Customer Reviews

Visions

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

 

 

This is the best CD I have listened to since the first Moby CD and the collaboration with Seal is totally brillant. The other two songs that I absolutely love are One Fine Day and Home Away From You. Although it is lumped in with the Dance Music catagory in the music shops, don't let that stop you from buying this one. It's thematic soundtrack weaves and ties together the melodic ballads to rythmic dance-oriented tunes. Beautiful and thought provoctingly relaxing, it is one of my favorite listens of all time.

The liner notes declare this to be a film score for an as-yet-unmade Sam Mendes film. It's more like what Thomas Newman would compile if he were 20 years younger and an ambient groover. Not that it's a bad thing...

Overall, the album has a ebb-and-flow pace repeating over the whole album.

American Dream (Intro): A quick snippet of the tune most listeners will be familiar with, building upon Newman's simple, stark piano themes from "American Beauty". An chill classic.

It Will Be: A slow, repeating synth groove with ambient keyboard fills. I enjoy this one, but it's not a complex tune by any means.

My Vision: Things pick up here. Seal lends a hand, and he tends to make a song in his own image. Again, relying on Newman's beautifully simple themes (this time it's the haunting "Brooks Was Here" from "The Shawshank Redemption") Jakatta's Lee twists the underlying music to move it from a sad, tragic piece into a dance track that is much lighter and airier than the original source.

So Lonely: Another gear change. A slight slowdown (but not much). Sitars and snippets of Monsoon's "Ever So Lonely" (featuring Sheila Chandra) mix southeast Asian influences. I also hear a little "Within You Without You" as well.

Feelin' Blue: Still slowing down, this casual track borrows from the score of the French film "Betty Blue". More simple piano melodies used to good effect. Not my favorite track, but I don't skip over it either.

I Don't Know: I wanted more out of this track (I enjoy the background jazz trumpet teasers), but Ty's rap is weak, unoriginal and out of place with the general theme of the album.

American Dream: Dubs and remakes of this tune are on countless chill compilations and, admittedly, got me interested enough to pony up the loot for this album. Yep, Newman's "Dead Already" is the foundation for this song. This version has the dreamy chanting of Swati Netakar but is paced to a fairly aggressive drum machine beat. I really enjoyed the Afterlife Remix of this song more than this version - considering the source material, I found it to be a more appropriate version - but the original here is very enjoyable. just my preferences.

One Fine Day: Slowing things way down again, this is probably my favorite track right now. A mellow groove with lots of background string fills and a sweet, steady vocal turn by Beth Hirsch. Her voice isn't unique (like some of the other samples Lee uses to excellent effect), but it works so well with the music that it's a whole greater than the parts.

Ride the Storm: Back to a drum machine staccato, this spoken word piece left me feeling flat after the high I felt with "OFD". Groove Armada does this much better. The music is pushed to the back, which is a shame, imo.

The Other World: OK, back in business. Lush strings introduce and complement a simple chill groove. Good tune for background music at a dinner party. Hello, John Barry?

Home Away From You: More Beth Hirsch, but this sounds too slick. It's missing something, or maybe it's trying to do too much? Not the success that the earlier collaboration was.

Strung Out: This is the audition for a film score. A 10 minute piece borrowing (recycling?) many of the samples from earlier songs on the album, this slow potpourri covers many different vibes within a single song. It's actually a summation of the whole album.

My Vision (Summer In White Edit): Takes the earlier song and loses the drum machine (almost always a good thing) and adds a simple electric guitar. A nice alternative to one of the strongest tracks on the album.

I do like this album, and I'm critical of Dave Lee here, because I think he has huge potential and shows it on many of the tracks here. Other than a few noted clunkers, "Visions" is very enjoyable and will likely be in my rotation for many late evenings and enjoyable chill out sessions to come.

I, like a lot of people, bought this CD soley on the collaboration with Seal on "My Vision". I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the CD. I own over 1,200 CDs and this one is in my Top 20. It is so refreshing to hear piano, Middle Eastern influences, techno, dance, smooth vocals and superb melodies written throughout this album. This disc gets 10 STARS for replayability. In fact, you can't help yourself but to replay it over and over. The tunes somehow stay fresh and you never grow tired of them.

I'm saddened that this CD was domestically released in the USA, nor was it promoted heavily. This could have easily gone multiple platinum as it appeal would hit many audiences. I love this CD but I am inclined to point out my favorites: My Vision, American Dream and the BEST, soothing song I've heard in years: One Fine Day.

Trust me when I say "Buying this album will be a gift to yourself."

This is a great album. It's always nice when you come across a cd that you can listen to all the way through and enjoy every song. Well just about, I think there was only one track I don't care for much. The rest are great. Like the other reviewer said, a lot of the samples sound like Thomas Newmans' stuff, who I'm also a fan of. Whether or not they were licensed, I'm not sure, but they are mixed well. The replayability of this cd is endless. I often listen to it during my commute to the city in the morning, and it definitely puts you in a light mood. Highly recommended. Favorite track "The Other World"

Okay, first of all, David Lee is not just anyone as said above..., I guess most people know him as Joey Negro (If you like deep, soulful house, Joey Negro's compilations are strongly recommended,...beautiful).
But David also likes to use other well known names like Kid Valdez, Raven Maize, and Quest For Excellence among other names.

About this album,..songs are well described above, there is a lot of down tempo on it, very relaxing and diverse. I am not used hearing this music from David but it makes me appreciate him even more, as I like people being open-minded, ...in music as well.
I don't have anything with rap so I agree that track 6 is not all that. However the music is simply beautiful, the trumpets especially.
I love the uptempo tracks the most, American Dream, Ride The Storm (a truly great track, it sounds very cool and special, precisely because of the "talking" of Linda Clifford).
Track 3, My vision is a great track. The choice for Seal was very good. When I hear Seal singing slightly more uptempo, Adamski-Killer comes back into my mind.
The one thing I missed was the uptempo version of (Ever) So Lonely.

I first heard "American Dream" & "Visions" back in 2002. When I got this CD I was amazed at the work by Jakatta. There is a mixture of chillout, house, & even ambient.

Here's just a list of my favorite tracks:
1. American Dream (Intro)
2. It Will Be
3. American Dream
4. So Lonely
5. One Fine Day
6. My Vision
7. My Vision (Summer in White Edit)
8. Strung Out.

Heck, 9 years later & I still am listening to this CD!

Outstanding music with a great single by Seal. I was turned onto this artist from one of my Pandora stations & absolutely LOVE them!

The first half of Visions by Jakatta is really good, but after "American Dream", the album falls to pieces. The last 2 tracks are just fillers. "Strung Out" is a a modified mix of most of the first 7 tracks played at a slower tempo. "I Don't Know" tops out as my favorite on the album.

3/5 stars.

Well. It seems that at least some of the music on this album is not original. American Dream (Intro) is a very mild remix of Any Other Name by Thomas Newman and Feelin Blue is clearly a remix of Cargo Voyage. Listen to the soundtrack to Betty Blue if you don't believe me. Have a listen to Porcelain by Moby and you'll discover the melody to I Dont Know. Why they couldn't use the original titles of the tracks I don't know. But, the music is excellent. I bought it.

I love this album. Not only does it incorporate music from the great "American Beauty" and have an excellent track featuring Seal, it is an incredibly versatile mix of music, equally moving during a stressful commute, a house party, or late night in bed.