It may have been mixed by a computer but the Gatecrasher people did the honourable thing and filled it with some class music. Second CD is really crasher at its best.
Well worth a buy. Think the second compilation is cashing in but this first one is great.
OK, it's computer mixed and that's a bit of a setback, but personally, there's actually another thing which annoys me slightly with the third disc in particular. When music's being mixed (with decks), the pitch (thus speed) of the record is often increased slightly. Firstly this is because the records have to be beatmatched, but by shifting a song up a tone or so and making it faster, it just brings it to life a bit more in a club. Some of the songs on here are more or less Radio Edit versions. Olive's 'Your Not Alone', although a great song, is almost painfully slow on here.
But that's nitpicking I suppose. If you just put this on either in your own home, or at a party, it will go down a storm. When I had it on quite loudly in my car though, the sound quality wasn't as clear as I'd have expected a CD to be. Not that there was any muffling or crackling, but it just seemed that there wasn't quite enough distinction between the basslines and the euphoric synth or high-hat trebles. I wish I didn't have to write that, but it was something I noticed so I feel it's only fair to tell it. Yet once again it really is something minor and shouldn't be taken too great notice of - as a compilation, this album is fantastic and will bring back smiles and memories. It would seem though that it is, as you'd expect, not tremendously overwhelming in comparison to a Gatecrasher club night itself.
Basically, the album is a cut 'n shut. It's not that the tracks on the album aren't good -- they're brilliant -- it's that the order they're presented and the way in which they're mixed is just dull.
For something with this much potential, Gatecrasher Classics fails utterly to capitalise on what could have been an inspiring and uplifing retread of some brilliant dance moments. Instead, it's a completely pedestrian, "by the numbers" best-of -- which to all intents and purposes might as well have been called "Smash Hits: Dance!" or some other such nonsense.
A real shame.
