Customer Reviews

Danny Tenaglia: Athens (V.10)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The strength of the Global Underground series can often be seen in its ability to showcase a wide variety of DJ and musical styles but remain strangely uniform in its sound. When I picked up Danny Tenaglia's release on Global Underground, I had expected it (mostly from the reviews on Amazon.com) to be so completely different than any of the others I wouldn't even recognize it as part of the GU series.

My experience with house music comes mostly from DJs like Jeno, Doc Martin, Frankie Knuckles, and David Morales all of which seem to have a lighter, groove-oriented style of house. D. Tenaglia is so completely different here I'm not even sure if it really is "house" music--certainly it's not like any I've heard. But, what Tenaglia's Athens set definitely is is a Global Underground release.

CD One is a haunting and hypnotic collection of slow, minimalistic house tunes. BPT's "Moody" is maybe the most pure house track with a funky sound and very sexy lyrics in front of a sometimes exotic-sounding backdrop. It is maybe the big standout song besides the other dirty little number "Frank Sinatra." The rest of the CD is primarily packed with songs that ride a fine line between trance and house.

CD Two starts out with a song that has quickly become one of my favorite numbers --"Seduction of Orpheus" from Tilt. Somewhat tribal with an amazing change in beat then back again, it kicks the second CD off to such a bangin' start the other tracks have a hard time recapturing the drama it leaves behind. The St. Etienne number "Cool Kids of Death" (this song has to be good just for its title) comes very close but in a different way. More gentle and sensuous though keeping the energy flowing, it is changes the tone of the mix completely for at least a few moments. There are no other glaringly noteworthy songs to compare to those two, but most of the other tracks are good quality and guide you effortlessly 'till the end.

I am surprised that there was such an outcry of dissatisfaction from other GU fans. Although definitely a house-based sound, I can easily see several tracks featured here finding their way into a Sasha, Seaman, or other GU-featured DJ's mix. Tenaglia has put together a mix that fits perfectly into the Global Underground series, and exposes a new, fresh house sound to an audience that is may have forgotten the strength of one of the oldest forms of electronic dance music.

With his 'Athens' mix, New York legendary DJ Danny Tenaglia quite possibly gives the most cohesive set of tracks in the entire Global Underground series, with John Digweed's 'Los Angeles' mix following close behind. Danny spins us some deep, dark, shallow, and minimal-sounding records, inviting us on a journey through the subterranean.

This mix, released in 1998, was a precursor to the flood of Dark Progressive House and Deep Trance tracks that would quickly surface afterwards. John Digweed seems to have been heavily influenced by Danny, releasing his "groundbreaking" (but not so groundbreaking) Global Underground 'Hong Kong' mix a year later, mimicing the same deep and dark vibe found on this CD.

Standout tracks include Scumfrog's mesmerizing 'Watersong', Miss Kittins' neurotic 'Frank Sinatra', and Tilt's ever-fascinating 'Seduction of Orpheus'. As a whole, there are few mix CDs out that are so fluid. It's almost as if Danny is weaving a story through the music he plays. Any serious listener knows that the order of the songs played AS WELL AS the track selection are what make a DJ mix great. This is what separates the amateur from the professional.

This CD is not for everyone and it's not for every occasion. Some tracks may bore the heck out of the listener with over 3 minutes of the same repetitive beats, but listen to it late at night right before bed, with all the lights out, and it will work its magic.

>>> 5 stars. This is a very enjoyable journey through the dark, brought to you by one of the most talented disc jockeys on the planet.

- the enlightened one

To the best of my knowledge New York's Danny Tenaglia is the only American DJ to release compilations in the Global Underground series, and one of the only ones who plays predominately house. This selection is mainly inended to represent his darker, techier side and does a more than adequate job. Disc 1 starts out a little too mellow for my taste, but quckly moves into some great dub-house with twisted samples and exquisite bass work. The tracks push gradually to a more techno feel, and finally he drops us into some really off the wall electro-style stuff. Disc 2 is a little more uptempo, although there are several mellow spots here too. The overall feel is more progressive and eventually goes into some straight up trance. Aspects of both discs can get a little overly repetitive, but there are enough truly superb tracks on here to be worth the money. My dominent complaint about this set is that its quite slow throughout, and even disc 2 falls about 10 bpm's below normal club tempos. Still, any open minded fan of deep house and techno will probably walk away from the first listening with a smile on there faces and a burning desire to see this living legand live. I did.

Danny Tengalia's harsh mix of minimalist house and mucky, dark disco is quite effective for keeping the kids dancing (or so they tell me). Honestly, though, Tengalia's probably one of the most talented DJs out there. While I didn't find this particular set as engaging as, say, Digweed's Hong Kong set or Oakenfold's set in New York, Tengalia's certainly got enough grooves to keep this ear bent and listening. The first CD starts off slow and ... basically stays that way. CD1 is mostly very ambient, dubby techno with some dirty electropop thrown in near the end (you know who you are, Miss Kitten!). CD2 is much better in my opinion, especially Yves Deruyter's "Feel Free," which comes to an amazing climax before fading out on Stuff It's "Release The Pressure," not to be confused with Leftfield's classic floor anthem. In closing, while Danny Tengalia's Athens set by far isn't the worst set in the Global Underground series (come to think of it, have they EVER released a bad set?), I'd save it until you've picked up the sets by Sasha, Digweed, Seaman and Oakenfold.

Danny Tenaglia has singlehandedly resurrected house with this album. I had previously lost all faith in house, but the first time listening to this album changed my outlook completely. Although there is still A LOT of really bad house music out there, Tenaglia seems to pull it off by adding an intellegent trance element to his tracks. This trance element is virtually the only thing that connects this CD to the rest of the Global Underground series. I feel that any fan of GU should buy this CD. It will quickly become one of your favorites. For example, Music is the Answer is near the top of my all-time favorite techno rifts, and I have been listening to electronic music for nearly a decade. So do yourself a HUGE favor, and BUY THIS CD.

Folks expecting this to be just like GU's other sets might be (and have been, as other reviewers noted) disappointed. Danny Tenaglia doesn't spin trance - he spins house, very deep, very dark and very sexy. This was the first house CD I'd ever bought - I'd written off house until I heard this. GU usually sticks to trance and progressive house, and this departure is a nice change of pace. If you really dig trance, this may not be the set for you. I have since started listening to house, and it pleases me to see it starting to infiltrate the sets of other DJs, like the first disc of Digweed's 'Bedrock' and Fontaine's "Protoype 2." Check it out - you may like it, you may not, but this is house at its best.

Mr. Tenaglia has outdone himself! This journey is the closest I have heard to his marathon live sets; the first and most amazing one I heard was at Black & Blue in Montreal in October, '97. He sweeps you in a huge circle, as the songs weave in a seamless manner. HOUSY but SMOOTH, DEEP yet GENTLE at the same time! Not a reckless trainride, but passionately orchestrated with some unexpected surprises to keep you wide awake, as you flow through his dreamy HouseScape. Disc one is deeper dub-style House. Disc Two is prettier tribal/trance style House, similar to the Ibiza style that so may DJ's have gravitated to. Simply put, Danny blows you away in his mixing style using various rhythms, but more importantly, the melody line rules with an impeccable choice of songs!!! Two STELLAR songs getting lots of club play are Feel This, and Cool Kids of Death. Thank you, Danny, for that magical introduction in Montreal.

how do you know when a production in the music business is awsome?

because more than 2 years from its release, people still write and talk about it.

Progressive House, House, Deep House. This CD is a MUST HAVE for every person who likes music regardless the type of music.

Global Underground 010 - Danny Tenaglia - Athens does represent what electronic music is all about. If i were to pick up a few CDs for another culture (martians) and let them know what ours is about, this would be one of the ones i would pick.

If DT can do one thing right, it is to create amazing vibe. The dark tribal beats spun out on this record are amazing. Danny creates sets that not just sound good but that take tracks that shouldn't go together and blend them with incrediable vibe. Anyone can throw together some trance beat and string it out with some ups and downs and leave with an 'afterglow', but to make a set thats undeniably sexy,smart, and with that VIBE is hard, real hard.My reaction is that this is electronic music for the more experienced and more sophisticated listener, no glowsticks allowed. I say congrats to the GU label for not only letting DT spin one cd but also that they let him do another GU title. It is also incrediable. Check it out, Global Underground London.

This is a great mix. Smooth throughout. My favorite songs are #3 Disc One ("Moody"), and I've seen some negative feedback about the last two tracks on disc one, "Frank Sinatra" and "Red Light District". Those two are my favorites too, But I'm a huge fan of house/vocal blends... they are really incredibly cool songs, just outright cool... but they have some naughty language (Gasp!) So if that offends your virgin ears, then I'm sorry.
But, I really can't think of any songs I really didn't like on the CD. It was cool. Both discs. The Seduction of Orpheus is awesome. Buy This. You won't be sorry.