be Careful
For those looking for a disc like that of BT's past, i.e. "Ima" and "ESCM.", be careful...not only does BT stray from the formula he is so known for, but he even ventures into areas such as (GASP!) pop and rock. Tracks such as 'Satellite' and 'Never Gonna Come Back Down', which features vocals from Soul Coughing frontman M. Doughty, show that BT is a tremendous musician capable of much more than terrific melodic trance tracks. Following the commercial success of Moby's "Play," it seems as though Americans are starting to take notice of the electronica scene with great interest for a change. Enter BT, with perfect timing and a near perfect compilation of tracks that have something for everyone. Not only does he cover his usual trance anthems in this release, 'Godspeed' and 'Mercury and Solace', but he continues his venture into breakbeat, 'Madskillz' and the title track, and completes his journey ending with a very hip-hop song entitled 'Love on Haight Street'. I believe that this album will have a larger impact much like that of "Play" and introduce electronica to new and more diverse groups of people. BT's producing abilities are flawless in taking songs that were much longer such as 'Dreaming' and preparing them for the short attention span of the states. I applaud BT, because along with Moby, and Fatboy Slim, he has been a pioneer of electronica...taking it to new levels, and new masses. This album is a must have for any music lover.
Otherworldy
This is just one of those cds that you must have, if you are a fan of techno/trance...you put the cd into your stereo and find yourself listening to almost every track over and over, and the best thing is that you won't get sick of it...Bt has created a musical masterpiece in "Movement" and hardly any other dj or techno group can come close to his style and originality. There are hints of every form of genres in this album ranging from hip hop to trance to breakbeat...it is definately groundbreaking. Collaborations with the likes of DJ Rap and Paul Oakenfold bring this cd to another level of musical enjoyment. Tracks you will play over and over again are "Dreaming" (certainly one of my favorite songs of ALL time), Mercury and Solace, Never Gonna Come back Down, Smartbomb, and Satellite. I guess that makes almost the whole cd great, and other tracks that weren't listed are also excellent in their own right. Do yourself a favor an' get this cd, or if you can...get the import, from what i hear it is even better. But if you want music without a 30 second interval here and there, just get the regular version. Either way, you'll win with this album
The man's clearly got ADHD, but maybe that's a good thing.
BT's third album, Movement In Still Life (MISL), is about as cohesive and flowing as... well, it's just not cohesive and flowing. Almost every track seems to have its own flavor, its own style, as if they had been pulled from different CDs themselves and thrown together by somebody with a CD burner. There's no intermixing between them, there's no real "sonic path," or building of the album (ie, soft songs at first, then faster songs following). However, MISL is probably one of the finest albums every produced from any genre of music.Breaks, trance, rock, pop... Everything comes together on this album. Each track, as mentioned before, has its own particular twist on a genre. Madskillz-Mic Chekka opens the album with a slick nu-breaks feel. Godspeed fills in for the classic Flaming June, confirming BT's place in trance / house history. Never Gonna Come Back Down, featuring Soul Coughing's M. Doughty, takes a pop-ish spin on BT's talents, while Shame and Satellite offer more of a soft rock / ballad one. Smartbomb drops BT into big beat territory, offering respectable competition for the likes of Fluke and The Crystal Method. Love On Haight Street offers the vocal talents of underground MCs Rasco and Fifty Grand. While most of BT's fans are probably club-happy trancers who'll detest the track, it isn't without its own good qualities, and shows more creativity in one song than than all of hip-hop has seen in years. The album really hits its apex with Dreaming, which combines one of Kirsty Hawkshaw's best vocal performances with the perfect synthesis of nu-breaks and trance.
Most die-hard electronica fans will prefer the import version of MISL. With great tracks like Fibonacci Sequence, Giving Up The Ghost, the BT and Paul van Dyk joint-collaboration Namistai (all three are sadly missing from the US version), it's a more "classic BT" sounding edition, with a more electronic and subtly mixed feel (though it also has the truly awful track Ride, but I suppose nothing is perfect). All that said, the US version of MISL still remains a fantastic album. It's less genre focused than the import version, but is arguably a more ambitious and creative effort. I personally own both, and find both possessing of their own merits. If you can, get both. If you can't and are more electronically inclined, get the import version. If you prefer a bit more diversity, however, and are interested in seeing one artist's vision of what several genres should sound like, then don't hesitate to pick up this classic disc.
Get the Import version
I agree with other reviewers of this CD. I happen to have bought this US re-release prior to getting the Import version (it's only the 1 CD German Import, not the 2 CD UK version which I'm sure is even better!). The US version has 3 weaknesses compared to the Import version: 1. The exclusion of excellent tracks like Namistai, Giving Up The Ghost, and Ride, to be replaced by weaker tracks like Smartbomb. 2. This album's track order is anything but smooth. BT's albums are normally a journey in itself from start to end, he blends tracks so seamlessly it's scary. But this version mish-mashed the tracks such that listening it from start to finish is not as enjoyable. 3. The Import version has longer, better mixes of the best tracks on the CD (Mercury and Solace, and especially Godspeed).
Bottomline is, get this if you must have every BT release, or don't mind having an 'unmixed' collection of his singles. Otherwise, I strongly suggest you get the Import version, the higher price is more than justified by the overall quality of the CD. Heck, even the Import cover and sleeve notes are better!
A great addition to any CD collection
Normally I would jump at the chance to beat down an American re-release of an import CD for many of the reasons given by other users. However, this CD is just so good and easy to listen to and I bet most of the people who own the import also own this CD as well. BT is just plain good at what he does. This CD is no exception. He travels through a few spectrums here with songs like the tale tellin' techno "Satellite" and the driving bass line and sound plane twisting in "Godspeed." "Running Down Way Up" is one of my personal favorites. His manipulation of the vocal track over a pleasant ambient trance background really puts me in a good mood. A stark contrast to the very popular "Never Gonna Come Back Down." "Dreaming" and "Mercury and Solace" also deserve mention for their beautiful vocals and for being tritely enjoyable to listen to. Yes it is different than his earlier releases. Yes it has a more "poppy" feel. But yes you should get this CD; it's good for dancing, it's good for chillin'. It's just so... good.
BT's velvety take on trance techno, typified by unusually light, liquidy melodies, smooth edges, and roomy breakbeats, was first noticed in the U.S. via his exceptional remix of Tori Amos's "Blue Skies." That song and other like-minded U.K. singles that preceded it gave rise to yet another variation of trance music dubbed "dream-trance." It's an apt label. BT's dense, yet straightforward compositions and benevolent mixes incorporate themes of escape and rebirth, with songs that imprint themselves on your subconscious. On Movement in Still Life, never before available in the States, BT breaks through the wall that separates techno from out-and-out pop, incorporating verse-chorus-verse song structures. Furthermore, he allows his dreamy mix to wander into Fatboy Slim-esque big beat territory. As a DJ, he's clearly capable of branching into different styles. The smart house and choppy beats of the title track make that apparent. He's still playing with needles and wax on that track, though; "Shame," with its acoustic drum/guitar sound and accessible pop vocal track sounds ready-made for alt-rock radio, with only touches around the edges that betray the presence of a DJ. Other songs, such as "Running Down the Way," blend the two styles more evenly, utilizing a pop song format but keeping it clubby and decidedly nonacoustic. Given BT's U.S. success with the pop/club mix of "Blue Skies," as well as the accessible, anthemic style he tends to favor as a DJ, the record makes perfect stylistic sense. He'd be wise, however, to keep dream-trance close to his turntables, as the perfection of such tracks as "Dreaming" and "Godspeed" make it blissfully obvious that he has utterly mastered the sound. --Matthew Cooke
