Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

It is a summer of much needed relaxation and time spent reflecting while sipping lemonade on a porch during a warm, summer evening.  It is soothing for the soul to be in the company of crickets, children playing softball in the streets with the sun slowly setting for a few moments than worrying about the economy’s undesirable state 24-7.  Chillout 2002: The Ultimate Chillout is a soothing compilation of well-known tracks, remixes and electronica to really unwind to.  It provides a great improvement from the first volume despite some jarring remixes. 

 

The Rollo’s Chillin’ With the Family Mix of Dido’s “Hear With Me” opens with an orchestral, flowery theme that sounds strangely familiar to the New Line Cinema opening at the beginning of movies.  However, the piece transitions to a slow beat and “Hear With Me” sounds more hip and easygoing than the original, emotional mix.  Recognizable slower tempo chill music artists added are Coldplay and Radiohead.  Coldplay’s “Trouble” is a diverse but well-known slow tempo piece but does not fit in as well with the rest of the album’s sound.  Radiohead however, provides a fantastic track titled, “Street Spirit”.  FC Kahuna’s “Hayling” is an enjoyable slinky, electronic track whose intro is slightly Radiohead-esque in mood.  The vocals on “Destiny” by Zero 7 are wonderfully warm and throaty, which complements the swaying beat to make a sexy, summer night slow dance song.  The remix of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” is slow and repetitive at times, but some of the electronic embellishments provide an interesting timbre.  One song reminiscent of electronic tracks from Depeche Mode’s “Violator” album is BT’s “Shame.”  The piece is great, but the Bent Mix of it sometimes is shaky, and does not always mesh with the vocals.  The Duotone Mix of Ivy’s “Edge of the Ocean” is a perfect summery track to chill to that will brighten up any of those summer torrential downpours.  The rhythms and the tempo are the most upbeat of all the album’s tracks, but remains a comforting addition.  The album is a mostly excellent find; it helps anyone let life’s stresses melt away, but the Dusted Remix of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” should have been discarded along with the listener’s tension.  It is neither chill nor very cohesive.  The original song has been overplayed, but its soft, languid melodies are what made it beautiful.  This remix butchers all that with hurried beats and silly bursts of electronic sounds and juvenile mixing. 

 

Chillout 2002: The Ultimate Chillout is a good album to unwind to after a hard day.  It offers some great, unknown electronic tracks along with notable artists for some variety.  However, some of the tracks, particularly the remix of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” are unpolished and are not the songs you want to mellow out to.  Regardless of those cuts, the album is an improved chillout collection and is especially recommended for listeners just dabbing their toes in the pool of mellow electronica.