Freefm Vol. 8 is the latest in the line of successful compilations from the aspirant broadcaster of the same name. These compilations have been successful (in both the gay and straight communities) due to their showcasing of the most popular commercial house, and in their later incarnations, trance sounds gracing this countries dance floors.

CD 1, mixed by Sydney DJ Sean Manley, highlights the US House sound emphasizing the ‘diva’ side of house. It starts off with the great track ‘Believe’ with some powerful vocals, but by the end, and after vocal after vocal I just wanted to say “enough singing already!” I wouldn’t classify this as Handbag House, but Funky House compiled together to create a very camp-ish sound. I do like a bit of this style of Funky House, but only in small doses, and I got an overload of it in this CD. Some will like it for its ‘fun’ factor, but it got to be just too much too soon for me, it ended up being very monotonous.

Same goes for CD 2, which was mixed by Wayne G live in Heaven nightclub in London. It starts off with trance classic ‘Airwave’, which I absolutely love and continues on with other high quality trance tracks to bop along to. But for the rest of the disc it goes into vocal trance, which I usually love, but these tracks sounded more like pop tunes ‘with a trancey edge’ and which were just to samey for me. I love trance, but this CD just didn’t do it for me.

Mixing on both CDs are good, but nothing special, but you don’t really expect ‘special’ for compilations. This is a good compilation, but definitely caters towards specific tastes, so give it a listen before you buy. This wouldn’t be a CD to get me revved up for a big night out, but is a great background CD for parties, and close gatherings with friends.