Search - Various Artists, Ministry of Sound, mixed by Judge Jules :: Trance Nation Anthems

You'll get what you expect...

C. Bear | Arlington, MA USA | 01/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Let's start off by saying who this isn't for. It's not for the person who hates electronic dance music, and it's not for the person who's looking for something new. You've heard it all before.



So you've heard it all before. This being a "best-of" sort of deal, that's a good thing. Jules picked a lot of solid tunes for this set. They've either got serious staying power, or they're overrated tunes. (I think there are some underrated cuts here too, so props for that.) It's definitely "best-of".



So let's talk about whether you want a copy of this or not. When I first saw the price of ~$35, I knew I didn't want it. Now that it's $20 on the street, I sprung for a copy. If you buy it, you'll get 50 songs on 3 discs. Seeing as MoS can cram 63 songs into that kind of compilation, I have to say it's very refreshing to have full-length cuts. Yay! And I'd say 40 out of the 50 songs should be in your collection. So that's good too.



Now let's talk about the down side. There are, frankly, a flood of wonderful "best-of" CDs on the market, so you've got lots to choose from. I already owned many of these tunes, from CDs of years gone by. If you've got Ferry Corsten's original "Trance Nation" from MoS, you've got a good start on collecting the trance tunes herein. If you want "Love Shy" by Kristin Blonde, I think that "Club 2K Volume 2" has the ultimate version. So I'm saying that, given current prices, you might collect the older CDs and like them better.



So, given the oodles of compilatons available (both old and new), what do I have against this one to give it only four stars? The answer is Judge Jules. Many people rag on his "brash" style. Now it's my turn! His style is very appropriate for "Trance Nation Harder" and "Trance Nation Electric", both of which are worth your while. However, to me, classic trance is dominated by purity of sound and technical excellence. Jules' style has two flaws here. He'll mix songs that are out of pitch with each other, creating a dissonance I can't stand. He also has no regard for a flowing baseline. What I want to hear in bass is "boom, boom, boom" the whole way through. The way Jules mixes, you get "boom, boom, BOOM!, flup, Floom!, blup, bloom, boom". Only during the transitions, though, of course. Since other compilations mix trance with more technical mastery, I like them better. That may just be my opinion. Form your own!"

You must buy this!

Josh Streamer | The Cape, MA USA | 04/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is definitely the best trance collection I own, and if you don't own it, then that MUST change. Seriously. Buy this or you will live to regret it. Anyway. If you want some quick advice then here are 3 reasons for buying this 3-cd set:(CD1) System F - Out Of The Blue
(CD2) Kristine Blond - Love Shy
(CD3) Energy 52 - Café Del MarThose are clearly the 3 standout tracks throughout the whole collection, even though there are loads more (Pulp Victim - The World; Matt Darey & Marcella Woods - Liberation / Beautiful; Chicane - Saltwater; Serial Diva - Pearl River; Lustral - Everyime...). The mixing is very good and all the selections except for about one or two (a couple weak spots towards the end of CD1), but other than that, this 3-cd box set is PERFECT! I recommend it for anyone, trance fan or not."