"Well, it's about time he did a music review!" This is probably what you're saying while looking at this blog entry. Most of the music reviews up to this point have been Black Sabbath albums by Forbes, so I think it's time I caught up! Besides, after all the 'new site features' updates, we kinda need to post some new material. All that site stuff can be boring to some people.
For my first music review entry for the site, I have chosen to go through my entire music collection alphabetically. The way I do things, alphabetically means starting with non-letters/numbers (a.k.a. characters such as brackets, symbols, etc.), followed by numbers, then finally the alphabet itself. First up in my music collection is a numbered artist. A Eurodance project formed in 1991 by two Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde and fronted by Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth. Otherwise known as 2 Unlimited.
You will notice that I've chosen a compilation album - "Hits Unlimited" - as my first music review. Some might see this as cheating as it's not a proper album, but why not? The songs featured still generate an opinion.
This compilation album is a fine example of 90's dance music, particularly the tracks from the first half of the decade. Considering the album came out in 1995, there's really no surprise in that fact.
The tracklist is:
1. Do What's Good For Me
2. No Limit
3. Get Ready For This
4. Twilight Zone
5. No-One
6. Jump For Joy
7. Tribal Dance
8. The Magic Friend
9. Workaholic
10. Let the Beat Control Your Body
11. Nothing Like the Rain
12. Spread Your Love
13. The Real Thing
14. Here I Go
15. Maximum Overdrive
16. Faces
The songs that stand out the most for me are "No Limit", "Get Ready For This", "Twilight Zone", "Jump For Joy", "The Magic Friend", "Workaholic" and "Let the Beat Control Your Body", and without a doubt are my favourite songs from this compilation. All the other songs are good, but I find myself falling back onto the other tracks quite often.
"No Limit" was once used in a TV commercial in the last decade or so, but I can't remember what for. Probably a potato chip ad, but I could be wrong. It's very catchy, especially the lyric, "No no, na na, no no, na na, no no, na no, there's no limit!" An earworm in the making, I promise you.
"Get Ready For This" is probably the first of 2 Unlimited's songs to enter my ears. It takes me way back to the beginning of the second decade of my life. Around that time it was being used in TV commercials a lot. Particularly the opening line, "Y'all ready for this?" It wouldn't surprise me if this was considered their signature song.
"Jump For Joy" is a song I think could be used in multiple situations. Whether it be a sporting event, falling in love, even church, it's an upbeat and happy song. Possibly my favourite song of theirs at the moment.
"The Magic Friend" was released in 1992, which makes me wonder if they got the title from Roxette's "Joyride", which came out a year prior. Wouldn't surprise me though. Roxette is rather inspirational... One of my favourite synth riffs appears on this song.
"Let the Beat Control Your Body" appeared on another compilation at one stage - one that a friend of mine owned a copy of, which is how I heard this song for the first time, if I'm not mistaken. This song lives up to its name. You will literally be moved by this track.
"Workaholic" and "Twilight Zone", among others, were a part of a megamix that I downloaded a few years back, and I think that may be how I discovered these great songs. Chances are I may have heard them on the radio and eventually forgot about them (radio stations can't always be trusted to play good songs all time every time). Apart from the songs I remembered, these were also a reason why I had to get this compilation album.
If you're big on dance music and love the classics, I highly recommend this compilation. After you listen to it, and if you enjoy what you hear, go ahead and grab yourself a copy of the rest of their discography. It's also good for fuelling your nostalgia moments.
Overall rating: 8/10.
Check out the YouTube videos below for a small selection of the tracks on this compilation.
For my first music review entry for the site, I have chosen to go through my entire music collection alphabetically. The way I do things, alphabetically means starting with non-letters/numbers (a.k.a. characters such as brackets, symbols, etc.), followed by numbers, then finally the alphabet itself. First up in my music collection is a numbered artist. A Eurodance project formed in 1991 by two Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde and fronted by Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth. Otherwise known as 2 Unlimited.
You will notice that I've chosen a compilation album - "Hits Unlimited" - as my first music review. Some might see this as cheating as it's not a proper album, but why not? The songs featured still generate an opinion.
This compilation album is a fine example of 90's dance music, particularly the tracks from the first half of the decade. Considering the album came out in 1995, there's really no surprise in that fact.
The tracklist is:
1. Do What's Good For Me
2. No Limit
3. Get Ready For This
4. Twilight Zone
5. No-One
6. Jump For Joy
7. Tribal Dance
8. The Magic Friend
9. Workaholic
10. Let the Beat Control Your Body
11. Nothing Like the Rain
12. Spread Your Love
13. The Real Thing
14. Here I Go
15. Maximum Overdrive
16. Faces
The songs that stand out the most for me are "No Limit", "Get Ready For This", "Twilight Zone", "Jump For Joy", "The Magic Friend", "Workaholic" and "Let the Beat Control Your Body", and without a doubt are my favourite songs from this compilation. All the other songs are good, but I find myself falling back onto the other tracks quite often.
"No Limit" was once used in a TV commercial in the last decade or so, but I can't remember what for. Probably a potato chip ad, but I could be wrong. It's very catchy, especially the lyric, "No no, na na, no no, na na, no no, na no, there's no limit!" An earworm in the making, I promise you.
"Get Ready For This" is probably the first of 2 Unlimited's songs to enter my ears. It takes me way back to the beginning of the second decade of my life. Around that time it was being used in TV commercials a lot. Particularly the opening line, "Y'all ready for this?" It wouldn't surprise me if this was considered their signature song.
"Jump For Joy" is a song I think could be used in multiple situations. Whether it be a sporting event, falling in love, even church, it's an upbeat and happy song. Possibly my favourite song of theirs at the moment.
"The Magic Friend" was released in 1992, which makes me wonder if they got the title from Roxette's "Joyride", which came out a year prior. Wouldn't surprise me though. Roxette is rather inspirational... One of my favourite synth riffs appears on this song.
"Let the Beat Control Your Body" appeared on another compilation at one stage - one that a friend of mine owned a copy of, which is how I heard this song for the first time, if I'm not mistaken. This song lives up to its name. You will literally be moved by this track.
"Workaholic" and "Twilight Zone", among others, were a part of a megamix that I downloaded a few years back, and I think that may be how I discovered these great songs. Chances are I may have heard them on the radio and eventually forgot about them (radio stations can't always be trusted to play good songs all time every time). Apart from the songs I remembered, these were also a reason why I had to get this compilation album.
If you're big on dance music and love the classics, I highly recommend this compilation. After you listen to it, and if you enjoy what you hear, go ahead and grab yourself a copy of the rest of their discography. It's also good for fuelling your nostalgia moments.
Overall rating: 8/10.
Check out the YouTube videos below for a small selection of the tracks on this compilation.