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Love on Haight Street is a funky breaks song. BT has always been one of my favorite trance artists. He has a way of making an album flow effortlessly. Songs which are all time classics in the world of trance. To me this is the perfect example that techno is not just some dumb music. Movement in Still Life ventures into the hip hop as well as his amazing trance fare.
This album is probably a good decade old and I could play it over and over not getting tired. He has done a number of soundtracks including Go and Gone in 60 Seconds, I believe. I think if ever you could buy an album to rock out to and also enjoy some dreamy trance, then this would be it. Songs like Dreaming and Satellite, the latter of which, I believe, is his own vocals. BT seems to have an instinct for making trance with amazing vocals (Kirsty Hawkshaw is just one of the artists he works with.His music and artistry is impeccable. I am always blown away by the way BT (Biran Transeau) can effortlessly make original music.
This guy is a musical genius.
Instead, each track just slams in or creeps up shyly. The UK release of MiSL by BT is an EDM classic. The subpar selection of tracks, as well as the random placement of tracks and lack of mixing, make the USA version less than it ought to be.Long version: I rank MiSL beside Hybrid's Wide Angle in terms of complexity, originality, composition, mood, and just plain groove. On such mediocre fare as "Never Gonna Come Back Down", we are treated to a barely bearable voice spitting out very bad freestyle.
However, I would not have bought this album had I not heard the UK version. Short version: The track selection and mixing on the UK version makes it the best BT album ever, in my humble opinion. The songs are not bad, but they are not nearly as good as the selections featured on the UK release. All in all, I would not recommend buying this item. This.
On the UK version, there is not a bad song. The UK version, believe it or not, really is worth the $40 when compared to the USA version. It is very obvious that BT lives and breathes music, and that he has been well-educated in the ways of his craft. The track would have been better if BT had not let some fool sing over it. thing that was given to us in the USA is a crime against the man's reputation.
The seamless mixing that would make any DJ jealous is totally absent. While some of the USA-only titles are not bad (Smartbomb, for example), I would gladly trade all of them for "Giving up the Ghost" alone. They both make me cry, but for totally different reasons.
Educate your brain. The influence of this album from the very subtle to the drastic is apparent in nearly every meaningful breaks album since.
I'm a professional musician. This is a record you need to hear.
I'm not going to write a tediously long review. You might not like it but if you care at all about the history/evolution of popular electronic music you need to know this record.
You will meet people that will dislike it. Regardless, this is one of those records that permanently changed the scene.
I could go on and on about minor technical flaws and even more minor artistic flaws but it would all be academic. and maybe at the same time you'll be fantastically entertained.
The title cut is decent but kind of like "Madskillz" and BT just blows me away with "Satellite" a soft, accoustic driven song that has some rather depresing undertones. Fortunatley, "Never Gonna Come Back Down" was next and while it really made no sense at all, it still held my attention with its no nonsense approach. "Madskillz" being the opening song on this collection of dance infused anthems, I thought that this was going to be another one of those DJ albums where substance was sacrificed for sound. What I find interesting about this collection is many of the songs read like poetry and are emotionally expresive. I love the song "Dreaming" because it starts off with the hint of being a lullaby like ballad but evolves smoothly into a trance like forray of beats and melodies. "Shame" has the sound of Depeche Mode written all over it and that influence makes the song so much more likable. Both "Godspeed" and "Smartbomb" have been featured in movie soundtracks and after listening to them, it is no shock as to why. This album is one of the best DJ albums out there and it delivers the goods without very many disapointments.
When I love every single track(and I mean that) on an album, I want the experience to be a never-ending trip. This is far from the "bum-sss-bum-sss-bum-sss-bum-sss" drivel. Vice versa with the best track out of both versions in my opinion, the almighty "Smartbomb". Some goof decided to release this album twice with slightly different versions of the same songs, and put a couple of SLAMMING tracks exclusively on each one.
Most of these songs could work on a movie soundtrack or commercial, as well. Dre/Rap. Yep, I said two. What good is getting laid if you're stopping every 5 minutes.I didn't care much for Ima, ESCM was fantastic, and Emotional Technology, his next full album after MISL, was nice, but none of them compares to MISL. This is driving, soothing, peaceful and violent all at the same time, with beats that will nod your head straight off your shoulders, and melodies that twist, turn, and groove.
Vocals - meh, those could use some work, but the music is that good, I don't care about the vocals. Not to mention the yellow cover version is a continuous mix of tracks, while the other version has each track separated by a couple of seconds of agonizing silence. EITHER version. It's a shame this album wasn't promoted more, but that makes it all the more a gem.
Let me put it this way: If I were to be stranded on an island, with a CD player, and batteries grew on the trees there, and was only allowed to bring five CDs with me, two of them would be "Movement In Still Life". Songs you can cruise to ("Love on Haight Street"), pop-lock to (title track - watch for that funky-ass break)., or put the moves on that first date to ("Satellite") - and while that may sound like your average pop album (keep in mind BT DID do a track for N'Sync's "Celebrity" album, called "Pop"), once you listen, you realize - BT cannot come wack with his music. It's damn near impossible. To put it quite simply BT/Dance=Dr. It's worth it. If you like dance music that's not just for dancing, don't sleep. "Namistai" and "Giving Up The Ghost", 2 of my favorite tracks on the yellow cover version, have been conveniently left off the BT cover version.
If you want an introduction to BT, don't sleep. So I say, if you have the dough and can find both versions, get them. BT is a classically trained musician, and it shows most of all on this album. Both know their craft, and can crank out a hit on a whim. And if you like this album, and want to hear more, try "Emotional Technology", an album that's not quite as good, but is closer in style than say, ESCM, an album from which BT seemed to begin his evolution from Enigma to who he is today.An amazing album.
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