Search - Various Artists :: Pure Chill Out

ALL THAT AND A BAG OF POTATO CHIPS

Chad E. Taylor | Houston, Texas United States | 11/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Pure Chill Out while chilling out at a major bookstore. Some of the songs, mainly, Always, by Bent, caught my attention. Then, other songs from this album popped up and then I was hooked. I left the store without buying an books, and I straight went home and logged on to Amazon.Com... This album has a great mix of really, mealow ambient songs and some very still-danceable songs too. You know, when you're sitting down, but you move side to side or up and down. I enjoy hip hop, jazz, and dance, and this is like an infusion of good beats, well-made melodies, and fast and slow songs. It also takes me to different cultures and heightens my imagination much like the album Moroccan Spirit. Get this album if you like mealow-dancey-true artist written music. (It's not techno.) Very good danceable tracks are Bent's "Always", and Fila Brazilla's "A Zed & @ L's". Other very commendable ambient, well written songs are "Stars", by Nightmare on Wax, "Opium" by Moodswings, "THe Orbiting Beatnik" by Julee Cruise, "Enchanted" by Delerium. The producers should have left "I Miss You" by Julia Messenger,"Gloomy Sunday" by Heather Nova in the cutting room floor. Buy this when you can. You'll listen to it over and over."

Easily live with or without it

Richard Diaz | 11/11/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Right, it's time to raise the bar on chill out music. Labels may proclaim some of these discs are designed for the casual listener, but packing the same names time and again reeks of a quick cash in. Moby, Bent, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Nightmares on Wax, Fila Brazillia, all tried and certifiable, or shall we say bankable. As for the rest, expect the usual mix of slow beats and airy female vocals. Cleverly done at times, with Julie Cruise's whispering "The Orbiting Beatnik," though Afterlife leave the biggest impression on their mixture of chanteuse, faint sax with piano, and slow bongos on "Makes Me Feel." Heather Nova's sweeping "Gloomy Sunday" has the lifting orchestration and delivery plucked straight from a stage musical, a fresh idea rarely heard in dance. On the downside, Julie Messenger's "I Miss You" is the typical sullen woman with piano accompaniment, Delerium's fey "Enchanted" struggles to mesh all it's new age sounds with girlie chanting, and Waldeck's "Aquarius" is little more than a cover curiosity. Meaning, Pure Chill Out is relaxing and varied and bland enough to be one more of the chillout market releases you can easily live with or without this month, and it's a safe decision either way."