Search - 4 Strings :: Turn It Around

Mediocre at best; rather disappointing 2nd album.

Doctor Trance | MA, United States | 07/28/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After Believe, it was going to be hard for this trance team to recreate another stunner, and they have missed the mark. One thing that struck me as odd right away is that Vanessa, the lead singer, isn't mentioned anywhere in the liner notes. I mean, yes she's on the cover, but her name gets no credit.



What is also a huge difference from Believe is while Vanessa led all vocals tracks on that album, she only does half the tracks on here. One track is sung by Nikola from Sphere, 3 tracks by Jan Loechel, a male member of 4 Strings and writer of their lyrics, and on a few other tracks, we have no idea who sings them because it doesn't tell you in the liner notes, and it is not Vanessa.



Out of the 5 best tracks on the CD, Vanessa sings none of them. I do not like their first single, turn it around, as it's too slow and the vocals are rather awkward sounding (although the Club Mix peps it up a bit). The two dance songs sung with male vocals are suprisingly excellent offerings, and I feel at least one of them should get an official release: Love is Blind and Euphoric Eyes. The 3rd song with male vocals is a ballad which I don't care for.



Let's get to the best track on the CD, track 9, Until You Love Me. It's catchy, great background melodies, and instantly strikes you upon first hearing it. One question I have is who the heck sings it, because it's not Vanessa and they don't tell you on the CD???



Anyway, the 5th standout track is Back to Basics, which is really an instrumental with sporadic vocals (not sure who again??) thrown in, and it's a damn good one.



If you take out the Intro and Outro, you have 14 tracks, and only 5 are exceptional. The rest are mediocre at best, with good background trance music, but less than appealing vocals and lyrics. A few tracks are real duds. I mean would you crank this CD up in your car and be caught dead singing along to "I Hear Dolphins Cry". This has to be one of the cheesiest vocal trance tracks I've ever heard.



As for the Ian Van Dahl Lost & Found vs. 4 Strings Turn it Around debate (they are both released on the same day), it's a no brainer, hands down win for Ian Van Dahl. That CD is much more solid with only a few sub par tracks. A complete 5 Star album. See my review on that one.



This one gets 3 stars from me, due to 5 exceptional tracks. The best track, Until You Love Me, is outstanding and as good as any on the Ian Van Dahl Lost and Found CD. You may want to buy this CD for these few excellent tracks."

Disappointing second album

Alex J. Avriette | Arlington, Virginia USA | 03/15/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to second some of the other reviewers' reviews of this album. It really lacks the energy and the coherence of the previous album. The tracks in general are a little slower. The production quality is overall about the same, but it is just not as "listenable" as Believe was. The exception I find on the album is the "Club Mix" of "Turn It Around."



But if we think about that for a second, aren't we talking about "club music" here afterall? Are we under any pretenses that this is elevator or lobby music? I should think not. What we expect from this band, and from a second album is an equal or better effort at club music. House-ish, trance-ish, and anthemic. It's just missing on Turn it Around.



I wholeheartedly recommend Believe, but I'd steer clear of this one unless you find it used."

What in the world happened?

Jimmy | Anaheim, CA | 11/20/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"When I first heard that 4 Strings would be coming out with another album I was excited. I had so thoroughly enjoyed their first cd that I had high hopes for this one. The first single was amazing! The day it came out I ran out and bought it. I must have listened to it hundreds of times, it was so good! I couldn't wait for the actual album. Then it came out...My excitement diminished. First of all, I realized that Vanessa was barely on the cd. You don't mess with a good thing! Vanessa's voice complimented the music so well! Then a second problem arose: the music seemed like a rehash of the previous album's music only this time with different lyrics. What happened?! The only relief I found in this cd was the track "Euphoric Eyes." It's the only track that doesn't make me want my money back. (even both versions of the title track "Turn It Around" make me angry. I advise getting the single, as it has the best version.) So here's my verdict: Major disappointment. Why, 4 Strings? Why!"