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I feel much the same as Flo, but Mikey makes some good points.
Something is missing from Paul's performance in the last few months. He's recycling too many tracks, he's playing them in predictible order, and his current idea of a musical journey is starting out with two progressive tracks before randomly anthem-dropping, followed by a finish with Time of our Lives or Nothing But You. Come on Paul, get a clue. That's not the level of art you used to carry. I remember seeing him in March and he still had it. But from about July to now something has been off. The fact that many people have noticed it confirms that this isn't just a matter of opinion.
But he's also been touring nonstop, together with all the album promotion work, so perhaps he needs some time to reflect on where his sets are going. We all have periods where we become disillusioned with our work, and it's certainly possible this is the case with Paul.
I happen to think the Essential Mix was rather good, though admittedly not amazing, and the tracklist from Casino Berlin looks freaking amazing. It's also the case that he still mixes better than any DJ I know, save Marco V. So I have confidence that he's not lost the talents we admire and enjoy. I also expect some major changes from him between now and the Winter Music Conference, when things will begin to ramp towards summer again, starting the yearly cycle over again. But if he doesn't make a *major* shift by then he will also be in danger of slipping from my #1 spot.
I need not comment that Reflections was disappointing in terms of the work we expect from him, for a variety of reasons.
Still, Paul's lacking quality as of late is nowhere near the total uplifting garbage that Armin and company continue to hammer. Dutch euphoric trance is doomed to either merge with poptrance or collapse in a heap of disillusionment, and I fear the former is more likely. At least Tiesto is evolving his sound in a coherent direction, despite the fact that he still can't mix. Ferry, like the wise producer he is, began to diversify his sound years ago, and remains at the forefront of modern trance, but merely needs to avoid his tendancy for anthem-dropping behind the decks.
Where Vandit goes in the next few months will also play a role in Paul's fate. This could go either way. Introspecion shows great promise, for example. But they could update their website, ffs. It hasn't been changed in eons.
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It's only a matter of time before you return to the dark side my ment0r. I can just sense it 
This Armin shinnanigan is all a phase. 
