Search - James Lavelle :: Gu37: Bangkok - Global Underground

"James said you shoulda gone home. i'm stayin"

J. Davis | Jacksonville, FL | 11/10/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Brroooop. There is no doubt that 6-song arc on disc 2, from tracks 4-9, is DA BOM and worth the $20 I paid for the cd. Knowing what I know now, I might have just purchased those 6 from the MP3 store - the 30-sec clips don't do them justice. The Grindhouse and deep, dark house X-Press 2 tracks for me set this whole disc apart! Brrooop. I'm no Depeche Mode expert, but were they sampled on the "Break in" track by Fergie?



Disc 1 definitely contains more chill-out and experimental tracks. Tracks 8-11 and 13 do try to move somewhere, but they are crudely interrupted by track 12 which explains why this disc never really takes off. Track 16 might just compete for the single worst track in GU discography (after removing NW's abysmal GU24: Reykjavik).



This compilation - James' third for the GU series - definitely seems more erratic than the others, almost as if he were grasping at straws in an attempt to stay relevant in a sea of other dj's bit by the experimental/minimalist bug. However, I do believe this still makes for an overall very interesting compilation with a variety of aural goodies that will provide numerous repetitions without turning stale, which is why I rated it the way I did. It's not all bad. I disagree that these compilations should be 100% danceable, and I do like some experimentation to mix it up a bit. I would have preferred a different track selection,, and based on strength of Romania would have liked another collaboration with DJ Shadow. Several tracks have appeared on other compilations, even his own. The Derrick Carter "Where we at" track from Romania appears again on Disc 1 of this compilation, though a bit differently realized. Life2Live he offered on his MySpace music player. Sorry, the King Unique "Dirty" track . . . not unique to this compilation. You can find back-to-back [better] remixes of this track on Nick Warren's Renaissance: Revelation (2001).



So, if you liked James' other GU releases, or are not above a little chill-out and minimalism thrown in with your danceables, then you should get this entire compilation. Otherwise, just buy tracks 4-9 from disc 2."

Another fantastic James Lavelle GU release

Jesse H. Mellon | San Diego, CA | 09/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's about damn time he did another Global Underground release. Fantastic as always, and gets better after multiple listens."

The latter part of Disc 1 is real solid

E. Magnuson | USA | 08/06/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a fan of James' previous GU outings. I found them dull. Here CD2 is absolutely unbareble except for the final 3 tracks which are pretty wicked. CD 1 starts out a little weird but listenable. Track 5 is quite nice. Tracks 9-16 are what i listen to. Those 8 tracks are worth the purchase and the reason i'm giving 4 stars. To find that many songs in a row that i enjoy and that move me is rare. I wish digweed sounded more like this instead of the awful minimal he's into now. looking forward to Dave seaman's next GU release."