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	Cream Sandra Collins Kinetic Records, 2001 average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Tranceport 3 offered trance of epic scale, but Cream is more ambient and minimal. Much of the album is simply a 4/4 beat with little adornment except the occasional alien percussion or a ghostly voice sampled and inserted for effect. Each track supports the current Collins manifesto of minimal dance music for quick clubbing, but these tracks foster an insular mood of cold, sleek uniformity.

Carissa Mondavi's "Solid Ground" is the ambient-ish intro, with a warm vocal and tribal percussion aiding the glowing groove. The CD builds slowly, changing little while layering thin synth and bass sounds, rolling through Manhattan's "Robot Funk 2001" and 16th Element's "Warp" until the repetitive beat grows harder and more direct with Traveller & Quest's "Chaos Engine."

High hats get busier and the beat syncopates for Voyager's "Derangement of the Senses." This track--along with Chiller Twist's "Do You Hear It?"--provide the album's mellow mid-section. "Thriller"-esque accents in the latter make the welcome rests sound corny, not profound. The closing tracks by JBN, T-Empo and Maurice & Noble ratchet up the intensity, but nowhere near the intense levels of Tranceport 3. Is Collins mellowing with age, or simply becoming more cerebral? Her Cream mix shows a clever DJ keeping it hard, lean, and mysterious. --Ken Micallef

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quite possibly my favorite prog-trance mix

eschewing the youthful exuberance of her breakthrough mix, tranceport III, collins takes the Cream series where it has never been before: the dark, haunting depths of progressive trance and deep house. the label must have had considerable faith in her marketing value and penchant for track selection, or such a relatively avante-garde tracklisting may never have seen the light of day on a compilation series hitherto known for its epic trance riffs and dance-able beats.

collins brings the latter at least in formidable quantity, though the style of the mix is such that it takes several listens to appreciate much more than the superb intro by Carissa Mondavi or the stunning aural workmanship of Maurice and Noble which is the climax of the set. Indeed, the mood is kept dark and minimal, yet in this environment a sort of primal power is born that surpasses that of tranceport III. this isn't the prog-trance of sasha and digweed; rather i am reminded of breeder, or noel sanger: tribal, dirty, sweaty, pounding rhythm. And just when you think the CD is stalling, Collins ups the ante and intrduces a groove to make your spine tingle.

'solid ground' is perhaps a bit drawn out but beautiful; one of the Markus Schulz's finer moments as a producer. it is one of the gems of the set, and sets the tone nicely for what is to come.

'warp' kicks the mix into really high gear, its bass compels you to move!

'my mind is going' contains one of those addictive, psychologically driven samples collins is so fond of. a great track, just ups the tempo a bit.

the last two productions by Maurice & Noble are simply sublime and clinch the set superbly. the synths are so minimal, yet so effective; they hypnotize you into a blissful prog groove. i liken their sound to some nathan fake productions or perhaps cass & slide (perception, seduction of orpheus) for those of you who are old school.

though i am no huge fan of progressive trance, i give this mix massive respect as a fan of good music. it's up there with GU 013, Balance 005 and Transport IV as one of the best prog-trance mixes of all time. driving enough to keep you nodding your head, intelligent enough to be listened to over and over again without getting boring, with just enough samples and synths to spice things up, and possessing a couple of stunning productions; this is a truly excellent mix. 5 stars.

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The Cream of the crop

When i first baught this cd i thought it was ok. After listening to it a few more times I corrected myself and thought that this had to be one of my favs. Although many people think that this cd is to slow, I have to say that the Deep Trance mixed in with a few tribal type beats is acctually very soothing. I would deffinitley add this cd to my collection if I wanted sonmething different and mellow. I saw Sandra 3 years ago in Spain and she was absoultuley fantastic. This is a must have cd. If you don't already have it or you have Transport 3 you shold consider getting this one.

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DEEP TRANCE

Ok, so people are all like "I cant dance to this" and "Its slow and moody", those people obvisouly dont know much about Sandra Collins, she's a DEEP TRANCE dj. Yes, there is a "deep trance" genre, just like there is hard trance, trance, progressive, etc. etc. This cd is much like Tranceport 3, except towards the end of Tranceport 3, she tends to throw in some uplifint and Epic trance. This cd is good deep trance all the way around, so if you want something you can definately chill to when stoned or not, pick it up.


Quality release

Personally, I would agree that the CD lacks a track that brings the mix up to another level. But this CD does have a nice vibe to it. It slowly, steadily surges forward, similar to GU Los Angeles. I realize that Sandra is known to spin trance, but in my opinion, this seems to be more of a progressive house release than anything. Overall, a quality release that I would recommend.

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No Build, No Release...

Well, I have to say that I agree with a few other reviews here. But different parts of different reviews.
Yes, Sandra is a hell of a mixer. All the tracks blend and flow into one another nicely...
BUT, and this to me is a big one, there is no build-up to a sweeping climax. Unless you consider the whole thing as build-up. In which case, there is a bigger problem. There is no climax!
All the tunes are too similar in caste, too single-minded.
It's one of those mixes that would probably sizzle on a very loud system in a club teeming with the right vibes. Unfortunately, it just doens't translate well to home listening.
There are no big choons that break the singular flow. No big vocals (or melody) to separate the instrumental 4/4 hammering.
All in all, it's not bad.
However, it's also nothing spectacular or outstanding. Which somehow is worse.
Nothing risked amounts to nothing gained, as well as a disappointing outing.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6



Tracks
Solid Ground - Sandra Collins, Mondavi, Carissa | Robot Funk 2001 - Sandra Collins, Milliner, Alec "Mag | Momentum - Sandra Collins, Harris, R. | Warp - Sandra Collins, Denny, Karn | Chaos Engine - Sandra Collins, Chable, Luke | My Mind Is Going - Sandra Collins, Phillips, M. | Derangement of the Senses - Sandra Collins, Scott, Justin | Do You Hear It? - Sandra Collins, Chiller Twist | All I Want - Sandra Collins, Gross, M. | Fouk - Sandra Collins, Lennox, Tim | Faith Delivers - Sandra Collins, Bakes, M.

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