Search - Deep Forest :: Music Detected (Chi)

A couple gems surrounded by muzak

Michael Meyerhofer | USA | 11/28/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Let me state at the outset that Deep Forest's first album made a huge, positive impact on me. As strange as this may sound, it really inspired me in high school to develop a wider appreciation for the music of foreign cultures and, by association, foreign cultures themselves. In fact, I've played that album for friends of mine from all walks of life, from blue collar to academic, and without exception, all have seemed to really enjoy it. Somehow, Deep Forest managed with that first album to connect with people in an intellectual and visceral way.



Deep Forest's second album, while a bit different and maybe not as tight, grew on me over time. Every album since, though, has been progressively worse--thus, "Music Detected" is so far the worst of the bunch.



Frankly, all you have to do is listen to the laughably awful muzak that is "Computer Machine" (sadly indicative of most of this album) and you'll understand why Deep Forest's "Music Detected" is one of the WORST new age-y albums ever. And at a time when the rare good stuff is buried under a vapid avalanche of John Tesh and Yanni, that's sayin' something.



I hate to be the first one to point out that the emperor has no clothes, but a cold wind is blowing through said emperor's legs, the shadow is burned on the wall, and Deep Forest is what it is--an extremely mediocre studio group of sound-mixers who got lucky on their first couple albums, and have been suffering from a musical identity crisis ever since.



"Music Detected" swings wildly from new age to muzak to hard rock sprinkled with arbitrary foreign yodeling without even the simple, ambient quality present even in, say, Enigma's weaker songs. The ONLY exceptions are "Yuki's Song" and "Will You Be Ready", which show a bit more care and depth and are actually decent. At least compared to the rest of the muzak. Perhaps two decent songs on an album would be enough to pass, were this anyone else, but I guess I'm still holding out a fading hope that Deep Forest is capable of more than this."

Strange and compelling change of direction for Deep Forest

Nathan Beauchamp | Oak Park, IL USA | 01/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is certainly not an album that many people have heard of (much less the band Deep Forest!). I've owned it for a number of years and enjoyed it quite a bit, and I was very surprised to see how few reviews exist for MUSIC DETECTED.



I've been a fan of Deep Forest for many years, and have enjoyed listening as their style shifted from the electro influenced chill (infused with the overlay of indigenous language) of Deep Forest to the African centric rhythm and beats of Comparsa. In Music Detected, there is an Asian quality to some of the tracks, and especially the vocals.



This album is a romp through music styles with dance beats commingling with classical lyric construction. It is joyful, melancholy, teeming with the energy that Deep Forest has always been able to capture in their music. The songs might be dissimilar to their previous offering in their use of heavy beats and English lyrics, but they still convey the same power and authenticity of their older albums.



This import release contains additional songs that are not found on the American release which include:



11. In The Evening

12. Dignity (feat. Beverly Jo Scott)



Stand out tracks include:



Soul Elevator

Computer Machine

Beauty In Your Eyes

Will You Be Ready



A fun, interesting, and surprisingly danceable album, MUSIC DETECTED makes me hungry for a new Deep Forest album to settle in to. Perhaps soon."