Trance Nation - Future

I would agree that there is a danger that Ministry of Sound are verging towards a sound that will bring in the money because a track has been seen on "Top Of The Pops" a few times, and not a sound that will really reach out and grab the attention of trance-minded people. It is MOS's idea of just raking in the pounds that has forced me to drop the overall rating to three stars.

A classic example is DJ SAMMY - BOYS OF SUMMER. Indeed very commericalised but if you enjoy this kind of stuff then why not go ahead and buy.

This is not to say that the entire compilation is purely commercial. There are a good few tracks that I really liked in there too.
Warrior - "If You Want Me", The Thrillseekers House Remix version of "Saltwater", and Sholan - "Can You Feel" are all really good quality trance tracks.

The highlight of CD (for me) has to be Darren Tate vs Jono Grant - "Let The Light Shine In" - this is one of the most beautiful tracks ever made (along with Delerium - "Silence", unfortunately not starring on this compilation).

The vocals are pure bliss (not cheese). Soft, energetic, interesting, captivating and emotional are appropriate words that enable you to appreciate the quality of the track.

When all is said and done I would say that CD 2 is probably the winner of the two. I often listen to the likes of DJ Tiesto/Paul Van Dyk/Johan Gielen etc who play a lot of good uplifting and or progressive trance.

This kind of sound is slightly more evident on CD2, although againt there is still some element of commericialisation.
The CD kicks off with IIO's new "At The End". I am very fond of this track as I can see it going down well in some bars in London that appreciate the vibe the sound brings.

If you do like some vocals in your trance then Oceanlab's "Sky Falls Down" is a continuation of Oceanlab's previous high quality work such as that of "Deep Blue Water". Armin Van Buuren's input into this track has also been quite beneficial as it adds that extra bit of flavour that really brings the tune to life.

System F's "Solstice" has been included on here as well which leads me to believe that MOS aren't completely at fault. This track has been around for a couple of years now but it is full of energy and creates a wicked buzz if turned up loud at home (or preferably to a club full of thousands of people!!).

CD 2 also displays a slightly somewhat HARDER sound in a few of the tracks namely "The Prophet" and "The Question", perfect for those of you who enjoy a more gritty undertone to your music.

Again a couple of classic remakes noticeably the 2003 version of Push's "Universal Nation" - it will never be forgotten.

Highlight: Gouryella's "Ligaya", been around for a little while now yet a really interesting track. (Although the video is slightly weird check it out at the gouryella website).
This mix occurs with the abscence of vocals which, in this case -is better.

Conclusion: Buyer may not love every single track on here due to their own individual taste but there is a good mix of tunes which is why I recommend it (you never know, a slight variation in tone might do us some good!)


TRANCE NATION FUTURE PURE CLASS   July 13, 2003
0 out of 5 found this review helpful

Having being a huge fan of ministry of sound for years I buy most CD's. This is with out a doubt the best one i've got CD2 is better than cd1 as its more of the heavy trance with the superb at the end by IIO and sky falls by Oceanlab.

I don't know why people slag this album off who ever does ignore them, if your into trance buy this it's excellent.


KL's review   May 29, 2003
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Bought this album from you'r selves about a month ago. Have bought a few Ministry of Sound Albums before and been left a bit disapointied, due to one CD being very good but the other letting it down badly. This album is different. Both CD's are superb especially CD1. There are quite a few songs on both albums I have not heard before which is always good. I would recommend this to anyone who likes going out at weekends clubbing because you are bound to hear one of the songs on the album when you are out!!!!


POP (trance) Nation Future   April 25, 2003
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Track no.1: DJ Sammy... enough said. Earlier collections of Trance Nation impressed considerably what with Ferry Corsten and all collaborating with MOS. But since 2001, the collection has seemingly gone downhill with loads of pop-trance being introduced into the series. The track selections have not been downright appalling to be fair but they could be much better. Several of the tunes are already banging anthems in their own right such as "ligaya" by gouryella, rank 1's "awakening" and System F's "Solstice" but certain remixes have left a bitter taste in my mouth. M1's heaven sent is an example. Perhaps one of the better tunes recently, michael woods vox mix could and should have been replaced with its club mix (without the vocals) and would no doubt be more universally loved by trance addicts. Producing trance tunes is not just a matter of pop tunes with basslines.... but MOS seems to think otherwise. Aquagen's "hard to say I'm sorry" and Jan Wayne's "total eclipse of the heart" and several others should be found in a retro or 80's music compilation rather than in a trance compilation. I'm sure many others would agree that there is a shortage of trance tunes from the biggest trance DJs namely, tiesto, Ferry Corsten, and Armin Van Buuren.

To be fair, Oceanlab's "Sky falls down" (armin remix) and Svenson and Gielen's Answer the Question are relatively good. So is Push's "Universal Nation 2003". Other than that, with all due respect, most of the double CD collection is mere mainstream pop-trance.


mixed bag   April 25, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Ok so I've got most of ministry's trance compilations, and to be honest this simply isn't up to their usual standard. The first disk is cheese - commercial vocal trance of the worst kind imaginable, although there are a couple of decent tracks hidden in there. The second disk is more promising from about track 4 onwards, reasonably progressive, with a few exceptional tracks and most of it listenable. The mixing is at best, average, since ministry has dispensed with the services of Ferry Corsten for this one. So..unless you like cheese, or if you're searching for a specific track, I'd give this one a miss, since the first disk is all but unlistenable and the second disk, overall, just ain't worth the money.