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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will Tiësto Ever Stop?, June 29, 2006
Three years after In Search Of Sunrise 3 was released, Tiësto is back with a new addition to the series. It's the first two-disc set of the series, and overall, it's a challenging set to review.
The only way to review it is to look at each disc separately.
DISC ONE:
The mix doesn't begin quite like the other ISOS mixes. Usually the introduction is slow and dreamy. While there is a bit of silence and some nighttime sounds of nature at the beginning, the beat drops right in. Solarstone is one of the best trance artists around, so I was happy to see that Tiësto featured them here. Solarstone and JES's Like A Waterfall has good house elements and an excellent vocal track. At about four or so minutes into the track, it turns into amazing trance. Flowing waves and a piercing melody swell up and come down "like a waterfall." Go figure. Tiësto pulls out the low frequencies from track one and mixes in ToneDepth & SoulTan's Moments effortlessly.
I'm unsure what direction this mix is going at this point. This sounds more like house than trance. Moments' melody definitely goes along with the album art. But this feels much different than the previous In Search Of Sunrises. It feels more laid back, calm, and relaxed. Tiësto begins pulling Ahmet Ertenu's Why in more than a minute before Moments ends. It mixes perfectly. Then Why explodes and starts throwing all sorts of crazy trance and house elements at you. At this point I'm aware that this is not a trance CD. It's a trance/house CD. Tiësto has always bridged the two genres, but it's so pronounced here. Why is an awesome song, but it took several listens for me acquire a taste for it.
Tiësto flips Why right out and moves on to the serious business. Max Graham's remix of Do What U Want is unbelievable. Now this is Tiësto's style. This is by far the best song on the mix so far. "It's starting to kill me... It's like she cast a spell, I wish I knew how to break it, so you'd take a little notice of me." These are lyrics that define trance. This is absolute dance floor lust. The beat demands that you dance. The vocal samples are awesome. You can tell where one sample of her voice is cut and placed right after a sample from a different recording. It gives the song a distinct quality. This is such a beautiful song.
And Tiësto mixes it into Wurz + Blosse masterfully. I have no idea what kind of name that is for a song. Oh well, the song is good. It's the deepest atmospheric trance song at this point. It's like Tiësto knew Do What U Want would get you off so the next logical step is to bring you back into the mix as quickly as possible with some straight up house. Wurz + Blosse mixes into Coca & Villa's La Noche so well it's nearly invisible. The strung out chords here build tension well. The tribal drums here go with the rest of the mix. But then the beat drops and the melody comes in... Tiësto does have a plan here. he's just switching up his style. This song is great! It makes sense - this really is a Latin America mix. The melody here is fabulous. If you don't feel like dancing to this I feel sorry for you. I guarantee this song will grow on you. It's so slick. Hands down to Coca & Villa for this track.
Tilt's Twelve is where I begin realizing how consistent this mix is. It's so consistent I could see why people get bored with it. The builds aren't over the top like great trance and the mix has a very chilled out feel. The beats are mostly house as well. This mix is considered progressive house by lots of people, so I can understand why it may not appeal to some of Tiësto's fans. The Dousk Mix of Twelve has a build that hits you right in the face. It begins to swell up and then the beat drops early and takes you. The vocal in the background is seductive and hypnotic... as is the next song.
The Andy Moor Mix of Luminary's My World rules. Tiësto has a way of making you let out a sigh of relief when another vocal track comes on. He always picks the best ones, and he always holds them off long enough for it to be liberating when they come on. The melody that comes in at about three and a half minutes into the song is fantastic, and it keeps going right into and over the drop of the low beat. Blend Forty 3 keeps the mix going in the right direction. There are lots of distortion effects here. The melody comes in during the break and continues on in the background of the breakdown. This song is not a standout. Then Arcadia comes in...
Arcadia is one of the all time great house songs. It is perfection. Tiësto adds some weird sounds give it more personality in the context of the mix, but besides that, he butchers it. I was incensed the first time I heard this mix. I couldn't believe he took the long, beautiful build out and mixed the business of the song right in without holding back. He still includes the best part of the song, but Tiësto's edit is a serious party foul. Just check out Gabriel & Dresden's Bloom or Armin Van Buuren's A State Of Trance 2005 to hear Arcadia in a form that hasn't been trashed.
Tiësto gets back on track with Split Second's Midnight Express. It continues Tiësto's vision for this mix. It is consistent with the qualities of the other tracks on the mix while adding its own flair. The melody that takes over about halfway through the song is pure trance. This is a good driving song. The vocal is interesting, but I can't say I'm a big fan of it. The song is a bit long too. But at least it goes into an all time trance great: Tiësto's remix of BT's The Force Of Gravity. Now I have read reviews complaining about how much this song has been "hammered to death." Perhaps this is true in the club, but as far as mix compilations go, this is the first retail mix I've seen the song featured on. And Tiësto had yet to feature it on a compilation of his so it is only logical that it would be featured on this set. JC Chasez's vocal track is excellent. "Now I'm sinking beneath, the waves are crashing over me." This is trance. However, he edits the song awkwardly. He makes some adjustments, holds off the vocal break, and adds some elements that make it sound more like other songs from the mix. It's not the best version of the song, but it's a classic nonetheless.
The mix into Allure's (Tiësto's) The Loves We Lost is the most distinct of all the mixes on the set. This song sounds very much like Tiësto's music on Parade Of The Atheletes and Just Be. That isn't a compliment, but the song is cool. The energy gets unbearably high during the build... it's amazing and intense. I like the break a lot too. The song grows on you, but the best trance shouldn't have to. It mixes into E-Craig's 212 Remix of Blank & Jones Perfect Silence. Perfect Silence has a cool beat, but the vocals are somewhat lame, and overall the song is not great. It has cool effects and a good sample for the low beat, but it's just not impressive. The build is not moving. I imagine that this song is much more impressive in the club than in your car or at home. Basically, Tiësto disappointed me by ending the mix with this song. It's an alright song, but it just doesn't get the job done. The riffs at the very end of the song are really cool and they end the mix well, but that doesn't make up for the song.
Disc one is good because of Like A Waterfall, Why, Do What U Want, La Noche, and The Force Of Gravity. It is not great because of a handful of less than stellar songs and the humiliation of Gabriel & Dresden's Arcadia. In all honesty, Disc one of In Search Of Sunrise 4 is the worst of the entire series. It does not feel epic like the others. It's a good mix, and it's completely refreshing after you've grown tired of listening to the same old amazing, mind-blowing trance over and over again. It's worth owning and listening to occasionally. However, Tiësto is much better than this.
Disc one verdict: 4 stars.
DISC TWO:
As soon as mix starts, you know it's on. Forget about disc one. Tiësto threw that in just for fun. Disc two lays the smack down.
Re:Locate produced Typhoon and Waterfall, which are two of the most intense trance songs around. Their collaboration with Estuera to produce Palma Solane is miraculous. This song is an absolute classic. The melody takes me to the beach every time I hear it. It's just too good. The beat is solid and the energy level is perfect. This is what trance is supposed to be. After such a great introduction track you'd expect the next song to be a little less impressive. Nope. It's even better. Leon Bolier's (or Inner Stories') Beyond is one of the best trance songs I've ever heard. It's unlike all other trance. It truly takes you beyond. It breaks, broods, then bursts into a melody that makes you stop everything you are doing, close your eyes, and let your imagination take you out of this world. This is glorious trance. So I'm completely intoxicated at this point. What's next? Gravity by P.O.S.
Flawless. Unbelievable. Surreal. It doesn't get any better than this. Tiësto is trying to make your head explode. Three amazing trance songs mixed together perfectly, back to back to back, are too much to handle. Gravity... this song brings tears to my eyes. The piano melody, the heavenly vocals, and the build take this song and this mix into the cosmos. Everything wrong with disc one is obliterated and tossed aside with disc two. Thank you Tiësto. I've listened to first three tracks of this mix an unreasonable amount of times. P.O.S. does not play any games. This is perfect trance.
And it doesn't stop. The mad beauty continues with LNQ's People I Used To Know. This song is dreamlike. The melody with the bell sounds is typical of great trance. The drawn out chords behind everything keep you in a state of trance. The echoing sounds are awesome. And then... BAM! The real melody comes in and you realize the game is far from over. There's no stopping on this one. Tiësto will not let the greatness end. I love this! I have heard a lot of trance compilations but I've never heard stuff like this. And it keeps going!!!
The Mathilda Mix of Slow It Down keeps the energy up and refuses to let you go! "It's not too late... to turn around." YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! This is the perfect mix of house and trance. Julie Harrington's voice soars on this amazing production. The low-mid bass here is what drives the song. It's playful. It goes up and down and down and down and up and up and down until you're bouncing all over the place. Man.
Then Tiësto flexes his muscles and throws his mixing skills down so hard that you want to jump off a cliff. The mix into Dominic Plaza's Sounds Rushing is flawless. It demonstrates how short transitions should be done. And the song is amazing. Here we are at the sixth song I can only rave. The vocals here are insane. Dominic Plaza blows my mind with the effects here. The zaps and the warped samples are too much. The energy is too high... I can't handle it. The mix is melting the world around me...
So Tiësto slows it down... slightly. But he keeps the amazing sounds coming. The perfection continues with Matthew Dekay and Proluctors's BAD. This song is aggressive, yet airy. The house elements here rule. The mood here definitely seems different at first. But then the melody comes in and you're back in heaven. It's too good to be true. One after the other these songs mix together perfectly and keep the mood constant. Tiësto is playing domino rally. Whether inebriated, sober, running, driving, making love, or playing a video game muted, this mix enhances life.
Electric Pulse's White Noise takes the mix even higher. Once again, the vocal effects are unbelievable. I'm in love with the electronic bell and violin samples. Then, without warning... the world is flipped upside down and Grayarea's Gravity is on. Erik Shephard's vocals are great. The beat is so hard! "Too far gone." She said it herself. At this point I'm just too far gone. The distortion effects and the stereo pans drive me nuts. And then the melody swells up and the beat drops and... well, you already know. This is trance.
ON AND ON!!! Junkie XL takes Tiësto's UR with Matt Hales and turns it into a trance masterpiece. I don't know what elements are from which song as this song is mixing in, but it's not important. The snare here rocks. The vocal track rules. UR wasn't very impressive on Just Be, but here it shines like the sun. Junkie XL is excellent at remixing songs. The "air guitar" melody snaps off. I can't believe it. Ten songs and the beauty has not stopped. Then Odyssee's Evolution comes in. It's consistent with the rest of the mix, but at first it doesn't sound like it will be able to keep up with the rest of the mix.
At this point, it doesn't need to! It sweeps the mix right along and keeps you in a trance. The melody is strong enough to hold you over. Besides, we're in the last part of the mix so Tiësto is heading toward his final breakdown. Progression's Sands Of Time keeps up the energy with a sample that sounds like a siren alerting you that it's time to dance. And the break throws in an Arabian sound that would work wonders raves.
The mix into Netherworld is heavy. It's apparent what Tiësto is doing here. Track ten was pretty much the jump off. The last four tracks take the mix a different direction. Tiësto is downright progressive on the last movement. Gone are the heavenly melodies and vocals. The end is about the deep, nonstop breakdown. You've been swept off your feet the entire mix, so it's time to slow the intensity down. Or so you think...
NOPE! He fooled you! He was leading up to the grand finale! The Rave Mix of Only One takes you back up to the heavens one last time. Then it fades out and makes you want to start the whole thing over. It leaves you wanting more.
Tiësto has baffled me once again. From beginning to end, this mix is graceful. It loses its majesty on tracks eleven through thirteen, but only in comparison to the first ten tracks...
It does not matter.
This is the second best In Search Of Sunrise mix Tiësto has done. It eclipses the second, narrowly surpasses the third, and absolutely destroys disc one of the fourth. Only the original can stand up to this mix.
Disc two verdict: an indestructible 5 stars
Here's the bottom line. This two-disc set costs $15. Disc two is worth $15 at least. Disc one is not bad. I don't see what the problem is. This is a steal! You could buy the album, throw disc one in the trash and still have a great deal! Disc two is amazing! It is essential trance!!!
There's no arguing.
Anybody who likes trance or house must own this album.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aural intoxication into my brain..., September 13, 2005
Before I write about the review of this CD, I want to tell you where I come from. I have been a trance techno lover over 10 years. I have over 250 trance techno CDs. I have Tiesto's Magik 1 through 6, Nyana, Parade of Athletes, Just Be, and In Search of Sunrise Vol.1,2,3, and now 4: Latin America.
My my humble opinion, this CD is easily top 5 in my trance techno CD collection. Nuff said! It is soothing, smooth, groovy, not out of control, Ibiza flavor-like, high in replayability, intense... It's too much! Blasting this Latin America CDs create my Martin Logan speakers into a space scape void that I fall into. It's a journey which I need no drugs to be in aural ecstasy. Like the McDonald's say, I am luvin' it!
PS-By the way, I don't know these hooligans who gave this CD a low rating, where did you come from? How long you have been a trance techno fan? What is wrong with you? Don't listen to their reviews. They are so off... Go listen to gansta rap or something.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Electronic classical music, June 21, 2005
This is just a great album by a great dj. I bought this album on cd and vinyl a month before it came out because I knew this would be an amazing album. And when I first played the cd, I have to say I was disappointed. However, I felt the same way when I first listened to ISOS 3 Panama, Which I have played probably hundreds of times since then. This cd is absolutely awesome. I must say that the average person listening to this cd would not like it. You need an advanced taste in electronic music to appreciate Tiesto's ISOS series. If you buy this cd thinking of Tiesto's live sets or even singles you will probably be disappointed. This cd is meant to be listened to as a whole, then and only then can Tiesto's 2 most valuable traits come through, his amazing mixing and his taste in tracks, he injects and creates emotion and mood into his mixes, this is why he is the best of the best. Tiesto's ISOS series also has an extremely good replay value, you'll notice intracacies in the mixes the 300th time you listen to these albums. Just superb.
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