Search - Aztec Two-Step :: The Persecution & Restoration

Great Music & Great Memories!

Sean Hickey | phoenixville, pennsylvania United States | 06/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first came across Aztec Two Step back when I was in college during the mid-to-late 1970s. I dug the vinyl copies I found in the record library of WESS (The 10-Watt Wonder of the Poconos!) and began playing them on my radio show - usually one per show for the better part of my four years in school. ATS was a solid, melodic duo that I enjoyed exposing to a larger audience - I always got great feedback from listeners when I played their songs!



What a joy to find this compilation available here! As I listened to these CDs, I was transported back to my college days and the memories all came flooding back! I can't say I agree with Carolyn's assessment written below... Both CDs sound GREAT! Yes, the collection does contain a number of songs that are available on other CDs, but those were some great tunes - Hard to leave too many of them out over the rest... Also, while she says that CD versions of the studio records from 1974 to 1986 (Second Step, Two's Company, Adjoining Suites, Living in America, & Times of Our Lives) have yet to be released, I'm happy to report that they ARE available! I have the entire discography & got it thru ItsAboutMusic.com - Sounds great AND you can buy each record individually, or download just the tracks you like & create your own 'best of' compilation!



It's true these guys were the original "no-hit wonders"... and that's truly the real shame here... I have never played their songs for anyone without getting a positive response! That was true back at East Stroudsburg State in the 1970s - and it still holds true to this day! Just an amazing pair of very talented musicians! Help spread the word!!!"

Good Intentions....Lousy Presentation

Carolyn Falconer | Upstate, NY | 06/02/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Here's the deal...I love the fact that someone felt compelled to deliver an AZTEC TWO STEP double-cd compilation. I made sure I purchased it almost upon it's release. This marvelous band has been grossly under-appreciated over the 35+ years since their inception.



With that said, it's with sadness to say this compilation misses the mark all over the place. First, lets start with Dean's (the creative force behind this CD) song selection. The only legally released Aztec Two Step CDs so far are 1) The first album, 2) See it was like this, 3) 25 years - live show, 4) Of Age, and 5) Days of horses. The studio albums between 1974 thru 1986 have yet to see an official studio release. Now, knowing that most people who would want to pick up a new Aztec Two Step CD, would already have the aforementioned CDs, why in the world would you rehash songs available already. Unfortunately, Dean did not look at this compilation that way. So what we basically have here, is three-quarters of the songs, already available on other CDs.



But that is not be the worst offense. The songs Dean included from the unreleased albums appear to have been duplicated poor masters. So what you have is nice sound quality on the officially "released" songs, while the quality is pretty poor on the "unreleased" songs. It makes for a choppy listening experience (one song full-range, the next almost mono sounding).



What would have made this an outstanding presentation, is if Dean would have just focused on the unreleased material...and if he could have secured the original mastered tapes from the studio. Unfortunately, this is pretty much just a compilation of music, that you could make just as easily on your own computer, using the released Aztec Two Step CDs, mixing it along with album versions of the unreleased stuff."