Customer Reviews

Episode II (Remix)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Uffe Savery and Morten Friis have made a great album here. I'll just go over the tracks.

Played-A-Live: Being the most famous track on this CD, of course it's good. It got up to #2 on Hitlist Germany. It's quite fast paced. It has a great start and the "exciting part" of comes of a quiet, slow part in the song, which I like.

Snakefood: It does have a "snaky" sound to it. It includse an Indian or Arab snake charming flute number, and some it does give the mood of a cunning snake.

A-Gusta: I like the marimbas in this track. They give a soft touch, but then there are these low pitched melodies they add in that toughen the song. But I like the change.

Samb Adagio: It's a good track. Nothing too special. It's just the percussion and a tad of electric effects.

Everything: It starts with some echoing "Zoom"s and has this kind of scary, yet saddening high note of violins, maybe? It's a little borign to me, though.

Everything Epilogue: Still has a sad tone to it, but it's more interesting then the original Everything. Uses mainly marimbas.

Crazy Benny: starts with them Australian pipes used by Aboriginies, Didgeridoos. Strts off kind of wied, but gets pretty, "dancy." Includes some scratches.

Baya Baya: A nice peaceful, with natural sounds of the beach environemt in the background. And of course the "B-B-Baya!". It makes you think of beign on vacation. A softer song, tat calms you down.

Adagio: Not as lively as Samb-Adagio. It's anther softer one. It's my least favorite, but it's still OK.

Overall, it's a good CD. These guys are jsut as good as Blue Man Group, but it's only 2 and their Danish. Note, that the slow, soft songs, aren't too bad, and this is still 5 star.

After Played-A-Live, I was skeptical about an album. Could they head towards another direction, or would the be stuck in a formulaic rut. I was half right, as this album does feature a lot of bongo-drum oriented tracks. Overall I'd give this 3.5 stars... here's why:

1. Played-A-Live (10/10) - An excellent track - one of the highlights of 2001.

2. Snakefood (5/10) - Its trance with Bongo drums, but I see this clearing the floor of a club if it were ever played as its somewhat dull. Removal of the drums would result in a good chillout track though.

3. A-Gusta (4/10) - Probably my least favorite track. The drums are annoying and obnoxious. Its not trance like the previous two, but an ambient mix would be nice.

4. Samb-Adagio (3/10) - The second release for Safri Duo, and really should be called Played Alive Part 2. Follow's the same formula from the build-up to the crowd noise, but this lacks the power and intensity of Played Alive. Not good (originally 6, but 3 marks deducted for lack or originality).

5. Everything (6.5/10) - The drums on this are similar to Played-Alive, and though it starts off quite weak, it builds up. The vocals detract from the track though.

6. Everything (Epilogue) (10/10) - This is the turnaround track on the album. Phenomenal. I finally get the chilled mix I've patiently waited for. No sign of bongo drums. A definite album highlight, and watch for this track.

7. Crazy Benny (8/10) - This tune is almost breakbeat like, and begging for a true breakbeat mix (or any remix for that matter). The bongo drums are well integrated into the track, making for another album highlight.

8. Baya Baya (4/10) - Any marks are for the intro, which could have turned into an outstanding chillout track, but goes in the wrong direction. Do not like the vocal at all. Another low point for Episode II.

9. Adagio (9/10) - The final track on the album is a nice piece of classical music, where Safri Duo show off their roots. A relaxing piece, no drums in sight. Its in no way dance music, but its an excellent close to an album.

It's a good album, but they get a little carried away with the bongo drums. For those strictly into trance, and are interested because of Played-A-Live, I suggest listening to snippets of all the tracks. Personal highlights are Played-A-Live, Everything (Epilogue), Adagio, and Crazy Benny. A good effort overall.

The first time I heard of the Safri Duo was when they passed through Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and did an amazing live performance at the Philharmonic...around two to three years ago.

I was blown away by the sounds and the songs and I was determined to buy their CD, if they had one. For some reason Amazon hadn't had their CD yet...and I forgot about it at one point, because of one thing or another.

A couple of months later (maybe even a year later), I saw the video on Channel V and finally I got a firm grip on the CD. Wow, if I was blown away by the live performance, I was even more amazed by the CD. Great songs, all in all. A masterful mix of their percussion ability and several blends of music that really suit the songs, even though you wouldn't think of it at first.

I hope they continue to produce this level of originality.

This is one of the more unique style of music Ive heard in a while and I was pleasantly surprised when I gave it a try. The instruments are primarily percussion (as per the cover), and the music is instrumental all the way thru.

I first heard this group during an ice skating routine featured on Sara Hughes's company tour (no joke!) and I started looking for it. The song was the opening salvo of this CD, Played-A-Live, which is a very upbeat latinesque drum beat that simply begs for fast paced dancing/skating, you name it. This is meant to be a dance tune, as evidenced by a number of others who, like myself, found this to be a good workout song.

But compare that to the last track, which is a very slow and somber routine that is quite reminiscent of the themes song to Platoon (Adagio for strings). Quite a contrast from the opening track, and there are 7 other songs too boot. You can even hear the theme of this final track in a more upbeat version (Sam-Adagio), which is just a remarkable piece of what I guess Ill call techno-percussion. And they use it again in another number that has a seemingly different composition that is also a summary of a variety of beats, aptly called "Everything." The contrast is simply delightful!

The others songs are probably closer to the opening song in terms of rhythm/tempo, but not quite as fast. One of the most interesting things I found on this CD was the sheer variety of sounds you will hear. There is a didgeridoo (albeit sounding a bit techno, but it works), and there is a sort of calypso/middle-eastern number that really you have to hear to appreciate (A-Gusta). Then you have a In all this is a very different and generally upbeat collection of unique sounds that you won't want to miss.

This album rocks. I'm from Denmark where Safri Duo comes from. And they've become a lot better than when they played classical music. This CD will blow your ears off. A real good CD to test speaker quality too.

I broke the first disc of this album that had also the remix edition disc. SO, I only needed the fisr disc. Safri Duo is my favourite group and having back the fisrt disc that I can't get the local music shop in Australia is the most enjoyable things I have. I loved the disc, but there is a song mising that the Double disc on the Episode 2 album has that is worth considering if they have heard it before. The song is called "Sweet Freedom" and I have the remix verion of this song on the remix album. Anyways thanks for the sale and I totally recomed this album and seller who prides on what they do, "Sell" Thanks.

NICOLAS SEBASTIAN MASSU DE LA CARRERA

I first heard Safri Duo Episode II when I was in India on a work assignment (I am American)- otherwise I don't think I would have ever been exposed to this music. Episode II is my all time favorite album, and for those who find the drums tiresome and/or a dance-floor clearer, hey maybe you don't have rhythmn!

I saw a music video for one of the songs on this album ages ago. Picked it up after that and really liked it. My 3 year old has been dancing to various songs on this album for as long as I can remember. He gets on his toddler trampoline and just goes crazy to the beats. Basically it's his workout music. Enjoy! (I think it's the bongo version of Adagio that he likes so much. Don't have the disk in front of me.)

This album got me hooked to running. I stumbled upon it a month into running and when I was just getting ready to give up. I listen to the tracks every other day and have been doing so for 6 months, but they still haven't bored me. Please do yourself a favor and try listening to this album if you are into treadmill running... it WILL put you in a state of trance.

I'm two generations removed from this duo, almost 70. But this entire album absolutely rocks. When I go out for my walk every morning I have Episode II playing on my little sansa and I have to stop and rock out from time to time. And the orchestral version of Adagio is surreal.