Customer Reviews

Vintage Chill 3: Autumn

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

 

 

I have a collection of downtempo/chillout CDs, and after listening to this one for about a week, I ripped a few tracks onto my MiniDisc player and put it away.

It's nice if you want some chilling background music, but if you actually want to listen to it while driving or drinking coffee/tea with some friends, or hell, even drinking, it'll put you to sleep. Yeah, I know downtempo/chill is supposed to give that vibe, but there's "good sleepy vibe" and bad. This is "bad," because not only are most of the tracks totally boring, but there's that obnoxious, abrupt transition between each of the tracks that gets really irritating after a few loops.

Like a previous reviewer stated, this CD is just "songs," it's not a mellow trip to the land of chilldom or anything, it's just a few laidback songs linked together. And I don't even think all the tracks are all that great, either.

"To the Sound," "Forecast," "Alive Tonight," and "Late Night Sessions" are the highlights, everything else is pretty forgettable. If this CD were a few dollars cheaper, I'd give it a higher recommendation, but considering it's nearly $20 and it's not a 2-CD set like the Bargrooves set nor as cohesive as the Hotel Costes series, I can't give this CD more than three stars.

Try any of the Hotel Costes CDs, Bargrooves, or Amsterdam NIGHTS instead, for some quality chillout music.

Initially, I loved this CD. The tracks were great, and I enjoyed the order of them. But after playing it over and over (which I do to CDs I love, and the good ones stand up to scrutiny), I realized that unlike Hotel Costes, this CD just had songs. It wasn't a head trip, a smooth ride, it had an odd sound played in between each track that sounded like a cross between the echo of a record being changed and the gong-like noise heard in Track 3 (Moonlight), and the next song would begin with a bang. I found this a bit jarring. I listen to music on my commute, a good 3 hours everyday, the last thing I want some mornings is to be rudely awoken by my chillout music. It's, um, chillout, lounge. Not heavy metal. So aside from the cheap and jarring transitions, I like this CD a lot; I just am really getting annoyed with the transitions, and I am regularly passing it over for old favourites (Hotel Costes).

Autumn was the only volume of the Vintage Chill series that I was missing. I'm sorry I didn't order it sooner. Vol. 3 is the perfect comp for the fall season - smooth and mellow but with a slight edge. The first track, "Autumn Leaves" sets the tone for the entire CD. A winner.