TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Music Discussion
-- The Very Best CD Of All Times. Folks... it doesn't get any better than this...
Pages (3): « 1 2 [3]

quote:

Originally posted by ToF You do realise it's impossible to read the text. Sometimes I really do overestimate your intellect.

Try the person who can pull it off gets 20 dollars.

good cd i have listened to many times.

good cd i have listened too many times.

quote:

Originally posted by Existo22

When text doesn't suffice turn to pictures with text.

quote:

Originally posted by ToF When text doesn't suffice turn to pictures with text.

When are the new admins getting their powers?

quote:

Originally posted by Lews When are the new admins getting their powers?

Global Underground San francisco > GU Ibiza. Even System J will tell you that.

i'm afraid the penguin cannot debate that. his head is torn off.

quote:

Originally posted by SuspicionVandit i'm afraid the penguin cannot debate that. his head is torn off.

LOL Nicely played.

As a animal rights activist and vegan I must say that's horrible.

As a trance lover I must say lol.

And let's not get into an argument over which GU is the best. That argument is older than this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by SuspicionVandit

Feel so bad for laughing

quote:

Originally posted by Lews As a animal rights activist and vegan I must say that's horrible.

I thought animal rights activists only got uppity whenever its humans doing the killing.

Do you want the poor seal to starve?

Fuck, you can't go to sleep anymore without people fucking up the thread completely.

J, I was not comparing the sound of disc 2 with Renaissance, of course it's somewhat different, I was comparing just that one (done before) aspect of it. Admit it or not, mixes of dance music have been done prior to NE, mixes of music represented on disc 1 have not. It was unique at the time, as much as it is today. On the larger scale, difference between music on disc 2 and Renaissance 1 (or 2 for that matter) is negligible compared to difference between disc 1 and disc 2 (and anything else really).

Mixing does maybe sound a little rougher, but that's solely because of the nature of the tracks. Of course it's incomparably easier to mix straightforward dance tunes than eclectic tunes like that on disc 1, but nonetheless they did a great job, and the mixing never goes way too off. And just because a couple of tracks feature a vocal or some unusual vocal arrangement, it's foolish to discredit it as new agey or poppy. Besides what's wrong with accessible (or did you try to say interesting) melodies? I'd take any of the so-called poppy tracks from disc 1 over long, exhausting and substandard tracks like Wave Dub and The Gloom that simply go nowhere (but are allegedly not accessible, which is the single most important thing in music I guess).

When it comes to popularity, besides FSOL (and maybe Spooky), who were very popular at the time, none of the other track were well known, since most of them appeared on some limited vinyls and virtually none of them appeared on a CD compilation before. It's safe to say that without NE, most of the tracks would be forgotten nowdays.

quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee I thought animal rights activists only got uppity whenever its humans doing the killing. Do you want the poor seal to starve?

Oh Contraire! I don't want the seal to starve at all. I do accept that it has to eat the penguin to survive. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it though

quote:

Originally posted by Lews Oh Contraire! I don't want the seal to starve at all. I do accept that it has to eat the penguin to survive. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it though

quote:

Originally posted by Existo22 More inventinly? They got two different versions of a track fading from one to the other. They got 3 tracks playing at the same time at part? Have you even heard the disk? It doesn't look like we are talking about the same disc.

S&D had already been doing those things for several years previously, on vinyl, without Protools and much more interestingly. I've heard Sasha sets from the early 90s where he barely uses the faders, he just lets tracks play over each other for minutes on end because they're so well-matched.

quote:

Originally posted by Existo22 Never said that but remember you are the one who brought the second disc into the conversation, unfortunately, most like due to clearance issues the second disc was never realeased in my country! I will try to find it and give it a listen

I didn't claim you said it. Learn to follow a fucking argument, you dolt. I was replying to sljiva. I brought the second disc into the conversation because it's half the compilation. If you loved the damn thing so much, I thought you'd have shown the initiative to import a second hand copy. Plenty of other Americans managed it.

quote:

Originally posted by Lews Out of curiosity, what do you believe is the best of the NE albums?

I'd probably say NE2. Which is to say, the UK double disc version. The first disc does the same "eclectic selection" thing, but it's much more tightly programmed, and tracks like Little Bullet (Live Version), Angel and Symphony absolutely kill. You could also argue it was an influential progressive breaks disc. And CD2 is just packed full of great trance and progressive.


________________

quote:

Originally posted by sljiva Fuck, you can't go to sleep anymore without people fucking up the thread completely. J, I was not comparing the sound of disc 2 with Renaissance, of course it's somewhat different, I was comparing just that one (done before) aspect of it. Admit it or not, mixes of dance music have been done prior to NE, mixes of music represented on disc 1 have not. It was unique at the time, as much as it is today. On the larger scale, difference between music on disc 2 and Renaissance 1 (or 2 for that matter) is negligible compared to difference between disc 1 and disc 2 (and anything else really). Mixing does maybe sound a little rougher, but that's solely because of the nature of the tracks. Of course it's incomparably easier to mix straightforward dance tunes than eclectic tunes like that on disc 1, but nonetheless they did a great job, and the mixing never goes way too off. And just because a couple of tracks feature a vocal or some unusual vocal arrangement, it's foolish to discredit it as new agey or poppy. Besides what's wrong with accessible (or did you try to say interesting) melodies? I'd take any of the so-called poppy tracks from disc 1 over long, exhausting and substandard tracks like Wave Dub and The Gloom that simply go nowhere (but are allegedly not accessible, which is the single most important thing in music I guess).

I'm not denying that mixes of dance music had been done before. But I think that's overly simplifying what NE is. Compilations of ambient house and downtempo music existed before NE - I've got some crazy early 90s compilations that go from YAP to Brian Eno and then to a Generation X rock song. Crazy eclecticism wasn't born with NE.

What's really innovative about the disc is not that they mixed together a load of low-tempo breaks, but the fact they deliberately went back over six years of dance music and selected disparate tracks to create something with real longevity. Especially on such a high profile compilation. This was before all those Back To Mine/Choice style compilations existed. But the fact is they did the same thing on CD 2, just with dancefloor material.

(Regarding the mixing: it was all digital as has been mentioned, and they did some very obvious edits to make the transitions smoother. So I don't think particular credit is due for that.)

And I'm not discrediting the tracks because they are quite accessible and poppy. I'm not claiming "not accessible" is an important part of music. I'm arguing on your axis of discussion, so don't strawman me. You are the one who said the first CD is "deeper" and dismissed the second as mere "good dancefloor entertainment" that does nothing new simply because 4/4 house beats had already been mixed.

The implication that melodic listening music is deeper and more musically worthwhile than dancefloor beats is what pissed off Simon Reynolds so much when pretentious IDM and progressive house fans used to think of their music as better than hardcore or jungle.

quote:

When it comes to popularity, besides FSOL (and maybe Spooky), who were very popular at the time, none of the other track were well known, since most of them appeared on some limited vinyls and virtually none of them appeared on a CD compilation before. It's safe to say that without NE, most of the tracks would be forgotten nowdays.

Granted, most of them would probably be forgotten today, but you can say the same of 90% of the tracks S&D played in the 90s. Their fame and the devotion of their fans has elevated a vast lexicon of obscure tracks into legendary status.

But, if you look at Discogs, almost every track had been on a CD compilation before. Many of them those madly eclectic downtempo "Trance-ambient" style compilations I mentioned above. In 1996, I don't think too many of these tracks were unknown, given the labels, remixers and names involved in almost every one.

quote:

Originally posted by iTranscendence

Not really.

I accept that George W. Bush got elected twice, but I'm not happy about it.

I accept that I don't have every record that I want, but I'm not happy about it.

I accept that animals eat other animals, but I'm not happy about it.

@ J: Yeah, I was thinking NE2 as well, but I haven't listened to them all since they've been hard to get stateside. The mixing, the tracks, the flow.. I love it all. And yeah, I'd argue it's an influential prog breaks album, seeing as how it really helped get me into it haha.

Let the rabbits wear glasses, save our brothers, can I get an AMEN?

I like a random Trancemaster cd even more.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J And I'm not discrediting the tracks because they are quite accessible and poppy. I'm not claiming "not accessible" is an important part of music. I'm arguing on your axis of discussion, so don't strawman me. You are the one who said the first CD is "deeper" and dismissed the second as mere "good dancefloor entertainment" that does nothing new simply because 4/4 house beats had already been mixed.

Well "deeper" can be interpreted in various ways, and I don't know what your interpretation is, but to me tracks like Cascade, O.B.E. and Satellite Serenade simply have no equivalent on the second disc, not because they are melodic listening music, but because they have multiple different faces to them. They don't just change layers over the 4x4 beat, they change in mood and tempo, use specific sounds, create different atmospheres... Cascade, for example, has that typical FSOL's ancient-futuristic dark-ish vibe to it. It's so complex (at least for that time) and well detailed, but at the same time so simple (mostly because of its main melody). You can almost imagine that shape (from its single cover) doing some wicked transformations Gantz Graf-style while you listen to it. O.B.E. on the other hand sounds extra spooky, atmosphere created there is unparalleled in pretty much everything I've ever heard... Pretty much every track has its distinctive flavour, uses characteristic sounds and has its own storyline behind the music. I simply can't hear that in tracks from disc 2 (except in Dark Train and Heliopolis) no matter how much I try. But to each his own, I guess. We are not all the same.

quote:

Originally posted by sljiva Well "deeper" can be interpreted in various ways, and I don't know what your interpretation is...

For me, deep music is music that is subtle, it has things going on that don't leap out at you, its mood is restrained rather than obvious. I think throughout the second disc there is this internal contrast between darkness, rhythm and bass, and really delicate beauty. I think it's much more accomplished as a DJ mix too, not just technically.

And there's something about Cascade on NE that just doesn't work for me. I really like the track, because it sounds lush and organic whilst simultaneously cold and eerie. But on the mix... I just don't like it. I don't really think it fits, I don't like the edit and its break sounds so leaden and insipid. In fact, with most of the tracks on disc one I think they sound better on their own.

EDIT: By the way, I think it's worth mentioning that I own quite a lot of early 90s music similar to what's on disc one, such as Lifeforms (and the Cascade single), Strange Cargo III, Last Train To Lhasa, the Guerrilla compilations, lots of lush downtempo and progressive house stuff. I'm sure you do as well, but for me that makes it sound less unique and individual.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.