Winter Chill, Vol. 3

The Winter Chill series is solid and very downtempo and this one is no exception. There are some good cuts here. It starts out perfect, setting the mood... and this is where I have a small problem. It starts with Faithless' "Evergreen", and then the spacy, whistle of Goldfrapp's "Lovely Head" followed up by a cut from Royksopp's wildly successful album a few years ago. Beth Hirsch's calming acoustic song is perfect for imaginging the quietness of a snowfall. And although she's a bit... different, Ursula Rucker knows how to put together a cool vibe and beat with her songs, preaching of independent sisterhood. Jaffa's "Sneakin'" is great - check out that old school Jazz influence! CD 2 doesn't slow down much (how could it - you already have the ambition and motivation of a sloth stuck in molasses.). Depeche Mode, Chris Coco, The Dining Rooms, Afterlife, Kosheen and Mr Hermano have some solid tracks there too.

All in all, solid two discs of ultra chilled out grooves. The downside? Well, you can definitely see how some people might put this in as a sort of "shoot me" depressant after breaking up with someone. And... well... some of the vocals are so syrupy and warbly, they turned my stomach (see "Sometimes it Snows in April", Si*Se, etc...). My real gripe - why oh WHY did they quit with the Serve Chilled series? Of course they don't want product cannibalism, but I liked those better. The Third one was one of my favorite compilations. It went from upbeat to downtempo, and had some fantastic and not so overplayed cuts from that time period (Atjazz, Raccoon, Los Ladrones, S-Tone Inc., etc) If you like this, then by all means check out the other Winter Chill cds. Or... there is a cd titled "She: A Female Trip-Hop Experience". But guys be warned; if you see this on top of the stereo at any time, get away as fast as you can. Run... don't look back. Don't ask questions. Just run.


This compilation truly lives up to the term "chill out"   January 3, 2003
Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is my very first Hed Kandi release that I recently acquired. I liked what I saw when I saw this album on Amazon.com. I liked the diversity and the lack of the same ol'songs and artists that I typically see on other chill out compilations. The first disc was good. I think I am going to need the music to sink into my head before making a final call on. Still it is definitely better than volume 2 of "Ultra Chilled". The standout tracks on that cd was the songs by Faithless, Royksopp, Si*Se, Goldfrapp, and De Phazz. Disc 2 is excellent. I really loved Depeche Mode's "When the Body Speaks", Fac 15 (feat. Cathi Ogden)'s cover of The Carpenters' "Rainy Days and Mondays" and Amar's "Sometimes It Snows in April". I thought both discs really represented chill out music in its finest form. The tracks are really solid and different. Sometimes it costs more for quality music and this cd is no exception to that statement. I definitely need to pick up the first two compilations in Hed Kandi's series of chill out music.