Customer Reviews

Mirage

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This CD is amazing! in my opinion, I've enjoyed his ASOT 2010, but this on is even better. The songs are shorter than on his previous Artist Album 'Imagine'. Rock & Trance are my favorite Genres of music, & I liked that Armin mixed them together in some songs. All in all I think this is just another great album, from an amazing DJ. It's Worth IT!

Favorite Tracks:

#2. Mirage
#3. This Light Between Us
#4. Not Giving Up on Love
#7. Take a Moment

This album is way different than anything Armin has put out. It is more poppy than trance, which is ok. Not my favorite by any means, but it gave my ears something new to listen to that pushes the boundaries of music. The sounds are unique meshed with perfectly mastered vocals. The artists that he features all have respected vocal presence which provides each track with a new experience. Give this CD a listen or two and I'm sure you will enjoy.

Reasons why I didn't give 5 stars:
-No big build-ups that Armin usually produces
-No track with that bass line that gets my heart racing

Favorite Tracks:
"Take Me Where I Wanna Go"
"Orbion"

This CD will hold me over until the next Universal Religion.

ARMIN took a chance with this album and some people may not like it, I love it MIRAGE is one of my favorite song on the CD. I kind of seen what direction he is heading when I saw him live for his 450th show of ASOT at the Roseland Ballroom in New York.

This cd has alot of elements in it such as; OPERATIC, CLASSICAL and some rock drifts, I know that AVB will come out with a remix to some of his songs. I happen to compare his efforts to the likes of New Age Artist YANNI and I think he will soon be at his level so maybe surpass it. This man is a genius and if he wants trance or electronic music to go mainstream it would broaden alot of listeners who may not heard of this style of music. Why not go for it?

This man is not only a DJ/producer but now I consider him a performer this man has a classical background and he puts some these elements into his music that many people are saying to themselves did he do this?? This is why he is voted the best DJ for the past three years. I love trance because of him and I would like to see these so called HIP HOP DJ's try to do want this man does. In matter of fact HIP HOP and RAP uses simple beats compare to him. I think he can do hip hop and rap beats better then they could.

The song MIRAGE is quite impressive when he took some instruments like strings with live drums and a guitar rifts makes this song very interesting. I can see ARMIN taking bits and pieces of this track and remix it when he plays it live.

I see "Not Giving up on love" to be a monster dance track as well as "DROWING" these are two pretty good songs that I will assure you that he will remix. I have been listening to electronic music for over 35 years and been listening to trance for about 10 years and this man is the present and the future of trance. I could only picture what would happen if he can get a 25 piece orchersta behind him.

I decided to update this review to add that Armin Van Buuren is the best DJ in the world as I mentioned before the remixes will come out and it is now available via download at BEATPORT.com he has two songs out the remix of DROWNING and I do not know the other song I listened to a sample and came out very impressed. I am planning on going to the ELECTRIC ZOO 2010 festival this year just to see this guy from what I have heard from others who attend this event was that he brought the house down and the fans were asking for more. I believe that ARMIN is ready to perform in bigger venues, I would like him to play at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN in NEW YORK I think that he can sell out the place.

The singers that ARMIN used are just as good as those mainstream singers but they do not get the respect. Just to show you how much of an trend setter he is in the TRANCE community, he has a radio show that is broadcasted via Internet Radio called A STATE OF TRANCE (you can download it by going to A STATE OF [...]) ARMIN makes them available for all. He has been doing this for close to 10 years now and the 500th esposide in coming up soon.

He has his own record label call ARMANDA he has alot of tracne DJ's on his label and for those of you who has heard of PAUL VAN DYK he is also on his label.

What more can be said about this man? He is just outright awesome... Fot those of you who has never heard of him just but this CD and Univeral Religion and check him out on A STATE OF TRANCE and I think that you will become a fan too!!!!

This album lacks creativity and soul. 90% of the songs are unimaginative and simply boring; Second song "Mirage" sounds like every Tiesto song out there (and I don't mean in a good way), and the other ones are unworthy of comments; I recommend Gareth Emery's Northern Lights album [2010] over this, so you can't say my review is completely negative and useless ;-)

Disney's Electric Light Parade = Birth of Trance

My opinion is bias. Personally I don't think trance and rock mix, but the mixing of the two genres works quite well for this album. I enjoyed the rock and vocalist sections too, although I personally am a fan of pure trance and electronica, which is why I prefer Above and Beyond over Armin, but don't get me wrong, Armin is BETTER KNOWN for his superb remixes. Armin tends to stray away from the trance scene and incorporate rock with trance, while Above and Beyond caters more to the action-drenched atmosphere of dance.

This album, although it incorporates more of Armin`s original pieces, rather than mixes of other artists, has songs with a similar ring to previous works. It also has the LOOP AROUND MELODY. A BUMMER!!! Sail and Misery, are in Mirage, but after listening, I recognized it was just his signature style--most artists utilize it while creating music. I seriously thought it should have been renamed, "Troll", or, "Troll Labyrinth."

When I first listened to the introductory songs, with MIRAGE in mind, I envisioned a clan of Arabian natives beating a drum around a bonfire, with their camels nearby. The women are singing a chant in beautiful chorus. Then as the first song fades into Mirage, it's suddenly daylight, clear blue sky, and a lone Arab is wandering through the Saharan desert amongst monstrous dunes, with mirages ahead of him in the sand: it's that loop around melody in the song that makes me see this image, "AND IT WORKS EXCELLENTLY," but the trance beat becomes VERY subterranean further into the song, so I envision this guy venturing into a cave. If it were set in a cave it would all make sense, since 3 tracks in this album are similar. The women singing in track one, "Entrance into Cave," are in a forest wailing over the challenges of a sole adventurer whose about to submerge into a labyrinth of caves, therefore, song one, "Entrance Into Cave", would have sufficed, for the next one, "Mirage", SUBTERANNEAN beats, merits, the name "Troll Labyrinth". So the tune starts rolling downward, echoing against the sides of a cave, and the listener is mesmerized by the loop around melody, accompanied by heavenly chorus, and at times broken by background sound effects, then all of sudden, everything is thrown askew by what???, a TROLL belch, yep, a ghoulish yelp, accompanied by a section of playing violins, and then electric guitars, and another TROLL belch. Then the song fades, like a mirage, into the latin Enrique Iglesias like rendition of some good feely song, "This Light Between Us," giving the first two songs a much needed break, since the introductory songs DON`T END, they START UP and END with track 14, "Obrion", should have been called, "Troll Escape". In this track, very similar to the first 2 tracks, I envision the adventurer, his heart thumping, scared by his confrontation with the trolls, rushing through the labyrinth and then he finds a rope, thrown down a chute by women above him. Most of the song is him climbing up through a tunnel with aid of the rope, trying to reach the top, miniature trolls crowding below him in the cave, trying to capture him. The women sing down, encouraging his escape. Oh it`s a struggle, even against the beats, but the adventurer makes it, cause the women are singing clearly at the end of the track, instead of the dreaded TROLL belch! So we know the adventurer isn`t swallowed by a crowd of grisly trolls.

Track 15, "Minack", should have been called, "ODE TO A MIDNIGHT FAUCET." This song is the highlight of the album, probably the best trance beat I have heard in a long time. It starts off with this BB King guy singing, "Amen, on my knees." So I picture this guy in a room with the lights off at the foot of his bed saying his evening prayers, then he goes to bed, but he leaves the FAUCET ON in the bathroom. So the rest of the song is the electric droplets falling from the dripping faucet, playing a fantasia, as they fall and hit the sink, and the trance melody accompanying the splashes, is HEAVENLY AND AWESOME, creating a euphoric chorus of trance beats. The song should have ended with the guy shutting off the faucet saying, "dang, a drippy faucet."

Track 6, Full Focus, I like the action beat on this trance song. It's a good dance-oriented track, with the surprising sound effects, and constant break beat. Could have been tied in with the escape out of the labyrinth from tracks 1 and 2, but I picture a car driving fast down a highway, cause at the end of the song, the driver walks out of her car into a café. She's probably been driving down the back roads, gets lost, for the song accompanying her entrance into the café, speaks of her losing her way. I get a clear picture of the café too, just from the lyrics, so both Track 6 and 7, are excellent tracks.

Good Fast Dance Songs: Tracks: 6, 12, 13, 14

Track 14, "These Silent Hearts", the vocalist's voice should have been more electric, distorted to match the background trance melody.


Okay I'm finished, I have nothing else to say about this album. All in all this is a pretty good achievement, but the defects force me to give 4 stars.

I CANT GIVE IT NO STARS SO I HAD TO GIVE IT 1. PLEASE DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS ALBUM. ITS TERRIBLE COMMERCIAL GARBAGE. IF YOUR A TRUE TRANCE FAN STAY AWAY FROM THIS

Tiesto was lambasted by the 'hardcore' for his Kaleidoscope material but what else was there to prove? Tiesto had literally done it all, which even AVB cannot proclaim. Sticking your mug in the mainstream world of Pop music is no easy feat and Tiesto has achieved even that, albeit slightly, bringing him even more notoriety from beyond the underworld. Is it so harsh to desire a peak above ground? Is it such a hideous crime to enjoy the sun for a change?

Well, AVB recognized this marketing move and took his shot at the mainstream, but with more precaution. Where Tiesto went all out (just compare the artists in both albums), AVB played it closer to his chest and produced an album of very light, cheesy, poppy Trance.

AVB even went so far as to admit his intentions. Which of course will shift more units than any UR or ASOT could and people, really, is this such a big 'f'en' deal? Granted ASOT 2009 and 2010 pointed to this but where those mixes lacked, this material, for what it is, is actually a decent listen throughout. The year is no longer 2005, with strings, guitars, etc... who 'IMAGINED' this a few years back?

Not great in the least but a fair listen when you're done with ASOT 2004-2008, URs and Imagine. 3.5 stars.

A new album from the best dj of the world ( third time in a row ). It takes you on a incredible journey through the world of trance. You will float from song to song and makes you feel good. While listening you can create your own world, a real mirage.

Ok...I'm a big Armin fan...Have been for some time now! I was sold on Univeral Religion 2008! This production however is not unlike anything I could get from Kylie Minogue, Black Eyed Peas, etc... 16 individual tracks that take me on no journey at all. Trance was at it's best when it took you on a journey of mind, body, spirit, and soul. This CD falls very short of that and I fear that trance is moving to more of a mainstream genre in an attempt to become more popular. It was not the mainstream that made this genre however it will be the mainstream that will destroy it. Please Armin change course and do not sell out to the mainstream!

I gave it 3 stars simply because the track "This light between us" just rocks it out!!! Awesome track!

Just really surprised I don't like this CD better... It seems uninviting and almost boring. I think it is a great try for a beginner but this is from a GOD in the world of Trance and he just seemed to phone it in.... Find it kinda sad actually.... I have owned it for over a month and can't seem to make my way thru the whole album, in fact I know that even in fast forwarding to following songs I am uninspired..... I guess we all have our ups and downs...