Severely abridged, but respectable, chillout roundup
Richard Diaz | 12/07/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It's all gone Chillout, eh? Just look at the big heaping flood of it out there. We're not - quite - at "Now That's What I Call Chill!" pap saturation levels yet, but when big box comps such as Chillout Forever start appearing the time must be drawing near.Yet this budget collection manages to do several things right, especially at that price. More than a few exclusives, some tucked away discoveries, a couple of flashbacks for older folk...too bad they hacked and abridged the whole lot into mostly three minute chunks, all unmixed. The hits are there, at least. Disc 1, discounting a Fatboy Slim droning junker and the original Schiller "Ruhe", swings through breezy house pop with aplomb. Royksopp's wonderful quirk-folk "Eple" leads the charge, skittering chords and bleep patterns playing like Boards of Canada at the beach. Toss in Midfield General's springy soul ("Reach Up") and Hybrid's sweeping strings in a beat-free "Finished Symphony" and you have the best record of the lot. Disc 2 covers more smoked out, downbeat material with rap and spoken samples about. Any rewards are held till the end: a DJ Food & Ashley Beedle collaboration, followed with swathed in sunshine "Exploration" courtesy of The Karminsky Experience Inc as the true nugget to treasure. Disc 3 works best by forging ambient soundscapes that aren't afraid to pack a guitar along. Fila Brazilla (at, gasp, nine minutes!), Underworld, and a severely edited Future Sound of London "Papua new Guinea" all go aces. *Note the tracks included in Amazon's posting are correct, but appear in a bit different order."