Customer Reviews

Green Velvet

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

OK, I realize some people will not appreciate this, but this is an amazing compilation. You must remember that while this is released in 2000, some of the songs are very old. Flash, one of the more well known songs, was released on vinyl way back in 94 (I think it was 94 at least, maybe 93). Because dance music changes so quickly, some of these songs will sound a bit stale, but there are many many classics on this disc.

If you are looking for a more current sound, I highly suggest trying to find vinyl copies of Flash (Danny T/Timo Maas Mixes) or Answering Machine (Cevin Fisher Mix) that have the 2000 remixes. I'm not sure what mixes the maxi single has, so I can't recommend that. It may have all the newer mixes, but I'm not positive (I like the Danny T Prepare To Dub mix and dubs are usually the first to go off CD singles).

Green Velvet is also very very dark house. If that means nothing to you it is completely different sounding from the tribal/anthem/trance sound that's playing most of the time at clubs. The beats are hard and unforgiving. A lot of dance music is written off as generic; these songs went against the conventional sound and are completely creative, succeeding at making the dance floor move to a new sound.

"Velvet, this is your landlord calling. I am calling to notify you that we are, uh... evicting you... we've been getting a lot of noise from your space recently, and, uh... the naked girls running down the hallway yesterday certainly didn't help." ~("Answering Machine")

This is one of the most refreshing, witty, hard, dark, creepy, funny, unrelenting electronic albums I have bought in a long time. Don't play this for your radio-fanatic friends, they'll be scared by Green Velvet's (a.k.a. Cajmere's) goofy voice. (Does anyone else hear the ghost of Slick Rick in here?) But if you're in the mood for something that stimulates your head and your toes at the same time, I can't think of anything better.

Like many, I was introduced to Green Velvet by the standout track "Flash" on Timo Maas's "Music for the Maases." Based on the strength of that track, and the cover art which features GV with a neon feather on his head, I bought this album. If you liked Flash, which is a romping, frolicking narrative through a club filled with "naughty" drug-takers, you're in for more. The beats here are dark and selfish. I can't tell you how many times I rewound the CD, asking myself, "Did he just *do* that with the track?"

While your body is uncontrollably contorting into a variety of positions, you can't help but notice Velvet's weird, weird lyrics. Most of them are rambling narratives on a particular subject, as found on "The Stalker", "Water Molecule" and "Abduction." "Land of the Lost," though it doesn't fit into that category, is one of my favorites. There are some great instrumental tracks here, too.

Velvet is one part stand-up comic and two parts hard, dark house producer of the century. I seriously reccomend this to almost any listener of electronic music.

I bought this CD while in a Christmas-induced music buying spree not expecting a whole lot other than "Flash". However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of other good material on the disc, such as "Answering Machine", "The Stalker", "Land Of The Lost", "Water Molecule", and "The Red Light". The beats are minimal but catchy almost all the time, and the narratives that often show up are hilarious (and I do mean hilarious; "The Stalker" is literally laugh-out-loud funny in a disturbed sort of way!). Not everything is outstanding, but there's much more than "Flash" or "Answering Machine". If you liked either of those two, this is probably a good buy.

I must have searched for 'Green Velvet' on Amazon about 200 times waiting for a CD release before this appeared. It's a 'must have' for any Green Velvet fan but is largely disappointing as all the tracks are the 'vanilla' versions not the more 'Oh my God my feet will not stop moving' remixes.

Good but not as great as his music truly is!

5 out of 5 stars in its genre. Funny, and very original house music. Very distinctive sound. Dont listen to opinionated people who dont even seem to know the difference between house and techno *ahem* ;) Truely classic.

This is great. It contains most of his classic cuts from the 90's.

The album takes a bit of getting used to at first, but the more you listen to it the more conviced you will become of the briliance behind the music.
The album is a very good example of minimalistic house music, with that typical Chicago techno sound.
It is a rare thing when you hear so much music being made with so few sounds, extreemly minimalistic.
Minimalistic though it may be, but when you sit down and realy listen to it the compositions turn out to be more complex than I thought possible.
Combine this sound with some hillarious (sometimes) explicit samples and you have yourself an album by Green Velvet.
Very dancable, extreemly good for freaking out and great to listen to too.

Enjoy!

want to hear real techno? try plastikman(richie hawtin) or Adam X. they kicks as*. I have seen Green velvet live a couple times and he rocks but this cd is disappointing.

I have a fairly limited knowledge of house/techno music. With the exceptions of disks from artists like Goldie or Morcheeba, I ususally prefer my dance music to have more of an "underground" hip-hop feel to it. However, after listening to a glowing review of this self-titled release from GREEN VELVET on NPR (of all places), I had to pick it up.

This is not a CD that you can listen to as background noise or while working out. It literally demands a big open space or dance floor to be fully appreciated. GV's beats are completely infectious and will get you dancing before you even realize what's going on.

GV likes to voice over most of his tracks. While this works on ANSWERING MACHINE and WATER MOLECULE, he relies on this attention getting device so often, that in the end I found it a little annoying. GV has a weird, almost nasal-sounding voice that, unlike his beats, is a pain to listen to over and over again.

While I liked this CD, I don't think I would recommend it to anyone who isn't planning on throwing a house party in the near future.

this CD is really amazing... i havent enjoyed techno in a long time, and this CD is helping me to love it again... highly recommended!