It Just Ain’t The Same

Listening to trance has lost its appeal. It has thus been proven since the moment I acquired Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance 2007. I listened to the whole both double CD album – no skipping whatsoever! – from the start to the end, and I lost the sense of losing myself and being high.

There was probably nothing wrong with the album – it received pretty good reviews from Borders.com, but I couldn’t help thinking that Buuren’s style has changed a lot and instead of it being melodic and using his signature harmonising notes (Shivers, Burned With Desire) that any of Buuren’s fan would have recognised, he opted to adopt a more clubbish sound that is so typical of Tiësto, in which I’m not very fond of.

The theme of the whole album also doesn’t improve much, because he is still using On the Beach/In the Club titles that were pretty much the same like ASOT 2006.

It is quite possible that he is trying to please many crowds from different level by experimenting with a totally different approach, but I prefer the good old ASOT 2004 to 2005. They are much more enjoyable to listen to and the merging between tracks are much more subtle and smooth compared to the excessive progressive beats and almost-there melodies that I heard in ASOT 2007.

I would very much like to start a new collection from Above and Beyond and also Thrillseekers. Unfortunately those aren’t available here, because all the Indos know is Tiësto, Tiësto and Tiësto. Beuh. Although I went to his show last year, I would doubt his mixing skills are one on the top of the list. He is terrible live and on recording.

However, it is still trance (progressive house, apparently-I can never get it right) nonetheless and it is decent enough to listen to while I’m drawing. Maybe it will grow on me, who knows? Some of the good points that I noticed from this album is that there are more male vocals these days, which gives a more masculine feel to it.

PS: One reviewer from Borders mentioned that the look of Buuren’s face on the cover makes him look somewhat conceited. I guess it is hard being sexy without being judged otherwise.