Paul Oakenfold became popular because his remixes included a mix of trance-pop and ambient style. The flavour rocked the clubs and Oakenfold became a household name as a DJ. Is he the best DJ? Paul Van Dyk experiments more. In this one, the original songs have been remixed. I have included the name of the original artists as well.
Original Release Date: August 14, 2001 under his own music label ?Perfecto?.
CD 1
Nat Monday- Waiting (John Creamer Remix)
Jan Johnston- Superstar (Bill Hamel Mix)
The Realm- This Is Not a Breakdown
Flash- Megatron
Elektronauts- Bumper (Plump DJ’s Mix)
Radiohead- Idioteque
Accadia- Into the Dawn (Ashtrax Remix)
Timo Maas- Maas Attacks
Arena- Transit
Prodigy- Narayan
CD 2
World Clique- Different Signs
Depech Mode- I Feel Loved (Danny Tenaglia’s Labour of Love Mix)
Nilo- Summer Song (Be My Friend) (Davoli’s Propane Mix)
AB/DC- Feeling
U2- Sepia
Max Graham- Deep Blue (Remix)
Flash- The Day After
Jan Johnston- Silent Words (Solarstone Vocal Mix)
Insigma- Open Your Eyes (Instrumental)
PPK- ResuRection (Space Club Mix)
21 tracks in 2 CDs! Isn?t that a good deal for all trance hardcore lovers? I am not going to explain all the tracks but will recommend the best ones only.
THE MUSIC
Oakenfold drives deep into the making of electronica sounds and tries to implement the additional sounds in the already hit songs by the various famous artists. What is trance music? Paul Oakenfold knows trance. The mix of trance music with house and progressive techno beats make this album a perfect collection.
The degree of the party mixes is ready to make the sound systems blast! He goes beyond his psychedelic limits to mix and arrange with a coherent music pattern. In the end, it may sound a bit quirky to some. Trance is about sounds. How a remix is transformed depends a lot on the tune itself. Some of the tracks have transparent but yet delusional tunes.
In this pack, Paul Oakenfold chooses the techno-pop songs and he did a rather consistent job in mixing them with his beats, acid house music and once again the flow of the sizzling trance sounds. The tracks are intended to create storm on the dance floor. Some of the tracks are predictable with the amplitude of beats. Not all tracks are that good. The bad tracks display too much remixing effects which in the end, taint the tune but keep the ambient and techno exploration. Djing is about making people dance and I think this guy did his job here. The beauty of these songs lies in the recurrence of synthesized sounds and dance elements. Can we find beauty without a melody? Indeed yes if only we have a good ear for music. Sounds are pleasing when united together in a systematic method like in remix albums, if properly done.
The combination of vocals, loud background beats and surreal electronic sounds definitely push this album into the best works of Paul Oakenfold. The rhythms are foot-taping or shake-the-whole-body thing? Pseudo-industrial percussions left-over seem to be in some of the songs? These kinds of tracks indeed demand hard beats and why on earth do they sound complicated with these ever-guessing noises? They become noises after repeated listening for some but they are still sounds for many.
Recommended Tracks
The best track will have to be PPK- Resurection! What a mix! A free-style remix where no big efforts, in this case, paid the best dividends. A hypnotic trance tune assembled with catching software arrangements in a phenomenal trancey way!
Narayan- Prodigy includes Hindi mantras sung by a digitized male chorus. The whole track is innovative; is that the word for such an explosive track. An ambient style track with big drums sound! Insigma- Open Your Eyes (Instrumental) and Transit- Arena rock as well! All of them are passable in some way.
The rest are in the dancing buffer zone. The mixture of good tunes and bad background music, in some songs, make them rather tolerable. I cannot qualify good and bad tracks as these songs are meant for an audience. The songs chosen were already appreciated and were then remixed. So most of them are good, just the pace of the songs changes.
Not sure if this album is for you? Are you a weak soul or can?t stand super-loud techno-trancey music; avoid at all cost. You liked ?Ministry of Sound? Albums, then this one is another good collection to buy. If you are used to clubbing, well these are not new sounds to you. Interested in trying something new to the ears and mind, try to listen to Oakenfold albums. Starting by this one is not disappointing at all.
GIA?S RATING: 4.2/5