Jungle Beats
02/17/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Three minute congo drum instrumentals do not put me in a "Blissed Out Mood", but they may for someone else. This is more for a Portishead fan who likes heavy beats and drums over anything else. If you lean toward rap, drum & bass, enjoy Nightmares On Wax's newer sound over the old, and need to relax, check this out. It's a good compillation (not mixed), with artists who I usually like (Alex Gopher, Thievery Corp, Tim Love Lee, Truby Trio, etc.) but it's like taking all my least favorites and making a double CD out of them. At the same time, if you're into melancholy vocals, and African beat meets trip hop, this is the place."
Dig this vibe
Leon M. Maroney | Kobe, Japan | 03/05/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I heard this at a friend's dinner party last weekend and was impressed. As a DJ I probably wouldn't buy it, as I already have most of these tracks already, but it's a good buy for those trying to improve their collections of downtempo, trip-hop, and future jazz. Although I don't think it's strictly a "chill out" compilation, with its inclusion of a few heavy, more danceable tracks, most of the material here sets a nice, mellow vibe for just hanging at the crib, enjoying some wine and having a good, laidback time with a few friends."
A "What's Chill?" Sampler
Mark Eremite | Seoul, South Korea | 12/30/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"There are several tricks to making any kind of compilation album, especially when that compilation is intended to center around a particular mood or genre. This double-disc set contains roughly two and a half hours of music, not much of it "chill" per se.
Even given a record set that doesn't hit the theme on the nose, I would score extra points for consistency. Although most of these songs are, in their own right, certainly worth a listen, the overall effect is uneven and miscalculated. It's as if four different people with five different concepts of "cool" worked on gathering these twenty-six songs together.
There are a few songs that, by now, have become classic chill mainstays (Lamb's "Transfatty Acid," Groove Armada's "Inside My Mind," and, of course, "Lebanese Blonde," by Thievery Corporation), and there are a few lesser known standouts (Kinobe's "Skyscraper" and "Blue Room" by The Orb), but there are also more than a few sore thumbs sticking out of this group. "Dusted," the collaborative effort by Leftfield and Roots Manuva is a great trip-hop recording, but it has no place on a "chill" album. Likewise with "Dirge," an electro-dreamy, heavy hitter by Death In Vegas.
Even inconsistency could be forgiven if the songs were arranged in such a way as to SUGGEST consistency, as opposed to highlighting the discrepancies between the tunes. Unfortunately, this set fails on that count as well. It's worth a buy if you're interested in expanding your record collection, since there are quite a few good songs here. But if you do buy this album, instead of listening to the CDs straight through (as one would normally do with "chill-out" records), I'd recommend sampling from the track list to make your own chill mix. You'll probably be much more successful than the creators of these discs."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
