Take Balance 008 in your hand, and throw disc 1 away. It's simply not worth it. It's just "some music". There's nothing on there that stands out.
Disc 2 on the other hand is good, but not great. Starts off on a high note with Orbital's Halcyon + On + On and gradually falls away in quality. Tracks like Joey Negro's Make A Move On Me get extremely repetative at times and will have you flicking the skip forward track.
Balance 008, a very good compilation with some great transitions between tracks, but nothing reaches out and grabs your attention in particular and that's a shame because previous Balance releases have been fantastic.

OK, this cd was rated compilation of the year 2005, so it's hardly an "embarassment" by any means.

The whole point (and niche) of the Balance series is it gives the DJs freedom to put out any sound they want, there is no "Balance" sound. Maybe up until Balance 5 there was a basic Prog/Breaks feel to them, but James Holden changed all that. Listen to how diverse the last 4 have been; Jimmy van M - Paolo Mojo - Desyn - Chris Fortier. And if Balance 8 did anything to the series, it was to catapult it into another level, much like Holden's mix, hardly a sore thumb to "tarnish" the series.

This is not just another "electro pothole" mix (trust me I've heard plenty of those), this is electro with soul. This cd is so jammed full of funk and energy, once it starts up it never lets up. I haven't heard a cd in a while where every track just gets better than the last, but this one is definatly a contender. Some class tunes on here, such as Dusty Little Kid's "Jerry Cala" (Amazing!) or Dealer's Choice "Bomb This Place", or Chris Lake's classic "Changes".

As for mixing; listen to the transition of Orbital's "Halycon" into Spirals "X", perfectly locked in, just keeps em grooving along for minutes, quality! Or the fusion of Moloko's "Cannot Contain This" with Killing Joke's "Love Like Blood", beautiful.

This CD is guarunteed to put a smile on you face, funk infused electro with epic soul, pure energy.

This is what House music should sound and should make you feel like.

one of a few interesting departures for the Aussie prog series recently, this chunky, diverse house set follows Fortier's moody techno on number 7 and Holden's brainy-as-owt IDM-laced set. The first disc starts on a real sparse italo-disco vibe, before building up through a couple of prog monsters and closing on Chris Lake's singularly effective old-skool pastiche, Changes. There's been a lot of this sort of thing going around, but this track stands out for me, with an addictive piano hook. Disc 2 isn't so strong, but is entertaining nonetheless.

As annoying as it is that it seems every DJ on the spectrum seems to be playing this sort of stuff now, this is as good an offering as any.

This album is dissapointing, and on behalf of EQ, I'd say embarassing as well.

Over the years the Balance series has established itself as one showcasing mature, refined electronic music from some of the most intelligent and influential artists from all over the globe. It has also proven itself to be at the forefront of studio mixes.

And then, like all good labels/series (e.g. Renaissance, Global Underground, Fabric etc.) it falls into the mainstream electro pothole.

Along comes Balance 008, a truly ridiculous waste of time, money and effort. I say this because:
-That unique Balance sound is not evident here.
-The mixing on here is pretty average, and at times, very weak.
-Balance has become yet another series. It doesn't stand out...its reputation is tarnished. It can never redeem itself because there will always be that 008 that stood out like a sore thumb.

I give it 1/10...if i could I'd give it 1/100, merely for having the odd decent track here and there...