Beastie Boy - Hello Nasty

Capitol Records: 1998

I don't think anyone anticipated the Beastie Boys having such big hits as those spawned off Hello Nasty. A fun single or two, sure, but surely their schtick was utterly dated as the '90s drew to a close. Three MCs, rhyming off each other's interplay like Run DMC was still relevant (okay, they were still around, but y'know what I mean), a bunch of wicki-wicki-waa from an actual DJ, and who ever really liked their rock and funk explorations anyway? No, the Beasties should have failed, unable to keep pace with hip-hop's over-indulgence of gangsta shenanigans and seeking the bling life. Or worse, in an attempt to reconnect with the youth, adopted nu-metal into their repertoire.

Holy hell, is it ever a good thing they didn’t give two flute loops about what contemporary audiences expected of them and simply cut loose with what they do best. If there’s any scene they did get chummy with, it was the electronic one, which had shared history with the Beastie’s brand of b-boy bombast (weren't The KLF initially just the Scottish Beasties anyway?). The lead single Intergalactic was the perfect olive branch to ravers worldwide, with big beats, quirky electro sounds, and enough ‘up to date’ retro vibes that any DJ could drop it and get a massive reaction. Small wonder Lord Discogs recommends names like Daft Punk, DJ Shadow, and Mr. Oizo on Intergalactic's page.

Oh yeah, there's a whole album more to talk about with Hello Nasty. I'm sure ya'll remember Body Movin', probably thanks to yet another goof-ball video the Boys were masters at. A third single off here was Three MCs and One DJ, which had the trio feeding off numerous scratch samples and turntable trickery from Mixmaster Mike (sort of an honorary fourth Beastie Boy). Quite a few tracks on here do this, to be honest, though more often than not it's post-studio production creating the dense sound collages of off-beat samples, thick rhythms, and indie rock leanings.

As for the rest of the album, well... Okay, there's a reason most only remember Hello Nasty for Intergalactic, Body Movin', and not much else: too much filler. Oh, it's good filler, in that you won't find yourself itching for the skip button if you're willing to take the album in full, but can any of you recall how Picture This or Flowin' Prose go? I sure can't, and I just listened to the damned album! Maybe it was one of those instrumental, psychedelic funk jams?

Despite a second half that just can't live up to the first (how could anything with such a one-two punch as Body Movin' and Intergalactic?), Hello Nasty's still a high recommendation for those diving into the Beastie Boys' discography. It may not be as ground breaking as Paul's Boutique or as stupid-fun as Licenced To Ill, but it reaches a comfortable middle-ground between the two, and propelled the Boys back to the front of hip-hop relevancy. Not bad for three white former punks.

00.db - Heaven & Hell (Original TC Review)

Fektive Records: 2009

(2013 Update:
"harmonizing peaks"? 2009 Sykonee, you doof, those are progressive chord changes. You know, one of the defining characteristics of progressive trance? Not that it's surprising to find them here, considering Mr. Fleming and Mr. Blonde's trance background. Heh, having now heard their very early offerings on that For Your Ears Only DJ mix J00f did, it's remarkable that their music would both end up down psy trance's back alley.

As a duo, they released another album the year after this one, Angels & Demons, which I've yet to hear. Is it any good? Dunno if they've got plans for another one though, as both seemed more focused on solo output as of late. Not to mention all the promotions Fleming's been up to, what with a label to oversee and club nights to play out at. Who's got time to hash out another forty-plus minute 'chill-out' extravaganza?)


IN BRIEF: Solid as a rock

I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a super-group, but the pairing of psy-trance favorites John Fleming and Ricky Smith (‘00’ and The Digital Blonde, respectively) definitely created a huge amount of buzz when they started releasing tracks together. Simply put, the two earned a huge amount of goodwill with folks who grew frustrated with the continued watering-down of trance music at the hands of those that shall remain nameless. They offered an easy entry point into the realm of psy, focusing on catchy hooks and driving rhythms supplanted with the sub-genre’s spacey attributes, yet seldom going off the deep end into psy’s more random wibble. With John the DJ and Smith the producer, it was only a matter of time before these two favored sons finally joined forces. So they did, forming the fan-chosen moniker 00.db. And took their sweet time in coming out with the album everyone was looking forward to.

I suppose the two didn’t want to let their burgeoning fanbase down, hence the some-odd three years it’s taken for a full-length since their first single. While I have no doubt they wouldn’t want to release anything less than their best, high expectations can have a tendency to force musicians into a corner they never wanted to be in the first place. The fans demand - or at least hope for - nothing less than a classic, so you gotta’ deliver on those terms, right? Of course not, but nor do you want to lose all that good favor you’ve earned either, especially so in the fickle field of (slightly) underground trance.

In terms of offered material, if a double-CD album for a debut isn’t enough to be satisfied with, then their fanbase is more fickle than I thought. It certainly could be considered a bold artistic statement, but truthfully that’s not quite right. Rather, Fleming and Smith had more music than could be held on one disc, including a forty-plus minute ambient excursion at the very end. I’m not sure whether Dreamcatcher was added to fill up the second CD or because they were working on something of this nature as a side-project to their typical trance cuts, but whatever the reason it’s part-and-parcel of the Heaven & Hell experience (more on which in a bit).

The trance cuts don’t offer much in the way of surprises here, even if you aren’t already familiar with them from the first Psy Trance Euphoria compilation many first appeared on. In fact, much of this reminds me of the sort of material you might find on those old Rave Mission compilations from the mid-90s, where the likes of Astral Projection and Alien Factory could be seen rubbing shoulders with Paragliders and DJ Tomcraft. They pretty much stick to a “not quite epic, not quite psy” style, and execute it with about as much class and consistency as any savvy trance veteran. Some are more melodic (Indigo, Pro 1, Darkness, and the remix of Astrix’ Ice Cream); some are more spacey (Lantra, Run, and, shockingly, Worlds Of Space); some are more techy and driving (Ark, Orga, Entropy; and so on). Most of them make use of the tried and tested ‘harmonizing peak’, breakdowns are seldom gratuitous, vocal samples are fine, and the psychedelic bits are tasteful. All in all, if you aren’t immediately turned off by the first track-proper (as always, the first one’s more of an ambient intro), then you’re going to enjoy the music on here - probably more so, since Indigo, though solid in its own right, is one of the weaker cuts.

As for the forty-minute behemoth that closes out CD2, it’s okay for an extended ambient excursion. Though it says it’s a “chill-out journey”, there’s actually very little chill about it, as many of the soundscapes and synths used are quite grandiose. It’s also not a singular composition, but rather a collection of four segments titled Stratosphere, Atmosphere, Mantle, and Inner Core; indeed, a journey from heaven to hell. In that aim, it thematically succeeds, as the compositions gradually transition from benign to downright creepy (seriously, that… growl towards the end… *shudder*). Musically, however, it at times feels like it overreaches, but it’s tagged at the end of the album, so no big loss if you don’t feel like indulging.

Heaven & Hell certainly is a fine enough debut album, despite not really pushing the trance genre anywhere it hasn’t been before. In that regard, this honestly isn’t more than a 6/10 - at least on paper. This album deserves an extra nudge up a notch for one simple reason: it’s consistent from beginning to end. So long as you enjoy trance music - of any kind, really - you will find no reason to skip any of these tracks, which is remarkable considering there isn’t much of an album theme beyond supplying quality tune after quality tune. That in of itself is a rare enough feat to deserve the 7.

Mind Distortion System - He Claims To Be Not Human (Original TC Review)

Trishula Records: 2007

(2013 Update:
Well, so much for Trishula, only lasting to the end of 2008 before their output dried up. I don't know if they've completely shut doors, as their website is still up, so I'm assuming you might still find material in their catalog out there if you look hard enough. Might still be worth your while to do so if you find dark forest psy to your liking, as I've yet to hear much that stood out the way some of Trishula's acts did.

As for Mind Distortion System, this remains his only full-length, though he has released a smattering of singles on numerous compilations for other labels since Trishula's end. Dunno if they're worth digging for though. To be honest, I always found his contributions to the Trishula compilations the weaker offerings, and was somewhat surprised his album turned out pretty good. Wait... a psy trance producer, saving his best work for the album? What a twist.)


IN BRIEF: Crafty rhythms? In psy trance??

Having been associated with Trishula Records for a while now, ol’ Jara Nelson’s been patiently biding his time in the trenches for his kick at the album can. It can be a dangerous game to play, the waiting one - growing disinterest from followers of a project as the months wear on, as but one example why - but the psy scene’s long gestation periods (trends either linger longer or innovative new ones lack) work in favor of those who’s release dates are further along than others.

As Mind Distortion System, Nelson has carved out his own tiny niche in the psy world, but then that can be said of just about any Trishula artist, to be honest. This little label hailing from Deutschland has frequently impressed by skewing far from the norm when psy trance is often guilty of sounding far too similar from label-to-label, act-to-act. With tracks that often challenge the head, Trishula definitely has established themselves as a label worth keeping tabs on for fans of the forest sound. MDS is no different in this regard, so the better question isn’t how he stands against dark psy in general (quick answer: above), but rather amongst Trishula’s roster.

Like most of the producers on this label, Nelson’s tracks don’t reveal themselves to you all at once. However, I found his offerings on this album even more difficult than most. While I didn’t go in expecting something like insta-melodies, an easily recognizable song structure or pattern seemed to be lacking as well. Beats are laid out and various twisted sounds and effects worm their way about for the duration, with something resembling a hook popping up for a brief bits every so often. I can see many non-fans of dark psy dismissing this album very early on.

In fact, I was about ready to too, when something clicked. Rather than focusing on finding hooks or figuring out atmosphere, I did something that isn’t typically thought of with regards to psy: succumbing to rhythm. Sure, some artists are very adept at beats but the genre generally isn’t known for intuitive drum programming. Most of the time it’s there in service of synths and acid, and little else.

And this isn’t to say MDS’ tracks are ultra-funky or something to that effect - in fact, most of his rhythms are still very much stylistically in forward-drive and little else. But whereas other producers - especially in dark psy’s case - settle for monotonous drones, MDS seems to have extra spring to his. It’s as though a kind of giddiness crept in, and it makes Nelson’s rhythms that much more infectious.

So obviously, the tracks on offer here will make far more sense while flailing under a canopy of trees in the middle of night rather than being played in the background as you drink your tea at home. Still, there’s enough going on here to grab your attention should you let the primal portion of your brain dictate your listening habits. Never predictable, yet always with purpose, MDS cleverly keeps his tunes moving and shifting, letting the beats dictate the direction as squiggly sounds, shuffling synths, psychedelic effects, and disconcerting tones effectively provide a worthy trippy support. You most likely won’t be humming any of these later, but they’ll definitely leave an impression and, perhaps most importantly, will draw you back to rediscover some other twist you may have overlooked before.

Individually, these tracks deliver. As a whole though, He Claims To Be Not Human grows samey-sounding in the second half, as MDS tends to stick to the same themes throughout the album (having every track roughly the same BPM doesn’t help in this regard either). There are a few moments that’ll leap out more than the rest though. For instance, final track Gate Of Desire sounds like Nelson borrowed some of the synths of fellow labelmate Olien. Elsewhere, Koshka makes use of some chopped up spacey sounds, lending an almost ethereal tone to an otherwise sinister album. Oh, and remember that sped up sample of Disney’s Whistle Stomp that made a superstar out of a cartoon hamster? It’s back in Cartoon Hunter, but surprisingly given better context here, such that it’s actually kind of amusing to hear instead of fucking annoying like in its previous usage. Mind, it probably helps that it’s immediately followed up by a vocal that asks, “Won’t you fucking shut up for ten seconds,” not to mention the track itself is amongst the darkest brooders on this album.

So in conclusion of my graduate thesis- er, review of this here album, MDS’ role amongst the Trishula roster appears to be the guy that’ll more likely pummel your temporal lobes rather than tickle them with nifty hooks or enveloping soundscapes. Which is totally cool, in my books. Good rhythms are sorely neglected when it comes to dark psy, and to hear an album that provides solid groovy potential amongst the usual twisted atmospherics is a welcomed treat.

Neil Young - Harvest Moon

Reprise Records: 1992

Two decades after delivering an album everyone loved, Neil Young finally released a pseudo sequel to Harvest, this here CD titled Harvest Moon. Everyone loved that one too, though aside from the titular song, it didn't quite reach the same level of commercial success. There were undoubtedly many reasons for it – chief among them Harvest Moon's very laid-back country vibes not exactly jiving with mainstream interests in the year 1992 (who cares about that old hippie crooner when we got Michael Bolton serenading the airwaves!) - but like so many albums in Young's discography, it's endured as a proper classic, spawning memorable tunes you're likely to still hear in concert during his acoustic moments.

Funny thing is, though the idea behind Harvest Moon sounds like a shoo-in, it likely wouldn't have happened had circumstances nearly forced him into making the album. Consider: Young had had twenty years to round up The Stray Gators again, take a trip to Nashville, and deliver an album full of charming, radio-friendly country-rock folk. Yet he never did, his occasional trips to the mid-west finding him exploring proper-country instead; only a few of the original session musicians were brought in for those albums. So what convinced him to finally do what his fans wanted for years upon years?

Hearing damage, mostly. Following the raucous Weld tour with Crazy Horse, Young’d developed a bad case of tinnitus, forcing him to tone his music down for a while. Okay, and a two decade anniversary wasn't such a bad incentive either.

That said, he couldn't exactly repeat Harvest. Aside from generally better production (such lush echo and reverb here!), the lyrics and themes Young was exploring as he neared his fifties were quite different compared to topics of 1972. Condemnations of southern States attitudes? That's small time stuff compared to global issues like war (War Of Man) and environmentalism (Natural Beauty). Also, how could he write songs about forlorn love when he’d been happily married for years? Just won’t work anymore, so instead we have music reflecting on the friendships he’s had (From Hand To Hendrix, One Of These Days, and, um, his dog in Old King), the relationship he’s in (Harvest Moon and Such A Woman), and perhaps even where he may end up (You And Me). Fairly broad topics, all said, but Young has a way of making them feel intimate, as either a window into his own feelings, or as a message for those who can relate to his lyrics.

In the Harvest review, I quipped that many Boomers likely turned to that album as post-partying comfort music. I’ll freely admit that Harvest Moon has served a similar purpose for myself on occasion, a nostalgic calm even for things I’ve yet to experience. That, in a nutshell, is why Young’s endured for so long: writing music that isn’t bound by specific generations, but by earnest, human feelings, and he’s at his best here. No matter the age, someone will find something relatable in Harvest Moon.

Neil Young - Harvest

Reprise Records: 1972

The only Neil Young album you’re supposed to have, even if you’re not much of a Neil Young fan. Or at least, that was the assumed case waaaayyy back in the ‘70s, when all his Boomer fans would turn to Harvest’s charming, laid-back good ol’ country rock vibes to ease themselves from whatever bad trip they might be suffering from (citation needed). I can’t even think of what album could be considered “the only Neil Young album you’re supposed to have” now, as the man’s musical career’s all over the place. True, there are releases that are good representations of what he’s capable of (After The Goldrush, Rust Never Sleeps, Sleeps With Angels, any live album), but you’re almost always missing out on some aspect of his career. Even Archives, Vol. 1 only reached as far as Harvest, which capped off the first ten years of ol’ Neil making music. Holy shit, he’s been doing this for a freakin’ half-century now, hasn’t he!

Anyhow, what Harvest definitely became was Mr. Young’s most popular album, likely because it was also one of his best selling ones, especially in ’merica, where they love those home-grown country-rock tunes. Just, sshhh, don’t remind them he’s actually Canadian.

The big hits off here were Heart Of Gold, Old Man, and The Needle And The Damage Done. That last one isn’t even two-minutes long, a brief, somber reflection dedicated to those he saw losing their lives to drug addictions. The first two though, hoo boy, were they ever major tunes at the time. You’ll still hear them on the radio, though whether a rock or country one, I’m not sure – that banjo bit in Old Man definitely would sound out of place along all that Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones. And Heart Of Gold, you’ve heard it. No, really, I can guarantee you’ve heard a version of it at some point. Heck, I heard it long before I even knew who Neil Young was, when Boney M covered it on their Nightflight To Venus album I frequently played as a child. Hey, maybe that’s where this Young obsession stems from!

As for Harvest, the album, it’s definitely one of Young’s odder collection of songs. The old-timey country bits (and hits) were put together at Nashville with ridiculously talented session musicians he dubbed The Stray Gators (seriously, Ben Keith’s pedal steel guitar work almost steals the whole album). A short while later, Young brought the group out to a barn at the ranch he’d recently purchased, and recorded one-take rockier tunes on the fly. In between, he got to record a couple songs with the London Symphony Orchestra, lending almost ridiculous bombast to an album that typically comes off down to earth.

Predictably, Harvest ends up quite a slap-dash listening experience, even for a Young album. It may have been his most popular effort, but as you can find most of these tunes elsewhere now (and in stronger renditions), it’s not the most essential purchase anymore.

Drexciya - Harnessed The Storm (2013 Update)

Tresor: 2002

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review.)

Drexciya was the first review I ever published, a very important moment in the world of techno. Well, no, it wasn’t – heck, it wasn’t even a blip in the grand scheme of things, and techno fans sure as hell weren’t checking out some funny new website called TranceCritic, even if Harnessed The Storm was the first review there. Still, if anyone expecting trance came away from that one with a better appreciation of the deep sea dwellers from Detroit, all the better. It’s not the best review, but without that first step, we’d never have gotten to where we are today, whatever ‘here’ currently is.

Actually, let’s find out. Instead of just an ‘update’, here’s a newish review of the same release. Ahem…

Despite being mainstays of Detroit techno’s second generation, the duo Drexciya stood well apart from their contemporaries. Part of it was their enigmatic origins (pro tip: cultivating hardcore fanbases works best when your work remains mysterious), but whereas many in the Motor City (or foreigners drawing influence from it) started exploring minimal, dub, or jazz-fusion during the ‘90s, Drexciya looked more to the past for inspiration, taking their cues from electro when most had moved on from it (too ‘80s, man). And in fully immersing their mythos with underwater sonics, it created a sound unlike any other, Drexciya singles turning into hot commodities whenever they’d sprinkle forth.

EPs were all well and good, and many a classic cut appeared on those records. Yet surely a concept like Drexciya deserved the full-length treatment, and nearly a decade after their debut, there finally came Neptune’s Lair. As far as I can tell from online gushers, it met expectations, so the natural follow-up was eagerly anticipated. Harnessed The Storm arrived three years later, and while many a fan enjoyed it too, their concept seemed a bit tired now. Electro had resurged in popularity, while techno was drifting from Detroit’s heritage, various European takes on it the new hotness of the 2000s. But hey, what’s it matter? Drexciya were such a unique duo, that even if their concept and productions were coming off old-hat in the new millennium, they could carry on by name recognition alone, with no pressure to change with the times. Folks came to Drexciya records to hear their aquatic electro, and damn it, that’s what they’ll get.

Only they no longer did. The unfortunate passing of member James Stinson in late 2002 shocked everyone within techno’s world and, as a point of respect to his partner and friend, Gerald Donald (other half of Drexciya) put an end to the project. Harnessed The Storm would be the last music they released. Truly a shame, but in some ways a blessing too, ending them on a high with legacy intact. I mean, can you imagine if they’d jumped on the minimal bandwagon too?

Eh? I didn’t describe any of the music on Harnessed The Storm? Silly, there’s a link at the top with over one-thousand words doing so.

Sven Väth - Harlequin - The Beauty And The Beast

Warner Bros. Records: 1994

Sven Väth is Sven Väth, a very important- wait, I did that joke for him already. Then let’s get right to it for this mega-maxi CD of Harlequin – The Beauty And The Beast. As the lead single to his sophomore effort, The Harlequin, The Robot And The Ballet-Dancer, there was quite the bit of expectation going in. An Accident In Paradise was hailed as a early classic of the emerging German take on techno (trance!), even with some of the odder sonic doodles hampering the album’s overall flow. Could Sven capture the same magic he and Hildenbeutel crafted with Ritual Of Life, Caravan Of Emotions, and L’Esperanza?

Not with a convoluted title like Harlequin – The Beauty And The Beast. What is that even supposed to mean? I realize The Harlequin, The Robot, And The Ballet-Dancer had something of concept going on, but the title is horribly clumsy. Not to mention just glancing at it along with the so-very ‘90s CGI cover art undoubtedly had some wondering if Sven had gone all prog rock on them. The music may be perfectly fine, but man does the presentation do it no favors.

In the end, the track with the longest title was picked for the lead single, annoying any scribes setting out to review it. It’s a decent enough tune, in that early Teutonic techno sort of way. Skitchy backing synths, a lead that’s easy enough to get hooked on, and some nods to goa trance that was catching on elsewheres in clubland (although the Club Mix is about where you’ll hear most of it, what with over ten minutes to work with).

Remixes then. Since this was intended to be Sven’s hot new single, there’s a pile of them. Underworld’s take on Harlequin – The blahblahblah works the group’s classic cool groove into a twelve minute excursion that plays to all of progressive house’s ‘back-in-the-day’ strengths, never feeling as long as it actually is. And as the original owed some sonic nods to psy, Total Eclipse offers a proper goa spin on the tune. C.J. Bolland’s also here, beefing up the beats if you like your techno hard and bangin’. And finally, Pascal F.E.O.S. gives us a remix that’s a little more bare and acidy.

No, wait, that’s not ‘finally’, if you got this American version of the single. All those other remixes, they’re just too Euro, man. What this tune needs is some proper, deep, funky garage-house from the likes of Murk. In fact, forget whatever the original sounded like, let’s get Marck Michel on the microphone, giving Harlequin – DamnitI’mnottypingitanymore more soul than those Germans could hope to craft. And you know what? This ‘remix’ is so good on its own, let’s have four versions of the same bumping, muscular vibes. ‘Cause that’s the ’merica way of doin’ things, boy.

Quite a diverse collection of remixes then, but unfortunately overstuffed, leaving the finished product a middling affair. Too many utterances of “the beauty and the beast” methinks.

DJ Brian - Hardesertrance3 - Son Of The Moon

Moonshine Music: 1999

And so he did. Erm, keep the hard-hitting tech-trance vibes going for the duration, I mean. DJ Brian, that is. For the follow-up, Hardesertrance3? Goodness, didn’t you read the previous review? What do you mean you’re in the future and stumbled upon this review by accident? Reading this blog in reverse chronological order, I can understand, as Blogger’s layout isn’t exactly conducive to continuity attempts. But from the literal future? That’s far out, man. Far out of space and time!

Okay, enough of that. Someone must have mentioned those plusses and minuses I brought up on Hardesertrance2, as DJ Brian’s jettisoned almost all progressive trance for this instalment. There’s Salt Tank’s Rezmorize near the end, getting you two progressive names for the price of one (if you don’t know why, please hand in your ‘progressive card’ to the lady at the exit), and that’s about it. For Hardesertrance3, Mr. Brian Golub starts out hard and trancey, and barely lets up.

As before, you get a goa-leaning opener, this time care of Human Movement’s Traveller’s Theme, and for a whopping ten minutes at that. Yeah, it’s one of those ‘journey’ tracks, but pretty cool nonetheless. Shortly after, it’s back to our good ol’ friend Oliver Lieb again, but this time under the one-off Snakeman guise, which he used to indulge himself with some proper tribal beats, and Medicine don’t disappoint, son.

And the hard techno keeps coming. Geezer’s Tickling The Trout is here, its raw, thumping acid goodness almost out of place for a set supposedly meant for the desert (harsh my vibe, yo). Even deeper into the tribal techno is Electronic Home Entertainment’s Traffic EP (yes, it’s called that), which mixes wonderfully into another vicious Lieb tech-trance beast, Quantensprung as S.O.L. – if you ever wanted more in The Black Album style, there’s your cut, my friends.

DJ Brian can’t help himself from pulling out an anthem though, but for once he’s ahead of the curve. Joshua Ryan’s bleepy, fist-pumper Pistolwhip was yet another inescapable trance hit, featured on tons of obvious track lists and compilations throughout 2000 and especially 2001 when the single was re-released on NuLife Recordings. This here Hardesertrance3 CD’s a ’99 offering though, the same year the original Pistolwhip came out on Fragrant Music. And according to Lord Discogs, this was the tune’s first major release. What I’m getting at in this long-about way is, even though Mr. Ryan’s hit was quickly played out by the end of 2001, I’m quite content hearing it on this CD due to these conditions. Okay, and the surrounding tracks are kick-ass as well.

So Hardesertrance3, an overall better set than the previous one, if you like your hard desert trance (techno) with a proper kick to it rather than all psychedelic and wibbly. Surely this is the direction of sound that will take this series to the next level, establishing it as a string of classic DJ mixes. Wait, this was the last one? Well, f-

DJ Brian - Hardesertrance2

Moonshine Music: 1998

I'll have more opportunity to talk about the Moontribe parties that Moonshine loved promoting in short order, so let's get right into this here DJ Brian figure. A founding member of the California-based desert rave promotion, he soon established himself as 'the late-night trance guy'. And since we're dealing with whole bunch of West-American hippies (probably), that means he played psy. Well, yes and no. It was undoubtedly a part of his tracklists for some of those dusty all-nighters under the desert stars, but the music he compiled for his series titled Hardesertrance started out with more commercial intent (probably).

Since we're skipping straight to Hardesertrance2, it's clear I don't have the first one. I did hear it back in the day though, and thought it good, in that acidy, outdoor, tribal trance sort of way. The formula was simple enough: start off bangin' with a touch of psy, then unleash a few recognizable anthems towards the end (Netherworld!). DJ Brian follows a similar style on this one, and for the first few tracks, it looks like we have another winner in Moonshine's catalogue.

Right, so having L.S.G.’s kick-ass Train Of Thought at the fourth position is such an easy way to tickle my earlobes, but the surrounding tracks are strong company. Opener Emotions from Sonic Fusion sets a suitable 3am desert vibe, and tracks from System 7 and Rotortype round out a solid first lap of this disc. Huh, funny seeing Rotortype’s Be Yourself here, in that it was quite an older track by ’98, having already appeared on a few other notable CDs (an early DJ-Kicks from C.J. Bolland, for instance). And this, unfortunately, sets a trend that hampers Hardestertrance2.

The next track is India from E-Razor (yet another collaborative project between Martin Eyerer and Oliver Lieb). Cool, but I’ve already heard this one on a Nick Warren Global Underground. A little further down, we find our good friend Air from Ferry Corsten’s Albion guise (holy cow, was this track ever canned). I’ll give DJ Brian some props for choosing the storming Palefield Mountain remix, but it’s still an obvious anthem. Oh, and Slacker’s here too, with the track Psychout, which one could have heard off that same Nick Warren Global Underground. Finally, throwing in Amoeba Assassin’s Rollercoaster as your closer, and you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve somehow stumbled upon a ’98 progressive trance DJ mix instead of something advertised as more on a psychedelic tip.

Mind you, there’s no real fault on DJ Brian’s part in how this CD’s put together, and for all I know, it’s a faithful recreation of one of his Moontribe sets. As a commercial disc, however, the track selection’s over-familiar for those well-versed in what progressive trance had to offer in ’98. The opening of Hardesertrance2 does help it stand out, but DJ Brian would only emerge from the glut by keeping the hard-hitting tech-trance vibes going for the duration. Ain’t no one else playing that sound on Moonshine.

Fatboy Slim - Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars (Clean Version)

Astralwerks: 2000

In some ways, I'm more embarrassed to have this CD than even ICP. Why should I, a grown adult, have a “Kiddies' Clean Version”? Well, it was a gift, but the tongue-in-cheek label on the cover strikes me as deliberately insulting on the manufacturer's part. This isn't just the 'Clean Version', like many hip-hop pop albums offer, oh no. This is for the children, for we at Astralwerks, we thought about the children, oh how we thought about the children. We even moved the image over a little, so the sun no longer peeks through the woman's cooch – hell, you can't even tell it's a woman anymore, much less the sun creating those rays of light. Isn't that better than our usual antics of totally replacing the cover image for stateside distribution?

Norman Cook's Fatboy project was incredibly popular when he released Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars, his prior album offering two or three ultra-mega hits that we still hear today. So that there would be a 'Clean' option for his follow-up doesn't surprise me. It's still baffling why it'd been thought of only for the kids though (what kind of teenager wouldn't get the one with crude language?).

And what major changes can we expect on this “Kiddies' Clean Version”? Star 69's been cut. Yeah, no surprise on that one. Not a big deal losing it though, as beyond the lyrical gimmick, it was a mediocre tune. There's also a slight edit of “what the fuck” in Song For Shelter, which makes- wait! Why didn't they just edit the 'fuck's out of Star 69 too, keeping the track?

Frankly, that's all I can tell's been 'cleaned up'. It's been well over a decade since I've heard the original version, so if some naughty language from Macy Gray or Bootsy Collins was edited out, I don't know anymore. Come to think of it, I don't think it matters where this album's concerned, as Halfway... is a surprisingly mature sounding effort on Cook's part compared to the rest of his discography.

Yeah, he's had his classy moments, but folks were buying up his albums by the boatloads for the big beat party anthems. Halfway... has a couple offerings as such, like Ya Mama and Drop The Hate, yet Cook sounds bored with these cuts, just going through the big beat motions. Far more intriguing (and re-playable because they aren't so dated to late '90s music) are the blues, gospel, funk, and soul offerings. And even with all the crafty beats and samples Cook throws into his tunes, the guest vocalists (including the memorable husky voice of then-soul-queen Macy Gray) help excel what could have been little more than homage to some of ol' Norman's musical upbringing.

Put simply, Halfway... is easily Fatboy Slim's most consistent album, and maybe even his best. Unlike his other albums, which have big hits and forgettable filler, these are all songs I have no problem returning to and keeping lodged in my head.