Review: Markus Schulz – Do you dream?

One of the most anticipated albums of the year for me turned out to be an unexpected surprise. Here’s my rundown:

01. Alpha state
Beautiful dreamy intro, that sets the expectations about this album even higher than they already were. Maybe too short to be called a separate track but it works perfectly and the transition into Away is top. (9/10)

02. Away (ft Sir Adrian)
Initially I wasn’t that impressed with the vocals on this track but I have to say they have really grown on me in the past few weeks and remarkably enough this song has turned into one of my favorites on the album. The pulsating bassline is Markus at his best. Without the vocals it could easily have been a Dakota tune. (8/10)

03. Rain
Not a brilliant composition but a pretty decent track nevertheless. With special thanks to Dillweed Lewis Productions (Markus booking agency who never announce any gigs in decent time for people who need to make travel arrangements) I missed Markus gig in Club Rain in Vegas by a week, so unfortunately now I will never know what it is that is so great about this place :( (7/10)

04. Dark heart waiting (ft Khaz)
From here the album really turns into a rollercoaster. I still totally fail to see what Markus was thinking when making this track. Totally simple and cheesy production without any soul. Usually I support male vocals but this one doesn’t do anything for me. The video is ridiculous too. This track is the ultimate proof that Armada is prepping Markus to succeed Armin as the #1 overhyped DJ, which in my opinion really is the last thing we need. (4/10)

05. Not the same (ft Jennifer Rene)
Omg this is going totally wrong now, another uber cheesy melody without any of the special Markus touch, this could have been produced by any no name bedroom producer. The vocals are beyond horrible, even worse than on Fine without you. I totally don’t get why so many people like this. (4/10)

06. Do you dream? (uplifting mix)
Markus goes deggadeggadegga generic uplifting. How awesome. I kinda like Do you dream as a track but this Aly and Fail style mix really sucks. I guess it figures that this version was chosen to be put on the album. (5/10)

07. Last man standing (ft Khaz)
Definitely the better of the two Khaz tracks on the album. I actually like this one, although I would have sequenced it as the last track. It has that same vibe as Cause you know that so brilliantly closed down Progression. Now it sortof breaks the flow. Cool track nevertheless. (8/10)

08. Surreal (ft Ana Criado)
After the little pickup with Last man standing here we go down the drain again with this boring track and nagging vocals. A perfect example of everything I hate about vocal trance. (4/10)

09. Unsaid (ft Susana)
Please repeat after me: pop charts, pop charts, pop charts. What a horrible horrible horrible production. By far the worst on the album. What on Earth is happening here? Why does Markus have to make his own Going wrong? Why, why, why? :( (1/10)

10. Lifted (ft Angelique Bergere)
And another disappointing track here, both musically and vocally. Simple 4 to the floor straight as she goes production. Doesn’t do anything for me. (4/10)

11. Perception (ft Justine Suissa)
It’s kind of sad that one of the two best tracks on the album isn’t even an original Markus composition. But that doesn’t make this track any less awesome. I usually really have no connection to remakes at all but this one is so flawlessly done and Justine’s vocals fit so well it is almost beyond awesome. Every time I hear this track it moves me to tears. Because of its timeless beauty, its flawless production and because I’m so sad about so many of the other tracks on this album. (11/10)

12. The new world
Obviously done and dusted but still one of Markus best productions ever so I’m glad he included it in this album. (9/10)

13. Lightwave (ft Angelique Bergere)
Holy camoly Batman what the hell is this? I’m not against experimenting a bit out of genre, but this is just plain awful. I have no other words for it. (3/10)

14. 65.4 Hz
Like I said before this album is such a rollercoaster. After the umptieth disappointing track Markus once again shoots back like a rocket with this BOMB of a track that we have been enjoying in his sets for so long. Together with Perception the highlight of the album and proof that we are still talking about one of the most talented producers on the planet here. (9/10)

15. What could have been
Amidst so many disappointment this actually comes back as one of the better tracks of the album. Quite simple in terms of composition and structure but it has all the sounds that make you wanna dance and the absence of nagging vocalists for two tracks in a row is such a relief. (7/10)

16. Goodbye (ft Max Graham & Jessica Riddle)
Not sure what to think of this song. It sounds to me like a Solarstone track and not a Markus track at all. I like it, even though it sounds really out of place here. Like I said before, Last man standing should have been in this spot as the last track. (7/10)

So I guess there you have it: one rollercoaster of an album and I hate to say it but in my book by far the most disappointing effort by Markus to date. I still can’t believe I’m writing this. Markus is one of my all time heroes, of every 100 tracks he selects I usually like at least 99 of them. This album however turns out to be his version of Imagine. A few totally brilliant tracks, that unfortunately drown in an ocean of mediocre cheesy goop topped off with wayyyy too many vocals, which are mostly of seriously poor quality as well. What I also really don’t like is that all the tracks are edits and in more than one case flat sounding “album versions” instead of the full blown dance floor mixes that undoubtedly already exist or are even already in our possession. This is an old practice that was designed in the 80’s by record companies in an effort to sell as many additional singles as possible. From a commercial standpoint I can see why but the tradeoff is that you get an album full of disappointing versions, even of the tracks you really like and which therefore quickly ends up on your cd shelf, never to be played again.

So what could have been? Well had he left out Dark heart waiting, Not the same, Surreal, Unsaid, Lifted and Lightwave this could have been an album with 10 extended tracks ranging from at least pretty decent to completely brilliant and it would have been a lot easier to qualify it as another highlight in Markus’ production career.

So do I dream? Yes. I dream of extended single releases so I can compile an extract of this album that I will truly enjoy listening to. But most of all I guess I dream of another Dakota album.

CD Review: Armin van Buuren- Universal Religion Chapter 4

Obviously I’d heard quite a few previews already and I actually was at Amnesia when it was recorded, but since I refuse to buy into the digital download scam I had to wait for the cd version to arrive to be able to give it a proper listen and write up my thoughts.

First and foremost this cd will forever landmark the breaking point in where I finally gave up visiting Armin’s live gigs. Although that is an entirely different subject, the fact that he deliberately broke off his 2009 Amnesia solo set to record this cd, and by that completely ruining the flow of the night, to me is just unforgivable and the final proof that making money now has completely taken over all priority. Screw the fans who fly in from all over the world for this special night, and because of that are forced to plan their holiday on Ibiza when it’s just too fucking full, too fucking hot and too fucking expensive. The old Armin would have never even considered doing this. I’m sorry for saying this but you really screwed up big time here. You sacrificed what was basically the last opportunity a year to see a long vintage Armin set.

That being said let’s get into the actual product that came out of this.

The cover design has been debated by many people already. Apart from it being as butt ugly as the UR3 one this time it also is a royal rip off of the logo of the Unreal Tournament game:



This really isn’t helping Armin’s growing image of being a copy cat and I think he definitely needs to find another party to do his designs. On the positive side it does fit in with the style that was already used on UR1 and 3 and consistency in that sense is something I can appreciate.

As usual 9 of the 14 tracks are Armada productions keeping the royalty flow nicely in house. I have to add though that this is not necessarily a bad thing because all big DJs with their own record company do this nowadays, and because of it their mix albums at least don’t all contain the same tracks. But that doesn’t hide the fact that the tracklist is 100% made up with commercial intentions. It is in no way a fair representation of what Armin was spinning at Amnesia during the 2009 summer, because more than half of the tracks were actually brand new and had not even been played on ASOT at the time of the recording. So once again it is a cleverly crafted piece brand marketing but at the same time totally misleading the general audience. However since 99% of the people who will end up buying it have never even been to Ibiza they will have no clue that they are actually listening to the Armada show, instead of an Armin Amnesia set. It’s one of those things artists and record companies can get away with, because the general public is ignorant. Nevertheless I will never stop to question the ethics of these practices.

I do find that as a compilation cd this is well designed. The track selection is varied yet because of the excellent sequencing it still leaves a very homogeneous impression. This is something that Armin is just really good at. Even if you don’t like the individual elements, he’s a master in piecing things together. I’ve been rather critical lately of the mixing effort he has put into his recent ASOT compilation cd’s. But the mixing of this cd deserves praise since it was done completely live. Mixing wise he was in rare form that night, the first two hours before he began recording this cd were also full of top notch live mixing.

I’ll round up this review with my opinion on the individual tracks:

BT ft Jes - Every other way (Armin van Buuren Remix)
After Tuvan easily my second favorite of all the new Armin productions of the past year. Since we probably won’t be hearing Jes with Tiesto anymore it’s great that she got involved with BT. Remarkably enough apart from in the song titles none of the remixers on this compilation are credited in the booklet, so Benno de Goeij’s name isn’t even mentioned. Which is odd because of all the remixes Armin has presented in the past year this one probably has Benno’s signature over it the most, especially because of the heavy use of LED there be light samples. It should have been called Rank 1 Remix if you ask me. Anyway good track and I hope Armin does one or two with Jes on his new artist album, because she fits a hell of a lot better than crows like Jacqueline Govaert.

Nic Chagall ft Jonathan Mendelsohn - This moment
A lot of people complain about this track but I actually really like it. It’s proggy and I prefer that over current trance any second of the day. Nice male vocal for a change too.

Julian Vincent ft Cathy Burton - Here for me (Mark Otten Re-Dub)
Nice track, would fit very well in a warmup set. Simple piano riffs always work for me.

Espen Gulbrandsen & DJ Julian Vincent ft Maria Nayler - Perfect sky
This is easily the weak spot in the set. Not just because it’s a very average track and the vocals are uber cheesy, but mainly because Armin gets overboard with the vocals (4th vocal track in a row). And the fact that he throws in another one after this doesn’t really help either. Both Here for me and Perfect sky btw are produced by his old buddies Adrian Broekhuyse and Raz Nitzan, who he throws a little royalties bone this way. Kinda similar to the way he keeps his old friend Remy afloat by keeping him booked on Armada events.

Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren – Beggin’ you (Armin van Buuren Remix)
Not really the best CM&J track I’ve ever heard but it’s fairly enjoyable for home use and definitely ranks above pure annoyance like Armin’s Killers remix and that new Broken tonight track. Haven’t heard the original mix so it’s a bit hard to say what it is exactly that Armin and Benno changed about it.

Daniel Kandi - Venice Beach
I’m not a fan of Daniel Kandi, but I think this is one of his better productions. That’s basically all I can think of. Oh and guys please stop naming tracks after beaches. It’s getting old now.

Gaia - Tuvan (Gareth Emery Remix)
I’ve commented on this remix before and although it has grown on me a little I still find this to be sub par for an Emery production. My main beef with it is that it doesn’t sound like a remix of Tuvan but like an original Gareth Emery production mashed up with samples of Tuvan by someone else. The base track he made for this has more potential though as it showcases his skill of putting all kinds of styles into a blender and making the total sum sound very distinctive and catchy. Gareth is one of those producers who stands out by a mile because he actually developed a genuine sound of his own. And because that sound has elements of so many styles his tracks fit in many DJ’s sets, which in it’s turn is spreading his name worldwide at bullet train speed. He’s already crashed into the scene big time in the past 2 years and imo in a few years he’s going to be one of the biggest DJ’s on the planet.

Lange & Andy Moor - Stadium 4
Not something I would expect from guys like Stuart and Andy tbh. Okay kind of track but nothing I will remember a year from now. Still think the guitar part sounds like Cliff Richard and the Shadows on LSD.

Activa, Chris & Matt Kidd - UR (Stoneface & Terminal Remix)
Like the previous one, okay track. Not great but enjoyable. And also like the previous one a track that belongs on this cd because of Armin playing the shit out of it all summer long.

Roger Shah & Signum - Healesville Sanctuary (Roger Shah Mix)
I can’t get over how great this track is, not just because of the awesome breakdowns but especially because of how it is produced. It has that awesome oldskool feel to it with extremely present hi-hats and without those overly present yakketyak riffs that make most current productions so utterly boring. Bass and kick drums are very generic, but again not overly present. This is really a work of art, a serious candidate for my favorite tune of this year.

Ram - Ramsterdam (Jorn van Deynhoven Remix)
This is probably the perfect example of why I don’t like 2009 trance and the fact that Armin can’t stop raving about it also illustrates where his and my tastes have parted ways some time ago. Nevertheless another deserving track to be featured on this compilation as this actually is one of the ones he banged out all summer.

Ian Betts - False gods
Starts out as just another example of 2009 formula trance but I do like this track because of the way mr Betts brings in those acidy arrangements halfway. Me likey acid :)

Tydi & Dennis Sheperd - Somehow (Sebastian Brandt Dub Remix)
Thankfully Armin choose the dub mix of this track, although I would have applauded him if he would have edited out those few dub samples of what easily is one of the most annoying vocals of 2009. Reminds me of that hilarious remark Solarstone made about it: a new track there from Tydi and Dennis Sheppard, although I’m not sure if it’s Tydi or Dennis who did the vocals :D

Dakota - Sin city (Rex Mundi Remix)
Personally I like Markus’ original mix a lot better, Dakota tracks don’t need to be remade into trance tracks. That being said the way it is done is quite decent and the remix is exactly what makes it fit in the flow of the compilation at this point, bringing the rhythm down slightly and preventing the set from ending with a total formula track.

Overall 7/10.

Review: Armin van Buuren – Imagine the Remixes

A new phenomenon that quickly seems to have become the norm in the dance music industry is releasing a “remixed” version of your artist album around 9-12 months after the original release. Whereas I am a rather fanatic opponent of commercialization I do actually like this concept, especially since due to the ongoing demise of the cd single a lot of cool remixes never see the light of day on cd anymore.

Armin of course couldn’t stay behind and therefore now presents us a collection of his Imagine tunes that have received new treatments by a variety of fellow producers. A few of the tracks are already well known from major support in his live sets, but since so far only 3 singles have been released (the 3rd actually one only one week ago) most of them were commissioned for this specific release and weren’t even available as a digital download before. And in a way I think that shows; quite a few of these remixes sound like they were made just for the sake of having a remix, not because their producers spontaneously saw the light and decided to lift the specific track to a new level.

It’s hard to give an overall score to this compilation, because the elements vary in quality from brilliant to extremely poor. Unfortunately the average and poor ones form a majority. Because of the wide variety I decided to rate the tracks individually.

Face to face (Martin Roth Remix)
Now let me start by saying that I would consider an invitation to remix Face to face the challenge of the year, as it is by far my favorite track on Imagine and it is simply perfect as it is. I just love the drive and the overall oldskool feel of it. If Armin could only make an entire album of this kind of tracks I would be in heaven.

In current dancefloor reality however it doesn’t seem to work and maybe Armin feels that way too. Because apart from the first Imagine show and the MixMag CD party in the UK I never heard him play the track live anywhere. In Utrecht it just didn’t fit. Maybe it was because he put it in the wrong slot (it was at the end of the too long warm up set when you could feel that people were getting bored) and it didn’t match with the mainly progressive sounds he played till that point. The fact that he was already reducing the volume to prepare for the big sound opening didn’t help either.

Now as was to be expected initially I didn’t care for this remix, because like I said to me the original is perfect as it is. But upon second hearing I saw what Martin has done to it: he made it dancefloor suitable. With its seemingly slightly lower tempo and nice progressive bassline it will now fit in much better in the beginning of a live set and as such I look forward to seeing that happen. So hat off to Martin Roth for making this a very functional remix. Nevertheless the original will always be my favorite and I hope one day Armin will risk dropping that one at the end of a trancy night. Because I’m convinced then it actually will work :)

Score: 8/10
iPod resident: Yes

Hold on to me (JOC Remix)
One word: Terrible. This is the ultimate example of what I dislike about the unified generic JOC/Aly&Fila/etc sound of 2008. I already disliked the original, mostly because it was just a cheap Big sky follow up, and this remix doesn’t do anything for me either. As someone on the Armin forum so strikingly said: Adding your generic bassline to a track doesn’t make it a remix. I wholeheartedly hope this is the last we hear of this done to death JOC sound and that he now continues to make more tracks like Surreal, because that one is an absolute gem.

Score: 3/10
iPod resident: No

Unforgivable (First State Smooth Mix)
As the title says a smooth remix, that has been hammered by Armin since the summer. Still very enjoyable to listen to, as is the “Rough Mix” which is not included here but is currently available on the single release of Unforgivable.

Score: 8/10
iPod resident: Yes

Unforgivable (Stoneface & Terminal Vocal Mix)
Quite okay attempt by the German trance duo. The production itself is very slick and with the quality of the original song and the brilliant vocals by Jaren it results in a nice listen. The first half seriously lacks originality but after the break they get quite a bit more aggressive and the track really picks up from there. Should work nicely in a club.

Score: 8/10
iPod resident: Yes

Imagine (Paul Miller Remix)
Another extremely boring Paul Miller production. Generic trance bassline added, some of the piano work replayed and that’s basically it. The original track is one of the bombs of the Imagine album and has a unique sound, structure and atmosphere, which this remix totally destroys. I have no clue why it was made in the first place, it doesn’t even come close to the quality of the original, it has absolutely no novelty and therefore serves no purpose.

Score: 3/10
iPod resident: Hell no

Never say never (Myon & Shane 54 Remix)
Not outstanding but definitely above average remix. Functional for the dancefloor and better than the original, but this song will just never become a favorite of mine because it’s way too poppish for my taste.

Score: 7/10
iPod resident: No

Never say never (Omnia Remix)
This one really sucks. Not because it doesn’t sound nice (it actually does), but because it is a total rip off of the signature Blizzard sound. I really hate it when producers copy each others styles, especially when it’s something as fresh and unique as The Blizzard’s. This remix should have been refused for lack of originality. And if I were Lars I would be pissed.

Score: 4/10
iPod resident: No

In and out of love (The Blizzard Remix)
Lovely Blizzard style remix that didn’t get the attention it deserved because Armin played the shit out of his Durand/Miller mashup. Unfortunately I am rather done with this song after having heard it a million times everywhere, making me realize that I am also sortof done with pop chart oriented vocals in general.

Score: 7/10
iPod resident: No

In and out of love (Richard Durand Remix)
The fact that Armin had to mash this one with Jochen Millers Lost connection track to make it work basically proves where this remix falls short. Although it was already included in ASOT 2008 that mashup should have been the one included here, if only for history sake. Markus Schulz’ relatively unknown instrumental mashup of the same two tracks would have made a nice addition, since that’s the one I like the most actually.

Score: 6/10
iPod resident: No

Rain (W&W Remix)
Now with Rain definitely being one of my favorite tracks from Imagine and finding most W&W productions likable (albeit a bit repetitive) I was looking forward to hear this. Big mistake though, this remix is really terrible. It doesn’t add any new structure to the song and the replacement bassline is too predominant and has no soul whatsoever. When I first heard it live it sounded like a bad mashup between the original and Arena. After listening to it again a few times I can safely conclude that it basically is a bad mashup of the original and Arena. Doesn’t belong on this album.

Score: 4/10
iPod resident: Definitely not

Rain (Cosmic Gate Remix)
Now this one they should have called the Cosmic Gate Bloody Awesome Remix. OMFG how brilliant is this?! Remixing as an art form, taking the signature elements of a track and building a totally new foundation underneath. I think this is absolutely brilliant and makes it worth buying the cd for just by itself.

Having said that I just can’t believe this one didn’t make it to CD1. Oh I forgot, Cosmic Gate is not signed to Armada. Nevertheless W&W: you guys sure are talented, but take a good listen to these old farts: THIS is how it’s done.

Score: 10/10
iPod resident: Hell yes

Fine without you (Sied van Riel Remix)
I remember ElSandro dropping an early version of this remix way back mid last year. He said that is wasn’t finished at the time. Somehow listening to the first part it still gives me that same feeling. It sounds a bit like a mashup between a Sied van Riel track and the acapella version of Fine without you; the vocals just don’t really blend in with the track itself. But when halfway the whole thing lifts up and Sied starts to freak out all of a sudden it really starts to work. Overall I like this remix, but mainly because I really dig that deep dark sound that Sied has been perfecting over the last year and also because it couldn’t be more different from the rather terrible original version. This remix screams for a dub version though. Hopefully we will see one in the undoubtedly following stream of digital only extras.

Score: 7/10
iPod resident: Yes

Going wrong (Alex Morph Remix)
I guess I am well known for hating this song, not just because I think it’s way too commercial and pop chart oriented but also because it turned out to be the kickoff to a disappointing turn in Armin’s musical direction. So whoever they commission to remix it and whatever they make of it I doubt I will ever like it.

That being said objectively I can’t say that I am very impressed with this remix either, it’s basically nothing more than an altered bassline and some semi acapella vocal parts, with the bassline being of the generic trance type that I so royally dislike nowadays. People have been asking about it for months so I guess it’s good that it finally is released, but it’s definitely not my thing. If I do have to listen to this song I’d still rather hear Armin’s Universal Religion Mix.

Score: 5/10
iPod resident: Not a chance

Going wrong (Sean Tyas Remix)
Rather similar to the Alex Morph remix, but more polished in the well known Sean Tyas style. I am not at all a fan of his work, it’s all too similar for my taste, but in this case he definitely did the better job of the two. The arrangements are quite heavily altered which makes for good remixing. If he had left out those terrible vocals I might have actually liked it a little bit. Anyway I’d much rather hear his excellent new track Melbourne.

Score: 6/10
iPod resident: No

Intricacy (Thomas Bronzwaer Remix)
Equally disappointing as Paul Miller’s Imagine remix. Absolutely nothing new except a slightly altered more generic bassline and a very small restructure of the break. It’s 90% the same as the original, yet has managed to lose a lot of its power. Waste of space.

Score: 3/10
iPod resident: Absolutely not

What if (Arnej Remix)
One of the better originals on Imagine and therefore a handful to redo. I have to say Arnej showed his qualities here. He basically redid the entire song and yet managed to preserve some of the dark atmosphere of the original. Good work.

Score: 8/10
iPod resident: Yes

What if (Ohmna Remix)
Doesn’t reach the level of Arnej’s take, doesn’t offer anything unique stucturewise either but nevertheless pleasant to listen to. Slightly above average production, in the midfield of this collection.

Score: 7/10
iPod resident: No

DVD Review: Armin Only 2008

Although still in the middle of the show’s world tour Armin van Buuren has already released a DVD edition of his Armin Only Imagine performance as recorded at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht on April 19th 2008. Here’s my impressions.

Package/design
The double DVD comes in a foldout cardboard box. Not exactly my favorite packaging as it is very fragile, but it is finished in the well known glossy black Imagine theme and as such very well executed and nicely in line with all the other Imagine and Armin Only related productions. The first DVD presents a selection of the live show, the second one contains bonus materials.

Track selection
This is one of my two main beefs with this release. At the live show Armin played 96 tracks of which 23 were his own productions and 2 mashups partly containing own productions. That’s a self-promotion rate of 25%, which is high, but not uncommon with nowadays superstar DJ/Producers. Now since you can’t squeeze 9 hours of music into one DVD obviously a selection had to be made. However when that selection turns out to be 30 tracks of which 20 are own productions, that all of a sudden makes for a 67% self-promotion rate. And in all fairness that isn’t a genuine representation of what a 9 hour Armin Only 2008 set stands for. Of course the Imagine tracks are heavily featured and so they should. But the additional abundance of older Armin tracks really brings the value of this production down. What we ended up with here is basically a combination of the Imagine and 10 Years albums disguised as an Armin Only show, taking the “only” part out of it’s original context and painting a rather incorrect image of Armin as a DJ. Among his fans the reactions towards the “Sound of Armin van Buuren” classics hour during the show were already very mixed, but in this DVD release it is really out of place. Anyone who wants to see older Armin tunes played live can always go back to the Armin Only 2005 and 2006 DVD’s, so I truly fail to see the need for these reruns taking up 1/3 of the entire DVD and clogging up space that could have been used for an additional selection of the epic new 2008 tunes by other artists that were played during the night.

Sound quality, editing and polishing
According to Armin a lot of effort was put in the sound quality and 5.1 mixdown and that indeed shows in flying colors, because both are excellent. Another thing that is done very well is editing the selected songs together. For example the way the end of Fine without you flows into the official show intro is brilliant. If I hadn’t been there and knew it was different in the live show I would immediately believe that is how it was performed.

Unfortunately there are also a few flies in the soup and some of them could have been prevented. Since all audio was recorded on a multi track all separate channels of music, live instruments, live vocals and audience were available separately, which allowed the studio engineers to polish up any little mistake that might have happened. In some parts this was done very effectively, for example the horrible intro crash of MC Stretch was completely removed and Eller’s guitar solo in the Imagine intro (that was faded in too late in the live show) is now nicely restored. The sound of the crowd however has been cut back so much that it really reduces the "live" feeling that the original TV broadcast did have. Also a lot of the live vocals have been doctored drastically. Actually Jennifer Rene, Audrey Gallagher and Elles de Graaff’s live vocals have been completely replaced by the original studio acapellas. They did apply different reverb settings and left out second voice vocals to make it at least sound a little more live than just replacing the entire track with cd recordings like was done on the previous Armin Only DVD’s, but still it’s fairly obvious that this is not the real thing. Personally I’d rather hear Jennifer Rene sing a little off key live than the doctored up fake live performance we see now. The woman broke her hip only two months before the show for crying out loud and she was already back on stage dancing and singing. Much respect for that.

As there seems to be some sort of unfortunate curse resting on live performances at Armin Only shows in my opinion the only sensible thing to do is simply cut the bad performances out. Audrey Gallagher for example, sweet girl, but her performance was sub-par and should therefore have been cut, simple as that. But instead they decided fix it up with studio vocals. They also left in Going wrong (which was a complete fake playback performance to begin with) and then on top of that they cut out the brilliant performance of Jaren doing Unforgettable. Why all that was done is really beyond me. Another sorely missed performance is Sharon den Adel’s In and out of love. Supposedly this has to do with herself not being satisfied with her performance, but to be honest I think she is the only person on the planet who thinks that, because literally everyone I talked to thought it was absolutely great.

One last remark concerns the volume of the overdubbed vocals. In the Tuschinski preview I already noticed they have been mixed in slightly too loud, making them sound a bit too thick on top of the rest of the music. Initially I thought it had to do with the theater’s center speakers perhaps being set up incorrectly, but on my own system I still hear the same thing, albeit less intrusive. There is actually a noticeable difference between 5.1 Movie and 5.1 Music mode. If your system allows these different modes make sure you choose the 5.1 Music setting for optimal sound quality.

Video/Camerawork
When I saw the TV broadcast back after coming home from the live show I was already impressed with the camerawork and the way the whole thing looked on TV. And since this DVD is based on the same footage this part is equally impressive. Could have done with a bit less boob and butt shots imo but other than that very cool. Sharing the costs of a large camera crew with a TV station was a bright move and it obviously paid off. The shots of the Jaarbeurs building that were used to create the opening scenes are simple but very effective and even a little arty. Very nice.

Bonus DVD
Overall I think the bonus DVD is a very nice package. The menu design is again strongly in line with the theme and comes off even better than on the main disk because of the higher number of menu options. The rotating sunrays are a nice touch.

Behind the scenes documentary
This is simply excellent, it’s coherent and there’s a good timeline. Sound quality is absolutely ace.

Discography section
Unfortunately this part is very poorly executed. It doesn’t display any release prior to 2004, it doesn’t show any single releases and there are multiple faults in terms of years of releases. By far the most sloppy part of the release, and rather embarrassing for Armada Music to be honest. Things like this could have been easily prevented if more attention had been put into testing and evaluating the final beta master.

Overall
Obviously a lot of effort has been put in this production and it easily surpasses for example what Ferry Corsten made of his Full on Ferry DVD. I also think it’s more relaxing to watch than Tiesto’s Copenhagen production. However as a reflection of a major Armin Only event I think this release is disappointing, mainly because of the over the top Armin-centric track selection and the botched up live performances. The nice bonus DVD makes up only partly for this. As a production it seems to be designed to please the masses and squeeze out the maximum amount of royalty money, instead of being another milestone in Armin’s DJ career, which it easily could have been. Come the time I want to reminisce that night in April I will most likely grab the DVD’s I made of the TV recording. It’s like having the choice between fake breasts and makeup or pure and natural; the latter might have it’s imperfections but it feels much better.