in its own manner. "The
PCP Mix" astounded me, taking away my breath completely. No human should be
alive on this planet without hearing this remix. Babies, tinkling pianos, and
roaring smokestacks. I thought it could get no better, but the "Neutron 9000"
matched it with an equally beautiful, awe-inspiring piece of work. "Tribal
Acid" and "Spicelab" take things up a bit faster, but not too much harder, and
pay tribute to the theme in an excellent manner.
Summary: 10/10. Find and buy. This is the one of the best remixing jobs
ever.
The Grid: Texas Cowboys
Deconstruction/RCA/BMG: 74321 16776 2
1 136 05:55 Texas Cowboys
2 127 06:11 Rise
3 136 07:05 Texas Cowboys (High Plains Prankster Mix)
4 127 05:53 Cheerleader song
Comments: Fresh stuff from The Grid which holds a refreshing amount of bounce.
"Texas Cowboys" goes along in classic Grid style with a nice sounding synth
line flying over a moving rhythm section and well placed and executed samples.
Justin Robertson's remix "High Plains" is even better, with swooping
crescendos. Even though the main theme is lost, it sticks well with the
original feel. "Rise" takes what seems to be a pulpit preacher sample, "Does
it rise brothers? Does it glow sisters?" and applies bleepy garage house
backing. The "Cheerleader song" uses horns and a spacey rhythm section with a
"Na na na na" cheerleeding shout, very bright and happy.
Summary: 9/10. Lip smacking uplifting single from The Grid. Let's hope they
have another round of good singles in the works.
Sandoz: Digital Lifeforms
Touch: TO:21
1 124 07:44 Armed Response
2 128 07:35 Chocolate Machine
3 120 08:05 Digital Lifeforms
4 124 07:00 Human Spirit
5 99 07:01 Drum Meditation
6 126 08:48 Limbo
7 134 08:27 Zombie Astral
8 126 06:48 Beam
9 120 07:52 Steel Tabernacle
10 120 09:12 White Darkness
Comments: Sandoz is otherwise known as Richard Kirk from Cabaret Voltaire.
With "Digital Lifeforms" he has taken a complete left turn from CV and his solo
work. Sandoz sounds something like a blend of Ethik and Renegade Soundwave
with a good dose of ethnic samples on top. Most tracks border between ambience
and dub, all of them being very trippy. "Digital Lifeforms", "Limbo" and
"White Darkness" are my favorites, but there aren't any boring tracks on here
at all.
Summary: 8/10. A clearcut piece of work. In my opinion, the best stuff to
come from Kirk yet.
Effective Force: Illuminate The Planet
MFS: 323.7038.2 41
1 123 09:26 Illuminate The Planet
2 123 04:45 A Lesson For The Atoms
3 03:28 Time Zero
4 110 06:05 Diamond Bullet
5 137 15:25 O.M.
6 121 14:50 235
Comments: Things start out a bit Italio-house, very reminiscent of the DFC
"Ambient House" compilation. Then things cruise down to the very light "Time
Zero" with.. No it can't be! Aieeee! Terrence McKenna spewing off his normal
load of verbal diarrhea once again. Oh well, the backing music still sounds
nice, even though I can't control my laughter. Back to business with "Diamond
Bullet" and a much better mix than what was on the Narcosis compilation. The
new samples fit into this track like pegs in holes. The final two, "O.M." and
"235" are extravagantly long, but not annoyingly so. They just seem to stretch
and fade into the background of your mind. After its over, you can't remember
what they were like, yet you don't care either.
Summary: 7/10. Points docked for the McKenna garbage. Other than that, this
album has an excellent flow to it.
William Orbit: Strange Cargo III
Virgin: CDV 2707
1 102 07:05 Water from a Vine Leaf
2 115 05:41 Into the Paradise
3 68 04:10 Time to get Wize
4 73 04:31 Harry Flowers
5 99 05:03 A Touch of the Night
6 101 06:21 The Story of Light
7 93 06:38 Gringatcho Demento
8 114 05:09 A Hazy Shade of Random
9 99 04:35 Best Friend, Paranoia
10 05:16 The Monkey King
11 05:40 Deus Ex Machina
12 03:42 Water Babies
Comments: Melt my heart with a female vocal riding a slick synth line, then
move my bootie to the sound of killer rhythms from God knows where. William
Orbit strikes again with an album that seems to repeat its structure, ambience,
then funky-a-dory drums, then ambience again, but it WORKS! Oh man does it
work. I've listened to this album three times since I've received it and it
just tastes better each time. "Water From A Vine Leaf" is lickalicious, but
"Into The Paradise" and "The Story of Light" are just as good if not better.
The last three tracks are pure ambient and a nice closure to a energetic and
terrific album.
Summary: 9/10. More cohesive than previous Strange Cargo albums. A perfectly
wonderful sound that just can't tire from repeated play.
Mellow Mellow: I Can't Stop
Antler Subway/Caroline: 2528-2
1 133 06:20 I Can't Stop (Mellow Club Mix)
2 136 07:26 I Can't Stop (Goodman & Adrian Mellow is a classic Detroit Mix)
3 133 07:37 I Can't Stop (Transformer Tribe Mix)
4 130 08:24 I Can't Stop (Parrot Trance)
5 130 07:58 I Can't Stop (Teknotribe Mix)
Comments: A sort of jazzy progressive house track done up with new remixes.
The "Mellow Club Mix" is far from mellow, it really rages with a nice bump.
"Detroit Mix" is a bit more energetic with an added buzz. "Transformer Tribe"
is spacey with a flange put to good use. "Parrot Trance" has a very nice
beatless intro and outro that eventually moves into another raging rhythm.
"Teknotribe" contains a real tribal rhythm, but then becomes rather
repetitious with a housey synth line that obnoxiates the original melody.
However, this last remix works better on the floor than any others, it just
isn't much to listen to.
Summary: 7/10. Good uptempo single with fair remixes. Housey but a sure
floor pumper.
Cream of Tomato
Moonshine/Tomato: M50092-2
1 123 07:48 Pascal's Bongo Massive Vol.2: Gettin' Started
2 122 04:15 Loveness: Without Love
3 122 05:35 Riot of Emotion: Riot of Emotion
4 121 06:58 Simon Says: Simon's Track
5 128 07:07 Solomon's House: Solar Funk
6 126 07:17 Pascal's Bongo Massive Vol.3: Pascal's Jam
7 122 07:45 How Does It Make You Feel?: Homegrown
8 128 07:42 Gayle Lynne: Rain Come Down on Me
9 98 05:40 The Infinite Wheel: Lake of Dreams
10 120 04:27 Nature Boy: Tobago
11 98 07:12 Blunt Trax Vol.1: Carried Away
Comments: Nice, but dated collection of tracks imported from Tomato Records in
the UK and put out domestically by Moonshine. The sound borders between
progressive and garage house with Pascal's Bongo Massive and Simon Says on the
progressive side and "Homegrown", Gayle Lynn, and "Carried Away" on the garage
side. There are occassional dips into acid jazz with a very groovey flute on
"Without Love" and a way funky guitar on "Pascal's Jam". The highlight for me
is the A-Side of "Lake of Dreams" which is entirely different from the In
Order To Dance IV release. This time it is way more tribal and far more
powerful than the other version. "Tobago" is a mild continuation of the
tribal sound, but seems to lack a lot of oomph.
Summary: 6/10. Good collection of garage and progressive, but only a few
tracks thrill me.
Dancekult - These Are Hooj Choons
Moonshine: M500093-2
1 128 06:04 Felix: Don't You Want Me
2 127 04:56 Hyper Go-Go: High
3 124 06:30 Gloworm: I Lift My Cup
4 128 06:23 DC 02: Do What You Feel
5 126 06:16 Restless Rockers: Restless
6 126 07:58 Andronicus: Make You Whole
7 125 06:28 Diss Cuss: Pissed Apache
8 127 03:26 Rio Rhythm Band: Carnival da Casa
9 128 07:40 Diss Cuss: Tra La La La
10 128 06:05 Diss Cuss: Tra La La La (Pure Energy Disco Mix)
11 121 05:27 Restless Rockers: Dem Dem
12 125 06:01 Choci & The Fruits of Fresh Funk: Music
Comments: A way more progressive sound than the Tomato label, a lot of these
tracks were large hits in the dance scene. As a result, I'm sick to death of
Felix and Hyper Go-Go. The Gloworm track is cool with nice deep vocals. Diss
Cuss is the best thing going for this compilation, with Restless Rockers next
in line. "Music" by Choci & etc., is the worst here, bumpless backing with a
droning Englishman, so boring its funny.
Summary: 7/10. Listenable progressive house collection. If Moonshine had a
quicker turnaround on importing music, things would be a lot fresher.
Curve: Blackerthreetrackertwo
Anxious Records: ANXCDS 42
1 90 06:26 Missing Link (Screaming Bird Mix)
2 138 09:22 Rising (Headspace Mix)
3 125 06:19 Half The Time (Honey Tongue Mix)
Comments: "Missing Link" was remixed by Flood and Trent Reznor, however it
sounds like they've been attending the Thirlwell school of remixing. Heavy
distortion on just about everything, however it is still semicool. The "Honey
Tongue Mix" of "Half The Time" by Drum Club seems to be aimless with a techno
backing that has trouble fitting into the Curve sound. The premier track on
here is "Rising (Headspace Mix)" which is an utterly astounding job by Future
Sound of London. Hear this on a big system, or push those headphones into
your head, but you must FEEL those big squishey beats to understand this track
properly.
Summary: 9/10. This CD would have been worth $20 for the FSOL remix alone.
God's Brain: Virtual Love
MFS: 024
1 137 05:57 Virtual Love
2 139 07:13 Virtual Love (Microgod Mix)
3 127 10:19 Pink Sky
4 139 06:35 Virtual Love (God's Tribe Mix)
Comments: The original of "Virtual Love" is unspectacular. Rather samey
German trance with a nice treble line on top. "Pink Sky" almost Aphex in its
use of dissonnant sounds, you expect the distorted bassline to kick in at any
time. The two mixes by Mijk van Dijk is what make this single really soar.
"Microgod Mix" especially, with an Orbitalesque theme and a majestic drum and
sweeping bassline. The samples about, "The greater glory of God" are enough
to make even atheist spines tingle. "God's Tribe" has more rhythm and less
beatless breaks than "Microgod" but sounds similar.
Summary: 7/10. Very cool remixes. The original is unmemorable and "Pink Sky"
is almost annoying at ten minutes in length.
Addresses:
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Deconstruction: Bedford House, 69-79 Fulham High St, London SW6, UK
Touch: 13 Osward Road, London SW17 7SS, UK
MFS: Deutsche Schallplatten GmbH, Reichstagufer 4-5, 0-1080 Berlin, Germany
Virgin: Kensal House 553-579 Harrow Rd, London W10 4RH, UK
Caroline: 114 W 26th St, New York, NY, 10001, USA
Moonshine: 6634 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA, 90028, USA
Recurve: PO Box 34, Edinburgh, EH3 6PF, UK