Mostly good, but some very poor inclusions - and it's not ve
Ben Barden | Australia | 07/08/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Beach Angel is the second compilation from Fierce Angel, and the third compilation from Mark Doyle since he left Hed Kandi. This is unmixed, but the cover doesn't indicate this. "Tokyo Disco" was unmixed, and "Tokyo Project: The Collection" was mixed. I don't mind either way, but thought I'd point it out.
Anyway, onto the music.
CD 1 - Full Recline
Some great tracks here, including Cloud "Turning" (great vocals and piano), Tarot & Marbach feat. Dominique Boy "Freeway" (good vocals and melody, great beach feel), Studio Apartment feat. Stephanie Cooke "One True Love" (great vocals and chords but possibly a bit too long), and Clique feat. Bonnie Bailey "Always By My Side" (excellent vocals, chorus is particularly good).
Marks are lost however due to several rather dull and weak tracks: Afromystic "Miracles", Clique feat. Robina "Some kind of wonderful" and Richard Earnshaw "We've Got Joy" are just not quite what we've come to expect from Doyle. Still, this isn't a bad CD, and the beach theme is maintained throughout.
RATING FOR CD 1: 4/5
CD 2 - Upright
Hmm. This is a difficult disc to review. There are some top tunes here, most notably Dab Hands "Do Your Own Thing", Deepsky feat. Jes "Ghost", and Andy Caldwell "Brand New Day". However, these are not what I'd call beach tracks - they're a disco/trance hybrid. Don't get me wrong, they are well worth a listen - and don't be put off by the mention of trance. They are good. Just not really well suited to this collection.
Unfortunately, things get pretty bad in the middle of the CD. The Cuban Brothers "My Love Is Alive" is annoying and sounds cheap, s does Mr Groove and vergas "U Make Me Happy"; whereas Ian Pooley "Balmes" is terrible. Elsewhere, Aya "Sean" is good - but this was featured on Tokyo Project: The Collection - why the repeat here? Oh well, there aren't many other repeats on these first two CDs, I guess.
RATING FOR CD 2: 3/5
CD3 - Back to the Beach
Unlike the first two discs, this is a collection of Mark's "favourite classic tracks". Nothing new here, so I've considered the disc on the quality of the music rather than whether it's new or not.
Most of the tracks are great: Blue Six "Music & Wine", Flower Power "Flower Power", Kaskade "It's You It's Me", Ray Roc feat. Tina Arena "Never", Bonnie Bailey "Ever After", Beth Orton "Central Reservation"... the list goes on. Utterly fantastic.
The lesser tracks are few and far between: Hardsoul "Back Together" isn't bad but it's a bit cheesey; Petalpusher "Surrender" is background music at best; and Solstice "Lovely" is not overly special. But this third disc is still very good indeed.
RATING FOR CD 3: 5/5
OVERALL: Some absolutely stunning tracks are somewhat spoiled by the inclusion of some absolute stinkers. Often, it's a case of mistaken identity, as some trance and disco tracks are included. Not a true beach collection, although the third disc is excellent. RATING: 3/5"
Perfect summer companion
Luiz P. R. Parreiras | 09/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This compilation is just about as good as it gets. 3 CDs packed full with great tunes, starting more laid back, loungy, then growing into a blasting display of funky house, and finally moving on to some great classics of yesteryear. After the very good "Tokyo Disco", Mark Doyle once again proves why he is the master, and this is up to par with the wonderful Beach House 04.04 and 04.03 (I didn't really like BH 04.05 which I thought was a bit of a filler, too loungy and without the typical Doyle edge).
It is rather funny, but I think CD1 is the weaker of the bunch. There are quite a few good tunes here, don't be mistaken. This is music to listen in a sunny morning, when you're starting to sip margaritas and when the sun is shining brightest. My favorites are "One True Love" and "Always by my side", mainly because I love the vocals on both tracks and also because Eric Kupper is the master at making it sound oh-so-groovy. "This Way", "Turning", "Bonafide" and "Don't Let Love Weigh you Down" are also top-notch tracks. The others are ok, not amazing. I'd say this is a 4-star CD. Someone here said "consistent". I agree as this is a very tight group of tracks...
CD 2 is the one. As Mark writes on the sleeve: "takes the tempo up a notch as the third cocktail works its way into the bloodstream". Dab Hands' track is really cool and reminds me a lot of the atmosphere on Fatboy Slim's famous Brighton Beach set, which I love. Deepsky's "Ghost" might be my favorite tune in the whole box, a mellow groover with beautiful vocals and feel. It is followed by Andy Caldwell's "Brand New Day" which is no less amazing, once again great vocals and nice grooving bassline. The presence of "Sean" here puts me off though - it is also on Beach House 04.05 (an year-old record!) and on Mark's Tokyo Project CD1...come on, it is a good track but how many times do I have to buy it? The outputs of The Cuban Brothers and Mr. Grooves & Vergas are rather average for my taste, and then Ian Pooley has a track with nice vocals, followed by a massive tune by Peyton together with Eric Kupper - Peyton hardly ever gets it wrong, especially with Kupper's pianos! The last three tracks on the CD are all really good, "Back to Me" a solid mellow groover, "Changes" and "Devotion" showing the full range of Seamus Haji's skills, with this mix of "Devotion" being way better than the one found on Stereo Sushi 8. All in all, a very good disc, with just a few glitches. This is the one to put on when things start to move in the afternoon and the ladies want to dance...
CD 3 is a very good mix of Mark's former achievements. Being a fan of the Beach House series, I own every one of these tracks, but it is a pleasure to listen to them one more time, in a very thoughtful sequence. The only one I'm not really keen on here is "Flower Power", but that's just me - I find it dull and repetitive. My favorites are the great "Ever After" (Bonnie Bailey is something else), "Never" by Ray Roc with the great bassline and gorgeous vocals, the very funky and soulful "Back Together" and the amazingly beautiful "Central Reservation" by Beth Orton. If there were 6 stars, i'd give this CD all of them. If you want to know what the summer feels like, this is the disc...
overall a very good output by the Fierce Angels, as my title says, this is a perfect companion for a hot summer. Mark seems to have found his rhythm and groove once again, let's hope he keeps going like this."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1