Search - Various Artists :: Altered States 2

Excellent: balancing mainstream, credible, and accessible

Richard Diaz | 12/07/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's absolutely so much proggish/house/trance flooding the market that listeners can just about spend their music money exclusively on two-disc sets and remain satisfied. Perhaps it's the Global Underground standard set a few years ago; regardless, we now get more bang for the buck than ever before, if increasingly faced with track fillers and DJ vanity tracks as bi-product. Altered States 2 shows Blissproductions not only avoiding these missteps, but getting a much better jump on the hottest tunes than Volume 1.Jon Cowan and Mike Hiratzka split DJ duties. Perhaps not being household names prompted these two to work harder, as they've delivered more quality music with less padding than a lot of big releases in 2001. Cowan sifts through what could be called progressive pop if you set aside preconceived notions of inherently shallow music. Commercial without condescending, these eleven tracks offer hooks, girly vocals, and immediately enjoyable rhythms. There's some bite as well, with Freeloader's grinding funk stomp "Freekwency" and Superchumbo's big room moment "The Revolution." Mike Hiratzka's work offers the slower, more savory experience within a seamless mix. Jimmy Van M's fantastic quasi-breaks number "Forget Time" finally reaches an American compilation , while James Holden once again displays perhaps the best ear for melody today, ghostly strains of "Solstice" wrapping around a bass throb. Nods as well to the ST mix of "Papua New Guinea" that certainly pushes the buttons marked "Big" "Epic" and "Tune", and to melancholy closing number "Faith Delivers." Each disc has one song veering perhaps too fluffy (Tilt, Silicon Soul) or clubby (Mutiny UK, Major North). Regardless, Altered States 2 still offers an excellent example of balancing mainstream, credible, and accessible moments."

An excellent cd!

Matthew Coulthard | Wisconsin | 02/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I originally heard the track headstrong in one of my friends cars who lives out of state. He told me it was "altered states". After searching and searching and searching I finally found the cds.



Needless to say the entire cd is as breathtaking as Headstrong (which btw is my favorite track on these cds). These two cds combined are by far one of my favorite trance/progressive dance cds I have ever heard. The track selection combined with the mixing makes this cd A must have.



I want to be very clear I am generally not a huge fan of trance, exspecially sissy vocal trance. This cd however is far from "sissy" and I just cant get enough of it."

Great Music

Matthew Coulthard | 12/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fantastic double CD--both CDs are excellent. The music is great and the mixing is superb. It captures the big hall atmosphere and right now is my favorite dance/trance selection."