Above & Beyond - Anjunabeats Volume One mp3 album

Personally, I thought that this release would blow me away. I'm a big fan of the older Anjunabeats sound, some of my first experiences with Trance music being several of these tracks (Razorfish, Rush), although listening to this compilation was pretty disappointing. It is a very homogeneous sounding album. Too much of the same sound, if you will. While generally, compilations tend to have a similar overall "sound", the tracks in this compilation are too similar to one another. They are nearly identical in structure, and consist of nearly indistinguishable patch synthesis... This isn't an artist album. Upon my first listen, I was very excited to hear Razorfish, Rush, and Epic mixed in sequence. I had not previously heard the opening track, which to me is the highlight of the album. Far From In Love, however, I view as an obstacle to the next three tracks. I found it to be a very bland track, and the transition into it was rather lackluster, as most transitions on this compilation proved to be. Compared to some other compilations from DJ Tiësto, Armin, Sasha, Digweed, and many others, this compilation - while it should have by all means been a fantastic journey into the early sound of the Anjunabeats label, seemed little more than a few great tracks hastily glued together with a few average tracks thrown in between. I'd say it's rather indicative that a relatively good tracklist reveals little of the true nature of a mix compilation. It simply lacked the nuance and variety that most other mix compilations I'm familiar with from the time period consist of. Perhaps an unmixed compilation would have been preferable. I also think that the Original Mix of Sky Falls Down would have been much better than the Armin Remix. The Original Mix surprisingly would have done a better job of introducing a bit of variety to the compilation. The bass is grittier, and really the track is just better all around. I find Armin's Remix somewhat... depressing melodically. It's a shame that the Original Mix is so rarely featured on any mixes.... It also would have been truer to the Anjunabeats label, as it would have remained strictly Above & Beyond.3/5. Just all right.-1 for the overbearing homogeneity in sound of the various tracks-1 for the lackluster transitionsDisclaimer: This is only my opinion. As the average rating shows, my opinion seems to be that of the minority. I understand that the compilation is supposed to encompass the Anjunabeats sound from 2000 to 2003, but however great that sound is, one is almost forced to realize how truly similar each track is to one another... I'm almost inclined to think that the standout Anjunabeats releases are nothing more than the same track melodically re-imagined... In any event, that is what I'd say for the 3 years of releases that this album consists of. Certainly 2004, 2005, 2006, and beyond brought some of the more varied Anjunabeats classics. Among my favorites, Nitrous Oxide's North Pole, Alt+F4, Luminary's Amsterdam, and Daniel Kandi's Make Me Believe. If anything, this compilation has taught me that too much of a good sound is never a good thing.

The first anjunabeats compilation and what a release!This is essentially half the best of Above & Beyond, and half the best of the anjunabeats label. I still thinking this is one of the strongest releases in the series and really doesn't seem to have aged.The Madonna track is a nice surprise and is very very strong - you can understand why Jono, Tony & Paavo were considered some of the strongest vocal trance remixers in the world after hearing this. I feel like every track on this stands out with my favorites being 'far from in love' the amazing opera mix of 'albinoni' and the impssible to find typhoon dub mix of japanese superstar Ayu's 'M'.Just an amazing album that ebodies the early anjunabeats sound - a casual peak into big room trance with a progressive edge - at least that is how I characterize it.For any trance fan this is a must get10/10

totally agree i bought the first and loved the tunes all perfectly compiled the later volumes seemed to be hit and miss not that they got worse but the sound changed and just didn't have the same impact as the first volume to me.

yes,it sure is the best of the best!Above & Beyond used to be so wonderful!