Search - Paul HASLINGER :: World Without Rules

A wild ride

J Lee Harshbarger | Ypsilanti, MI United States | 05/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""World Without Rules" is a perfect title for this album, as it bends all the "rules" by mixing things together to create something different. While the sounds put it in the World Beat camp for me, it's different from other world beat albums because of its mood. World Beat albums tend to fit into one of the following types:
1) Western dance beats underneath traditional musical sounds from the world, giving these albums a feel of dancing in a club in such countries
2) Party music
3) Ambient-beat kinds of things that are good for meditative moods, background sound, or a kind of club-trance dancingThis album varies in mood, and at times it has that meditative, trance-like quality, but then next thing you know the tempo and mood changes and you're taken on a wild ride. Sometimes this ride gets so wild that it evokes screams. Now when was the last time you heard someone screaming in terror on a World Beat album? Other tribal chants sound frantic, almost making you feel like--if you were in the midst of them--"What's going to happen next? Something scary is going down."The climax of the album is "Monkey Brain Sushi"--very wild and intense. Only 2 1/2 minutes, I wish it was longer! "World Without Rules" and "Desert Diva" are the showcase tunes of this album, seven-minute songs full of emotion and power and even quite danceable."Dismissal Of The Hemisphere" is nearly ambient, fronted by tribal bells and carried by female vocals. The vocals in "Rainmaker's Dream" have a dungeon echo to them, accompanied by bongo drums. "Asian Blue" uses electronically manipulated female vocals for an interesting effect, although it's dragged out too long. I had listened to this album many times before I figured out that the vocals in this song were sampled from the album's opening song. "Urban Source Code" seems a bit out of place on the album--it's jazz music, albeit certainly not mainstream jazz, and it does fit the mood of the album, but I don't think it adds to the album.From ambient to danceable beat, from quiet to powerfully loud, from serene to terrifying, this album runs the gamut but does so in a way that is not at all disjointed. You're taken on a sonic trip on this album that matches its cover's description, "Combustible, cutting edge, avant-world pop.""

Thouroughly enjoyable

derJUBster | 10/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I figure we need another review to balance out the 2 star review below. Definitely a powerful album. I never got into Tangerine Dream that much so I wasn't suspecting anything better from this release. However, to my suprise, I was taken away by the mix of traditional sounds with state of the art electronics. This one is a keeper."

A enjoyable eclectic mix of diverse musical styles

J Lee Harshbarger | 01/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An impressive followup to FUTURE PRIMITIVE, which includes a solid supporting line up including Mark Isham, Nona Hendryx, S'Ange and Loren Nerell. While quite distinct from his music with Tangerine Dream, it gives us insight into the composer's interest in diverse musical styles."