Ibiza

OUCH. Was he trying to sell out, go for a pop chart hit?Boring. Really bad singing & sampling. Annoyingly simple techno that starts with nothing and goes nowhere. I am heavily dissapointed. Disc 2 is slightly better, but I found I could not make it through most tracks. Paul Oakenfold has some great CDs, but this is not one of them.

This is a 2 CD set from the artist. The condition of the CD's was just a described by the provider/shipper. Excellent service.

Question: WHAT IS UP WITH TECHNO THESE DAYS? Last year was such a good year but this year's such a dud. It seems even our most famous and well-respected mixers are getting lazy! Paul Oakenfold in particular. Voyage Into Trance and the soundtrack to Swordfish were all disappointments with a couple shinning through in the darkness, but this just threw me for a loop. With the exception of Jan Johnston's "Superstar", The Realm's "This Is Not A Breakdown", and the remix of Prodigy's "Narayan", CD1 was just insipidly bland and full of non-stop breakbeats. I knew from the opening song that I was in for another let down by Paul Oakenfold, which hurt me greatly because I know from previous albums that he's capable of so much more. CD2, though, is a whole other story. World Clique's "Different Signs" pulled me into a deep trance, just like his older CDs have done in the past which leads into the fabulous remix of Depeche Mode's already trance-driven "I Feel Loved." I also like the drum effects on A-Nilo's "Summer Song (Be My Friend)." The overall feel of this CD is an exhilerating high that I've since been denied of this awesome DJ since his flawless "Perfecto Presents Another World." It's also amazing how he can remix a song in which I care so little for - "Beautiful Day" by U2 - and transform it into something I can't get enough of... "Silent Words" by Jan Johnston is another one of my personal favorites (I heard rumor that she's soon to release her own album) and PPK's "ResuRection" which eerily closes with flashes of spacey sound clips.Don't expect another "Perfecto Presents Another World" but this is definitely better than some of his more recent works....CD 1 receives 2-stars and CD 2 receives 5-stars

Is Oakenfold, one of the most credible and world-renowned DJs, getting lazy? After listening to his latest set, Ibiza, I certainly got this impression.More than ever, his transitions between tracks are generally abrupt and to the point. Even when he doesn't just fall back on the slider, his track mixing still comes off as rather weak.Never is it more evident than on renditions of Prodigy's "Narayan" and Radiohead's "Idioteque." While it is normal for even the best of DJs not to remix every single song on their album, these tracks appear exactly as their originals did. So when I purchased this album hoping for two new renditions of these tracks, I was extremely let down to find out how many tracks were originals and how few Oakenfold remixed himself. Still, Oakenfold does manage to do a little of his own work, and when he does, it comes off well, the highlight here being his rendition of U2's "Beautiful Day."Overall, his track selection is pretty sharp, albeit somewhat commercial, and features a couple of real gems. Danny Tenaglia's mix of Depeche Mode's "I Feel Loved" is just superb, as is the lead-in ("Different Signs") by World Clique. Even the tracks that Oakenfold didn't bother to touch, such as the Prodigy and Radiohead tracks, still come off rather well on their own merit.In the end, it's at least an enjoyable mix by Oakenfold. It's certainly not on par with many of his older works, but most mixes aren't. There is certainly enough here to be enjoyed, although I'm left with the feeling that this could have been something much greater.

The first listen to "Ibiza" I was like "uh?" but after a few spins in my stereo, I have grown to love this 2-cd set. Of course "Ibiza" has its fair share of flaws like a non-remix treatment of Radiohead's "Idioteque" which I thought would have been awesome. If Oakey can remix U2's overplayed "Beautiful Day", then he could have played the very underrated(Radiohead's)"Idioteque". The first disc is ok but too much breakbeats for Oakey's remixing abilities. My favorite songs on the first cd are Jan Johnston's "Superstar" and Prodigy's "Narayan". The remixes for those songs really captured the essence of what Paul Oakenfold is about as a dj.The second cd is awesome. I love this disc and would have been contented if Paul just released it instead of as a 2 cd set. The Danny Tenaglia's mix of Depeche Mode's "I Feel Love" is just superb. The song sounds even better remixed but I love the original too so I can't take that away from the song itself. I even like The Perfecto Mix of U2's "Beautiful Day" and usually I hate that song with a passion. The last two tracks Insigma's "Open Your Eyes" instrumental and PPK's "ResuRection" (Space Club Mix) are just classic trance. "Ibiza" may be flawed but the good outweighs the bad in this case.