April 14,2004

3PM/3AM RADIO JXL A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin

• JXL (Tom) is one of my heros. Very original, he even adds style and creativity to the designing a of CD. "3PM" is a psuedo-radio broadcast that dosent feel or sound like a gimmic,....and it works. Sure the Album/CD could have had a normal "meat and potatoes" format, but finally an album that actually keeps you intrested. Now heres a radio station that I dont want to change!


All in all, I like the new cds but I have to say I wasnt too happy with the tracks featuring Saffron, not for the music, but just her vocal phrasing and the way she sings. Besides that, I cant even listen to the song with Chuck D, "Access To The Excess". His rap is so lame in execution and in some parts, because of his odd sense of timing, its like hes rapping to another track all together. If Tom needed to cut something from the line-up, this would be the track.

"Tennis" and "Dont Wake The Policeman" however are a couple of my favorites. The first time I heard "Tennis" I was in love with its cool tones and filter usage. Strange though, the first time I listened to "DWTP", I was like..."whats going on with the bass line", I wasn't sure, but I soon fell in love with it, its just so original and well done. I really love those tracks, enough so that I actually just did a killer remix of "Tennis" (which will be in my next mix).
The content on the second cd is also full of action and not overly ambitious. Its mixed to the end but it feels more like a club mix, not typically what you might find on the mainfloor, rather the patio where you can chill with a friend on a plush velvet couch, or get up and dance if your still up to it.
Its starts off with a good intro to "Chilled" and continues on with an emotional Sasha collabaration. A few remixes later it comes to a close with "Rehsurc", .....strange..., isnt "rehsurC" "Crusher" backwards? Well you'll just have to listen for the correlation you'rself.


The album concept (especially disk 1) and the production are topnotch. The only problem I have is with the cd itself. The problem with my copy of disk 1, "3PM", is when I play the cd in a player (like Windows Media Player), the tracks are listed wrong, for example, track 2 "Tennis" is labeled as "Crusher" and "Crusher" is labeled as "Dont Wake The Policeman" and so on, and theres no mention of "Tennis" on the album at all. But that is a manufacturing flaw and not JXL's mistake.

My conclusion: I give the cds "3PM/AM" a total rating of 8.5!
Jam-packed with content and well worth the $17.00 or so dollars. So next time your at the record store and your debating on buying JXL or Oakenfold, do yourself a favor, get the JXL! You'll be happy with your purchase, and if you cant find it, Best Buy has them for cheap if your looking.

Cheers!
RAZZ [email protected]






Sample of "Tennis(Razz's Mainfloor Mix)"
Courtesy Of Habitat Records[2004]
Available in smaller parts 1-4.