Various
Artists
Classic Trance Anthems
Boom
(pause) Boom (pause) Boom, boom, boom, boom. Boomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboom,
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Sound familiar?
Now add some thudding off-the-beat basslines, big ol’ cheesy
hi-hats, and synth-hooks so basic they could be played by a one-fingered
chimp.
Welcome to Classic Trance Anthems. This is the music you thought
you’d never feel nostalgic about. Once upon a time, this
music was not synonymous with Burberry caps and souped-up Ford
Fiestas.
When trance exploded into the mainstream in the mid-to-late Nineties,
it had a strong identity, (remember the Crasher Kids?). Sure,
it wasn’t particularly sophisticated, but it represented
an alternative to the supposedly ‘Alternative.’
Since then, trance has probably been the soundtrack to many of
your nights out. Even if you didn’t listen to it voluntarily,
it probably evokes a moment more than the Radiohead album you
played to death in your bedroom.
So what if you don’t know your ATB from your BBE? On the
surface, this has all the hallmarks of good pop music - great
rhythms, throw-away and catchy riffs. These are the power-ballads
of our generation.
Like all musical genres, some of it deserves to be confined to
the dustbin of musical history. Do we really need trance covers
of Bryan Adams, Duran Duran and the theme tune from frickin’
Braveheart?
But
that piano refrain from Robert Miles’ ‘Children’?
Listen carefully, and you might hear something similar on the
latest Muse album.
It’s questionable whether some of this is bona fide trance
(Olive, Kernkraft 400).
There are also some notable omissions (where, for example, is
Energy 52’s ‘Café Del Mar’?)
However, you might want to see this CD as an investment. In a
couple of year’s time, student discos up and down the land
will feature irony-fuelled trance nights. Don’t throw out
that klaxon just yet.
by David Wright
