Customer Reviews

Uruguay

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Interestingly enough, it's the 15th release from the Global Underground series that will perhaps gather the most inspection. It's not immediately apparent, of course, as Darren Emerson isn't a household name by DJ standards. But consider that he's part of Underworld, one of electronica's biggest bands, then add the surprise that he left them after a wildly successful 1999 to further explore his DJ career, and the scrutiny of this, his first new solo effort, would be suitably intense. Emerson has mentioned his love for deep house music, but understands that's not the style expected from a Global Underground release. That doesn't deter him from dipping into the vault for Orb's classic "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld." "Twister" swiftly drags you out of your comfort zone, a squelchy chugger with disconcerting farmer prose- not too odd when you follow Orb. Things lean further to chunky house with the simple and exciting "Take a Chance" and the funky "Funk Your Body," which would fit perfectly in a DJ Dan set. "Tall Stories" keeps the pace with clever breaks, filters going wild, and a clap beat. "Carnaval" is respectable but basically serves to switch gears for listeners. "Groove Y'All" has a refreshing, delightful classic disco sound, and is followed by Meeker's delicious thumping vocal number "Save Me." I suspect this to be a huge track for 2000. The quality continues with Saints & Sinners "Pushin Too Hard," and cools you down with "Decipher Language." Speedy J's "Rise" is the first awkward stumble in the set, sounding outdated and out of tune. The disc ends with a disappointing curve thrown at you, the loud techno of Dave Angel's "Rematch" and the spooky "Altered States." Not bad songs, but why end the fun?

Disc 2 is a race to get through 17 tracks, starting over with the bouncing bassline of "Soul Grabber Part 3" and the seamless mix to a catchy David Duriez tune, barely lasting two minutes before the dreamy "Cloud 99" drifts in and out for the nice music/cheesy talking on "Dance naked." Later on, "French Kiss" is sure to grab your attention, though women moaning to a building beat is nothing new. Here the disc loses focus: Things turn deep halfway with "It Doesn't Half to End," hit a series of decent filler ("The Compass" excepted) and veer into techno before relaxing with the laid-back "Let's Break." Finally things perk up at the end, "Electrophonic," Westbam's "Mr. Peanut" , and the inspired chaos of "Get real." Not a great tune, but anything with acid squiggles, singing, and a Speak-n-Spell (!) gets kudos.

So we end up with a set that's house on one side, techno on the other, sounding neither like Underworld nor the trance releases making up the GU catalog to date. It's a shame that the fun and energy of the excellent first CD, clearly a winner, is abandoned to show he can spin a more serious, "professional" set via the second. Darren Emerson proves he can mix tracks for your home listening with this quality release, but his best is probably yet to come. It will be interesting to see what happens as he further develops his style.

When my friend introduced this GU to me at the time of its release, I was largely uninterested in it because I am a trance man. If I buy a Global Underground CD, I expect it to be a quality trance CD due to both the DJ's and the track selections. But trance, especially in 2000, has moved to a more housy, nevertheless progressive sound. Emerson delivers this type of sound with outstanding mixing and track selection.

CD1 begins with a classic from the Orb and moves through track selection that touches the genres of funk, house, and trance. The quality of this CD relies primarily on its track selection rather than its mixing. The songs are so disparate that they would be difficult for even Sasha to mix seamlessly. Tracks 1,3,7,8 and the last track are pumpin, energy-filled tracks that show Emerson's versatility in house, progressive house, groove-driven funk, and vocal trance.

CD2, however, is a more uniform mix (like Sandra Collins' Lost in Time or S+D's Northern Exposure Expeditions Set) that immediately erupts into a housefest, comparable to Carl Cox and Danny T. His mixing skills come out in full force on this CD, and this is one of those CD's, unlike CD1, that can not be skipped to track 4 or 6 to hear that particular track. True mixed gems must be listened to in one sitting or dancing to fully appreciate the quality of both the mix itself and the overall set.

BUY THIS CD FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: 1. It has the mixing of Sasha's GU:SF (on Disc 2) and the track selection of Seaman's Buenos Aires GU (on Disc 1); 2. Like Digweed's Bedrock, it showcases two styles on two separate CD's (housy, groovy funk and progressive house/trance) 3. Finally, like Digweed's Hong Kong GU, which is honestly my favorite electronca CD, it will probably change the face of trance and progressive house. This CD will join the likes of Massive Attack, the Orb, Aphex Twin, Oakey, and Diggers in shaping the future of electronica. THANK YOU, MR. Emerson!!

Goodbye Underworld ::sniff sniff::

Hello Darren Emerson, the one man solo band....er, uh DJ!

I've always been slightly partial to Emerson! He's constantly managed to bring about a large amount of interest, due mainly to his signature sound. So when I received word that he was putting out a "Global Underground" album, I HAD to get my hands on a copy!

So off we go, into the first disc of the compliation:

CD 1 begins with an odd and very unusual Orbital remix of the Orb's "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld" . When you first pop in the CD, you are expecting something slower as the song builds with female vocals. Somewhere along the line (almost two minutes into the track) out of no where the bass line kicks in and you enter the realm of Darren Emerson. He begins to take the listener on a disco-house adventure, not for the average bear!

Emerson flawlessly blends each selection together, setting the precise mood for a funky disco feel. He pushes and pulls the listener into the uncharted dimensions of house as he moves on into Bert Dunk's "Groove Y'all." By this time, if the listener isn't up and dancing.....they are probably dead. This is the beginning of the climax for the first CD. After "Groove Y'all," he moves on into a Garage sounding tune "Save Me" by Meeker. As the sound twists and turns it also becomes intriguing to the inner ear. Honestly, if you're listening, chances are you're dancing as well!

The second CD is more of a professional approach to the hard funk that Emerson has come to love. He, himself, has said that he enjoys the hard funk, so it seems fitting that he has selected tracks from the depths of that genre. The first CD definitely has the right amount of flavor to appeal to EVERYONE, while the second CD really appeals only to the destined listeners of hard house. In all actuality, the second CD is a bit darker and a bit harder, but it also has the same style and flare that Emerson demonstrates through his DJing.

With tracks from Dave Clarke, Anti-Trance Terrorists, Freeland Science, Westbam, and Paul Rutheford, Emerson proves he can mix a more professional set to give the listener a little taste of his world.

Of all of the 15 Global Underground albums, this one most likely will tack onto it a tremendous amount of high acclaim from critics. He can thank his Underworld background for that one! Global Underground continues to produce some of the finest DJ mix compliations to date. I just hope that the best has yet to come!

A fun little house monster and refreshing break from the trance thunderstorms of the Global Underground series, we should all thank former Underworld member Darren Emerson for bringing this sweet little number to us. If asked to sum it up in one word, it would be: sexy-as-hell-dance-funk.

Emerson starts the album off brilliantly with the super-long-titled Orb track that just shoots through your mind. Disc one's first three tracks feel like an extended warm-up-intro though, and it doesn't really get going until Halo & Hipp-E's "Funk Your Body." From there disc one goes on a dance floor campaign of four-on-the-floor beats which has its highlight in the track 7-9 string ("Groove Y'all" into "Save Me" into "Pushin Too Hard"), and closing off in a tweaked out finale with Ron Trent's "Altered States." Overall, disc one is great, but not super-impressive. If you heard this mixed live on the dancefloor, it'd be outstanding ... and while it does rock, it's nothing by itself to write to your friends about.

Disc two has a bit more push and shove to it. And I like that. Emerson kicks this disc off with the brilliant opening track "Soul Grabber (part 3)" by Paul Jacobs -- which, for some reason, makes me think of Mr. Oizo's "Flat Beat", only less flat and with more bounce and remixed by the dopest munchkin remixer this side of the Emerald City. And then he goes off on the funkiest, sexiest straight house trip in recent memory. And that energy keeps up for the entire disc. It's the way a dancefloor should sound around 12am ... going solid and strong, without any big trancey breakdowns, just a lot of beats and slick blasts of tweaker nightmare psychedelia. And the best part is, he's hitting the ear with lots of changes. The average track length here is about 4 minutes, five that are under 3 minutes. Quick changes. Quick time. Go.

Oh, and I forgot to mention "French Kiss." Pure gold.

Overall, this set is solid. Maybe not the biggest of the big tunes, but it works in familiar ways. And maybe a few that aren't so familiar.

I am a big Global Underground fan but an even bigger Underworld fan, and I must admit, I bought this album mainly because of Darren Emerson's contribution to Underworld.

If you are looking for another Underworld cd however, this is not the album to get, but having said that, the album rocks! It's a nice change from the trance that Global Underground has put out with the likes of Sasha, Digweed, and Warren. Don't get me wrong though, I got into the Global Underground series solely because of how great the trance was! However, the move to more of a house feel is a nice change of atmosphere. If you like this, get Danny Tenaglia in Athens.

Overall, an excellent album.

Highly recommended.

I'm the type that enjoys his house in the deep, dark, down-in-the-dungeon, style... Alas, this cd is not that style. It's fitting that this cd was from South America, because almost all the songs have that bouncy funky feel to them and kinda reminds me of house salsa-style. A lot of people like their beats happy-house, but not me. One stand-out is track #11 on cd2 - I described it to my friend that it sounds like Nitzer Ebb (remember them?) it has those hardcore keyboards, but it's actually a great song! Other than that song though, nothing jumps out and screams "Play me over and over again!!" In a nutshell - if you like happy house, buy immediately. If you like the deeper darker stuff, give it a listen before you buy.

This Global Underground Album is a refreshing departure from the other GU albums that are generally Trance (Danny Tenaglia being the exception). On the box, it reads "Emerson's Nasty disco trip fly's through groove stimulated genres". I thought Emerson played more Techno, but I was suprised to find out that he actually plays more Tech-House and deep funky House in this album.

CD 1 starts with exactly that. It is very funky, but minimalist. Trevor Rockliffe's Take a Chance kicks things off very nicely, and the way the next tune (Funk your body) is mixed into it is quite nice. Every tune is very groovie from there, until the more trancey tracks, Meeker's Save Me (great song) and Saints & Sinners' Pushing Too Hard. After that, it gets back to minimalist Tech-House. I thought Speedy J's Rise was a funny touch to add. The CD comes to a close with the classic Altered States from Ron Trent.

CD 2 starts quickly on an oldie but a goodie (Paul Jaccobs' Soul Grabber Part 3). After that, it is a House-fest. And a good one. Freelance Science's Can U Feel tha Funk is one of those tracks that will keep you dancing in your living room. This track is mixed with the classic French Kiss from Lil' Louis. It is the nicest mix of the album. Emerson brings on French kiss, then stops it to let Can U Feel tha Funk play for another 2 minutes, and then he brings French Kiss slowly back in. Very nice. After that, Emerson goes slowly back to Tech-House stuff. And there are some very nice tracks in there. For example, Christian Smith's Mojito, Sound Stream's Let's Break, and my favourite of the bunch, Changing Shape's M.

Because the music on this album is more minimalist (Techno) than on the other GU albums, the mixing is quite different and can be very interesting. Sometimes, Emerson will play with the bass or with the cross fader (well, this compilation is actually done in studio, but it gives the impression that he does so :), and that is nice to have on a compilation. Just look at the mix between Twister and Take a Chance on CD 1 for example. This album gives a good feeling of what hearing him live must be like.

I am not a Techno fan. I am not a House fan either. Quite frankly, Trance is what I love the most. But still, this album is very good. Some of the mixes in there are a little rough, but generally, it is well mixed. All in all, a great compilation, and a great addition to the Global Underground line-up. If you like Tech-House, don't pass on this one.

As other reviewers said, don't expect another Underworld CD here. Emerson gives us funky house (some trance elements are thrown in here and there though) on these 2 CDs and he does a great job. There is manic energy in this mix that you just can't resist. I really enjoy this CD even though I normally dislike this style because it seems way too repetitive to me. This one is repetitive too, just like any other house compilation, but there is something about it that makes you want to listen to it again and again. I subtracted one star because there really are no awesome tracks on this CD. Still, this is a great CD.

I would just like to say this CD is great and a relief frombeing stuck in a "trance" state of mind. It's more like,said before, deep house but that's why it's good, and you can count on both CDs to keep you mov'n which can't be said for some other box sets out there. So enough said, you will have to buy the CD for yourself.

i have been listening to dance music since 1998 and have always thought this way: "if it moves me, it worths listening to". Darren proves itself in this GU. Both CDs are very housy and will sure move you and everybody who listens to them.

First CD is filled with dance house beats; the kind of CD i put while taking the shower to forget all about the bad things my day might bring.
Second CD keeps the happy house feeling but introduces a bit darker sound (or underground).