Search - 4 Strings :: Main Line

Trance--a sound that's showing its age

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 11/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to the new 4 Strings, one is bound to feel like they've been catapulted back to 2002. Unlike some other commercial trance artists, like Lasgo and DJ Sammy, 4 Strings has really brought nothing new to the table, and even for those of us who still love the swelling gorgeous vocal/synth riff sounds of Ian Van Dahl and others from 3 or 4 years ago, we don't really get much of that here. The biggest bonus for me personally was the inclusion of Tina Cousins on two tracks--even if they don't compare to the more electro/retro house feel of some of the tracks on her second CD Mastermind. Plus, you get a lot of male vocal (I know many don't like that) and several long instrumentals. One of the strongest tracks on here is the recycled but remixed 4 strings classic "Take Me Away", which sounds better than ever in this new version. Here's the breakdown:



1. Desire (7 minute instrumental trance--some nice string chords and build ups, but doesn't really sweep you away)

2. Sunrise (the first single from the CD, has great female vocals, but sounds like it could have been on a Dance Dance Revolution game 3 years ago)

3. Diamond (great vocals by Tina Cousins, good driving beat and riff. Sounds like the melody was stolen from Delerium's "Silence" at times--but that's not a bad thing)

4. Mainline (8 minute and 30 second instrumental, same thing as track 1. Some good strings and build up, but doesn't quite move your soul)

5. Curious (Maybe they should have done the whole CD with Tina Cousins. Great vocal and melody. More of a commercial hard house sound than trance)

6. Hurricane (Gorgeous mellow instrumental trance track, slightly longer than 3 minutes)

7. Take Me Away Ron Van Den Beuken Edit (all I can say is--why didn't they put the Unedited version on here!)

8. Colorblind (slammin female vocal trance)

9. In Your Room (more of the same, but not as strong as track 8)

10. Breathing in Room (male vocal. More of an electro house song than trance--sort of like recent Ferry Corsten. Good song if you can accept that it isn't trance or female vocal)

11. Treasure Box (7 minute Darude ripoff. Really dated)

12. Silmarillia (4 strings 2006 remix) (hard trance instrumental. Eh)

13. Madness (hard, moody trance instrumental, almost 6 minutes long. Strong but dark)

14. Waiting (another catchy male vocal electro tune)

15. Reach Out (Really dated female vocal trance without much kick. Sounds like early Fragma)



I guess there's a little something here to please everyone: excessive instrumental trance, a few strong female vocal tracks, two awesome Tina Cousins gems, and a few male electro tracks. Definitely worth the purchase if your tastes are eclectic and you're not looking for large amounts of one sound."

Mainline isn't mainstream

J. P. Torres | plano, illinois | 11/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ok guys so i got the cd and it's definitely not that bad. i don't know which vocalist is the girl on the cover but the cd does have more vocal songs then i thought it would. here's the breakdown



1. desire: everyone has heard the single already. it's a very good instrumental track. very catchy.

2. sunrise: they did end up using the vocal version so it's sad to hear the final song that 4 strings did with vanessa but anyways, we all know this song. very awesome track!

3. diamonds: ok, here's the deal. the song started and i realised that i had heard the song before. turns out that diamonds is the vocal version of jewel. it''s really good. the lyrics are good but the only thing is that the song is shorter then jewel was. maybe they couldn't find enough lyrics for the whole thing. but it's a great track. would be good if they re-released it as diamonds since they already did as the instrumental song jewel

4. mainline: the newest single. it's instrumental and very good song. the synths are great

5.curious: the other song done by tina cousins, it's a slower paced song. their are no ballads on the cd but the beat is somewhat housey.kind of like the beats used for ivd inspiration but better.

6. hurricane: another instrumental track. very trancey but they shortened it and cut it off at a weird time so you get the feeling that you didnt get the whole thing. good song though

7. take me away 2006: this is a very good and hard version of the classic hit. they used the vocals of vanessa again and it's a good way to pay tribute to our lost singer!

8. colorblind: this is a very dark sounding song. the synths are awesome, and the vocals and lyrics are well done. very good song. could be a single

9. in your room: another vocal track, it's alright. not great but it's pretty good. the dance sound isn't that bad at all.

10. breathing new air. one of the male vocal tracks, jan loechel isnt said to sing this song but the lyrics were done by a guy names sandor so maybe it's sandor singing. it's an alright song. nothing big like euphoric eyes or love is blind

11. treasure box: an instrumental song, very nice, and trancey.

12. silmarillia: i've never heard this song before so why it's a 4 strings remix is beyond me. maybe theirs something i dont know that someone else can fill me in on. but it's an instrumental song. very cool effects and very nice sound.

13. madness!: instrumental song, it's very good but nothing out of the ordinary. it's an alright song though

14. waiting: the second male vocal song done by jan loechel, it's ok. it does sound pretty good like euphoric eyes but again it's nothing really special

15. reach out: a vocal song, it's alright. nothing big but it's a good song.



overall i think the cd is good. there are a lot of instrumental tracks which is fine. it's a good even balance. there are no ballads or slow poppy sounding songs. nothing but dance. they try their hand in harder and not so hard dance but it's a good effort! this is nothing like beleive which is my favorite cd of theirs, but it's definitely sounds like a turn it around sequel. much harder though then turn it around, the only song that sounds like past 4 strings songs like beleive is sunrise. the other songs sound like either something new or like something fromk turn it around only better.

very good cd. worth the buy."

Still a Great Sound

Cory T. Shaeffer | Pittsburgh | 01/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The best 4 Strings album to date is "Believe." It came out back in the heyday for trance-pop, back in 2002. That album was among the best vocal trance albums ever, so I will not judge this new CD in comparison to that one. "Main Line" is good in its own right, and it is much better than the sophomore album "Turn it Around." As a matter of fact, I think this trance-pop sound is coming back around as hip-hop is fading out. And while I agree that "Main Line" sounds like it could have been released a few years ago, this is not a bad thing, either, because pop music has definately gone retro. Being a former DJ myself, I have seen many trends come and go, and this CD sounds similar to Ian Van Dahl/Alice Deejay at times. The two tracks sung by Tina Cousins are a nice addition as well. Also, the revamped version of "Take Me Away" sounds better than ever. I found this album to be very enjoyable, and really anyone who is into this type of music should also. Worth every penny."