Customer Reviews

Perfecto Presents Travelling

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Paul Oakenfold is the most popular DJ in the world. Opinions on his talent and ego are certainly divided, results from a perpetual media barrage and his frequent mouthing off in magazines. Another reason, more important perhaps, exists for the varying portrayal of his contribution to music - his erratic ability to release good albums. Tranceport, though an obvious collection, was excellent, ditto the Global Underground: New York released a few years back. More recent excursions have erred in judgment (the mediocre Another World) or track selection (the embarrassing Essential Mix).

Travelling could be considered the British version of Another World, sharing numerous tracks over the two hour ride. What's thankfully lacking is the attempted credibility experiment to take listeners beyond dance with inclusions of Bladerunner scoring and rock remix toss-ins.

With Oakenfold you look for song selections and exclusives, as his other DJ duties (track order, mixing) remain suspect. Evidence exists in just the first picks, from the airy upbeat "Velvet" rammed by the too-early "Ubik" through a rocky transition into "The Way You Know." Ah, but nice tunes nonetheless. Throughout the plastic spin the qualities endearing him to fans are on display; a sharp sensibility for punchy hooks and pop melodies both memorable and danceable. Delivering neither nuance DJ platters nor sugar synth ditties is a difficult middle ground he balances expertly.

Disc two roughs things up, veering sharply into breaks (the choice "Darker") before opening the floodgates for a stream of energetic treats. All said and done, Travelling proves to be what American audiences should have received earlier (and now get the chance), and will hold the critics at bay until his next set is released.

Highlights: Learna`s haunting "Melodica" receives the full ten-minute playout, and a pair of Max Graham pieces sealing disc 1. Lowlights: Flogging "Bullet in the Gun" and "Doom's Night" one more time.

The subject says it all: Paul Oakenfold has simply done it again. This album, seemingly the second in a possible series of "Perfecto Presents" brings back the oldschool Paul Oakenfold (on CD1), and shows us the new school (CD2).

Disc 1 is the "traditional" deep-trance that Oakenfold has mixed since his Fluoro album, whether it be in his long live essential mixes (Check out the essential mix every week on BBC Radio 1), or one of his awesome Global Underground sets. This disc is basically a conglomerate of works produced by Paul over the past year, including the ever popular track, "Bullet in the Gun." The mix is a patented nonstop action-packed 74 minutes of amazing trance that absolutely gets your veins pumping.

Better yet is disc 2, which brings almost all new tracks (or at least I've not heard them before), and something unexpected: a new style! Oakenfold whips out new breaks and transitions here and absolutely amazes me with not only his skills in mixing, but his skills in selecting music. The tracks that he's brought to the table for this second disc are absolutely mindblowing, and in my mind, this mix is one of the best in trance, rivaling ONLY PVD's Out There and Back, Sasha & Digweed's Northern Exposure Expeditions Disc 1, and Oakenfold's own Tranceport. Words cannot explain the joy that rushed through my body when i put on this mix. Absolutely mindboggling trance.

Get this import today-- the music is worth the higher price this time!

Don't get me wrong: I love nearly everthing Paul Oakenfold does. Most of the stuff I buy is along the dance/trance/house/techno variety. This is mixed very well, yes, but only a few tracks stick out as being worthwhile to me. Namely: Velvet, Melodica, Bar None, Doom's Night, and Flesh. Just doesn't have the balls of "Tranceport". Most of the tracks are pretty ordinary. A good addition to any collection, but in no way a "must have".

AT first, not a big trance fan-but I gotta into oakenfold with some of his songs off the tranceport cd, and i got hooked. this is the second album of his that i purchased, very, very good. i like the second cd much better than the first, its darker, deeper, sounds more layered in my opinion. the thing i like about oakenfold's music is that its varied, between light and hard, and makes for some good study music. this cd is very good, i highly recommend it. on the #2 disc, i especially like the blackwatch north sky remix. the sarah mclachlan remix is really good as well, (never thought i'd be so pumped to hear sarah mclachlan).

I must say that when i bought this album i thought it was going to be one of my favorites. I adore "Another World" the mixing was great and the selection of songs one of a kind typical of a king of trance. Travelling disapponited me very much. For a man that started the whole movement of raves and techno music, he has become so commercial and simple nothing new, nothing enticing. The mixing is good, of course he is a great DJ after all but the music does not give you the vibes and the feeling that other albums give you, like Digweed LA or the sort. At the end of the album i was wondering if it was really Oakenfold maybe he hire someone to chose the traks I do not know but I really think he has so much potential and this particular album does not give him the credit he deserves.

This CD set is definetly the best of my collection. Most notably in the second CD (which this page does not recognize)- tracks 12-22 are very well made. I especially liked tracks 4 through 8 on CD2 because her uses vocal talent, slightly morphed, and it gives a much higher appeal to the songs.
If you like techno- get this cd NOW!

Every so often an album comes along that is so profound and different, you can not help but notice it. Travelling is one such album. Even from the very first track I knew that I was in for a ride. As superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold takes us on his bass-ridden journey, that is mixed superbly well, we are able to hear and see the deeper side of dance music. No cheesy vocals hear! As a fan of the Global Underground I can recommend this album to all dance music lovers around the world. The actual CD's both start out with melodic jazzy songs, but as we delve deeper into the disks we find songs that move us, not to get on the dance floor, but to take a few deep breathes and realise that dance music could actually get this good. Don't get me wrong though, there are also a few harder tracks such as Azzido Da Bass's Doom's night. There is no doubt that every dance music fan should at least listen to this mastery of dance or you WILL be missing out on a CD that is beyond its years.

I'm gonna make this short and right to the point. If you already own Paul Oakenfold's "Perfecto Presents Another World" then there's really no need in buying this as it's practically a duplication of that! Sure there's some new songs like the original mix of Night Stalker by Altitude (which is really quite good), but when you think of all theses stale, familiar songs (like Delerium's Silence and Jan Johnston's Flesh) floating around all these "OK" techno songs, it can get rather boring rather fast, and that's a pity for me and many other fans, I'm sure, for Paul Oakenfold is what got me into this type of music to begin with. I'm still praying for a quick recovery which will lead him back to greatness, but until then I'll continue to listen to his masterpiece, Perfecto Presents Another World and Tranceport.

Better luck next time Oakey. And if you insist on buying something by him this year then get Ibiza for CD2.
(Read my review for this by clicking on my name.)

After listening to "Another World," I was looking forward to giving "Travelling" a go. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the mixes are great. The problem is that it's basically "Another World 2.0." A good majority of the tunes in this mix already appear in "Another World," so if you've heard the aforementioned album, you'll notice this album seems to amount to little more than a track realignment.
To future buyers, it pretty much comes down to choosing either this album or "Another World," but I wouldn't recommend owning both.

Paul Oakenfold has been doing his thing for years. A great mix of music that ranges from trance to breaks. Oakenfold seamlessly mixes these songs into a 2 disc set that rivals most other so called "electronic" compilations.

Result: Great set to pop in the deck and take a drive out to. Great way to spend 2 hours.