Essential Mix

With this Essential Mix 2000, however, Tong has made a bit more of a musical statement than he has previously, and the result is impressive, indeed. Yes, in assembling tracks that tend toward the darker and more percussion-dominated side of dance music he has followed a trend, rather than forged one himself--the style *du jour* in dance music overall from 1999-2001 has indeed eschewed the "uplifting" and tended toward the dark and deep--but his track selection, sequencing, and mixing here are so good that it's clear that Tong is NOT simply the "conveyer of hits to the masses," but a man who KNOWS dance music and has an almost unerring ability to hone in on quality tunes.

Following a pattern that has become fairly common in two-cd mix sets, Tong uses the first cd to present tracks that are mostly percussive and housey (for lack of a better term). Highlights (for me, anyway)of this portion of the mix include Simon's "Free At Last," a Deep Dish remix of Sven Vath's venerable "Barbarella, and " Datar's "B." Tong winds up this set with DJ Rolando's massive hit, "Jaguar."

The second set shifts just a bit toward the trancey, though overall the music retains the darkish, percussive feel established in disc one. There are some definite anthems here, including Sasha and Darren Emerson's "Scorchio," Halo Varga's much-played "Future" (though the Jaime + Kenny D remix is certainly distinctive), and Futureshock's "Sparc." All in all, the set moves along smartly, and there isn't a bad track in the lot.

Kudos to Pete Tong for eschewing the "tops in dance pops" formula this time around. This compilation won't appeal to all listeners (especially those looking for such absent styles as garage, disco, dance-pop, or uplifting trance), but for those of us enamored of the deep, dark, hypnotic, more underground styles of dance music, Tong's mix is a must-have.


chock full of too many quality tunes to highlight...   November 22, 2000
Richard Diaz (Centerville, OH United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

...

Among other job duties- Radio jock, label A&R man, etc - Pete Tong is a DJ, though he's not particularly recognized for it. He's primarily the man delivering the big hits to the masses in England; signing `em, giving airtime, and a few times a year rounding `em all up (along with tunes you can't even find yet) on massively popular compilations.

You probably knew all that anyway, as he's as big a name as you'll find in our "underground" electronica scene. As for this two disc album, it's loosely divided into a house and an even better trance set (with crossover in both), chock full of too many quality tunes to highlight. Nearly every track is a keeper, and while they lean towards popular titles there's rarely a nod to trance-pop or smiley-club numbers.

Alright, back to Pete Tong being a DJ; it's his mixing and track order making this hits comp flow naturally. Look at the seamless transition from Futureshock's mix of the spinner-fave "Pushin Too Hard" into their own "Sparc," a sequence repeated with two Deep Dish pieces. Giving added value are the remixes of 2000's big songs, as in the Nalin & Kane trippy guitar take on "Rise In" or Jaimy & Kenny D's version of "Future" by Halo Varga, and the big tunes that are soon to be anchors of future DJ sets, like Dusted's "Always Remember to Respect Your Mother."

This is for those looking for more than Top-40 instant gratification in their music, yet want it easily accessible and enjoyable. Now why the heck can't we get big tune roundups like this domestically? Even at import prices this is a better value than most American counterparts. Let's just call it for what it is - Essential. Grade: A-