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When I first saw the track listing for this compilation I scoffed. What were Gatecrasher doing with a track listing as commercial and as old as this? Why the hell would anyone buy this CD when half of these tracks are on so many other compilations, including past Gatecrasher albums?
As a fan of all previous Gatecrasher compilations, all of which showcased the latest and greatest tracks out in clubland for trance fans, I thought Gatecrasher Anthems was a step back; I was determined to hate Gatecrasher’s latest outing… but I don’t… in fact I absolutely adore this compilation and rate it higher than Gatecrasher’s previous (and highly successful) album ‘Global Sound System’
You see, the tracks on this album all read the same thing; old and commercial, but it’s saving grace is the clever choice of remixes and amazing ability to mix the track selection to create the perfect choices for each disc. Whilst you may think you have heard these tracks before, indeed you have not, and many tracks you will find unrecognizable due to the fantastic makeovers each remix provides, indeed through remix selection and the appropriate placement of each track next to one another, we have a very strong winner. Would you have ever thought ‘Bullet In The Gun’ could be mixed into the Timo Mass remix of ‘Doom’s Night’? Well it has, and it works.
CD1 is a collection of THE most popular funky house and trance tracks from the past few years, mixed and remixed together to form a more progressive selection than one would imagine. It starts with a very funky mix of ‘Synaesthesia’ and moves into a non cheesy breakbeat mix of ‘Bullet In The Gun’ (who would have thought you would refer to what was once considered the worst of cheese as a breaks track) which slides into ‘Doom’s Night’. We flow onto some funky house tracks such as ‘GrooveJet’, Bob Sinclar’s ‘I Feel For You’, Fatboy Slim’s ‘Bird Of Prey’ and ATFC’s ‘Bad Habit’, but all with some great progressive remixes rendering these tracks a little unrecognizable. We move into a more classic territory with ‘My Lexicon’, ‘Hudson Street’ and ‘Natural Blues’ with ‘I Need Your Lovin’’ taking us into trancier territory. We get more commercial with tracks like ‘It’s My Turn’ and ‘Sandstorm’ being played but with remixes chosen turning them into minimal tech tracks more than they are trance, finally ending the 24-strong tracklist with the original and totally un-danceable ‘Barber’s Adagio For Strings’ by William Orbit, a very interesting ending to what was becoming a “pumping” disc.
CD2 has a much more “classier” track selection than disc one and will prove much more popular. Once again it starts off on the progressive tip then moves towards more classic trance terriroty. It starts with the classic ‘Follow Me’ by Jam & Spoon, and mixes into one of the most beautiful and emotional tunes I have heard in a very long time, the quite old ‘Hold That Sucker Down’ (Dual Bass Club Rock Mix) by O.T. Quartet, this then mixes beautifully into the Shocker Mix of the same track providing a beautiful journey into classic trance. We head into progressive territory with Sasha & Emerson’s ‘Scorchio’, ‘UB Devoid’ by Way Out West and the Peace Division remix of ‘Treaty’ by Yothu Yindi. We momentarily get techy with the Carl Cox mix of ‘That Zipper Track’ but move back into progressive territory with ‘How’s Your Evening So Far’. We move into trance territory with ‘Ubik’, ‘Sister Sister’ and ‘Der Schieber’ and into classic territory with ‘Home’, ‘Universal Nation’, ‘Tomorrow’ and Armin’s beautiful and emotional ‘Communication’ ending with the uplifting Matt Darey remix of ‘Wizards Of The Sonic’.
I would very much liken this to Gatecrasher ‘Wet’, and if you loved that, you will undoubtedly love ‘National Anthems’. The track listing for this compilation (particularly disc one) can be read as very commercial, but the remix ability has provided a more progressive and techy mix than one would expect, thereby not only saving this compilation, but making it a huge success.
BUY: Gatecrasher – National Anthems from chaosmusic.com
