History of trance? Well, if this is the case, this CD is a perfect example of "Learn from history, or you are doomed to repeat it." While I admit I'm not even close to a long standing die-hard trance fan, I have heard a lot of old school stuff. As a result, I have absolutely fallen in love with a few of these tracks. Chakra - Home [Original Mix] is an absolutely magical track, as well as BT - Flaming June, and maybe one or two others. Just so pure sounding, honest to God dance music, with melodies, vocals and break outs to match it's brilliant, untainted flavor.

However, notice how I said "a few." Karen Ramirez - Looking For Love [Trouser Enthusiasts' Joy Mix] was a brilliant intro into a CD; my hopes jumped within the first minute of the song. Beautiful vocals, lovely background, and a fairly nice beat, but there was just such a lack of energy in the break down. After the break down, it only took moments until the track got extremely repetitive, with random bleeps from the next song thrown in. This made me want to cry when I heard the beautiful piano rifts later on--such a waste! It wasn't a horrid song, I might play it again if I'm bored enough, but the repetition of sour sounds right when I wanted to start dancing just kills the feeling. It isn't just this song either; this is the story so many times to varying degrees all over this mix. It's not funny, it's a down right shame.

Sadly, it only gets worse as a listener continues. The rather lack-luster DJ transitions are actually not that bad. In fact, some times the fresh, analog, old school mixing sounds really good. The split song cue-ing is brilliant, now and then; like a DJ who's got all the techniques down, just needs work on the timing. The real killer is the song list. Honestly, most of these songs are bearable at BEST. Patience is a key factor if you want to enjoy this mix. Many of these songs are so repetitious, so annoying, so terribly un-melodic, and SO devoid of a dance vibe, I ran screaming back to my Above and Beyond CDs. But it's no good, the terrible synthesized melodies are now burned into my skull, and I can't get them out. Kind of like a song in a commercial you absolutely hate but can't stop singing. And when the melodies are good, which despite my anger towards the ones that aren't, it's often ruined by something really simple, yet utterly annoying. HONESTLY! I don't care if you "can't get no sleep!" Just give me the music and shut up!

This is really a sad review for me. I remember some of the first trance tunes I heard from Fragma, Hampenburg, Chicane, all simple tunes with melodies I would be humming to for days and days to come. I bought this CD hoping I'd get more of the same. Instead, I'm left feeling ticked off, like there's construction going on in the flat next to me. Every once in a while, this mix gives you something like Heliotropic - Walk With Me [Mix No.1], a tune that's actually pretty and melodic, but most of the time, you are left with music that is completely not dance worthy, and too many times, music that is just plan annoying.

So, the first CD in the Euphoria collection, which now spans over 40 albums and the whole gamut of trance/hard dance sub-genres. Back in 1999, this album was to me, my friends and no doubt many others something of a revelation. It seemed like the first "big" compilation album to really cement what trance was, both in sound and in spirit - right down to the stories told within the liner notes.

But how does it fare now, 8 years on? For those of us who grew up listening to this album on repeat, it has lost none of its magic. Listening with a critical ear, however, reveals the flaws in the mixing that we glossed over at the time - even the first mix drifts in and out of time, and there are a few other near trainwrecks (what were the PF Project's credentials to mix this album? "Choose Life"?!)

There's a few slightly odd track selections too ("Repeated Love" in between BBE and BT - really?). But in this day and age of endless computer mixed "trance classics" albums, these flaws are what gives this album its soul. It's refreshing to hear the DJ trying something different, even if it does sound a bit odd dropping random kick drums from the next track into breakdowns. It's nice to hear the slightly more obscure tracks on here which still haven't been played to death ("Walk With Me", "Set in Stone", "Body Shine").

Tracks like "Flaming June", "El Nino", "1998" and "Love Stimulation" will never lose their magic, but hearing them in this context rather than some Gatecrasher/MoS cash-in CD really makes them seem special. This album is like a time capsule - it captures the moment perfectly, when trance ruled the clubs and took hold of the lives of a whole generation. It has so much character to it, so much raw energy, that for any newcomer to the trance scene to miss out on it would be a tragedy.