This is the compilation that helped kick start my 15 year obsession with electronic dance music. This was the first “mixed” CD that I purchased; prior to this I had only experienced dance mixes on tape. One afternoon I went to the local record shop to pick up a new mix tape to listen to and I had asked the shop owner to recommend a few different titles to me. One of his recommendations was Sasha & John Digweed “Renaissance:” I looked at the price and about shit. “Renaissance” had only been out for a short while, and personally I don’t recall any kind of hype surrounding its release. At least not in my area. I would never have spent any where near that amount on a mix cd, but the art work intrigued me very much, and added to that fact I had just recently seen Sasha play just a few weeks earlier in Orlando. So off I went with my new purchase. When I got home I inserted the cd into the player and donned a pair of head phones and pressed play. To my delight I was taken on an aural journey that changed my listening habits from that moment on... I will say that if you have never listened to this mix collection thru a pair of good quality head phones, you are missing out on one of the finer pleasures in life. “Renaissance: - The Mix Collection” as I have come to find possesses two amazing abilities. Firstly, when I am completely burned out on EDM and need to take a break for a moment, I can play any one of the three discs and almost instantly I will remember why I started listening to EDM. Secondly, this collection has helped introduce dance/club music to people inexperienced with the genre. The mixing is spot on and quite creative. The track selection is phenomenal and most if not all of these tracks sound just as good today as they did when they were released. One of the comments stated that this was digitally mixed… honestly what commercial release is not digitally mixed? On a final note, I of course purchased the “remastered” edition when it was released a few years back; I was a bit disappointed as they couldn’t secure the rights to a few of the tracks. This made for a different “feel” that the original had.

Well at the risk of being very unpopular (get the lynch mob out now!) heres my views on this release.
I Purchased this when it was first released and recently came across it while adding my collection to discogs After reading the comments about it, i decided to give it a good listening while out in the works van the other day.
Disk 1 starts promisingly with the 3 excellent mixes of 'Song For Life' followed by 'For What You Dream Of', but then in my opinion, the next 4 tracks plod along with nothing much to keep the listener entertained at all! until the inclusion of 2 of the best 'Junior Boys Own' mixes of the era and the always superb Sasha accamix of 'Remake & Inner City', but again fades somewhat towards the end of the disk, where we find the annoying monotone droll that is Heather Small!
Disk 2 again starts off with the excellent 'Fluke - Slid' then all goes a bit to 'progressivly/trancey' for my liking including the dire 'Grace - Not Over Yet' (god i hate this tune, i never realised how much until i heard it again), but then suprisingly ends with the fabulous 'Kym Mazelle - Was That All It Was' - take note Heather!
Disk 3 is probaly my favorite, even though it starts with Ms Small's dullcet tones, just about saved by Sasha's QAT remix, a couple by Limbo's finest 'Havana', 'Shawn Christopher' putting Ms Small to shame yet again and the D:Ream reworking of 'EMF - They're Here' all flow together nicely into the classic rave sound of '2 Bad Mice - Bombscare' & the always pleasurable 'It's My Pleasure'

All in all disk 3 for me, but i have to say the fold-out package is superb, and NO! i'm not selling my copy!

The album that got me into house music. Seminal track listing, amazing programming and mixing, excellent tunes. The true sound of Renaissance, the true sound of Sasha & Digweed. What struck me about this legendary mix was that the tracks used, were the tracks on the bootleg mixtapes from the era, Sasha & Digweed did not compromise at all musically or professionally. Not only that it was well presented and packaged, if I remember the original CD's were over £20, so at the time it was quite expensive but worth every penny. I will be listening to this mix in 20 years time, it really is and was a defining moment in what we call house music.

As another poster stated, this is the definitive dance music DJ mix CD. It must also rank within the top 5-10 dance music albums of all time. It has everything: rhythm, soul, energy, and beautifully programmed by Sasha and Digweed. It really is a special album, legendry even, and it kick-started the DJ mix series and none have truly matched this since. One of my friends borrowed this off me and subsequently lost it, forcing mew to buy it again for three times the original price off eBay!!

An important point to be made about this release...
Whilst I am well and truly in agreement that this was a ground-breaking compilation,it is perhaps hasty to praise the mixing as so many do.Yes - the sequencing of the tracks featured within should be praised and Sasha & Digweed credited accordingly,but the mixing was all done digitally.
This was discovered by a friend of mine who,like many (myself included prior to that point),pondered the question of which DJ mixed which cd.When questioned in the toilets of the Rhumba club in Perth,John Digweed replied that nobody did a particular mix, IT WAS ALL DONE DIGITALLY.

Probably the best mix CD I've ever heard. Three mixes of Leftfield's "Song of Life" in a row? Inspired. It also includes one of my favourite tracks of all time (Moonchild's "Variations on a Theme"). If house music ever had to be represented by one album alone, I would choose this as the ambassador. Sublime stuff. Get it, buy it, steal it, rip it if you don't have it already.

THE seminal DJ mix compilation that thousands of imitators have tried to copy but never came close. For me this was when Progressive House peaked. It was music that rocked and was banging but at the same time it had funk, it had soul and it had a great musical variation. Sadly in my opinion these two DJs never matched these heights again and went more and more up their own arses, along with the scene that spawned them. Infact Progressive House became so dull it needed exterminating, full of epic/sweeping/tribal nonsense. But let's not forget what a great mix CD this is and it definitely will go down as one of the greatest compilations in dance music. It's that good that it can convert the unconvertable & it still rocks and moves people today. A tremendous, diverse and not obvious choice of tunes, beautifully & seamless mixed. Infact the thought and preparation that went into this whole package was incredible and it deserves all the accolades it receives. Mixmag even included it in their top 50 dance albums of all time along with greats such as Massive Attack, Leftfield, Public Enemy, Bjork etc, even though strictly speaking it's not an album at all. This compilation proves more than anything that banging, pumping dance/club music can be as interesting and varied as any other musical genre & still sound so beautiful in a living room as it does in a club.

The best compilation ever - hands down. The bassplayer in my old band got a job as press officer at Network Records and decided to send me some of the labels music - and this comp was part of the package (as a double pack cassette!!!). I was so ignorant of the club/dance music world that I thought Sasha was a GIRL at first! Needless to say it blew my head off - electronic music with real soul and depth. If ever I tire of the current scene I only have to dig this out to remind myself of how this music can make you feel. Amazing.........and it taught me Sasha was a bloke too!

I dug up this CD today on the thought that "haven't heard that for ages". Looking at the back I realise that this is from 94! Sh#t was it really that long ago. Anyway just listening to a few tracks on the first CD still brings funny shivering feeling down my back again. The sound sounds as fresh now as it did then. As an uplifting house & trance lover this CD just brings it all back. No cheese here this is a masterpiece. They don't make compilations like this anymore.

When I first heard each of the 3 cd's, I was a little dissapointed, having expected something similar to the Northern Exposure Series. These cd's were released before Northern Exposure and as such have earlier tracks on them.

Upon further listens I have decided that I very much like all 3 cd's, the third being my favourite followed by disc 1 and then disc 2!

As some of the previous reviewers have mentioned this is uplifting house, and I daresay there is a trance influence particularly on the third cd!!

And by the way, I only tend to write reviews for the cd's that I like, so almost all of my reviews are good :)

Aah yes and the mixing on all 3 cd's is second to none.