On the sleeve notes for this CD it say this collection is the third annual compilation on the Anjunadeep imprint - well, it seems as though they're knocking them out a bit quicker than that, but it could just be that the quality of the music is so good that a "fix" of it holds my attention for a lot longer than anything else out there.
After just a few listens, there don't seem to be the obvious tracks that shout "Tune!" as on the previous two outings - no Gold Rush, Murder Weapon, Disco Belle or DNA, for example - and whether the seamlessness of the mixes is down to a more homogenous pool of available material or even slicker mixing by Jaytech and James Grant is a moot point.
This time round, I think it's the first CD - mixed by James Grant - that has the edge (by quite some distance for me), as it really builds up into a concentrated pitch of just breathtaking tracks towards its climax - Soundprank, Paul Keeley [STUNNING - my pick of the bunch], Komytea, and Spooky all serving up the goods (and James Grant's inclusion of the excellent Sasha Involver mix of Belong works even better in this context - in fact, with a new bouncy bassline courtesy of Prankster, it jumps right out at you). Interestingly, JG's done here with Underworld what he did with BT's Flaming June on Anjunadeep 02 - tweaking Two Months Off to revive it for a deeper vibe. And CD1 is so expertly mixed that I glanced at my CD player at one point to find it was already on to track 5, rather than the expected track 3.
I was a little skeptical that rebooting By All Means (by Boom Jinx and Andrew Bayer) might seem a bit premature, but not only is the mighty Solarity's reworking very different from the original (oh, how I'm praying for an artist album release by Solarity), but I've a feeling it's going to be one of those tracks that reveals more with each listen.
This might be the case with the whole of Jaytech's second disc, so I'll just keep having to plug away with it. It certainly seems to have a lot more of an 80s vibe in places - quite an "analogue" sort of a sound and, while there are a few moments to keep the house-heads happy, I'm not sure it packs enough energy for the (current) floor. Although, having said that, I daresay Jaytech knows better, and surely everyone's fond of Japanese Schoolgirls - as well as his own cut, Djembe ;o)
Whatever - on an iPod or at home it's still great.