My Downfall Review

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My Downfall ReviewAs every reviewer will doubtlessly state, "this is Aaron Funk's follow-up to Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett", to view it as "Rossz Part Two" is far too limiting. Yes, it's similar in that it features orchestral instruments and greater harmonic content than most Venetian Snares albums, but it's really a great record in and of itself.
Even though I urge everyone to listen to "My Downfall" on its own terms, I'll offer some comparison. The drill 'n bass elements are as good as ever, and like Rossz, many tracks don't use percussion at all. If you know Venetian Snares, you know the kind of beat mangling to expect - it's a beautiful thing.
However, the real treat on the album is Funk's new-found sense of harmony and melody. Rossz was a great start and showed a great deal of potential, but by art music standards it wasn't incredibly sophisticated. Now, before anyone starts pointing fingers and calling me a music snob, let me say that I consider Venetian Snares to be art music right along side Stockhausen, Reich, and Varese. All I mean to say is that his melodic sense showed potential but was not full mature yet. In "My Downfall", Funk makes great strides and comes up with something at least twice (if not more) as sophisticated as Rossz. You'll understand immediately once you hear "Hollo Utca 2", which could have been a missing movement to Berg's "Lyric Suite". Okay, maybe that's going a little too far, but it really is quite good.
The other great thing about the album is that Funk has had additional time to practice the violin. His tone and technique have improved a lot and it really gives the songs a big boost. The other instruments sound great as well - if you thought Rossz sounded fairly convincing as a virtual orchestra, you'll love this.
I really can't recommend this one highly enough. Since it's not representative of the bulk of Venetian Snare's output, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as your first VSnares album just because, at the end of the day, VSnares is still all about the drill 'n bass. That said, if you're already a fan, you must buy this immediately and start enjoying it.My Downfall Overview

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Belle et Fou Review

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Belle et Fou ReviewThis CD is one of the all-time greats in my collection. Belle et Fou literally has it all: R&B, chill-out/lounge, house, downtempo, 70s-style pop fusion, disco, and even some Barry White-esque soul. Despite the multitude of genres -- it is a compilation, after all -- there's a beautiful cohesion among the tracks. The underlying theme of orchestral soul-jazz is complex yet unifying.
Melodic horns, lush strings, muted synth, and the gamut of percussion instruments make this CD one of the most unique and satisfying albums I have ever heard. What's even more satisfying is that you get 19 tracks of this musical bliss.
Apparently, Belle et Fou ("beautiful and crazy" in French, but the adjectives are in feminine and masculine forms, respectively) is an all-senses-incorporated theater/dance dinner show at the Casino of Berlin. Jazzanova was commissioned to create this "musical mosaic" of a soundtrack. Many of the tracks are not their own; working with the show's director, they chose the music specifically to fit the mood of the show. However, Jazzanova did write and produce several of the tracks themselves; these blend beautifully with the other hand-picked selections and add to the relaxed mood of the album.
This artsy, soulful album will quench a musical thirst you didn't know you had. Highly recommended!Belle et Fou Overview

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A Cross The Universe (CD/DVD) Review

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A Cross The Universe (CD/DVD) ReviewThis is one of my favorite albums. If you like to bang your head to electronic music, then this is an excellent place to start. The bands' best music is best performed on this live album. If you don't get another Justice album, then get this one. They have truly defined a new genre, and I hope to hear more of this kind of music from them in he future.
Regards,
proclus
[...]A Cross The Universe (CD/DVD) Overview

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Thief Review

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Thief ReviewThis disc is a re-release of the 1981 Virgin edition of Tangerine Dream's music for the movie "Thief", Michael Mann's film adaptation of Frank Hohimer's book, "The Home Invaders". It doesn't contain the film's entire soundtrack music by any means: nor, indeed, is all of the music on the CD to be found in the film! The reasons are simple: much of the film's most powerful music-that which accompanies the scenes "He's beeping in good", "Into the Shaft" and "Car Lot Showdown"-had already been released on the band's 1979 album "Force Majeure", as parts of the track `Thru Metamorphic Rocks'. Consequently, almost 15 minutes of soundtrack is represented on this disc in a shorter (5 minute) remix, `Igneous', which uses a characteristic cue chord sequence from the film as an intro to the flanged percussion pulse overlaid with a new raw-edged guitar line. The movie's closing music is also absent from the CD: this is the track `Confrontation' by Craig Safan. Although originally present on the Elektra soundtrack release of the movie, Virgin did not bother obtaining the license for its inclusion here, as this was intended as a pure Tangerine Dream disc, not as a soundtrack album. Several dodges have been applied to pad the disc out to a reasonable length (although it is still quite short). Firstly, the "San Diego Reverie" scene's music is included twice (originally starting each side of the vinyl disc, it appears as tracks 1 and 5 here) in only slightly differing guises (`Beach Theme' & `Beach Scene'). Secondly, the remaining soundtrack material is expanded into longer versions than used in the film, and finally a couple of additional tracks have been composed which draw on musical ideas used only briefly elsewhere or which conjure up the moods of some of the film's scenes.
The result is some 40 minutes of material, often close to the actual film soundtrack but at other times merely suggestive of it, presented in an order that makes musical sense, rather than following any sequence relevant to the film. For all its alterations, though, this music comes across as every bit as powerfully stark as the movie. In many ways this album is more of a tribute to the film than a copy of its soundtrack, but probably is all the more potent as a result. It was a major chart success in its day and remains an impressive achievement even now.
(For more details about the music on this disc, see my review of it on amazon.co.uk)Thief Overview

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Alexander Review

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Alexander ReviewAlexander, King of Macedon, Captain General of the Greeks, Shahanshah of Persia, Lord of Asia, son of Zeus-Ammon, Iskander Gojastak (Alexander the Cursed), Dhu L'Kairnan (the two horned), Alexander the Great. A figure as well known as Alexander has been known by at least the proverbial ninety and nine names. Some modern historians consider him to be the worst butcher in history, others regard him as the most significant figure of the Hellenic world. All of this and more will surely reemerge with the release of Oliver Stone's film "Alexander." It seems inane to worry about what musical sound should be associated with this historical colossus. But that is exactly the task given to the famous Greek composer Vangelis. To be fair no one has any accurate idea of what music in Alexander's tent may have sounded like. Most likely it would not work well in a twenty first century film, or a club in downtown Athens. But Vangelis has been equal to the task on numerous occcasions including incredible scores for "Chariots of Fire," "Blade Runner," and "1492." But in all three of these scores there was a common strength and weakness. All three possessed outstanding main themes, but suffered with rather mundane music in other parts of the score. Thus his "greatest hits" wears much better than the entire soundtracks from these films. With "Alexander," however, we have more of a comprhensive film score. There are still references to what might be considered period music and the various exotica that ply the edges of new age cliche, and some over the top choral arrangements, but as a sountrack album this works better than earlier recordings. The main strength is still a marvelous main theme, first heard in "Titans" that transforms into percussion driven battle music with "The Drums of Gaugamela," and reappears both triumphantly and mystically in "Dream of Babylon." These are the grand higlights of this very good score. The weakness of many composers is that they hit on a good theme and then beat it to death. Here Vangelis leaves us wanting more of that main theme, or more variations on it. It is unclear how this score will work with the film itself, but as a soundtrack album this is a worthy achievement that will, no doubt, strike a solid chord with many parts of the modern audience. Nicely produced and packaged by Sony.Alexander Overview

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Memoryhouse Review

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Memoryhouse ReviewWhen I heard a few phrases of Richter on the radio, his use of static delighted and moved me -- so I ordered the CD. It speaks to the most solitary part of me, reminds me of being a child falling asleep in the afternoon, voices muted and far away and the sounds of the world a jumble. But Richter is not an innocent. This music is sober and full of grief. It is written for the 21st century as we look back in anguish and as we look forward with terror. This is not music for the faint of heart.Memoryhouse Overview

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Seven Years: 1998-2005 Review

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Seven Years: 1998-2005 ReviewYou get 5 brand new tracks, 1 remake or an old track, and 14 singles which ATB has released over the past 7 years. Amazon is selling a few imports and this one, which appears to be the single disc US version. I have the original German release on Kontor, which comes with a Bonus DVD that has all his videos right up to the two new singles from this album, Believe in Me and Humanity. You also get photos, interviews, and the making of the Believe in Me video, and an alternate Belive in Me video.
Most of the videos were on his DVD he released in 2004, except Long Way Home, which you could only get on that CD single; Marrakech, which was on the import No Silence limited edition set; and Ecstasy, which was on the US No Silence. If you buy the import, you won't get the DVD to play on your normal player, but maybe in your computer. If you are looking for a complete set of videos, and can play this PAL formatted DVD, this makes the import more attractive. If you already have most of his videos and don't have to have Marrackech or Believe in Me videos, you can just stick with this US copy, which is basically a best of, with some new tracks and edits.
The first of the new singles is Believe in Me, sung by 4 Strings member Jan Loechel. It's a nice club/dance track, but I prefer the peppier versions on the CD single over the album version. The new Tiff Lacey voiced track, Humanity, is excellent, and while I haven't heard the remixes yet, the album version works just fine. It's a breakbeat/trance blend that Tiff sings her heart out on. Jan Leochel also sings an updated version of Let U Go, which I liked. It's a slower paced version that refreshes the song nicely.
The 14 "best of" tracks are all his single releases, and they are all either radio edits or album versions. The radio edit of the new vocal remix of In Love With the DJ hasn't been on any other album, and the Here With Me radio edit was an internet exclusive, so even in the collection of past hits, there are some new perks.
Over the past 7 years, no trance DJ/producer has been more prolific in releasing high quality vocal trance, instrumental trance, artist albums, and mix CD's than ATB. If you are a new fan, I would highly recommend this, just don't pass up some of is albums, thinking you are getting everything here, because you will miss out on a lot of great music (like one of my favorite instrumental trance tunes of all time -- Mysterious Skies off No Silence). Only his radio play releases are here. If you are a regular ATB fan, I am sure you are going to purchase this anyway!Seven Years: 1998-2005 Overview

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Tron Review

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Tron ReviewFor reasons unbeknownst to us (but knownst to Disney), the soundtrack to their 1982 film "TRON" completely missed the digital revolution. You would think that a movie whose whole premise is digitally-grounded would have been an early adopter of compact disc technology. But it wasn't. I still have my old LP version of the soundtrack, but it certainly doesn't fit in my car's CD changer, and my tape of the soundtrack is old and over-used.
Well, just in time for the movie's 20th anniversary year, Walt Disney Records has finally brought the soundtrack to the CD format, and believe me, it was worth the wait.
The album has been completely remastered with the full assistance of the composer, Wendy Carlos. The CD's liner notes include a recent interview with Carlos, who details the creation of the unique digital/orchestral score that accompanies the on-screen computer animation. Being something of a novice when it comes to modern music composition, many of the terms sailed clear over my head, but she managed to provide more than enough context to make her descriptions make sense.
On to the tracks: All the tracks from the original LP soundtrack are here, arranged in an order reasonably consistent with the progress of the film. What makes this soundtrack so intriguing is not so much how it evokes memories of the film (which it certainly does) but how the merger of sythesized music with the work of a symphony orchestra came across so well. Considering the movie itself was a merger of traditional film techniques with cutting-edge (for the early 80s) computer animation, the fact that the soundtrack is similarly composed makes it that much more engrossing.
As owners of the original soundtrack might recall, 80s supergroup Journey prepared two tracks (one song, one instrumental) for use with the movie. Both tracks are in the movie, but there's nothing to call attention to them; check the arcade scenes in the film and you'll hear them. They do seem somewhat out of place, especially the anacronistically-named "90s Theme," but not so much that you'll skip them.
An added bonus on the CD is three previously unreleased tracks; Carlos mentions in her interview that they were intended for the original soundtrack, but were left out because of lack of space on both the LP and cassette formats. The first track is an early "draft" of one of the action themes, the second is a piece that was used in the film but not on the old album and the third is a simple single-instrument version of the "TRON" theme (being the last track on the disc, it's a welcome cool-down). The liner notes go into greater detail about how these tracks came to be.
The fact that this disc has never been available before is enough of a selling point. If you're on the fence, however, you would do well to pick up this exceptional compilation that was some twenty years in the making.Tron Overview

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