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Are you a CD1 or CD2 person? (pg. 2)
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| SYSTEM-J |
The cliché was always that CD1 was lighter and more chilled out, while CD2 was the "club mix". The success of each disc depended on the relative strengths of the DJ in charge, but I think conceptually I preferred CD1. 80 minutes always feels a little short to encapsulate a club set.
Disappointed by all those rating CD2 of GU:013 over the first disc, though. CD1 is pretty much the most immaculately constructed 80 minutes of progressive ever committed to disc, whereas CD2, while good, is essentially "Sasha goes Oakenfold and ProTools ten anthems together". |
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| Kilixpree |
| yeah was pretty hard to choose one of them. Specially because of the transition move! -> talkin', that always give me chills. |
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| craiggarner |
| quote: | Originally posted by rubez
sometimes cd 1 can piss me off if it is too pretentious or slow - but sometimes they can really shine - with amazing atmospheres, or nice chunky beats and intricate percussion. |
Yeah that's pretty much nailed it and why I prefer a lot more of the first disc of many compilations. The balance series is a good example (Luke Fair's springs to mind) of where a dj really seems to put great attention and effort into the initial stages of the comp and then later on, on cd2 it just becomes more focussed on a standard sequence of club tracks.
1 disc series like Fabric tend to avoid this nicely however, they're either really good or utter e, the dj doesn't really have a chance at redemption. |
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| Sushipunk |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Disappointed by all those rating CD2 of GU:013 over the first disc, though. CD1 is pretty much the most immaculately constructed 80 minutes of progressive ever committed to disc, whereas CD2, while good, is essentially "Sasha goes Oakenfold and ProTools ten anthems together". |
I agree with you on this one. Definitely prefer CD1.
On the other hand, Sasha's GU:009 I prefer CD2. |
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| Vector A |
| Maybe it's heresy but I've always preferred GU009 to GU013. :thepirate |
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| paulversuspaul |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Disappointed by all those rating CD2 of GU:013 over the first disc, though. CD1 is pretty much the most immaculately constructed 80 minutes of progressive ever committed to disc, whereas CD2, while good, is essentially "Sasha goes Oakenfold and ProTools ten anthems together". |
i always prefered cd2 because it was the one disk that captured the essence of a live sasha performance much better than anything else ever recorded to disk. the mix from the fly to xpander and from mercury and solace to dreamstate are beyond brilliant and would be lethal on any dancefloor.
also, its not as simple of putting together 10 anthems since the disk was basically comprised of all new material at the time. it was made in 99 and most of those tracks were beyond fresh and new, while there are a lot of anthems, its not like everyone else was banging those out. Sasha is the one who helped define them as anthems. |
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| theqlogic87 |
I prefer the 2nd track in 99% of albums I listen to..
Who give's a fack really? |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| quote: | Originally posted by paulversuspaul
i always prefered cd2 because it was the one disk that captured the essence of a live sasha performance much better than anything else ever recorded to disk. the mix from the fly to xpander and from mercury and solace to dreamstate are beyond brilliant and would be lethal on any dancefloor. |
Can't agree at all here. The mixing on that disc is a million miles from his live style - the transition into Dreamstate in particular is pure ProTools science fiction. I actually find Sasha's compilation mixing style generally underwhelming, with frequently getting caught up in clever-clever re-edits and unrealistic transitions, when the best of his live mixing is sublimely musical.
And I don't mean anthems in the sense of being definitive classics, but rather in being huge tracks. The likes of Fibonnaci Sequence, Perception, Xpander and Heaven Scent are all 10+ minute hands-in-the-air monsters that were always destined for anthemic status, and Sasha plays them all practically in their entirety in no important order.
I can only think this mix captures the essence of a Sasha performance if you consider Sasha to be a DJ who simply chains together anthems, which I don't. |
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| Vector A |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Can't agree at all here. The mixing on that disc is a million miles from his live style - the transition into Dreamstate in particular is pure ProTools science fiction. |
And not only the transition, but there is hardly a sign of the "when I dream..." vocal in the first half of the track, and the breakdown sounds a lot different, too (bathed in reverb, but also clearly edited beyond that). |
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| paulversuspaul |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Can't agree at all here. The mixing on that disc is a million miles from his live style - the transition into Dreamstate in particular is pure ProTools science fiction. I actually find Sasha's compilation mixing style generally underwhelming, with frequently getting caught up in clever-clever re-edits and unrealistic transitions, when the best of his live mixing is sublimely musical.
And I don't mean anthems in the sense of being definitive classics, but rather in being huge tracks. The likes of Fibonnaci Sequence, Perception, Xpander and Heaven Scent are all 10+ minute hands-in-the-air monsters that were always destined for anthemic status, and Sasha plays them all practically in their entirety in no important order.
I can only think this mix captures the essence of a Sasha performance if you consider Sasha to be a DJ who simply chains together anthems, which I don't. |
The reason I like the transition into dreamstate is beacause it is a pro-tools or studio mix. Its brilliant almost as a remix. It reminds me of his own personal remix of Jean-Michel Jarre -- Ethnicolor which he used to get into dark and long around 99-2000. that is also science fiction from a traditional mixing standpoint but magical when he brings those edits live. the following video is an example of how magical that kind of editing can be live:
I have always preferred sasha live than a lot of this studio mixes because the studio mixes typically lack two things: one the energy of his live sets, and two musical mixing without complicated studio effects. The reason i like cd2 so much is that the complicated studio effects work for me a lot on this disk, and it has the energy of his live sets from around this era. dont get me wrong, cd1 is brilliant in my opinion and this is the best global underground as far as im concerned, but cd2 will always hold a special place in my heart because for me it captures what it felt like to see the man live in his prime. i cant describe how magical it was at times when you couldnt tell if the transition was done with mixing or in the studio as it just worked too well and seemed to create something greater than its parts. to me this whole cd both 1 and 2 do that, but 2 will always remind me of the nights of seeing him live.
also, i guess i dont see either perception or fibonacci sequence as anthems bc for their time that was understated compared to what else people were making. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
I love that Ethnicolour/Dark Train edit as well, but I just find it odd to pick out a heavily computerised transition in a mix that's supposed to capture the essence of a live performance. I actually kind of think he ruined Dreamstate with the tinkering - it wasn't until I heard Oliver Lieb drop it live that I realised just how pounding that track is.
EDIT: Sofa-raving hard to that Love Parade mix now though, especially thinking it went down in Roundhay Park.
EDIT 2: That version of Yeke Yeke is a special re-edit as well. He plays both of these edits in this set as well:
(Fun fact: the record jumping during the first transition of this set and causing a minor trainwreck famously prompted Sasha to throw his pair of complementary Vestax turntables into the pond when he got home.) |
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