Search - Ltj Bukem :: Earth 4

Not quite up to the typical Good Lookin' standard

Jeremy | Wellington, New Zealand | 12/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hmmm...while I adore the Earth series, indeed consider it the best music series ever, it isn't exactly flawless. Volumes 1 and 3 are amazing - very cool, sophisticated and chilled - 5 star material. By comparison, vol 2 is decidedly mediocre - the songs are just strange basses and drums without all the cruisy jazz harmonies that your typical Bukem fan demands.Thankfully, Earth 4 retains the all-important jazz factor(though not quite as strongly as some might hope), and the whole album definitely has it's own unique character and flavour, which is of course what defines each Earth volume from the others. Vol 4's flavour is a "Latin-Jazz-dance one" - but the "dance" bit is where it trips up slightly. The problem is that the whole album is fairly tedious, and this is mostly because of the heavily overused straight 4/4 house beat. It wouldn't be a problem at all if the there was lots of interesting stuff happening on the harmony/melody side of things, but, as fate would have it, there isn't. If you've listened to the RealPlayer clips, then no doubt your initial impression, like mine, was to be quite blown away. What you don't know (until now) is that the whole of each song REALLY does sound like that 30 sec clip repeated over and over for 6-8 minutes. In particular, the 2 tracks by Artemis, first have you thinking "Hey, this is funky! This could be a great song!" ....and over the course of the remaining 7 mins, the track progresses absolutely nowhere. I may have been quite harsh on old Earth 4, but it's only because I've come to associate GL records with excellent electronic music. Earth 4, all for it's repetitiveness, is a funky album, and I don't regret buying it. It has a seriously cool flavour to it, which alone should at least justify your considering buying this. And if you're a big Earth addict like me, then you should take the plunge and grab it now. Oh yeah, and when you get it, take time to marvel at the AWESOME work of genius that is the box set in which the disc is contained!"

The definition of tropical atmosphere

seb | Cincinnati, OH USA | 05/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Don't let LTJ Bukem's name on the album fool you -- this is not drum n bass. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even classify it as electronic music. Most of the instruments used in the songs are real instruments (guitar, piano, live drums, and even a rainstick) and there is little synth work. I think some of the basslines are digital though. This is latin-jazz sounding stuff, suitable for chill. While it has the dub and downbeat sensibilities that have made artists such as Thievery Corporation and Kruder + Dorfmeister big names in the lounge biz, this cd has a less restricted, more live sound that reflects tall palm trees and deserted beaches better than sweaty lounges.This CD, the fourth in the revered Earth series, is a compilation of tracks from Good Looking Records, original and unmixed. It starts off with the amazing "The Bloc" by Flying Fish (probably the best track on the album) and moves on towards the brilliant casino-esque "The Setup" by K-Scope. Some synth action is brought forth on the drifting "Extensions Of Life" and "Timefields". I loved "Seven Miles High", which brings a new perspective on vocal samples. The vibe gets much more live on Big Bud's heavily atmospheric "Blueberry Muffins" and then the album slows down and closes. This is an album of highs and lows, starting off with some very good tracks, but getting kind of tired towards the end of the album. The vibe is always there from beginning to end, however, and it works a lot more fluent and better than most record label compilations. That said, this album is quite accomplished, both in atmosphere and track value, and should definetly be checked out."