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latininxtc
Advanced Member
United States
7,307 posts
Joined: Feb, 2006
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 Posted - 2014/11/03 : 18:19:13
quote:
Originally posted by djDMS:
Hahaha!
Hope i haven't wasted my money buying the CD
I got FIVE kids to feed!
Just saw this. WTF 5 kids for real??? Are y'all Catholic or something???
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CDJay
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
3,049 posts
Joined: Nov, 2001
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Posted - 2014/11/03 : 18:32:43
It's a quote from Total Recall.
Which gives me a chance to explain this obtuse comment:
"Come on, Cohaagen! You got what you want. Give those people Rehab Warehouse!"
Air. The venue Air. The original quote is also from Total Recall.
I might have still been asleep.
CDJay
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Simon
Advanced Member
Belgium
5,001 posts
Joined: Dec, 2001
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Posted - 2014/11/04 : 19:13:10
I finally had the chance to have a good listen to the Fracus & Darwin disc on the Eurostar earlier (I had it sent to the UK so had to wait patiently), and I have to echo what everyone else said really I think Reece did a superb job of adding to the mix and not being over the top, some nice rhymes and raps that complimented tracks. Also I can see why people rave about that RedMoon & Meron Ryan, Never Let Go track...Best thing I've heard in a long while! 
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latininxtc
Advanced Member
United States
7,307 posts
Joined: Feb, 2006
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Posted - 2015/01/04 : 23:51:02
Alright finally starting my review, even though it's a bit pointless months later lol but I promised Jon. I guess I'll start by going through each CD first then my overall review.
CD1:
I was expecting this mix to be the one I like the least, but it actually turned out much better than I expected. Sure it has powerstomp, but it also has a mixture of other styles of UK hardcore. Powerstomp has come a long way from what it was last year, and on this album it sounds much more polished than most of the powerstomp that was being played in 2013. Maybe that's the added live vibe to it, as some styles of UK hardcore just sound better live than home listening, or Alex Prospect and Joey Riot are a much better duo DJing than Joey with Kurt.
Some of my favorite tracks on the mix were Love Me Again, Dreamkast, True Feelings, Like It Loud 2014, and Leave The World Behind. I absolutely fucking loathed Cold As Ice, but it's not Joey's fault I just never liked any remakes of the track, nor the original sung by Foreigner. Also found I'm The Cook an absolute terrible track to end the set with. The track itself is ok, but just not one I would end a great set with. Also wasn't fond of the way it abruptly cut off, not a great way to end any mix, even if there are still 3 more discs to listen to.
As far as the MCing goes, these two are my favorite MCs that I've had the privilege to listen to live, and I was worried about them being on one album together, but they certainly did a great job of blending in well with the mix, and working together. They were totally in sync with the tracks, which shows they were prepared with what Joey and Alex were about to play. There was little to nothing on MCing over lyrics, which is a huge issue in the scene. I could have done without the mic check, but it's an added flavor to a live set so not an issue.
CD2:
Once again Fracus, Darwin & Entity do not disappoint. It's a great mix with a great tracklist. It would have fit in nicely in an HU volume series.
As far as tracks go, first I have to say as if the previous ones weren't already being currently overplayed in all events, I don't understand why Fracus & Darwin felt that the UK hardcore scene needed yet another pointless 24/7 remix. If y'all are gonna remix something, please focus on those tracks that haven't ever had a remix, or at least not in a long time, like Fires In The Sky. What a superb remix! I actually prefer it over the original, and I don't see myself getting sick and tired of the remix as I did after a few plays of the original when it came out.
Like many people have already said all over the forums, Never Let Go is my track of the year! Sheer brilliance! From this album, Ordinary Ways is almost at that level of brilliance, just so many beautiful lyrics in that track. I was not fond of No Dark Clouds when I first heard it, found the vocals a bit ridiculous, but the track quickly grew on me. Not as brilliant as Never Let Go, but still a great track for this year. Love Died In Your Arms 2014, until the vocals came out. Let's leave 80s vocals in the 80s please. Other than that, well-produced track.
Stargazer 2014 is a good remix, but it's nowhere near as incredible as Reese's remix from HU3. Love Like Fire, reminds me of Darwin's Hard Fast Disco track which I also enjoyed. Entity's work on Something To Say and Listen To Us just puzzles me as to why he feels like leaving the scene. It's clear he still has a lot to offer to us. If he's feeling pressure, then he should probably just slow things down a bit rather than leave. It's not the end of the world if his album would have taken longer to release, eventually it will come out, even if it's 2+ years later like Brisk and Marc Smith's artist albums.
Reese had the smallest presence on this album out of all the MCs, yet he annoyed me about as much as the ones on the last 2 cds. Was his presence heavily edited due to the skipping issues Fracus & Darwin had for their set? Seems like there were a lot of areas where it made sense for him to MC, yet there was dead silence. Like on Listen To Us, a vocal-less track, he had full reign to spew whatever crap he wanted, yet all he gave was less than 10 seconds of verses. And it ended abruptly, as it if was cut off. Actually a lot of his verses ended the same. He also wasn't that great at hyping up the crowd imo. Maybe it's just his style, but he should consider sticking to his day job at Apple and let the Brits butcher live sets, they do a better job of it.
CD3:
Have to echo other people's sentiments that out of the 4 this was the weaker mix. Nothing inherently wrong with it, it's just not as exciting as the other 3, and for me I was disappointed it wasn't as exciting as Al Storm and Scott Brown's mix on HU6. I'm a fan of Al Storm's deliciously weird mixing and production, and few can manage to complement that. Scott Brown did it in HU6, but not here. I think the consistent sound most of Scott's tracks has just did not blend as well with Al Storm's tracks and mixing.
I like the Power Of Love and Do It Like We Do remixes, but for a project of this caliber they were rather weak compared to the rest of the tracklist. Absolutely was not fond of the Pilgrim remix. I know most people won't like it, but I thought Kate's Bush was an awesome track, and a prime example of Al Storm's deliciously weird production that I love so much from him. Indigo Sky of course is an incredible track. My favorite part of the mix was the last 4 tracks. There was a great variety in those 4 tracks and that's what I would have liked to hear throughout the whole set. It also was a great way to end the set, in fact it would have been nice to have this set end the album rather than the next one.
The biggest factor that made me not enjoy this mix as much is definitely Whizzkid. My fucking god, what the hell was that shit??? He was all over the place, all over the lyrics, had absolutely no boundaries, and I found the few lines he threw out to hype the crowd to be just so fucking ridiculous. It seemed like he absolutely did not care about the lyrics, probably because he's never heard of the tracks since he's only worked for a select few DJs that play a select few tracks he would only recognize. I don't remember him being absolute shit when I heard him in Spain over 2 years ago, but a lot has happened since then. MC Storm's reign as being the loudest and most obnoxious cunt ended after the whole Sy fiasco and that left Whizzkid to take the lead. Did that exposure go to his head? I honestly think he's even worse than Storm now.
CD4:
Totally love this mix, and it's in the battle with CD1 as my 2nd favorite mix. I think Marc Smith is an excellent DJ, and would totally love to see him live again, but for now this is the closest I can get to that. Chris Fear holds his own here, and probably let Marc take more control of the mix, which I think is smart since Marc has some amazing mixing skills. I didn't mind that there were some tracks that were a bit older and have since been released as they were blended very well into the mix, and that's what this is mostly about the mix not just the tracks.
As far as tracks go, Chris Fear's Slam is incredible, as well as Bring Back The Rave. Thoroughly enjoyed HOA, Devastating Motivating, and Dance Machine. Hold Your Head Up is such a brilliant track! I didn't care much for the We Are Hardcore remix. So a good set of tracks that just flowed together great on this mix.
The MCs were just so terrible here as well. Don't believe I've ever heard Frickshon live, and hope I never do. Wotsee, I wasn't a huge fan of him when I heard him in Spain, and that hasn't changed here. They were all over the place and did not complement each other well. They started out ok but by the end of the day I was irritated that any second they had free they took the opportunity to spew a bunch of nonsense that made no sense to me.
Overall, the mixing and tracklist was good, but the MCing gradually got worse for me after the first CD. I know it's supposed to mimic a live set, but I would have liked for them to be able to at least get 70+ minutes worth of music like a studio mix, but with the technical problems y'all faced this worked out for the better. Also would have liked to have heard a regular transition between the last 2 tracks like in CD3. I've never been a fan of having the DJs stop the mix before playing the last track, so a smooth transition would have been good to hear. Also would have liked to hear the audience a bit more. I didn't hear much of it in the last CD, which makes me wonder if they all flocked to the 2nd room.
If there are any plans to do a similar live set, I would not be against it, but depending on the MCs I would have to say something. Obie and Mayhem are brilliant enough to handle a mix all their own, so no need to bundle them up. Definitely would not like to see Whizzkid, Wotsee, Frickshon, or Reese return to such a project. And definitely wouldn't want MC Storm, Enemy, and Static considered for a future Live album.
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Edited by - latininxtc on 2015/01/06 16:13:26 |
trippnface
Advanced Member
United States
1,661 posts
Joined: Jan, 2010
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Posted - 2015/01/06 : 05:27:36
quote:
Originally posted by latininxtc:
Alright finally starting my review, even though it's a bit pointless months later lol but I promised Jon. I guess I'll start by going through each CD first then my overall review.
CD1:
I was expecting this mix to be the one I like the least, but it actually turned out much better than I expected. Sure it has powerstomp, but it also has a mixture of other styles of UK hardcore. Powerstomp has come a long way from what it was last year, and on this album it sounds much more polished than most of the powerstomp that was being played in 2013. Maybe that's the added live vibe to it, as some styles of UK hardcore just sound better live than home listening, or Alex Prospect and Joey Riot are a much better duo DJing than Joey with Kurt.
Some of my favorite tracks on the mix were Love Me Again, Dreamkast, True Feelings, Like It Loud 2014, and Leave The World Behind. I absolutely fucking loathed Cold As Ice, but it's not Joey's fault I just never liked any remakes of the track, nor the original sung by Foreigner. Also found I'm The Cook an absolute terrible track to end the set with. The track itself is ok, but just not one I would end a great set with. Also wasn't fond of the way it abruptly cut off, not a great way to end any mix, even if there are still 3 more discs to listen to.
As far as the MCing goes, these two are my favorite MCs that I've had the privilege to listen to live, and I was worried about them being on one album together, but they certainly did a great job of blending in well with the mix, and working together. They were totally in sync with the tracks, which shows they were prepared with what Joey and Alex were about to play. There was little to nothing on MCing over lyrics, which is a huge issue in the scene. I could have done without the mic check, but it's an added flavor to a live set so not an issue.
CD2:
Once again Fracus & Darwin do not disappoint. It's a great mix with a great tracklist. It would have fit in nicely in an HU volume series.
As far as tracks go, first I have to say as if the previous ones weren't already being currently overplayed in all events, I don't understand why Fracus & Darwin felt that the UK hardcore scene needed yet another pointless 24/7 remix. If y'all are gonna remix something, please focus on those tracks that haven't ever had a remix, or at least not in a long time, like Fires In The Sky. What a superb remix! I actually prefer it over the original, and I don't see myself getting sick and tired of the remix as I did after a few plays of the original when it came out.
Like many people have already said all over the forums, Never Let Go is my track of the year! Sheer brilliance! From this album, Ordinary Ways is almost at that level of brilliance, just so many beautiful lyrics in that track. I was not fond of No Dark Clouds when I first heard it, found the vocals a bit ridiculous, but the track quickly grew on me. Not as brilliant as Never Let Go, but still a great track for this year. Love Died In Your Arms 2014, until the vocals came out. Let's leave 80s vocals in the 80s please. Other than that, well-produced track.
Stargazer 2014 is a good remix, but it's nowhere near as incredible as Reese's remix from HU3. Love Like Fire, reminds me of Darwin's Hard Fast Disco track which I also enjoyed. Entity's work on Something To Say and Listen To Us just puzzles me as to why he feels like leaving the scene. It's clear he still has a lot to offer to us. If he's feeling pressure, then he should probably just slow things down a bit rather than leave. It's not the end of the world if his album would have taken longer to release, eventually it will come out, even if it's 2+ years later like Brisk and Marc Smith's artist albums.
Reese had the smallest presence on this album out of all the MCs, yet he annoyed me about as much as the ones on the last 2 cds. Was his presence heavily edited due to the skipping issues Fracus & Darwin had for their set? Seems like there were a lot of areas where it made sense for him to MC, yet there was dead silence. Like on Listen To Us, a vocal-less track, he had full reign to spew whatever crap he wanted, yet all he gave was less than 10 seconds of verses. And it ended abruptly, as it if was cut off. Actually a lot of his verses ended the same. He also wasn't that great at hyping up the crowd imo. Maybe it's just his style, but he should consider sticking to his day job at Apple and let the Brits butcher live sets, they do a better job of it.
CD3:
Have to echo other people's sentiments that out of the 4 this was the weaker mix. Nothing inherently wrong with it, it's just not as exciting as the other 3, and for me I was disappointed it wasn't as exciting as Al Storm and Scott Brown's mix on HU6. I'm a fan of Al Storm's deliciously weird mixing and production, and few can manage to complement that. Scott Brown did it in HU6, but not here. I think the consistent sound most of Scott's tracks has just did not blend as well with Al Storm's tracks and mixing.
I like the Power Of Love and Do It Like We Do remixes, but for a project of this caliber they were rather weak compared to the rest of the tracklist. Absolutely was not fond of the Pilgrim remix. I know most people won't like it, but I thought Kate's Bush was an awesome track, and a prime example of Al Storm's deliciously weird production that I love so much from him. Indigo Sky of course is an incredible track. My favorite part of the mix was the last 4 tracks. There was a great variety in those 4 tracks and that's what I would have liked to hear throughout the whole set. It also was a great way to end the set, in fact it would have been nice to have this set end the album rather than the next one.
The biggest factor that made me not enjoy this mix as much is definitely Whizzkid. My fucking god, what the hell was that shit??? He was all over the place, all over the lyrics, had absolutely no boundaries, and I found the few lines he threw out to hype the crowd to be just so fucking ridiculous. It seemed like he absolutely did not care about the lyrics, probably because he's never heard of the tracks since he's only worked for a select few DJs that play a select few tracks he would only recognize. I don't remember him being absolute shit when I heard him in Spain over 2 years ago, but a lot has happened since then. MC Storm's reign as being the loudest and most obnoxious cunt ended after the whole Sy fiasco and that left Whizzkid to take the lead. Did that exposure go to his head? I honestly think he's even worse than Storm now.
CD4:
Totally love this mix, and it's in the battle with CD1 as my 2nd favorite mix. I think Marc Smith is an excellent DJ, and would totally love to see him live again, but for now this is the closest I can get to that. Chris Fear holds his own here, and probably let Marc take more control of the mix, which I think is smart since Marc has some amazing mixing skills. I didn't mind that there were some tracks that were a bit older and have since been released as they were blended very well into the mix, and that's what this is mostly about the mix not just the tracks.
As far as tracks go, Chris Fear's Slam is incredible, as well as Bring Back The Rave. Thoroughly enjoyed HOA, Devastating Motivating, and Dance Machine. Hold Your Head Up is such a brilliant track! I didn't care much for the We Are Hardcore remix. So a good set of tracks that just flowed together great on this mix.
The MCs were just so terrible here as well. Don't believe I've ever heard Frickshon live, and hope I never do. Wotsee, I wasn't a huge fan of him when I heard him in Spain, and that hasn't changed here. They were all over the place and did not complement each other well. They started out ok but by the end of the day I was irritated that any second they had free they took the opportunity to spew a bunch of nonsense that made no sense to me.
Overall, the mixing and tracklist was good, but the MCing gradually got worse for me after the first CD. I know it's supposed to mimic a live set, but I would have liked for them to be able to at least get 70+ minutes worth of music like a studio mix, but with the technical problems y'all faced this worked out for the better. Also would have liked to have heard a regular transition between the last 2 tracks like in CD3. I've never been a fan of having the DJs stop the mix before playing the last track, so a smooth transition would have been good to hear. Also would have liked to hear the audience a bit more. I didn't hear much of it in the last CD, which makes me wonder if they all flocked to the 2nd room.
If there are any plans to do a similar live set, I would not be against it, but depending on the MCs I would have to say something. Obie and Mayhem are brilliant enough to handle a mix all their own, so no need to bundle them up. Definitely would not like to see Whizzkid, Wotsee, Frickshon, or Reese return to such a project. And definitely wouldn't want MC Storm, Enemy, and Static considered for a future Live album.
Kate's bush is amazing; who the **** does not like that track!?
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