Release Yourself Vol.3 (Mixed By Roger Sanchez) - Various Artists

Advantages: Track selection, genre representation
Disadvantages: Rubbish mixing

...The tracks chosen are fantastic. If you wanted a definitive guide to hard trance and know nothing about the genre then this is a great place to start. The representation is great of the sounds of hard trance and full credit goes out on that point. Most of the good points in my mind are from the track selection to be honest. The mixing is rubbish to say the least. I wouldn't consider this to be a particularly "commercial" mix collection, and therefore I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be a rushed attempt to get a CD put together for money with no thought put into the mixing. How disappointed I was! I don't like to use the word "shoddy" but I feel compelled to on this occasion on the account that anyone with even an hour's mixing experience could do better. The artwork is completely unoriginal also and alone doesn't fill me... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: great mix
Disadvantages: none

.... He was the buzz name for any artist looking for a cool remix joining the ranks of fellow American DJs such as Todd Terry, Roger Sanchez and Erick Morillo. The biggest challenge facing Armand Van Helden for this mix cd was not capturing the NY vibe but it was getting the clearance for the tracks. For DJs this can be such a pain, having to get legal permission to use an artists work on the cd, but it seems to have worked just fine as he's pulled out some of the big guns for this mix. Armand Van Helden gets his mix off to a start by taking time out at the beginning to talk to the listener, a bit unusual. But over a funky electro track he talks in his husky New York accent about what exactly the cd is about. It's only brief but it's great see what he was thinking for this mix. Declaring "Let's get back to that good feeling vibe... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Classic tracks mixed by some of the leading lights in the industry.
Disadvantages: Some of the tracks seem to be space fillers rather than floor fillers.

...Out of the Bonkers series, Bonkers Vol 3 has to be one of the best. 3 CDs containing tracks from the cream of the crop of Hppy Hardcore from 1997. Disc one is mixed by Hixxy, one of the original mixmasters and features some of his own classic tracks including "Together Forever", "Return To Toytown" and "Starry Night". Hardcore die hards will also recognise all time favourites such as Scott Brown in one of his many alter-egos as Q-Tex and the awesome "Power of Love 97". This disc is incredibly happy, bouncy and truly conveys the feeling and the atmosphere of Happy Hardcore in that era. Disc 2 is mixed by Sharkey and the tone gets slighly darker but no less happy as we are transported into the hardcore realm which preceded freeform, Sharkey's own brand of fast, bouncy dance which has made him really stand out from the crowd. Disc 3... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful