Armin Van Buren’s 2008 album Imagine is a solid performer; absolutely no doubt about that. It sold a bucketload of copies, the worldwide tour on the back of it was nothing short of epic, and some argue that it was his best studio album to date. Trance fans all over went nuts, and were transported during his epic sets 9-hour with by uplifting sounds and great theatrics. Without a doubt, the same thing happened on his recent tour through these parts on the back of the We Love Sounds and Winter Sound System festivals. Massive, massive tunes, and again, a littering of tunes from the album, which on the whole is very good. Not great though.

Truth be told, in spite of its success, there’s been quite a few trance albums that have put it to shame in recent times: namely, Twice In A Blue Moon from Ferry Corsten and Tri-State from Above & Beyond and Paul van Dyk’s In Between. These are all albums that take the listener on a journey, and provide for nothing short of what is a phenomenal experience. And more to the point, no remixes needed. Here, we have all the Imagine remixes collected in one point, and as good as the originals might be, some of these are even better.

For Armin however, the remixes release is actually a welcome addition, especially given how many get pumped out during his epic sets; often not the originals. And why the hell not, as they make for some uncontrollably wicked trance tunes. Nowhere is that more obvious than with First State’s efforts on Unforgiveable, a monster tune its own right, but here, it is given a nice tougher driving edge. Similarly with the Blizzard remix of In and Out of Love, providing for a quicker pumping angle to an otherwise melodic tune. That said, Armin fans need not despair; still plenty of opportunity for hands in the air.

Rain is the pick of the album for me, and while some Armin fans, and trance fans alike have developed a love-hate relationship with this tune, here, redone by W&W it provides for a dirtier and chunkier version, but with the ever present synthesized melody that makes the tune, never far away. Sied Van Riel comes to play on Fine Without You and if you want that uplifting vocal trance, with just a touch of bang, here it is. Similarly when John O’Callaghan combines with Audrey Gallagher (yet again) for Hold On To Me …. close your eyes, and geez, you can almost see the lasers of Armin’s recent Sydney performance.

All up, if you’re an Armin fan, you’ll enjoy this. If you were a fan of Imagine, then consider it a must. It’s a little bit more adventurous in parts than Imagine was, but truly… when you’re the #1 DJ in the world, you’re playing to packed stadiums week in week out, everyone in the crowd either wants to be you, or simply just wants you, and you’re born on the 25th December, who really cares: chances are that everyday probably already feels like Christmas.