Customer Reviews

DJ Kicks

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fans of harder techno may like this energetic mix cd, but fans of Craig may be disappointed. From a man known for his electicism and sophisticated style, this cd is surprisingly uniform and "banging." Look instead towards Craig's excellent compilation cds: the elegant "Designer Music" and the more get-down "All Access." Both of these are lots of fun for enthusiasts and the uninitiated alike.

This would probably be my first introduction to `Carl Craig', and like the finest of the established Detroit Techno artists, his set is a steady progression of manipulating sound, and creating mood, as opposed to hands in the air E-generation.....this is music for the more (Dare I say it??) discerning listener, with Carl working little by little, building on his stable foundations to shift through various states of musically diversity without sudden shifts in tempo. Starting off with mostly sublime percussion tracks, it all hits a peak with the tremendous "Crazy Dream (reload mix)", leading perfectly into "I2I"....and never allowing any weak tracks to disturb the flow, before half through the album moving smoothly into a drum heavy sequence of tracks, where astounding drum programming skills take effect, to create pulsating Drum loops that almost certainly prompt simultaneous head nodding....but the end of the album, Carl's so blissfully aware he's captured the listeners attention, that his last track is a 9 minute epic made purely from samples of the previous tracks, and it's at this point, that you realise that this release will get regular playing time.

So Mr. Techno Critic from San Fran, tell me if you even know what techno music is, or if you've ever even heard of Transmat records. I live near Detroit and I know how influential and talented Carl Craig is. This is a good techno album- not great, but with all due respect good.

Ok, so I was introduced to the DJ Kicks series through Kruder & Dorfmeister and Thievery Corporation...from there I wandered on to get Erlend Oye's and Kid Loco's additions to the series. All were downtempo, and excellent.

This is not downtempo. It reminds me of raving back in the early 1990's - while not a bad cd by any means, it was not what I expected. For what it is - an instrumental rave-worthy cd - it is not bad - but it is not for me.

Yes, I agree with the review mentioning Transmat records. The "Mr Techno" probably thinks that Moby is "Techno Music" and doesn't even know anything about the fifteen plus years that Techno music has been played in Detroit. I ask you Mr. Techno, did you attend the DEMF? Are you qualified to even critiqe techno music? This CD is allright. O yeah, he probably has never heard of Planet E records either...

This C.D. is not worth the time it will take you to read this review. If you are a fan of deep basslines and smooth transitions, please look elsewhere. I understand now why D.J.ing is strictly a form of recreation for Carl Craig, he does not have the ability to be a standout in the industry. The track selection is decent, but I believe his tinkering killed the overall feel of the sounds. Just not a wise purchase based on the fact there are much better electronica albums available.