I will start by saying that this is a good album. None of the ISoS volumes have been let-downs so far. The first one I listened to was ISoS5, which was stunning. I don't think any of the others have quite reached the heights of that one yet.
Richard Durand, a well-established artist in the trance world, was always likely to be a decent choice, and so it has proved. The one good thing about RD is that he has been ambitious with this song selection - one minute you get a smooth spherical number, followed shortly by a much chunkier housier or trancier number. For that I admire him, as for many like myself, this may be one of the first times you will have listened to a RD compilation with an expectant ear.
However, the fact is simple - whilst the songs are good and there are no bad tracks on either album, none quite reach the heights as songs such as Empty Streets, Everything Matters, Genesis and Helsinki Scorchin' on volume 5 (for example). My favourite tracks on this album are usually the feel good ones, such as The Violet Hour or Something for the Pain. The rest are a little bland in parts, in my opinion. This may not be the fault of RD of course, he can only mix what he deems is an appropriate genre for the ISoS brand.
I recently wrote a scathing review on Tiesto's latest new-songs album Kaleidoscope, but I did make the point that his ISoS series has been excellent. The mixing on each album was, as you would expect, fantastic and I think you can tell that this latest version is not quite up to the same standard. RD was always had big shoes to fill, so perhaps the 3-stars is harsh for this reason. But nevertheless, I feel the quality that Tiesto gave to us is not quite there with this latest album. I hope Tiesto hasn't abandoned the idea of making further ISoS albums to pursue his commercial career!
All in all, it's a decent album. No better than that, but no worse, which I think is where credit to RD must be given. He has had to take the rein of a Tiesto brand and turn it into his own, so given the weight on his shoulders, he's made a good start.