I believe only a true Sasha and/or Digweed fan (or critic!) will understand this comp. It is the other half of S & JD, the wild-side if you will. This is the duo letting their hair down. The first disc builds with a slight, almost unnoticeable progression, then bursts at the seams with Sasha's Belfunk. Thereafter it returns to its previous near-consistency.

Disc two is the monster. This is a club at 2am, tearing the roof down. Expect no pretentious 'we don't do trance, only straight progressive house...' from the boys this time, because they really will feed it to ya in this set. In large doses.

A rather splendid comp, but only for listeners with open minds.

Looking back, this album is actually brilliant. You do not find sheer class like this anymore. The first disc is a brave, and refreshing venture from the traditional NE direction. The second, a truly exceptional, timeless piece of mixing.

Looking back, people will regard this more and more as an omnipotent classic as time goes on.

The 'edit-out' of Delerium's Silence (in its sanctuary mix) from this edition of NE:E is a double-edged sword - on the one hand, it muddles up the flow of the first disc somewhat, and leaves it feeling a bit light at only nine tracks...on the other, that tune really does blow!

In general, the first disc is the weaker of the two. There doesn't really seem to be a progression, and sasha + digweed's normally pristine mixing chops seem a bit lacklustre. Disc 2, however, is one of those mythical übermixes where every track is a winner, and the midsection of the set is mixed so excellently that you genuinely do not notice the tracks changing at all. Only the slightly weedy 'Anything You Want' lets the side down, although that tune's 'classic Renaissance' overtones may appeal to some. All in all, a fine purchase, if not an essential one.

I personally like very much the fact that the "silence" track by delerium was not included in this edition (which is the one I own). And not because the track is bad at all, on the contrary I like it very much, but what I dislike is the fact that it has become an extremely mainstream anthem.

Maybe at the time of the recording "The Silence" was fairly unpopular, but now it has become part of every collection named "The definitive ultimate 120 greatest dance anthems / hits of all time part 232". I'm glad that my edition of NE3 doesn't have that song, which helps to keep a nice, soft, underground profile to this album.

Am I the only one who thinks that?

What a shame that this album was not released as a single cd, that being only cd 2! This cd is very solidly mixed with a constant drive & it has one of my alltime favorite tracks on it: Polarstern. Towards the end a bit trancey, but mostly deep progressive.

The first cd on the other hand is the type of trance cr*p that the likes of Tiesto seem to be throwing out at a rate of 10 cd's a day; useless, boring & lacking in originality. Really start to wander who mixed what & more, who chose what tracks.....

Disc 1 is the more dance-y of the two, whilst Disc 2 is the more dreamy sounding mix.

Overall these 2 cd's make one of the best mix cd's ever, second only to Northern Exposure 2.

A great mix of old and new traxx, mixed to perfection as usual.

4 stars for Disc 1 and 4.5 stars for Disc 2.