Review by slo_moshun Dec 04, 2007To say that this is recorded live in Ibiza is taking the mick a bit, I'm not THAT naive. Saying that though, Sasha does exactly what it says on the tin, better than anybody else. CD 1 is my fave though with the easy start easing you into an audio landscape which builds and teases. Resistance D's - Feel High is dropped in early to make the mix more transparent to the inexperienced ear. This is done using computer trickery as the actual record isn't that long. Medways Bassline Track is the non standard version unable to be found anywhere.. (I've heard that Jessie gave Sasha an acetate to use but that version never saw the light of day, shame, as the track rocks). On disc 2 Sasha has twiddled with the knobs for his own Xpander track making a dramatic improvement to the original and blending in well with the overall atmos of the mix. I don't like Bedrocks Heaven Scent and never will regardless of remixer etc so I knock the cd off before it starts and that is the only downpoint imo. Sashas attention to detail and perfectionist attitude pays off though with creative, well thought out mixing with a variety of mix styles used, from two tunes at once to dropping the other out as the bassline kicks in. BT to Aquilla is the killer mix for me, try driving a car with it turned up at this point and tell me that you didn't floor it!! A masterpiece...
Rated 5/5 Review by vorton Apr 03, 2007 Beautiful machine sings to you!
When faced with the catalog of so many wonderful GU sets (like 019 Los Angeles, 024 Reykjavik, 027 Miami, 028 Shanghai), it is impossible to pick the best one out. I can pick best ones. And this is in top 3! I didn't hear this GU mix until early 2007. I was blown by it! I don't know what is of people who create this wonderful computer music! It's so relaxing, so uplifting and so full of life! It's perfectly blended trance/progressive/electronica. It has higher BPM rate than most GU albums. At the same time it's one of my favourite chillout albums for 3PM afternoons. Tranquility! Listening #013 Ibiza just music makes me happy! I will never get tired of this album!
Rated 5/5 Review by SamPope Jun 09, 2005Sasha's Ibiza mix might as well be renamed to "The Greatest (and most timeless) Late 90's Progressive House/Trance Tunes (which doesn't mean anthemic cheese) mixed by Jesus and arranged by God". Only kidding ... but seriously, you'll be hard pressed to find a better DJ mix. This is easily Sasha's best mix CD to date, the best Global Underground compilation to date, and would probably rank in the top 10 DJ mixes of all time.
The most important element of a DJ mix is track selection (obviously). Sasha went all out with this mix selecting classic tunes and remixes from the biggest producers of the era (and some, of all time). The production and remix prowess of Sander Kleinenberg, Orbital, Breeder, Humate, Quivver (as Space Manoeuvres), BT, Cass & Slide, Pob, Evolution (as Bluefish), Bedrock, and Sasha himself cannot be denied. There is a drawback: all of these anthems might give the mix a slightly sterile feel. I say might because, depending on how long you've been listening to electronic music, you'll probably have heard a least a couple of these tunes before. Other Sasha mixes tend to have a slightly more exclusive track listing, with a greater variety of rare underground (for lack of a better term) tunes thrown in. So, your listening experience will vary.
Tracks alone, of course, don't make a DJ mix album. The DJs ability to arrange and mix the songs into a cohesive statement or story, is what makes or break the album. And no one does this better than Sasha. Technically superior DJs exist (James Zabiela), but no one has the epic, emotional, human element in their DJ sets quite like Sasha does. The mixing on this album is superb, and like any great mix album does, it elevates the quality of the tracks to another level. Listen to the transition from Jimpy's "Talkin" to Pariah's fantastic remix of Space Manoeuvres "Stage One", and then to Sander Kleinenberg's "Sacred". Absolutely brilliant.
Lastly, comparisons to Sasha's live DJ sets aren't really fair. A DJ set on CD, and a DJ set live are two completely different formats for obvious reasons, and therefore, must be approached differently in both recording, and listening. To sum things up, this is the finest solo mix album Sasha has ever released, and six years later, it still stands head and shoulders above the sea of compilations released since.
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Review by cmdrdeathguts Jan 25, 2005 (edited over 4 years ago)
I've got to disagree with complaints at the mixing. I'm sort of coming at it from a listening perspective rather than a clubbing one - i don't go to clubs, and any dancing i do to this shit is strictly livingroom flailing. So, as a piece of home listening, the mixing is perfect - it's just one of those mixes where by the time you notice the track's changed, you've been listening to it for 3 minutes. Everything just seems part of an overall whole. Although, disc 2, with its measly ten tracks, gets a bit clost to the Oakey school of string-10-anthems-together trance DJ laziness. Although, of course, Sasha's habit of being so bloody good at this rescues it somewhat.
Rated 4/5 Review by JagdTiger327 May 12, 2004I've loved his music since I got Northern Exposure - Expeditions, and then the Expander ep. While disappointed with this version of Xpander, the abundance of good tunes more than makes up for it. This version of Heaven Scent is the best I've heard, and the transitions throughout the album are sweet.
Rated 5/5 Review by zangief_pilam Jul 17, 2003Definitely a great selection of tunes, but I thought the mix lacks the liveliness and the energy of a good DJ set. Listen to Sasha live.. completely different. By the way, the Fibonacci Sequence is also really great on PvD's 2000 Mayday set.
[b]Rated 5/5[/b]
Review by ravecore99 Apr 02, 2003To me the first disc defines "progressive". Is starts out deep and dreamy and progresses up until the peak (IMO Sander Kleinenberg's Sacred) of uplifting trance.
The second disc is more a collection of trance singles, mixed together well but not to the same degree of perfection that the first cd had.
5 stars for first disc and 4.5 stars for second disc. If you are going to get any of the Global Underground releases start out with this one.
Rated 5/5 Review by behemoth Jun 10, 2002This just keeps getting better and better. Have to agree that this is probably the best mix on CD I have ever heard. Sasha is a genius - dropping those lush synths on top of Fibonacci Sequence proves it. Too many good tunes to mention - I love every one of them now. Timeless.
Rated 5/5 Review by marchorler Feb 13, 2002Well, well, well - The essential collection of progressive beats, this very compilation sucked me into electronic music. Sasha's cutting and mixing is second to none and the flow of tracks on the second CD is just amazing! Disapointed not to see any mention of Sasha's other GU Compilation (009 San Francisco) but ahh well. Get this shit into your eardrums people.....in my dreams I witness Sasha in Ibiza subtlely dropping Sacred out of Stage One.....one word - amazing.
Rated 5/5 
