Customer Reviews

Innovator [RARE]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the techno equivalent of the gettysburg address ... it contains a number of tracks that came out in the late 80s that could be regarded as 'definitive classics' and were massive influences in the dance music genre.

Tracks like 'Strings of Life' and 'Nude Photo' came out in the late 80s and went on to have a massive impact on the early UK rave scene and on dance prodcuers from around the world. Acid House, Hardcore and Techno (and thus Drum&Bass, Trance and Big Beat offshoots) for example got a lot of early influences from May, who is regarded as one of the original pioneers of 'Techno' as it is known today.

Most of these tracks still contain more energy, passion and innovation than the mountains of drivel coming out of the dance scene today. Back when these were made it was not enough to put in a cheezy vocal + snare roll to get in the charts, you had to think a bit. There are some intermittent 'filler' pieces but as a whole this is outweighed by the quality.

If you are at all interested in dance music then you owe it to yourself to at least hear this album. At least when you read an article in a US magazine that says artist x invented techno in 1998 you'll know better.

I really enjoyed this double disc. May delivers a powerful dark sound with all of detroit's signiture noise. It's definitely worth what amazon is asking for it. I only gave it a four because the transitioning could use some work. If you are meaning to really get in touch with the sound of detroit, this disc is for you. But if you are looking for something poppy and trancy and girly, look elsewhere.

It's very true that Derrick May, along with "Belleville Three" cohorts Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, was one of the people who both invented and defined techno. And it's true that his works have been of critical, crucial importance throughout the 80s and early 90s. But this release, while it contains a lot of important material, also contains a lot of filler, and as a result has a real unfocussed feel to it. Plus there are some rather glaring errors. Track titles are transposed in a few cases on disc 2, plus the first track of this disc has its audio totally hammered by being mastered out of phase, causing a really unpleasant sound on one of the more important tracks of the set. And how many mixes of 'Strings' do we really need, honestly? C'mon Derrick...enough of this, and put out a _real_ new release already!

This CD contains a number of tracks from the late 80s that could be regarded as 'definitive classics' of Techno music, and are generally regarded as massive influences on the dance music genre.

Tracks like 'Strings of Life' and 'Nude Photo' for example had a massive impact on the early UK rave scene and subsequently on dance prodcuers from around the world. Fans of Acid House, Hardcore and Techno (and the Drum&Bass, Trance and Big Beat offshoots...) will undoubtedly connect with this record in some way.

Most of these tracks are still more "innovative" than the mountains of drivel coming out of the mainstream scene today. Hence the title is appropriate! There are some intermittent 'filler' pieces but as a whole this is outweighed by the quality.

If you are at all interested in techno music then you owe it to yourself to at least hear this album, if you haven't done so already. But be warned - don't expect the hands-in-the-air-female-vocal type stuff!

OMG! IF YOU HAVENT HEARD THESE CLASSICS FROM THE 80'S HOUSE
MUSIC SCENE YOU ARE MISSING OUT COMPLETELY!AND MISSED THE BOAT MY
FRIEND GET IT WHILE ITS HERE OTHERWISE PAY OVER $40BUCKS OVERSEAS
OR PROBABLY MORE... I GOT MINE?! THAT ALL THAT MATTER NOW!
WHOOOO HOOOOO!

This CD compilation is a very nice to own item for those who didn't collect 12inch versions of the Transmat releases, and also for those who want a more compact and mobile way of hearing the sound of detroit,The guys from detroit ar very innovative and set something in motion good that has long been distorted and mis-interpreted, so stuff like this sets the record straight, as for the reviewer "lawrence" negative comment below, I believe his distaste for the sound stems from the results of being exposed to the distorted version of techno, your mind has to be open and take into consideration that these were tracks produced over 20 years ago by three young black teens with not much money at all but a lot of heart,soul,and vision, not some rich kids with a lot of tech gear but no funk, and detroit techno is special because it has that flavor.

If we were to make contact with a foreign galaxie as a introductory event: Derrick May would be the Dj! I don't know how May does it! You know how there's always one better track than the other on a CD? Well with Innovator, all tracks are best of the best. No matter how many times I fool around with my 909, I can't seem to get close to one of Derrick's tunes. Derrick, you the man! Thank you for being! Dj Fantazmix

One third of the renowned Belleville, Michigan Three, Derrick May, along with high school friends Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson are credited with developing the futuristic variation of electronic music that would become known as "Techno." This 2cd set is named Innovator for a reason. By today's standards this album may sound like nothing special, however in the late 1980's May's releases such as "Nude Photo" and "Strings of Life" defined a future generation of electronic music. Here are my thoughts and track ratings on Derrick May's "Innovator;"


Disc: 1

1. "rest" 5/10
2. Strings Of The Strings Of Life 7/10 (Classic)
3. Another Chaos Beyond Chaos 5/10
4. Freestyle 6/10
5. Feel Surreal Begins 6/10
6. The Dance 5/10
7. Another "rest" 5/10
8. Beyond Kaos 5/10
9. It Is What It Is 6/10
10. Daymares 5/10
11. A Little Spaced Out 5/10
12. Beyond The Dance (Cult Mix) 6/10
13. Original Feel Surreal 5/10
14. r-Theme

Disc: 2

1. To Be Or Not To Be 5/10
2. Icon (Montage Mix) 6/10
3. Montage 6/10
4. A Relic Mix 6/10
5. Kaotic Harmony 5/10
6. More Phantom 5/10
7. Nude Photo 7/10 (Classic)
8. Salsa Life 6/10
9. The Beginning 6/10
10. Another Relic From the Relic 5/10
11. Drama 6/10
12. "Strings"- The Original Mix 7/10
13. Wiggin-Juan Atkins Mix 6/10


While May obviously wasn't the only producer of early "techno" he is certainly one of the most well known. Sure many of his tracks are simplistic and borrow heavily from one another, but considering what they had to work with at the time it was ground breaking. May and others paved the way for artists such as Black Dog, Aphex Twin, FSOL, Autechre and many others. Just as Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream had done previously. Innovator is essentially a techno musical history lesson that all electronic artists and enthusiasts should take note of and remember. 4 stars then, 3 stars today.

Derrick May never released an album. His entire career consists of a few twelve-inch singles recorded between 1986 and 1990. Yet, May is a key figure in the history of the techno genre. His historical significance is a lot bigger than one might guess from his limited output.

Essentially, May invented the style known as "Detroit techno." He wasn't the first techno artist from Detroit -- his colleague Juan Atkins, for example, recorded Clear under the name Cybotron in 1983. But May was the best of his kind. If you listen to compilations that purport to give a historical overview of early techno, like Carl Craig's Abstract Funk Theory or Atkins' Wax Trax Mastermix, you might find that most of May's contemporaries sound unlistenable today. By contrast, May's work might sound a bit crude, but it survives.

At its core, May's compositional style consists of sturdy 4/4 dance rhythms on a drum machine, with synths on top. The keyboards often play catchy melodies, but sometimes they just alternate a couple of long, drawn-out notes in minor key. Then they get switched off and the drums play for a while, then the synths come back on (with no change in the melody). Keep switching in this manner, with maybe a sample or two now and again, and that's it, that's basically the Detroit sound.

It sounds primitive, but it describes a lot of techno music. May influenced nineties albums like Underworld's Dubnobasswithmyheadman (the pulsing thump in "Dark And Long" is pure Detroit). The IDM artists on Warp Records owed a lot to May; there's a reason why "Nude Photo" was featured on Warp's tenth-anniversary compilation. The same basic approach is still at work in modern albums like Luomo's Vocalcity or Burial's Untrue ("Raver" is an homage to early techno). Even Bjork's allegedly avant-garde drums-and-strings sound on Homogenic is basically Detroit with a much bigger budget.

I don't know, there's just something about that combination of hard drums and minor-key synths that hits the spot. The drums sound cold and dissonant, but the synths add a certain softness. May's first single "Nude Photo" is literally nothing more than a mechanical kick-snare pattern, a sample of a laughing woman, and a three-note keyboard line, but it still makes a strong impression. The melody sounds like it's being played on a cheap, low-quality synth. It has a straining, reedy sound, but that makes it kind of charming. The title seems to hint at some kind of adolescent sexual tension, and the sound of the song taps into that feeling perfectly: it's a bit awkward, but there's a gentleness in it as well. In its way, the song is a gem.

This really sets May apart from the rest. He nailed that delicate balance between the soft keyboards and the loud drums. Not only that, but eventually he was able to write some really indelible keyboard hooks, most famously the blaring fanfare in "Strings Of Life," the quintessential rave anthem (though I prefer the chilled remix, "Strings Of The Strings Of Life"). His rhythms also became more varied, culminating in "Salsa Life," still not quite lively enough for a genuine Latin rhythm, but with some cool production on the drums. Also, May's production became more atmospheric, on chilled-out tracks like "Beyond The Dance" and "Chaotic Harmony," and his keyboards actually started to resemble stringed instruments ("Icon").

Additionally, I'd single out the highly unusual lead melody in "Drama," which is arranged by chopping up a sample of operatic vocals (Orbital seized on that later, but it wasn't as common in 1990), and the glorious chime/horn harmonies in "R-Theme." The latter song also has a great rolling beat, which is a lot more complex than the standard 4/4 Detroit fare. No wonder Bjork adapted it for "I Miss You."

May got a lot of recognition, and his label Transmat Records was highly respected. It seemed that May could have retained his status as "innovator" throughout the nineties, especially since he did influence many nineties artists, but instead, he all but stopped writing music, and mostly concerned himself with repackaging his legacy and reasserting his significance. Two things came of that: in 1998, this double-disc compilation of May's eighties work, and in 1999, another compilation called Time: Space that featured younger artists, plus one new song from May himself ("Beforethereafter," the only new Rhythm Is Rhythm song to be released since 1990). Both are worth seeking out, but Innovator is particularly valuable, since it's the only way to get most of May's classic work without hunting down the vinyl.

Innovator is a very good listen, and contains all of the songs listed above, but it has flaws. Unfortunately, it is incomplete. It's nice to have short vignettes like "Rest" that serve as interludes between May's famous tracks, but the compilation is missing the Rhythm Is Rhythm rarities "Emanon" and "Chaos," even though there was enough space for both of them on the first CD alone. The track listing on the back of the CD is hopelessly out of order (for example, the track labeled "Beyond Chaos" is actually "The Dance"). Also, there is a really embarrassing essay in the liner notes that grandly asserts, "It has even been said that without 'Strings of Life,' the 1988 uprising of British youth known as "The Summer of Love" may never have happened."

But although May never really started an "uprising," there's no denying his talent. He views himself as primarily an "innovator," and it's true that traces of his style can be heard in many later albums. But the real reason why his music is still enjoyable and interesting, more than twenty years later, is because he was a good pop songwriter. He wrote catchy, danceable melodies that still hold up long after his production became outdated, and that, really, is what makes Innovator worthwhile.

These tracks are classics. This is beautiful melodic intelligent soulful techno at a level of quality that has been very rarely matched. Go back to your roots. By the way, heard him spin here not too long ago, excellent as well. Awesome to hear a techno dj who is really in touch with the crowd, and knows how to let the music take them places.