Customer Reviews

I See Stars

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

 

 

Robin Fox had a minor club hit in late 2000 with her simple, infectious "I See Stars," a highly computerized but alluring song. Her warmer, more welcoming follow-up, "It's Gonna Be OK" wasn't as well-received but served to place her into club-goers minds. In early 2001, Robin finally dropped her album "I See Stars", a highly conceptualized take on club music.

Robin isn't the best singer in the world, but then again that was never a requirement for dance music, a world relying more than any other to highly effected vocals. The most dividing factor on this CD is the fact that a good 95% of Robin's vocal lines are coated in a harmonizing vocoder effect, making Robin seem more robot than human. This is most likely intentional: even bad singers don't hide ALL of their vocals on ALL of their album's tracks. Producer Ford has made Robin into a dance diva for the year 3000, producing dance music that focuses on the human element and condition by removing it from the equation.

Notice the repeated use of the phrase "dance music." Despite being billed as "The Trance Album" (which implies that, like Mutt Lange's productions, multiple styles of each song were recorded), only half the songs on the album would qualify as "trance", yet another pointless label in a ever ghettoized genre of music. The styles range from straight-up trance tracks like "It's Gonna Be OK" to freestyle and more European styles of dance like "Angie Baby."

Highlights of the album include the sweeping, orchestral glitter of "Wonderland" and the Crystal Waters-esque come hither track "Call Me." Fans of "I See Stars" may be disappointed, as neither version featured on the album (the main track and a bonus remix) were featured on the remix single or in clubs. The album cut of the song is a more dynamic, slightly deeper production that only kicks into dance mode toward the very end, while DJ Sharaz's remix morphs the song into a slow freestyle groove. A bonus remix of the above-average "Superstar" also fills out the set, and the song "Deena" is a nice, plaintive dance number.

As wonderful as the producton and arrangements are, the album suffers most from lyrics. Dance music has never been known for its lyrics, veering too quickly into either childish babble or overly pretentious prose. While Robin's lyrics (she co-wrote the songs with Ford) manage to avoid either of these, they generally don't stand out, and the heavy effects of her voice often drown out words entirely. This may again be part of the aesthetic concept of a robotic diva, and on tracks like "Wonderland", the vocal line matches the harmonies so well, you don't care what the words are, but it can serve to be frustrating to those used to more straight-forward vocals like that of Fragma or 4 Strings.

Taken as conceived, the album is a good listen, and worth at least a few spins on your player. Fans of more easily accesible dance/pop may be disappointed, and in fact may find the whole thing too chilly for their tastes (I personally find Fragma far too cheerful and bright, but that's me). A good recommendation for people who like the unexplored or the lesser-known artists. 4 out of 5 stars (it's truly a 3.5 star album, but given Amazon's rating system, it gets a 4).

Robin Fox explodes with her debut full length album titled "I See Stars: The Trance Album". This album is composed of her two current singles It's Gonna Be Okay and her smash club hit I See Stars, as well as eight other uplifting trance anthems backed by her very talented producer Ford. This album is essentially of the Euro Trance genre, with soul soothing choruses and fat dance beats as well as angelic vocals from Fox, who is also the writer of the tracks. The atmosphere of these songs would fit most comfortably in the area of your local progressive dance venues, but are trancy enough to fill the playlist of your local rave and are catchy enough to hit the Top 40. One thing I've noticed about this album is that most of the songs are very strong and could possibly hit Anthem rank (which attract famous DJ's like internationally acclaimed Paul Oakenfold). Aside from the current popular singles I See Stars and It's Gonna Be Okay, I enjoy such tracks as Feels Inside, Wonderland, and Superstar. Watch for numerous tracks on this album to be remixed by many different DJ talent.

I love Robin Fox's CD. The tracks are very catchy and moving. It is a dance CD. Anyone who does not like this CD was probably looking for heavy metal or folk music. When it comes to dance music this CD just raised the bar. I look forward to Robin Fox's next CD.

Wow! I bought this album on the strength of 'I See Stars' and I'm happy to say that the album is consistently good. If you enjoy trance, this one's a good one. There's 2 versions of 'Stars' [....] Other than 'I See Stars' and 'Angie Baby' which both deserve radio airplay in the U.S., my other favorite songs are "It's Gonna Be OK" and "Superstar." Good stuff!

Robin Fox's album "I See Stars" will make you do just that. Robin totally blinded me with such tantilizing vocals that she had me hooked song after song. The mix of instrumentals, vocals, and the beat had me so spell bound that I actually thought I was travelling between the stars. You might laugh, but until you hear the same song title, you havn't felt nothing carry your spirit so high as these tunes. The album has a little bit for everybody from I See Stars that'll get your heart racing, to the tease of Call Me pulling you in. Step on board for blast off. You'll be seeing stars and wishing for more. I still havn't landed.

I gave my cd away. Too bad it couldn't keep me interested after a few plays. Everytime I heard Robin Fox's voice, it made me sick to my stomach. She really seem to have a problem letting her voice out and she sounded in agony.
I think if they leave her out and make the cd more instrumental then many people will come to like it. That's what attracted me at the first place. I can now see why it's taking Robin Fox along time to have a new album release. Everyone knows you can't last with a computerized voice (I recommend Fragma, DJ Encore with Engelina, or 4 Strings if you're looking for some trance music with vocals).

When I first heard Robin's first single "I See Stars" I instantly fell in love. I anticipated future releases from her. I did not think she could possible top "I See Stars" until she released "Its Gonna Be Okay", which blew me away! Well both of those tracks and many more are included on this awesome album! The album has 10 tracks plus 2 bonus remixes of "I See Stars" and "Superstar". Of the 12 tracks, 7 are DJ friendly extended versions and the other 5 are radio edits. The 7 tracks that are over 5 minutes long are excellent and fully enjoyable from start to end, even if you are not a DJ. Robin Fox's music is so unique and so is her style (with her Pink hair!!), but she is a wonderful person. I have talked to her quite a few times, and she has really worked hard to get to where she is now in her life. Give this wonderful album a chance, I guarantee, If you want to have a good time and dance your a$$ off, don't hesitate to buy this CD now!!

I know its from 2001 but "I see stars " was in my head the other day and I bought the cd. ITS STILL AS GREAT AS EVER!!!! I listen to it on a loop

Awesome cd,this one will get your butt moving for sure.The only reason her voice sounds like a robot is because it's made to sound that way,by using a special filtering machine,which I think it's cool because Eiffel 65 did the same thing.People who dont like this album dont know what the heck REAL dance music is and are probably used to listening to cheesey crap like ATB.This is album makes you feel on top of the world,so give it a listen,you'll be glad you did.

All these people writing negative reviews, didn't they listen to the CD before they got it? Show's you not to listen to them, they just spend their money on random things. Robin Fox is excellent, this is a great cd, definately worth a listen :).