Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good stand-alone mix. but poor when compared to Vol.'s 1&2, 6 July 2002
I have had the first two volumes of the Northern Exposure series for quite some time now - Northern Exposure is simply the best mixed compilation ever and nobody and nothing I shouldn't think will ever change my opinion of this; it is an epic, intelligent, moving journey through ambient breakbeat house right the way to (dare I say it) trance. Northern Exposure 2 is also superb, not quite up to the standard of the first installment but still a wholly original and memorable experience to listen to.For some reason I had never bothered getting 'Expeditions', I suppose this was probably due to the fact that it was on a different label from the first 2 albums (INCredible as opposed to Ministry Of Sound) but a few weeks ago I thought that with Sasha & John Digweed (The world's 2 finest DJ's in my opinion) behind the decks I would be in for some gourmet mixing. The first dissapointment came upon looking at the tracklisting - gone are the variety of tracks from all over the House/Techno/Trance spectrum and instead we get a slightly formulaic sprinkling of prog. trance with little deviation from this field. This is not to say that there are no magical moments on the compilation. The Light's 'Expand The Room' is awesome as is the ethereal trance of Sasha's Orbital inspired 'Belfunk'. Over on disc 2 trance-god Oliver Lieb's remix of Humate's 'Love Stimulatiom' does the business and Matt Dareys 'Tekara' Remix of Mike Koglin's Depech Mode - esqe 'The Silence' makes for a brilliant finish, but I feel there are a few weak track choices. Secondly (and this really gets me) we have the 'sing-by-numbers' trance vocals (cheesy vocals are what took trance from a respectable techno/house hybrid to throw-away europop) as exhibited on Delerium's 'Silence' (wisely excluded form the Ultra US release - McLachlan's vocals are comparable only to root canal surgery in my opinion) The shallow 'Lost Without You' by Jayn Hanna also fails to impress. It would be wrong to say that the previous two albums were wholly instrumental, rather any use of vocals was done in a subtle, intelligent way (I give you Morgan King's 'I Am Free' as a prime example). Lastly the mixing (whilst technically perfect as is to be expected) lacks the magic of previous albums. In the past you would be glancing at the CD player to see if one track had ended and another started, now you can count them right to the end. There is also a rather clumsy edit in Space Manoeuvres' 'Stage One' where a second mix of the track is simply cut into a breakdown of the first - a few seconds of mixing would have sounded better. I hope I have not put anyone off buying this. As a mix compilation it is good if not very good. It's just not good by Sasha & Digweed's standards and is not worthy of being a Northern Exposure album. Call it Communicate -1 or something.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sounding a bit rushed, but a worthy Expedition, 3 Feb 2009
The cover say's it all. We should be in for another atmospheric journey, and with the rope symbol signifying coasts, docks marina and more, did Sasha and Digweed really deliver the fluid album we expected?
Contrary to popular belief, each CD of the Northern Exposure series is not mixed by just Sasha or Digweed - each DJ takes a turn mixing the disc. This is perhaps more prevalent on Expeditions, because whereas N.E (for short) 1 and 2 had a definitive Sasha and Digweed-esque sound to each disc, both discs on this album sound very similar, scrapping the idea of a downtempo/breaks disc, and trance disc.
Expeditions is made up mainly progressive trance and a handful of breaks tracks. The more straightforward layout gives this album a definite rush and energy boost in comparison to it's predecessors. 'Tyrantanic' and 'Space Manoeuvres' start Expeditions in excellent atmospheric fashion, yet some may believe this doesn't last. Fillers such as the now over-played 'Silence' by Delerium seem daft in choice, given the two DJ's relied so much more on older material for their previous albums than this. Yet the inclusion of some vocal trance makes a bright change - again, some would argue that vocal trance in cheesy. I would differ in opinion - We are living in a Dance age where any vocals are seen as cheesy, and the only way "not" to be cheesy is to have 1 hour 20 minutes of nothing more than a kick-drum and bleep. Not my cup of tea, sorry.
Disc 2 is a much better affair, where the songs are not only placed better, but are feel more alive to the Expeditions sound. 'Waters of Jericho' and 'Seaside Atmosphere' make fantastic summery tracks, as the CD progresses into a more techier, harder affair.
My main problem with this album is that it just feels rushed. Their are times when the character and essence of what we would expect from 'Expeditions' really pushes through, typically through Sasha and Digweed's use of synaesthesia (the ability to match sound-to-colour/words). But it's not consistent enough, compared to their previous 2 outings whereby each track felt destined for their album.
As a previous reviewer perfectly summed up, this really is a better 'stand-alone' album, and for it to have been the perfect Expeditions addition to the series, better track composition and mixing is in definite order. If you were a fan of the previous two albums, my best advice is not to compare it too much. It's important to remember more tracks 'of the time' were used on Expeditions from 1998/99, compared to N.E 1 which was built up more from early 1990's songs.
Best Track: Lost Without You (Cheesy to some, atmospheric and lush to others)
Skip-Track: Mess With Da Bull (You can tell by the title it's just not 'right' for this series...)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
incredible, 10 May 2005
These guys are simply...INCREDIBLE. Go for this cd and also buy the first release. As one of the reviewers said, they're making the future of progressive house music. They capture your mind with the first track and take you to a long journey through the top of the steep mountains where you discover the absolute pleasure of music. They are the best dj's of this universe, especially Sasha! please come to London, listen to him in Fabric and realise what I mean!!!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Sasha
~ John Digweed
~ Sasha
See all 11 tracks on this disc
