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DJ PagesPositiva
Essential Club Anthems
Essential Club Anthems -
Track Listing
Disk 1I Found You - Axwell |
 |
Disk 2Tocas Miracle - Fragma |
Disk 3As The Rush Comes - Motorcycle |
Brief Review
Positiva's new album 'Essential Club Anthems' features a nice blend of trance and house to digest with many of the tracks boasting recent chart success or labelled as classics. The album has some very obvious flaws including different remixes of the same song slapped on, too many CDs in the market attempting the same thing Positiva are doing and way too many filler tracks. Don't expect anything special from this CD as chances are you will have a lot of these songs already!
Full Review
'Essential Club Anthems' almost lives up to its name with a mixture of trance and house packed on a 3 CD set. Although this CD set may be worth the money, chances are you've got a lot of these tracks already.
The first disk kicks off with arguably the best song of 2007, 'I found you'. The lyrics are a great addition to this track before it smashes into a catchy electro bassline. An excellent song to start the CD off with.
'Flashdance' is, in my opinion, one of the best tracks Deep Dish have ever composed. The bassline is excellent and the lyrics borderline this track between being commercial and staying true to house roots. The Paul Rincon remix here boosts the quality of the track further before progressing into more vocal house quality with 'Flawless'.
Mark Brown's 'The Journey Continues' acts more as a filler in my opinion than an essential club anthem and couldn't have ended sooner.
The next 4 tracks are arguably the best vocal house tracks from the past decade. 'Groovejet', 'Lola's Theme', 'Make Luv' and 'You Got The Love' have all had chart places and although these songs have been heard hundreds of times before, still stay true to the title of the album.
Unfortunately, the quality of the first disk then dips slightly for the duration of the first disk as the vocal house continues with 'Dove'. Although not as well-known as the previous 4 tracks, is still a good track and the vocals add to the overall quality of the track during the chorus.
'Alright' by Red Carpet is one of my favourite classic vocal house tracks. The song never fails to get people dancing and the piano tones work so well with the vocals. This track is a gem and if you haven't got this track I strongly recommend getting hold of a copy. This is one of those songs that you really must have!
The next track, 'Everybody be somebody' relies far too heavily on the backup vocals almost shouting the title of the song which makes this track more annoying than catchy. The female vocals are far too mellow and just sound odd next to the uplifting bassline and groove in the background.
A poor remix of 'I Like To Move it' follows the annoying vocal tones of 'Everybody Be Somebody' before 'The Bomb' hits the sound system. The jazz-heavy chorus helps elevate this song beyond the average groove laid down in the background. The vocals do nothing to help this track and in my opinion it would be better without them.
The gorgeous vocals of 'Reach' are a welcome change from the mediocre slump of the previous few tracks and is in my opinion a definately must-have as a warm-up track. The radio edit is slightly disappointing but the track in itself is very good.
'Always and Forever' suffers from, in my opinion, a poor remix by Bob Sinclair which doesn't captivate the fun, bouncy feel of the original which is disappointing for a track that should have reached the charts last year.
After the house classic 'Shine', another classic 'Counting Down The Days' is another must-have track. The progressive chord structure is an excellent addition to a vocal-heavy track and the breakdown is top-notch. The brass instruments used in the synth line just adds to quality of this song. This is most-definately an essential club anthem!
For some reason, 'Rock ya Body (mic check 1,2)' has crept onto this album with a house remix. At first glance this song shouldn't be placed on a house and trance classic CD but the remix is pleasantly refreshing and although still featuring the repetitive vocals, the revamped bassline and synth are a welcome change here and should help to add some uniqueness to this track.
'Everytime I See her' ends the first disk with more vocal house before taking a turn into an interesting mix of trance and recent house gems.
'Toca's Miracle' is the latest trance classic to feature a brand new remix and although not quite as uplifting as the original, is still a good addition to the CD.
The vocal trance continues with 'Need To Feel Loved', a pretty mediocre track considering the majority of the tracks on this CD being classics. It's still a good track though which is followed by, in my opinion, a track that doesn't belong on this 2nd disk, 'Proper Education'. The song is completely misplaced and belongs with the vocal house evident on the first disk. The first disk was predominantly filled with chart vocal house and this song should, in my opinion, be placed somewhere on the first disk.
'De Niro' then blasts onto the stereo with an interesting cross between house and trance. The song is difficult to define with the almost foreign-sounding synth line and progressive bassline filling the speakers. This song also feels slightly out of place with a completely different feel to it compared to the rest of the album.
The progression from House to Trance is the most noticeable part of this CD and is definately the highlight for me. 'In Love With You' is a commercial trance anthem with beautiful vocals and a trademark 'big-room' synth line that works perfectly here.
Another foreign anthem hits the speaker with 'Gia' before the CD twists into one of Ferry Corsten's best songs to date, 'Junk'. The rap vocals are perfectly placed but the D. Ramirez mix is nowhere near as effective as the original and brings the overall quality of this song down.
'The Other Side' then hits the speaker with a trademark classic Van Dyk anthem with chilling vocals and a driving rhythm and pounding bass.
'Musak' and 'C'Mon Lady' both feel like fillers here and the progressive rhythms don't help to elevate you. These songs are, in my opinion, two of the worst on this CD which is then followed by the classic anthem 'I Fell In Love With The DJ' with mediocre vocals but a pounding bassline, helping to lift this song slightly.
Arguably one of the best songs on the CD then bursts onto the stereo in impressive fashion. 'The Storm' is an excellent trance anthem with a wicked synth line and an equally impressive bassline. This is one of the best tracks on all 3 CDs and is a must-have!
'Rock Your Body Rock', 'Seven Days and One Week', 'Storm' and 'Nightmare' need little introduction. The classic trance anthems are evident everywhere on all classic CDs and club anthem CDs so there's no surprise that they've been thrown on here.
The CD then takes a turn into drum and bass with 'Circles'. A chilled drum and bass track with vocal snippets and a structured chord pattern. I'm not a big Drum and Bass fan and found myself skipping this track.
Shy FX's vocal brilliance then shines with a classic Drum and Bass track that's shaken dancefloors worldwide. 'Shake Your Body' is a brilliant Drum and Bass track that never fails to fill a dancefloor. One of the better songs on a mixed CD full of classics and filler tracks.
The 2nd disk then ends with a poor remix of 'You Got The Love' which already features on the first disk.
The 3rd disk then begins with a unique blend of classic and recent club anthems, starting with 'As The Rush Comes', a chillingly beautiful classic trance anthem with a wicked bassline and excellent vocals.
A poor remix of 'Anthem' then follows which has been lighting up trance dancefloors worldwide with this masterpiece from Filo and Peri. An excellent track from these guys who definately deliver on the goods with this track. The radio edit, as mentioned, is disappointing but the vocals and the guitar bassline remain. This is definately a must-have track!
The classic bouncy euphoric trance anthem 'La' then smashes onto the speakers with an excellent synth line. This is then followed by 'Ordinary World', a trance remix of the pop tune. This song has undergone many remixes into different genres but in my opinion the trance mix is a touch classier than the other mixes.
Van Buuren once again delivers an amazing remix of 'Janeiro'. A wicked synth line and gorgeous vocals mixed with the genius touch of Armin Van Buuren make this one of the best tracks on the 3rd disk by far.
'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' is another trance anthem that hasn't had much airtime. The bassline reminds me of a clubland anthem but the trance synth and breakdown are excellent and add to the overall quality of the track.
Another trance classic 'Carte Blanche' then hits the speakers. Not much is needed to say about this track, the music speaks for itself and any trance fan will be well aware of the excellence surrounding this track.
'I Don't Wanna Lose My Way' is another trance classic with gorgeous vocals and an excellent synth line accompanied by a wicked breakdown. Although quite old, the tune is still a gem in its own right and deserves to be here as an essential club anthem.
After the bouncy 'Bellissima', Paul Van Dyk's 'Nothing But You' hits the speakers with a wicked synth line and a chilled trance anthem from the 2007 Number 1 DJ in the world. The song is an excellent track and isn't featured on many classic CDs which is surprising considering the quality in this track.
'1998' receives a good remix by Paul Van Dyk to lift the quality of an already established classic tune before moving into commercial dance/clubland territory with 'Something'. The synth line is unique and the instruments are top notch. The lyrics add to the quality of this track and it remains one of my favourite clubland tracks of all time.
'On The Move' is the first trance/commercial dance tune I ever heard and I have fond memories of this tune. The bouncy melody and excellent chord structure enhances the overall quality of the track.
'Protect Your Mind' is a pleasantly refreshing song, taking the main theme from Braveheart and turning it into a trance anthem. Although this has been featured many times before, it's still nice to hear this track.
The classic trance anthem 'Ayla' receives a mediocre remix before diving into yet another mix of 'Tocas Miracle'. A good tune but the idea to place it twice on the 3 CD set, like 'You Got The Love', is debateable and arguably pushes the overall quality of the CD down.
The CD then turns back to commercial dance for the mediocre track 'Fix Me'. 'Passion' uses a weird synth but overall the quality of the track is disappointing before the 3rd disk ends with an excellent track 'The Nighttrain'. The frantic pace of the track is evident through the bassline and arguably is one of the best house tracks on the 3 CD set.
Overall, the 3 CD set is a nice change from most classic CDs with the composers obviously trying something different with this. The trouble is, too many of these tracks act either as fillers or some songs have been placed twice throughout the CD. The 3rd CD is arguably the best CD of the bunch with some truly memorable and awesome anthems. If you're looking for the freshest and newest club anthems, this album isn't for you. However, if you're looking for all your classic tunes on one album, I can't recommend these CDs enough!
